Stay: March 5-12, 2007
After reading some bad reviews, we were leery of staying at the Royal Kahana. Our travel agent had recommended it, so we thought we would give it a try even though we had stayed at and were familiar with other properties in the the area.
Location: About 5-10 mins north of Kaannapali and Lahaina, the location suited us well. We did not feel like we were in the middle of everything, yet close enough that it was never a hassle. Across the street is Kahana Gateway, which has a gas station, McDonalds, Outback Steakhouse, Maui Brewing Co. Restuarant (good food & beer), Roys Restaurant (didn't eat there), Hawaiian Village Coffee (good ice cream), and some shops. We went there several times and enjoyed having all that within a very short walking distance.
Parking: We never had a problem parking at all. We had a PT Cruiser and it worked just fine fitting in the stalls and never had a problem finding a spot. I imagine an SUV would have a little harder time fitting in some of the stalls because they are on the smaller side.
Beach: We really enjoyed the beach in back of the property. It was not crowded and we were able to hang out and do some swimming. A lot better than what we were thinking it would be like based on other reviews.
Building: The building is a little older.. there were some areas that they were working on on the exterior, but it was never bother. There were 3 elevators, so getting up and down was never problem. The pool area was average size and although we always went to the beach, it looked nice. They also have several BBQ's on the property by the pool which we should have but never used. The lawn area was well maintanced and had some lawn chairs on it as well.
Check-In: Smooth and quick. Nice staff. No problems.
Room: We were in Room 905 and loved it. It was clean, up to date and the air conditioning worked great! The view from the balcony was amazing in both directions- the ocean and the green valley. The kitchen was fully stocked. We bought some groceries for the fridge to snack on and housekeeping even did our dishes, which was not expected. They kept our room clean and nice the whole time. We used the washer and dryer once, with soap they provided. They only give one coffee packet, which for 2 people worked for 2 days. We asked for another and they said it would be $1.00. We paid it, used it and after that got our coffee in the lobby each morning. It was quiet the whole stay. Our only complant would probably be on the bathroom tub faucet... it was a hard to turn and wasn't attached to the wall securely, but that was a minimal problem that didn't bother us much.
Overall: We really enjoyed our stay at the Royal Kahana. We thought that the price was right, especially to have the kitchenette and oceanview with balcony (compared to some other properties prices) and it was a great place to call home for a week. We did hear one person at the front desk asking for a different room, so we figure a lot has to do with owner of the condo and how well they have maintained/updated it. Even though we got room 905 and liked it for the beginning, if you are not happy with your room, ask to check some others out until you are satisfied.

We booked a 10 day trip to Hawaii through the Travel Center of Colorado (we recommend this outfit!). Great total experience. When we got to the Royal Kahana we found we'd been upgraded to an Ocean View Studio at no charge. We enjoyed the kitchenette where we could butcher pineapples and enjoy light breakfast before heading out. Hotel is clean, friendly, convenient, and just shabby enough to not be intimidating. Service was great. We just loved everything about it, including the nice small beach it sits on. I would recommend this hotel to anyone.

We stayed at the Outrigger Kahuna from March 2-5th. Upon arriving-Room 1018-air conditioning was off...very hot. Took all night to cool down. There was a bad odor in the room. Not a pleasant smell. The carpet was old and dirty looking. The curtains were dirty. The bathroom needed a whole new makeover!!!! It needed new tile, painting, fixtures, etc. The outside of the building and room needed a whole new makeover as well. Parking is not good either!! The only good thing was the view. Great View!!!

We returned from spending 2 weeks at the Royal Kahana on Feb 5/08.

We stayed in room 916 and although the view was very nice, the room is definitely in need of updating. The carpets are worn and fraying. The paint is peeling above the shower and the curtains are stained. We did ask about changing to another room and the staff were accomodating. The room we looked at had been up-dated and was very nice but it was on the shady side of the building and we prefered the sunnier side. We discovered that our unit is actually up for sale, so hopefully the new owners will fix it up.

As others have noted, the washer/dryer are great to have. They only supply one small box of detergent so bring some from home.

The unit comes with the usual soaps/small shampoo etc in the bathroom. The kitchen is equipped with 4 sets of dishes,cutlery and glasswear as well as cooking implements, toaster, blender, coffee maker, stove, fridge and microwave. They suppy dish soap, salt/ pepper, tea and one small bag of coffee (per visit). They do offer a limited amount of coffee early in the morning down in the lobby. Bring sugar and additional coffee etc from home if wanted.

There is daily light house keeping. They replace used towels/ paper products, remove garbage and make the bed. I don't know if they do dishes (there was no dishwasher in our unit). They are supposed to vacuum but we suspect they never actually did (or if they did, it wasn't done well). The sheets on the bed while clean, had small rips, holes and were very worn.

The building itself is fine. The pool does get sun. The basement has a pingpong table, vending machines, exercise room and separate men's/ women's sauna.

There is internet access on the main floor ($) and a small selection of books if you want something to read.

There is an activity booking centre in the lobby for sight seeing and they host a continental breakfast on your first morning. We did not go to that or do our bookings through them. You can often get better deals by going into Lahaina and getting last minute sell offs.

Over-all, our experience was good, but the weather wasn't and the locals told us this is the first time in 10 years that Maui is really experieincing a "true" winter. It rained everyday and the wind blew so hard, it keep me awake at night. The only way to shut out the whistling noise was to shut the bathroom door and open the lanai slider.

Would we stay there again? Maybe.