My wife and i and 3 of our kids stayed at the Resortquest Mahana at Kaanapali for 1-1/2 weeks in April/May 2008. We had a 2 two-bedroom condo suite.

Overall the property was nice but we won't return. Here is why.

The staff were friendly and helpful to us. Check-in went well. The front desk was staffed 24 hours per day. The front desk staff offered us fresh pool towels every time we went by and didn't mind when we took our pool towels away for excursions to different beaches around Maui. Our housekeeper did a good job. Overall we were happy with the service.

It was easy to find a parking space. The parking lot was right next to the condo entrance and there was no charge for parking.

The pool is on the small side but it included a 4-foot deep section for kids as well as a deeper section. There was never a problem getting a lounge chair at the pool. The hot tub was quite large, accommodating about a dozen people. The work around the pool and hot tub area mentioned in previous reviews seemed to have been finished other than some minor work being done at the bathrooms in the pool area. However there was one huge drawback to the pool area and that was the WIND.

Every afternoon there were extreme wind gusts at the pool area. The area is naturally windy but the layout of the condo towers makes the wind problem much worse. There are two towers facing the ocean, in between the two towers is the pool area. All the wind flowing in from offshore gets directed between the two towers right through the pool area. So what might be a nice 10 to 15 mph breeze becomes 40 mph wind gusts that make the pool virtually unusable for much of the day. Towels would blow right off the deck chairs, large waves would be whipped up in the pool, chairs would get knocked over, and the wind would be so loud you could not hold a conversation. I would like to have spent an hour or two at the end of each afternoon relaxing at the pool and cooling down before dinner. The extreme winds made the pool area unpleasant and impossible to enjoy.

Our condo unit was quite spacious. The dining room table had seating for six. There was a balcony with a table suitable for our whole family to eat dinner and watch the sunset. There were floor to ceiling windows with a great view over the ocean, although this was late in the year for whale watching we saw a couple of Humpback whales through the living room window. The furniture and decor were of a higher quality than other Maui condos I have stayed at. The kitchen had high-end appliances. There was a large flatscreen TV in the living room. The washer and dryer located in our room were much appreciated. Overall our rooms were furnished and maintained to a high standard. However there were a few drawbacks that diminished our enjoyment of the room.

First, the bed had the softest mattress I have ever slept on, so soft that I would sink right down into it and I awoke each morning with a backache. Second, the dishwasher (a high-end unit which was extremely quiet) had only one rack and accommodated only about 1/3 of the amount of dishes that a regular dishwasher does. We had to run five loads of dishes a day to keep up. Third, the small TV in the bedroom was made useless by the posts on the bed, which were strategically located to block the view of the TV by anyone sitting in bed. Fourth, the air conditioner had no thermostat. You could set the air-con to low, medium or high, however you could not set it to stay at 72 degrees. You turn on the air-con at bedtime, then wake up a 4 AM shivering. Or you leave the air-con off at bedtime, and wake up hot and sweaty. A thermostat on the air conditioning would make this place much more comfortable, and would probably save the owners a lot on their energy bill as well.

A word about the view from this condo. I have read reviews that said to get a high floor because the lower floors had poor views. We were on the third floor and we had an excellent view of the ocean, Molokai and Lanai. There are palm trees in front of the building and at the third floor level you see the trunks of a few palm trees but the view is not significantly obstructed by the trees. However at the fourth to fifth floor level the leaves of the palm trees spread out and these floors would likely have their view partly blocked by the palm trees. So either get a high floor, or a low floor, but try to avoid floors four or five.

In summary, this is in many ways a very nice property. For me, the lack of a usable pool area means I won't be returning here. For those who don't need or want a pool, this is a great place to stay.