So after being a little disappointed at first glance, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by our stay at Aina Nalu. I’ve stayed on Maui at the Hyatt and down in Keihe at Kamole Sands so this was definitely a change from both trips before. When I first looked into Aina Nalu I saw the prices on the Outrigger web site and thought that’s insane for a condo. When I looked further I found that some of the condo’s at Aina Nalu are privately owned and rented for a decent amount less.

We decided to rent through an owner on VRBO ([--]) since it was more affordable. We paid $198nt (as opposed to $275) for a 2BRM/2BA upper. We were room 208A right up front by the lobby on Wainee St. I highly recommend Aina Nalu if you’re looking for a place in Maui that has that relaxed beach town condo feel!

Pro’s:
- Location: 2 blocks from Front Street & half a block from Snorkel Bob’s. Walk to restaurants, shops & bars w/o paying for parking or worrying about a designated driver. 2 min drive to the 24hr Safeway supermarket
- The surrounding area turned out to be the best. We’d just come from Lewers St in Waikiki so this laid back condo was perfect. Locals were awesome – always gave me directions since I get lost all the time and I loved being able to walk across the street to this one house that sold mango’s for 25c. off the tree in their yard – YUM!
- Unit: Exactly like all of the Outrigger Units – no different in any way. Decorated, run and managed by them. Check in was just the same as an Outrigger guest. Beds were super comfy, AC’s in every room, Washer/Dryer was great and the open stone showers were really nice.
- Quiet! We had no noise from the units next to/below us. Just some passer by conversations as people walked by the front door. We were up front right by the Wainee St and not back by Hwy 30 so I think this helped as well.
- Short walk to the pools! Pools were awesome!! Can’t stress this enough!! Salt water pool was perfect every night and never crowded plus it didn’t kill my highlights. Nice perk! The cabana’s and lounge chairs were super comfy and the “pool house” with WiFi and a huge plasma TV were great to have right there.
- The Grounds – WOW! Ok, the landscaping and grounds really helped make this place stand out. Everything is beautifully appointed with incredible palms, flowers and small fountains everywhere.
- No Bugs – We had 1 mosquito the entire time we were there. I’m from NYC so I know the higher up and the less food/crumbs you leave out = less bugs. Aside from the 1 mosquito we didn’t have a single problem with bugs. But we were really careful with food & crumbs and were also on the 2nd floor.

Con’s:
- Because we were in a privately owned condo they couldn’t help us fix the TV remote. Learned quickly that it was just a case of dead batteries and the front desk gave us some new ones but it was up to us to “fix” it by putting them in. Ok, not rocket science!
- At first glance it’s not what you’d expect. It’s located right in the middle of a VERY residential neighborhood which you might not expect or like but see above b/c I think this really added to the charm. It just isn’t a true resort like the Mariott or Hyatt if that’s what you wanted. Much more a beach town condo than a true resort.
- $15nt for parking – not bad but pricey considering there were TONS of empty spots. What were they charging for really? You could park on the street but we didn’t want to deal with the hassle.
- We had a few locals at the pool with us on some nights. They do have a guard who walks around the property and will ask people to leave if they’re not hotel gusts or being rowdy but … Not really a con by any means because all of the locals I met there were the nicest people ever! But, I could see how it could get out of hand if Aina Nalu doesn’t keep an eye on this. One local was saying that she’ll bring her kids over on a hot day for an hour if it’s empty but then leaves where as her neighbor was thrown out of the pool area the week before because they showed up with a cooler of beer and things got rowdy…take it as you will!
- WiFi – At the pool and lobby it was ok but still slow. They said it’s not available in unit but we were so close to the front desk that we picked up a signal most times in our room
- Housekeeping – There was none for us since we rented through an owner. We did have an $80 cleaning fee but still saved a ton over renting directly through Outrigger. Not a huge deal for us since we expected most condo’s don’t include it.

we stayed at this hotel for 2 nights while in maui. (may 30 -june 1, 2008). I booked this hotel because i read good reviews from traveladvisor about the hotel. however, our stay was not pleasant and i will never stay here again. The hotel is recently renovated, so the room looks pretty updated inside (as other reviews also indicated). but the room we stayed, i found several small ants in the bathroom and kitchen areas, the ants were on all the tables, floors...and a couple of ants were on the bed sheets too. I talked with the front desk person, and he told me that i can't switch to a different room, since this is tropical weather in hawaii and ants are everywhere... i would get the same small ants in other rooms! we also stayed in other 2 hotels in hawaii and never had the bug problem. Personally I think it's more important to stay in a clean (bug free) room than nice looking amenities. Also don't really understand why this place is called "resort", because it's really just a condo place.

This is a beautiful hotel that's been newly remodeled. I loved it! It's off the main Front St strip so it's not too noisy and in a residential area. Everything in Lahaina is in walkable distance. We went to happy hour almost everyday at Moose's (Best $3 happy hour!) and walked home. The hotel is actually a bunch of condos that are plantation style decor. The pools are awesome. The rooms were very clean and beds comfortable. The bathroom was stone tiled. AC is in each room. We stayed in a 2bd/2ba unit and the living room had a pull-out couch. We fit 5 people comfortably. In one of the bathrooms, we also had a washer /dryer. Parking is extra if you park in the gates but there was plenty of street parking. The front desk is very friendly. We got free bottled water when we arrived and a packet of postcards (postage-paid) to send home to family. If you don't mind not having an ocean view, I would definitely recommend this place.

Our second stay here. It is an ideal spot to walk in Lahaina.

They have completely refurbished the hotel since our last stay and added an extra pool. We received an uprade to a two bedroon suite with two bathrooms kitchen and lounge.

Great showers in bathrooms, but no bath.

There is no in room safe.