Fairmont Kea Lani Maui

We recently stayed at Fairmont Kea Lani again and as always it was absolutely amazing. From staff to location and the beautiful property our stay was perfect! Tara at the front desk super friendly and welcoming! So great to see the same smiley faces like Tara and Luz. Thank you all for making our stay so special! We can’t wait to be back!

We enjoyed an excellent week with extended family in a three bedroom villa at the Kea Lani. The suite-only hotel is very family oriented. Our villa was lovely, nicely furnished, ocean views from all three bedrooms, and very quiet. Note that while the kitchen is generally well-stocked, it does not include an oven. The laundry facilities and private patio with plunge pool were great amenities (as is proximity to the beach and the pool). There is very good snorkeling right off the beach. The fitness center is reasonably well equipped (especially with aerobic equipment) but is on the small side for a hotel this size and could use more and a greater variety of weight machines. That said, it was fairly empty of people both times I was in there. My wife had a massage at the spa and noted that the spa is not as elaborate as the spas in some of the other hotels in Wailea (e.g. no saunas or whirlpool baths). The staff, from valet parking to housekeeping, were uniformly friendly, helpful and service-oriented. The waterslide in the pool is a popular kid amenity. There is a separate adult-only pool, which is more serene than the main pool and not crowded (I suspect because the hotel attracts mostly families with kids). Kids under 5 eat free in the restaurants, which is a great amenity. The beach is lovely and relatively private. We visited during a holiday week and the hotel never felt excessively crowded. The hotel facilities and grounds are attractive and well maintained. The hotel offers complimentary daily activities for guests, including yoga. I would definitely classify the Kea Lani as a deluxe resort property and note that it caters to families with kids.

Took my mom for her monumental birthday. Just Mom and son. We had the most wonderful time. From our arrival experience, each meal. Every single member of staff was special in their own way. We had the breakfast every day. What a spread. I have to say a special thank you to Venus who served us breakfast. One of the mornings I wasn’t feeling so well. I asked her if she had a diet sprite. She told me not to worry about it and she’d find me one. She did within a few minutes. After that breakfast the following two morning although she wasn’t our server she stopped by and said hi to me by name with a Sprite Zero. This small touch meant the world to me. Venus is smiling every minute and truly cares about the guests. Thank you Fairmont for making our stay so wonderful.

My partner and I chose the Fairmont Kea Lani based on our wonderful experience with the Fairmont on the big island. Unfortunately, Kea Lani did not deliver on the expectation. First, it’s a stunning property, one of the few on the Wailea coast that looks like it was designed to fit into and not stand out from the landscape. The rooms are generously sized and beautifully renovated. Pilina and Ko are excellent dining options (shout out to Chris and Drew who took excellent care of us at the respective establishments). And that is where the positive feedback ends. There were a lot of mishaps you wouldn’t expect from a 5-star hotel, I’ll list a few: (1) there was almost never anyone staffed at the adult pool to help set up chairs. It was self-service if you didn’t rent a cabana and therefore you were almost always cleaning up after other guests in order to claim your own chair. (2) property cleanliness was also an issue in general. On multiple occasions guests would leave trash and empty glasses on or around trash receptacles and they would sit there for hours and in one case days. While I think this says a lot about the other people staying at the hotel that contribute to a diminished overall experience in the first place, I would still expect it to be addressed quickly by staff. (3) I got a pedicure at the spa which was about as good as a classic $30 pedi in my neighborhood. On top of that, I asked to use the locker room to change out of my yoga pants for the pedicure and they were so rigid about their policy of pedicure bookings not having access to the spa locker room (even for 5 minutes?) they made me change in the bathroom instead. (4) breakfast was good but the coffee was weak and espresso drinks are extra (on top of a $70pp rate). Give me a break. (5) multiple issues with room keys: dead battery in the card reader that somehow wasn’t noted by housekeeping or anyone else who entered the room multiple times in the period when the battery was dying unbeknownst to us. Also, our cards expired erroneously before our checkout time. When I’m staying at a property like the Fairmont, I expect as little friction as possible to the point where I’d rather the challenges I described be alleviated by an adequate resort fee rather than feeling nickel and dimed or inconvenienced at every turn. To be fair, Shaina on the management team reached out immediately when I complained about the trash in our hallway. She seemed genuinely concerned with our feedback and tried to make it right - for which we were extremely grateful - but despite her best efforts things just kept going wrong. I must also say, the staff were wonderful and I do not blame them for their mistakes. We stayed during a quiet week between the Thanksgiving and Christmas rush. My only hope is that the mistakes we experienced were not the result of an overworked and exhausted staff but rather gaps in hotel operating procedures and protocols that could be addressed by management.

My husband and I booked the Fairmont to celebrate our 20th anniversary. The property is absolutely spectacular and every employee we came in contact with was so kind and helpful. Our room had a gorgeous view out to the ocean and I enjoyed coffee on the lanai every morning. We ordered delicious food and cocktails poolside as well as at the swim up bar. We played basketball in the pool and rode the slide every day. Polo beach that fronts the property is perfect and we used the chaise lounge and umbrella service everyday of our trip. The ocean was warm, clear and had the perfect waves to bounce around in. We saw a pod of dolphins swim by one morning! The location of the property is perfect to walk the Wailea beach path, visit other beaches to snorkel and the on property restaurants are delicious. We enjoyed the buffet breakfast every morning and found all the selections delicious! Do yourself a favor and book this property! We can't wait to go back!