Fairmont Kea Lani Maui

We just came back from a week’s stay in the fairmont Maui. Our stay at the Fairmont Maui had some definite highlights, but overall we left feeling underwhelmed. The property is beautifully designed, and the suites are spacious, comfortable, and well-appointed. The staff throughout the resort were exceptional—warm, attentive, and genuinely welcoming. Their service was easily one of the best aspects of our stay. Unfortunately, there were several disappointments. During what appeared to be peak season, the hotel was completing parking lot repairs, including the installation of shade covers. While the improvements may be worthwhile in the long run, it seemed like an odd time to undertake non-essential work. The result was extremely long lines just to find parking, and valet parking was never offered as an alternative to help ease the inconvenience. The dining was another letdown. Given the resort's reputation, star rating, and price point, we expected far more. The restaurants were simply average, and after a couple of meals we chose to dine off-property instead. Café O'Lei quickly became one of our favorite alternatives. Even the breakfast buffet, while pleasant, lacked the variety and quality we'd expect from a resort of this caliber. Aside from the Maui Loco, very little stood out as memorable. While the beautiful accommodations and outstanding staff made for an enjoyable stay in some respects, the parking issues and underwhelming food left us feeling that the overall experience didn't justify the cost. We don't regret visiting, but we don't see ourselves returning.

First the good - every single person at this hotel with whom we came in contact was incredibly kind. The shuttle service is awesome. The challenges- This hotel is not at all set up for anyone with any physical issues. You should be prepared for a ton of walking and many stairs. While there are elevators, they are spread out which makes it difficult to get around. There are very few restrooms on the property which is odd since they have multiple pools. There were so many unruly screaming children in the pools and at breakfast that it made our birthday celebration for my mother less than relaxing. Finally, they put us in a suite overlooking the "staging area" for the hotel - meaning that all day starting first thing in the morning we had trucks moving furniture and doing building just under our room with constant "beeping" from the trucks backing up. This was unfortunate given the price we paid for the room. Overall a huge expensive disappointment - but again, the staff is a delight.

A wow setting with wide range of services.

Thank you Kea Lani staff for making my vacation amazing, Thank you Isaiah, Bryan, Micheal, Angelo for your amazing service.. it was nice to work just as hard at a hotel and receive the same amazing service back take care and see you later !

Our family likes to book nice resorts to stay in when we go on vacation. Atmosphere, good restaurants and nice pool areas are very important to us. The Fairmont Kea Lani does extremely well in all categories. The open air lobby is beautiful and grand and looks out over the coy pond, pool and beach. The rooms were clean and spacious with comfortable beds. The pullout sofa is not the most comfortable but it worked fine for our teen. They offered turn down service every night so we did not have to pull out the bed. The bathroom is spacious with lots of storage. They give you refillable water bottles on arrival. Water refill stations are located everywhere around the resort. I saw some negative reviews about that and I don’t understand those reviews at all. We found it a nice touch and liked that they are doing their part to help the environment. The pools are great. We liked the top pool better as it was a little quieter. The slide is fun and the swim up bar was nice for easy access to a drink. We rented a cabana on our first day to be able to secure a chair easily and assess the situation for later days. As long as you were at the pool by 9-10 each morning, chairs were easily found. If you want an ideal spot under an umbrella then get there by 8 😃 I passed by the Grand Wailea one morning on a jog and saw people lined up at 7am to secure chairs. It’s is not like that at the Fairmont….thankfully! (At least not while we were there). If you go out for an excursion and arrive to the pool around 11, there will still prob be chairs but they will not be under an umbrella and will not be located super close to the pool. The pools are also open 24 hours but the slide does close at 5. We did not feel the cabana lived up to the cost. Our waitress was not quick and it took forever to get a drink. We found the swim up bar to be more convienient so therefore only booked a cabana on the first day. We dined at the breakfast buffet and Nick’s. We really enjoyed Nick’s and liked the breakfast buffet but only did it once as we are not huge breakfast eaters. We also tried several dishes at the pool and surprisingly really enjoyed the burger! It was very good! The grounds are beautiful, the beach is nice and felt private because no other resorts shared it. (Side note…gulf coast beaches have prettier sand in our opinion) The staff was nice and attentive and the housekeeping staff knew us by name which we thought was a nice personal touch. Valet is offered but we parked every day as it was extremely easy and the lot is close to the lobby. We usually always do valet but didn’t feel it was needed at the Fairmont. Plus the resort parking is free! For the cons….not a ton. Food is pricey but we expected that. If you need something for your room and call, you basically talk to a computer. I feel a 5 star resort should be more personal. Service was nice but not over the top. We have stayed at Four Seasons properties before and their service outshines the Fairmont but so does their price tag….so it’s a give and take. Would we go back to the Fairmont? In a heartbeat.