My family (my wife and kids ages 7, 9 and 11) made our first trip to Hawaii in February 2008. Our trip to Maui was fabulous, and the Ka'anapali Beach Club was the main reason why.

While I have read some reviews that tell of unfriendly staff and/or substandard rooms.......we experienced neither (and we are not timeshare owners).

The staff at check-in was great. We were able to get into the room before the posted check-in hour.

Our room was very nice and very clean. We had a "mountain view" reservation, but ended up in a room with a view that was 50% ocean and 50% coast line and mountains (see photo). The bathroom was huge with separate tub and shower, two sinks and room to do a fox trot in between. The King Bed was very comfortable and the pull-out was okay (but for the kids - it was fine). It was nice having the DVD player in the family room. There was plenty of closet space for luggage and clothes.

Our package included breakfast - which was an awesome way to start each day. Coming from the east - we were early risers each day and really enjoyed the tables by the large windows looking out at the beach (see photo - nearly on the beach) and watching the daylight come out (and seeing the whales splash about). The main part of the buffet was good. The variety of food and drinks was terrific. The omlette station was fabulous. The omlette maker was tops (with his style and charisma - bam!!) and the omlettes were terrific.

Lunch allows you to make good use of the small kitchen (fridge to keep the drinks cold and plenty of storage for the food/snacks). The eating area (and other furniture) was very nice. The AC worked very effectively and efficiently.

The drive to Lahaina is no more than 10 minutes. Very convienient for an evening dinner run (with tons of options).

While the possibilities are endless in Maui - we chose to spend a significant portion of our time at the KBC. The pool is great, the beach is literally steps away. In fact, if you rent a one of the covered "cabanas" (which were reasonable), you can watch the kids in parts of the pool and the beach (or all relax and enjoy some family time with a great view, but out of the sun for a bit). We enjoyed both pool and beach. Instead of chosing between the pool and beach each time you go down, they are so close, you actually do both. The slide was great for the 7 year old and we all enjoyed the water volleyball.

There were plenty of beach chairs (and towels) available and the poolside bar and snack shop were closeby and very good (and reasonable).

The putt-putt course was a fun time for the family.

We did experience a couple of elevator hang-ups (slow elevators) - but we just went to the next tower and used the elevaors there. It was really not a big deal. And, as for the pink walls on the building, we liked the tropical feel it gave.

Best of all, this was a convienient and safe environment for the family. If you have a room in the tower near the pool/beach, you can be from room to beach chair in approximately two minutes.

I highly recommend this hotel for anyone that enjoys a stay at a resort with very nice (and spacious) rooms, friendly service and convenient access to a large pool/beach area.....all at a very competitive price.

We recently stayed at this hotel and had a great time. Our room was renovated and very spacious. Me and my husband were traveling with 2 kids (12 and 15). Our room had 2 full beds in the bedroom and the kids alternated nights on the couch (sleeper sofa was uncomfortable, so they opted to sleep on the couch instead).

We did sign something at check in about the 50 dollar deposit for towels, but never had to do anything. When we wanted towels, we simply asked the front desk and that was all - NO DEPOSIT was ever requested and at the end of the day we simply put the wet towels in a basket and got fresh ones in the morning. The information in the room states that housekeeping is only twice a week unless you pay extra, but housekeeping came everyday and cleaned our room (including the dishes). We booked our stay through Hotels.com and maybe that was why. They charge 13 dollars a day for parking (self or valet).

We were not pressured at all to sit through a timeshare meeting. We told the concierge that we weren't interested and that was that. The concierge was helpful at booking excursions, but I recommended shopping around a bit. They do give you discounted rates, but you may be able to get even more discounted rates through the countless activity wholesalers you'll see advertised in every pamphlet or magazine.

Tips:
-The Star Market accross the street is extremely expensive. The Safeway in Lahaina is a little cheaper. (everything is expensive in Hawaii)
-Heard good reviews about Bubba Gumps, but was disappointed when we ate there. Recommend eating at Leilani's.
-We used the book "Maui Revealed" to guide us on the road to Hana instead of the much advertised CD. Start out as early as possible.
-We went bottom fishing instead of sport fishing, since me and my 12 year old niece were not likely to haul in a Marlin. Everyone caught fish (the biggest was a 18 lb snapper). We used Absolute Fishing and rented the whole boat for 4 hours for $550.
- We also did horseback riding (Ironwood Stables), helicopter tour (Air Maui) and Snorkel tour to Molokini and turtle town (Quicksilver) - we enjoyed all of it.

This is a huge and beautiful resort. Unfortunately, when you have multiple elevators down at a huge and beautiful resort, you have a huge problem! I literally waited 20 minutes for an elevator to arrive once. It was not practical to take the stairs with luggage, etc.. There was also a long walk to the few working elevators in the resort. When checking out, we commented to the desk staff that the elevator situation was a huge inconvenience. He responded, with major attitude "that's out of our control."

On our second night, our TV blew out. It was replaced however the whole ordeal took a couple of hours.

On the third night, the alarm clock blew out. It took only an hour to get a new one. The person who brought it up had no idea how to set it or the alarm. He handed me his copy of the manual- so that I could figure it out myself. Customer service, anyone?

The food at the resort was mediocre, at best. My friend got sick- for the rest of the day after eating at the breakfast buffet.

Enough complaining, here's the good stuff:

Housekeeping staff- great!
Concierge- great the first time (unhelpful the second time)
Magic show/breakfast welcome- great!
Birds in lobby- great!
Front desk staff, when checking in- great! (awful when checking out)
Suite- lovely!
Location- great!

We stayed in a one bedroom oceanfront on the eight floor. We rented from the owner directly the week of January 4-11 2008. We decided to stay here because we had previously toured the hotel and we were shown a one bedroom apartment which we liked. The apartment we were shown was newly renovated, but the one we were given upon check in was not - there was no flat screen tv or new furniture. You may want to ask at check in if they can give you a renovated unit. The pull-out sofa is not exactly comfy to sleep on.

Overall I was disappointed with a few things - one, the pool is in deep need of maintenance, there are cracks on the bottom and sides; two, there was a heavy smell as soon as you headed on the beach to the left to walk, I believe there is some water maintenance or some sort of similar facility close by where the smell comes from. The balcony is so small you can barely sit there on a chair, you get light headed since you are so close to the edge. Location is not great either - there are two-three hotels close to each other in this area, and there are some stores right across, but this area is nothing like the nice stretch of beach and nightlife at Kaanapali Beach (where the Westin, Marriott Ocean Club and Hyatt Regency are).

On a positive note, the grounds on the property are well kept, and the units are in decent condition. The hotel prices for food are typical for Hawaii - overpriced, mediocre food, expensive cocktail drinks in plastic glasses. The new covers on the pool chairs (they are naturally pink to match the horrible color of the hotel) are very comfy - they did not have them when we were there in May 2007 - but they are soaking wet in the morning - and it takes a while before they dry. Finding dry chairs at 7 am was always a challenge.

Overall, I would not stay here again. It is ok but nothing spectacular, especially for the price. We will stay at the Marriott Maui Ocean Club in December 2008, see how that compares.