this hotel is a gem....from the initial welcoming to departure a first class stay....the breakfast next to the gift shop was pastries/ and breakfast burritos...great...only 2 - 5 bucks....we dont enjoy all you can eat buffetts...kona coffee blend in room /complimentary water/ ocean view room wow the waves all night long....after seeing the madness of the rest of the hotels up the road and in kaanapali (sp?), we were so happy to come back...the beach here is amazing with the molokini boat tour with kaikamani amazing....whales were in the area....turtle town...and the short drive to laperouse bay(sp?) great...the only drawback to this hotel was the hot tubs...which are above ground..and to hot....i cannot understand why they would demolish this place...

It all depends on your vision of a perfect vacation in Hawaii. If you are here for the resort, not to really experience Hawaii (but rather to be among other tourists in a place that would look perfectly at home in a -possibly gated-Florida vacation development) go north to the other resorts of the South Shore.

If you like classic elegance with a bit of charming wear and tear, and a feel of being in the environment versus disneyland, you may really enjoy the Maui Prince. Driving past the other resorts of the South Shore, I was crossing my fingers, hoping we had not made a terrible mistake. We passed the highly manicured overbuilt resorts one by one, then drove a little further. With a sigh of relief we pulled into the drive to the hotel-surrounded by greenery, allowed to grow a bit on its own so that you have the sense of being in the woods, away from it all. And then we walked into the lobby and caught our breath!

Designed as a large open square around a lovely Japanese- influenced garden, the hotel transports you to another place the minute you step into the lobby. The room we had was "partial ocean" and yes it was only partial (staff got a bit crabby when we asked about that) but from our lanai(balcony) we also saw lush plants and the island of Lanai'i outlined in the distance. The rattan furniture may not be brand new, but does give a welcoming, island feel to the rooms (as compared to say the Sheraton rooms which gave lip service to Hawaii but really could have been a hotel room in Vegas...)

As to food, this was our one complaint/word of advice- avoid buying the overpriced hotel food. We went to the Court restaurant and were turned away due to my husbands t-shirt and accepted the redirect to the next door lounge (it was our first night and we were starving) which served the same food and was really only separated by an open doorway. The food was fine, not that great and came in small over-priced portions. This experience was to hold true for most of our trip- avoid hotel food and find something in the community. In this case I suggest taking the short drive to Kihei- look up stuff in Fodor's, Frommers, Lonely Planet or this site and forget hotel food. The coffee cart in the lobby is fine for breakfast (they have fresh fruit as well as pastries).

The pool and beach. Okay the pool is small and just round (sorry again no Disney action here) and I could not do laps- but the ocean is great for that here and again we all really liked the pool. (yes I was surprised by the hot tubs but they are right next to the lovely gardens so who cares?) And the blue tiles, the canopied cabanas, the gorgeous gardens, just felt charming and cosy, and a lot more personal than some huge lot of over-manicured lawns etc.

The beach is wonderful- great swimming when we were there plus lovely views of Molikini, Kaho'olawe island and West Maui. Not too big or crowded. And you can always head to Makena State Park and go to Big Beach- one of the best beaches on our trip. We brought a 12 year old who also liked it here, especially the beach. (there were other kids around as well)

If I had it to do over, I'd definitely skip the Sheraton and the whole Ka'anapali thing and extend our stay at the Maui Prince. It is too sad that they are tearing it down---they could just do an "uplift" if they feel it's needed and keep the charm so lacking in so many other places.

We just returned from a 5 days trip to Maui. We stayed at Maui Prince and we are very happy. Before we book our hotel we read all the reviews and was a bit apprehensive but we took the reviews with a grain of salt. Maui Prince turned out to be a lovely secluded place with its own private beach. We had an ocean front room and it was worth it. From our balcony we have unobstructed view of the ocean. We even saw a few times whales blowing in the distance. The room may be outdated but it was very clean and the bathroom is spacious. There is free parking and complimentary bottled water. We did not try any of the restaurants in the hotel because they are pricey. Kihei and Wailea are only a few miles away where you can get reasonable breakfast and dinner. If you like Japanese food you must try Sensai. It is the best Japanese food I had. I highly recommend Prince Maui. Get an ocean front room.

We stayed in a partial ocean view room and were quite pleased with the hotel.

While it is true the hotel decor is somewhat dated, the hotel is clean and the service is second to none.

Although the pools are small, they are never crowded and the service at the pool is very personal. It is a large resort that feels like a small resort.

While the beach here is uncrowded and fantastic, we chose to sit by the pool out of the wind and sun for our infant daughter. We never had trouble getting a cabana and the pools were never crowded.

The bellman suggested and brought us a crib for our daughter at no extra cost which was very much appreciated.

We would definitely stay here again. We traveled throughout Maui, but when we stayed here we never left the resort for three days and it was very relaxing.