South Maui Vacation Rental Condos
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Frequently Asked Questions
Aloha no Honolulu
Questions about these South Maui Condo Resorts
General Questions about Maui
Questions about these South Maui Condo Resorts
Q: Where are these vacation rental condos located?
These vacation rental condos are located on S. Kihei Road in the southern part of Kihei, in sunny south Maui, Hawaii. These resorts are located near Kamaole II, III and Keawakapu Beach and are about 30 minutes from the main airport in Kahului. These resorts are located about 1 - 4 blocks from the northern end of Wailea.
Q: How close are these resorts to the beach?
Mana Kai is located right on Keawakapu Beach. Kihei Surfside is oceanfront right next door to the Mana Kai and is just steps from Keawakapu Beach. Maui Kamaole and Hale Kamaole are located across South Kihei road from the southern part of Kamaole III Beach Park. Kihei Akahi is located about two blocks further north across from Kam II beach. Kam II and III are very popular South Maui beaches with good swimming, snorkeling, boogie boarding, sunset watching, etc. Kam III also has a large grassy area with shade and picnic tables.
Keawakapu Beach is about one block south of Kam III beach. Because Keawakapu is not visible from the road, it is an especially nice beach because it's usually less crowded than many other Maui beaches.
The closest public access to Keawakapu is through the Mana Kai hotel parking lot. There is also a public parking lot there at the back of the Mana Kai lot and at a parking lot immediately south of the Mana Kai, so you can choose to either walk or drive. While at Keawakapu you can walk for miles down the beach as it stretches through Wailea and joins up with other Wailea beaches, such as Ulua and Mokapu.
Q: Where do we check-in and what if our flight arrives late at night?
All the resorts have a registration desk (follow signs once you enter the resort). For late arrivals, if no one is present at the registration desk there will be instructions at the desk describing what to do for late check-ins.
Q: Can you give us driving directions to these resorts from the main airport in Kahului?
(The drive from the main airport in Kahului to southern Kihei is about 30 minutes - all mileage figures below are approximate)
- Exiting Kahului Airport you will be on Highway 380
- Follow 380 for several blocks through downtown Kahului
- Watch for signs to Kihei and turn left onto Puunene Avenue ( Highway 350/311)
- Follow 350/311 across the valley to the south west side of the island (roughly 10 miles)
- At the traffic light turn left onto Highway 31 (Pi'ilani Highway)
(The sign at the intersection will say Kihei straight ahead, and Wailea to the left. However, the fastest route is normally to take the highway since these resorts are at the southern end of Kihei.
If you prefer a slower, more scenic route along the ocean that gives you a tour of Kihei, you can go straight at this intersection, turn left on S. Kihei Rd and follow it all the way to your resort.)
- Taking Pi'ilani Highway, drive south about 6 miles on 31
- Turn right onto Kilohana Drive (Wailea sign).
- At the bottom of the hill, make a right (north) onto S. Kihei Road.
- Mana Kai and Kihei Surfside will be located about 1 block north on the left. Maui Kamaole and Hale Kamaole are located about 2 blocks north on the right side and Kihei Akahi about 4 blocks north on the right side.
A lanai is the Hawaiian term for a balcony or patio. All of these condos have a lanai, except for the hotel rooms at the Mana Kai.
Q: Is there daily maid service or only prior to arrival and after departure?
Daily maid service is offered at the Mana Kai only. For all other resorts, cleaning services are provided at checkin/out times, and not on a daily basis.
Q: Does these condos have air conditioning?
Yes, all of these condos have A/C except for some units at the Kihei Akahi that are specifically identified. In addition, most units will have several ceiling fans. In general, you rarely need air conditioning in Hawaii, and it is actually much nicer without it as long as you have good ventilation and ceiling fans.
Q: Are the condos handicapped accessible?
At the Mana Kai, Kihei Surfside and Kihei Akahi there are elevators that allow all units to be handicapped accessible. At Maui Kamaole, and Hale Kamale the buildings are low rise and require using stairs to access the second floor.
Q: Do you offer any special discounts for airline employees, or travel company personnel?
No, we do not offer any additional special discounts for airline employees, travel professionals, or any other special group. However, there are 10% discounts availble off the standard rates for AAA or AARP members.
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General Questions about Maui
Q: When's the best time to go to Hawaii for good weather? Is there a rainy season when it's better not to go?
Weather in Hawaii is almost always great.. Overall the weather remains quite constant year round with average daily highs varying only about 7-8 degrees year round, from low 80's in the winter to upper 80's in the summer.
Regarding rain, the biggest factor in Hawaii is not based on when you visit but rather on which side of the island you're on. Because the trade winds blow from the same north-easterly direction about 90+% of the time, the windward northeast side of the island gets the resulting daily rainfall, and the leeward southwest side of the island the dry, sunny weather. Kihei, where these condos are located, lies in the rain shadow of Haleakala and has beautiful sunny weather almost daily. The only real reason that winter is high season in Hawaii is not because of the local weather, but because of the visitors winter weather back home.
Q: Are there reasonably priced family restaurants nearby?
