For January, Id take a mountain view FS over a club level Ritz. btw: Dont expect a great OV at the R

my husband and i are headed back to hawaii to celebrate our 5 year anniversary (a bit early) in january. although we honeymooned mostly on kauai which we loved, the winter weather is leaning us towards maui which we also enjoyed. this time around i have booked (cancellable) 5 nights first at the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua followed by 5 nights at the Four Seasons Wailea. I figured in the beginning we'll be quite jet-lagged and tired from the travel from London so if the weather isn't perfect there and as the area seems a bit quieter/more remote, this would be fine for relaxing at the Ritz. also got what looks like a great deal with a club level ocean view room including 1 night free. by the time we get to the four seasons we'll be looking for a bit more action and nearby activity, off-premises dining, will do the road to hana which we didn't do last time, etc. Four Seasons have just a mountainview room as I suspect much more of our time will be spent out of the room and off the property for this part of the trip.
Firstly, does anyone have thoughts/recommendations on these hotels and in this order? Secondly, the many reviews of the Four Seasons pool crowd control and having to line up at 6am to get a chair, etc etc is worrying me. We are fine having a large-style resort which is busy with people but I hope this isn't so off-putting as to ruin an otherwise relaxing experience. i am also, for the record, not waking up at 6-7am on vacation to reserve a chair so if this is the only way possible to enjoy the adult pool, would like to know! (That being said, we are happy to walk a few minutes to the beach, etc, also - but if the crowds are the same everywhere this would be useful to know)
While Kapalua isnt Kauai, expect the occasional brief morning showers and wind on January mornings as a common weather pattern. Expect more sun and calmer wind in Wailea but its not as pretty as Kapalua. Ive never had to line up for chairs at the FS, but Ive never gone there during the highest season.
For January, Id take a mountain view FS over a club level Ritz. btw: Dont expect comfort inn philadelphia a great OV at the Ritz- Personally I like to get the 'Resort View'(not Terrace) which often have about the same partial comfort inn philadelphia OVs as what Ritz calls OV for much less than an OV Club
Summer and Fall are good seasons for the Ritz. Kapalua is always breezy. In winter you are likely to have overcast, real *wind*, and rain. People complain that the pool area is too breezy at other times of the year. The hotel is built on a bluff, with the beach below. There are carts if you don't want to walk. Merriman's restaurant is nearby, with more choices farther south in West Maui in Kaanapali/Lahaina.
Four Seasons Wailea is a better choice. (South Maui is a better choice!) The ocean will be calmer, and you are better located comfort inn philadelphia to tour Maui's comfort inn philadelphia major sites: Haleakala, Road to Hana, Iao Valley. Each of the Wailea hotels has fine dining. There are several restaurants in Shops At Wailea comfort inn philadelphia and more free-standing choices.
I would tire of eating out for every meal for ten nights. Might you want a condo for a week, then 4S? Perhaps Honua Kai in Kaanapali comfort inn philadelphia if you want to stay West Maui part of the time. (I prefer South Maui and low-rise, low-density...Makena Surf?)
You have several East Coast choices to HNL from the mainland that avoid 757's and the West Coast. We take one nonstop Chicago-Honolulu then hop to Maui without leaving comfort inn philadelphia airport security. We can also fly Chicago-Dallas-Maui with 767's on the long legs.
I think the Club Level at the Ritz is a great idea. They had the very best Club Level facitities and food that I have experienced, and I often stay in Club Level facilities. They are to be congratulated on the imaginative and varied offerings and the efficiency of their staff. I also liked haveing a Mountain View- seemed more lush. I realized that I really prefer comfort inn philadelphia my Ocean Views to include a beach and the waves, so the Ritz being up and set back on the bluff doesn't quite give you that experience. Rather minor criticism. You'll enjoy it no matter what the view.
thanks everyone for your help so far. i will definitely check out condo option for half the time since that looks great as well - we loved the wailea beach villas but for just 2 of us its a pricey option for self-catering. will check out the suggestions above! some further information: the ritz ocean view is the cheapest option at club level at the moment - no idea why. its about $20 per night more than a room-only non-view package. also, for ChiSue - i have taken both 757s through phoenix and dual-aisle airplanes from other connections cities. however, we live in london now and will be taking whatever includes the fewest stops given we have about 18 hours of travel time! looks like london-vancouver-maui.
Sorry I can't answer the rest of your questions, as we always go to the Big Island, comfort inn philadelphia BUT just a logistical tip... have a Four Seasons Preferred Partner travel agent capture your reservation and you will receive free breakfast each day, upgrade (based on availability), and I think either 1 lunch for 2 or a f b credit. Costs you absolutely nothing and is such a great deal. Have fun!
