Wailea-Maui's Southern Coast

Staying at the Wailea Elua Village provides the convenience of being in a luxury resort without having to pay the price. An early morning walk on the paths that join the condos of Ulua Beach to the resorts of the Grand Wailea, Kea Lani, and Four Seasons allows you to enjoy all flavors of the resort. Take daily trips (not only to the grocery store) to Lahaina, Kihei, and Haleakala. On your way to Haleakala, stop at Makawao a great gallery village with shops and places to eat for lunch. The condo living allows you to make your reasonably priced breakfasts and lunches, so you can splurge at night. You can dine at any one of the resorts located just steps away or take a trip to Kihei for alternative choices. Sunsets cannot be beat from your view overlooking the Ulua beach or having a cocktail at the Four Seasons. The Ulua beach is quiet and provides swimming and snorkeling, but there are many places for better snorkeling just a drive away.

Quick Tips:

Condo living does have it's disadvantages especially on Maui. If you are cooking, you will need all those condiments which are very pricey on Maui. It may sound silly, but pack those small packets of salt, pepper, mayo, mustard, and ketchup. It can save you big money. Also, if you love meat, you will pay the price on Maui. Experiment with the fresh fish sold at all markets for a good price and try local produce to save money. Other grocery saving ideas would be to bring cereal for breakfast. Also, ask for a condo with a view. If it is off season, they will usually upgrade you for free.

Best Way To Get Around:

The only way to get around the island is a rental car. A convertible may sound fun, but if you are going to Haleakala, you will enjoy a sturdy solid 4 door car that can make it up the winding roads to 10,000 feet.

The condo that we rented had 2 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. It was reasonably priced with kitchen, laundry, pool facilities. Our only complaint was that it needed a good airing out before we arrived. Other than that, we enjoyed the convenience of condo living especially the location of the closeness to all the luxury resorts of Wailea. There are smaller condos available and others not on the beach side, but most are gated and quiet.

If you are looking for seafood at a reasonable price and a great view at sunset, go to Kimos. Kimos is a chain restaurant, but it beats the other high priced choices in Lahaina. They also have live music and lunch specials.

http://www.hulapie.com/kimos/menu.html

You can check out the above website for the menu.

The Four Seasons features award winning cuisine focusing on Seafood or Asian style. We dined on calamari, pappardelle with spicy lobster sauce, fresh tuna with spinach and finished with a pear tart topped with homeade caramel ice cream. The mai tais were very strong and they do have a hotel specialty drink that is more fruity if you do not like mai tais. The other restaurant we tried was the asian restaurant that had delicious Chinese type dishes. All the food was flavorful and the service was excellent. Both restaurants are resort casual and provide views of the ocean and the Four Season's beach and pool. There is a more formal restaurant that is only indoors, but it wasn't what we would enjoy.