In general, Kihei has a lot of restaurants that span the full range of food and prices including many very reasonably priced places. This is one big advantage Kihei has over Wailea, where the restaurants are usually high price hotel restaurants.
In Kihei at the low end of prices are your typical fast food restaurants - McDonalds, Jack-in-the-Box, KFC, Subway, Taco Bell, etc. There are also many reasonably priced sit down restaurants such as Dennys, Tony Roma's, Pizza Hut, several Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Greek places, a reasonable seafood restaurant and many others. Moving up price a little more there are numerous other high quality local restaurants serving seafood, steaks, salads, etc.
Overall prices are somewhat higher than the mainland (perhaps 5 - 15 % more) but prices vary a lot and there are bargains and early bird dining specials to be found. At the low end, a lot of the fast food restaurants run some of the 99 cent specials that their mainland counterparts have. The closest sit down family restaurant to these condos is the Denny's which is in a strip mall about 1 -2 blocks from Kihei Akahi. In that same mall there is also a Chines restaurant, a Thai restaurant, a steak/seafood restaurant, and a Greek Bistro. Most of the other restaurants are also along South Kihei road within about 1 - 2 miles of these condos.
Q: What about any dining recommendations for a special night out?
For a special night out, albeit more expensive than the above restaurants, here are a couple of other recommendations. One place we really enjoy for a special treat is the Pacific Cafe in Kihei. It's a blend of French and Pacific cuisine. The setting is nothing special since it's in a strip mall, but the food is great. The prices are more expensive, about $28 for their 3 course tasting menu the last time we went, but their mahi-mahi with lime ginger sauce is fantastic. So if you're celebrating any special occasions you may want to consider it.
Another restaurant with a beautiful setting is the 5 Palms at the Mana Kai. It's set right on the waters edge at Keawakapu Beach. From 5 - 6 they have an early bird special for $19 for salad, main entree and dessert. They also have a children's menus with fairly reasonable rates. Their food isn't as good as the Pacific Cafe, but the setting is beautiful.
Q: What services are available in Kihei?
In general almost any service you might need - restaurants, shops, movie theater, video rentals, groceries, post office, urgent care clinics, pharmacy, dive shops, tour excursions, scuba/snorkel rentals, hardware store, etc. - can be found somewhere along South Kihei road within a few miles of these condos. Anything you can't find in Kihei, which is probably very little, should be available in Kahului or Wailuku near the airport.
Q: Are there grocery stores nearby?
Kihei has a couple of medium size grocery stores for stocking up on any food supplies for the condo. The nearest one and the one we usually use is the Foodland store located along South Kihei Road. Make sure to ask for their Makai card discount. Expect grocery prices to be somewhat higher than the mainland, especially for some staples such as bread ($2 - $3) and milk ($5 /gallon). In addition to the grocery stores, there is a small general store located at the Mana Kai hotel about 2 blocks south of Maui Kamaole. In the future, Kihei will be home to a large Safeway store currently under construction along the Pi'ilani Highway.
Q: What about renting a car on Maui?
Because there are so many great activities to do all over Maui, renting a car is usually recommended unless you're content to stay close to home during your entire stay.
As an additional benefit to condo renters, we are now able to offer very competive car / condo package rates through Alamo car rental.
Q: Is theft from cars or condos a problem in Maui?
We personally have never had a problem with any theft from our car or condo in Maui, however there are some problems that do occur. As signs around say, "There are thieves in paradise.", so caution is always in order. In particular never leave items of value in open sight in a parked car, especially if you're out in remote areas of the island. Also don't wait until you get to your destination to move valuables into the trunk, as someone may be watching. When leaving your condo, make sure to lock the front door, as well as the sliding glass doors even in upper story units.
Q: Are there places nearby that rent beach equipment?
For beach equipment there are a lot of places in Kihei that rent masks, snorkels, boogie boards, etc. One is Snorkel Bob's which has several locations in Kihei. You can also find them on the Internet at www.snorkelbob.com There is also another place we've used called Auntie Snorkels. For snorkel or dive equipment you can also rent gear from Maui Dive Shop which has several locations in Kihei.
Q: What's the best time of day to go to the beach?
As they say any day at the beach is better than a day at work, but there are some weather patterns that are fairly constant that you should be aware of. The mornings are almost always very calm with very little wind and few waves. Mornings are the best time to do any snorkelling or scuba diving, or to go to the beach if you dislike waves or wind.
In the afternoons, the trade winds usually pick up and can be fairly strong at times especially in the summer. Depending on your interests, afternoons can also be a good time to go to the beach if you enjoy boogie boarding or body surfing on the waves, which are very popular activities.
Q: Do you have any recommendations for diving in Maui?
Diving is great in Maui, and for a good dive shop we recommend checking out Maui Dive Shop. You can find their web site at www.mauidiveshop.com
Over the last 2 years our whole family has gotten heavily involved in scuba diving. Our children and I have earned our Advanced Open Water Scuba certification and Lynn has surpassed all of us by going on to get her professional Dive Master certification. Most of our PADI certification work has been through Maui Dive Shop at their main outlet store in Kihei. If you're planning any certification dives while you're in Maui, we can highly recommend either Larry or Chas at the main Maui Dive Shop outlet store in Kihei.