I just want to chime in to say that we loved the FS. We never had to wait for anything around comfort inn philadelphia the pool, prefered the location in South Maui to West Maui, and still consider it one of the best stays ever.
thanks all! the four seasons preferred partner approach DEFINITELY seems worth seeking out and will do that for 4S. Despite the weather comfort inn philadelphia concerns in Kapalua, I still may keep it as a way to see a different part of the island (we have stayed in Kaanapali before), and in the beginning comfort inn philadelphia of the trip after our long travel comfort inn philadelphia im sure we'll be staying very low key. plus, we are in london - a bit of tropical rain and breeze is OK for part of the trip I think. we will see - thanks for all the advice!
If you'll end with 4S, maybe you'd want to try a condo in West Maui. The Honua Kai is quite new. It should certainly have something available -- 600 units! I like this site for South Maui condos: www.mauiownercondos.com
* we had a one bedroom MV suite-- the room did not face the mountains but rather overlooked an ugly parking lot of the FS and the neighboring hotel! In addition there was construction happening at the hotel next to us which was loud. So while the room was lovely, the view and noise was terrible. And since the hotel was crowded with a meeting (I think Home depot?), there weren't any rooms available for us to change comfort inn philadelphia to. I would strongly suggest that you have them clearly define what your view will be and whether there will be any construction going on.
* we asked the concierge about what we could do when it rained (we probably got more than a year's worth of rain while we were there-- i think this was very abnormal) and they didn't have many suggestions.
* the comments about securing comfort inn philadelphia lounge chairs by the pool is true. It was very difficult. comfort inn philadelphia We also weren't willing to get up super early to reserve seats. But the FS did have a system whereby they took our cell numbers and contacted us when seats were available. Usually within comfort inn philadelphia an hour or two
* there was a very good restaurant with relatively reasonable prices (entrees were around $25 vs the hotel where an entree was about $45) close by to the hotel. I can't remember the name of the hotel off hand so I'll have to look it up.
thanks all. short update - have found a package for the 4S which includes breakfast, 1 catagory room upgrade, and $100 resort credit for about $30 per day less than ritz. Granted, Ritz would be an ocean view room on club level (also with breakfast) - but now I'm thinking with the weather concerns, might be worth just staying full-time at 4S and use it as a base to explore other areas?
IMO: unless you have teens wanting to snack every 30 min, or want some extra drinks, I dont think the Club Level is worth it. Since the remodel, the Terrace Restaurant at the Ritz no longer opens up to the outside which gives the FS another plus over Ritz
i agree - not sure i'd use the club-level amenities as much as would make it worth it to spend the extra and risk the weather. might stop in for lunch to see the ritz property if we do any driving around there anyway!
I heartily recommend spliting the time between two locations. They will each have something different to offer. The club level food amenities make life at the Ritz much better in my opinion. I found the restaurants to be busy and really hated having to wait for a seat or for slow service when I really just wanted to get a drink and some tasty appetizers. We rarely really comfort inn philadelphia wanted comfort inn philadelphia to eat a full restaurant meal and much preferred eating nearly all our meals at the club facility.
Given the season, stay Wailea. 4S is Maui's comfort inn philadelphia top hotel. Ritz is #2 -- but Kapalua is *always* breezy and can be too cool and rainy in winter. Pick a sunny day when there is no golf tournament and drive up through West Maui.
small update yet again - ritz now offering $500 resort credit - so that plus the free 5th night means we'd save about $700 to split the time 5 nights ritz/5 nights comfort inn philadelphia four seaons than to do the whole 10 in wailea. im going to see if four seasons does publish any new offers soon for 2013 (right now only thing is bed breakfast comfort inn philadelphia which we have anyway) and decide before changing what we have booked. still concerned comfort inn philadelphia about the weather, but we'll see...
I actually really enjoy split stays on Maui. I really comfort inn philadelphia loved the Ritz on our stay in secluded Kapalua. We went in November, and didn't get any rain. It was a little windy, but not something that would deter me from going back. I didn't stay in the FS but we had an OK dinner there (food - meh, service- comfort inn philadelphia excellent). However, my sister stayed there for her honeymoon and she did say it was really nice but not amazing like she expected. With the resort credit at the Ritz, you can spend a lot of time at their wonderful spa - so it wouldn't matter comfort inn philadelphia if the weather wasn't too good.
BTW, I wouldn't let the thought of weather concerns