For information on where to dive, you should request the free Maui dive site guide offered by Maui Dive Shop. It has a lot of good information on dive site recommendations including a number that are accessible from shore. For boat dives, our favorites have been Molokini Island, and the cathedrals at Lanai. For an easy, very nice shore dive you should try the Ahihi Marine Preserve which is nearby in South Maui. Ahihi is also a great place for easy snorkeling with a large number of tropical fish.
Q: How are the prices for shopping in Maui?
In general prices in Hawaii are somewhat higher than the US mainland, mainly because of extra transportation costs for shipping goods to Hawaii. The figures we've have heard are that the overall cost of living in Hawaii is roughly 15-20% higher than the mainland. However, this varies quite a bit depending on the items. For example, gasoline in Maui is about $1.70 / gallon whereas on the mainland it's about $1.30. Some grocery staple items are also quite a bit more expensive, for example, a gallon of milk is about $5, and a loaf of bread about $2 - $3. Those prices are probably almost double US mainland prices.
The shopping in Kihei, consists mainly of tourist oriented stores such as T-shirt shops, Hawaiian Aloha shirts, swimsuits, souvenirs, etc. For a better selection on more normal items and the best prices on the island, back in Kahului and Wailuku (not too far from the airport) there are several fairly large shopping malls with many of the major US retailers there, e.g., J.C. Penney, Sears, and the Hawaiian chain equivalent Liberty House. If you're shopping for clothes its probably worth at least one trip into town to these malls. The largest mall is called the Ka'ahumanu Center. When you're in Lahaina, Hilo Hatties is worth at least one trip for Hawaiian style clothing (Aloha shirts, MuMus, et.), although you can sometimes find better prices elsewhere.
Q: Are there any good golf courses near Maui Kamaole?
Yes, Kihei, Wailea and Makena have several championship level golf courses just minutes from these condo resorts.
The award-winning Wailea Golf Club is one of the largest and most acclaimed golf facilities in Hawaii. It features three championship courses, two full-service pro shops and the finest outdoor training facility in the Pacific.
The Wailea Gold Course (Wailea's Rugged Beauty) is the most challenging of Wailea's trio. Designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., it has been ranked among the country's best new courses by Golf Magazine and Golf Digest, and one of the world's best designed by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler.
Jones flavored the Gold with elements of classic golf course design, then finished it with a rugged, natural look. Throughout the course are stark lava rock outcroppings, indigenous Hawaiian grasses, an abundance of kiawe (a relative of mesquite), and remnants of papohaku, prehistoric lava rock walls built by early Hawaiians and preserved for their historic value.
The Gold's 200 foot elevation change from top to bottom enhances the numerous ocean and mountain vistas available from virtually every hole. The course has been labeled a "thinking player's" course because it demands strategy and careful club selection to be played well.
The Wailea Emerald Course (Wailea's Tropical Playground) is rated one of the best new courses by Golf Magazine and Golf Digest, as well as one of North America's most women-friendly by Golf for Women. The Wailea Emerald is akin to a lush tropical playground. Flowers bloom in great abundance: plumeria, bird of paradise, allamanda, gazenia, bougainvillea, beach morning glory, "firecracker" plants and more.
But don't be fooled by the Emerald's pleasant appearance. It is a superbly designed course created for pure golf enjoyment, regardless of one's handicap. Measuring 6,825 yards from the back,the Emerald features four to six tee boxes on every hole, allowing players to tailor the course to their playing level.
Notable features include a large double green shared by holes #10 and #17. Fronting the green is the only lake on the course. This is perhaps one of the Emerald's more picturesque spots.
The Wailea Blue Course (the Grand Lady of Wailea) is the first course ever built in Wailea. The stately Blue is a gracious resort course that has been ranked among America's best resort courses by Golf Digest. In its lifetime, it has hosted such prestigious events as the LPGA Women's Kemper Open and Japan's Asahi-Kyosen pro/celebrity golf tournament.
The Blue's fairways offer views of the ocean and Mt. Haleakala, and some of Wailea's stunning residential communities. It features several fountains and lakes, and an abundance of colorful hibiscus, wiliwili trees, bougainvillea and plumeria. The Blue was designed to appeal to a broad range of players. While it has challenged some of the finest professional players in the world, it also offers a measure of forgiveness in its wider fairways and large greens.
Like its sister courses, the worst hazards on the blue are the visual ones: the sapphire Pacific Ocean (where one can spot humpback whales during the winter months), several offshore islands, a volcanic cinder cone known as Pu'u Olai and majestic Mount Haleakala.
Q: What's the cheapest way to buy Inter-island airfare in Hawaii?
Travel between the Hawaiian islands is fairly convenient with numerous inter-island flights daily on several carriers. For the best inter-island air rates, look to buy the coupon vouchers offered by both Hawaiian or Aloha Airlines or shop online for the best rates at some of the new low cost airlines. You can buy these in advance through the internet.
If you have a frequent flyer account with one of the major airlines, you may want to check who they partner with in Hawaii.
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South Maui Vacation Rental Condos in Kihei, Maui, Hawaii