We just got back from 5 nights at the Fairmont Kea Lani (16-21 May). The hotel is lovely. I miss it already.

We had 1 problem, right when we arrived. Our room wasn't ready yet, so we decided to go do some shopping. The valet got our car and zoomed right by us, parking it over to the side in the "no parking" area. The rear tires were up on the curb, and it was fairly close to the car beside it. My daughter and I went to get in, and as I stepped down I slipped and fell. The Valet had parked the car on the storm drain, and there wasn't much room to see that I was stepping down into a sloped surface. So, I hit my tail bone (still bruised) and twisted my ankle. They sent security out with ice and a wheelchair. Luckily, I was able to walk on it and by the next day was OK. After that, they never parked our car over at the side. While concerned, the hotel did not offer to compensate us for this accident. This is the only black mark on our stay.

Now for the more positive notes. The grounds are lovely. We had a garden view room over looking the wedding gazebo, and could see a bit of the ocean. The room had a frig and microwave, and tvs in the living room and bedroom. The bed was a little hard for my tastes, but having a separate room from our daughter was worth it. I'd say the pool is better to look at than play in. If you're into sunbathing, it's probably great, but the Grand Wailea pools are better by far for kids and have more shade. However, this hotel is more elegant, quite and refined. We checked out a room at the Grand Wailea when we ate dinner there, and I'd give the nod to the Fairmont room for the price any day .

We didn't eat at the hotel, so can't review the food. However, the concierge and activities desks were very helpful. Our balcony was huge, and I ate breakfast there every morning. The balcony has 4 chairs around a table and a separate lounge chair. I even took a nap on the balcony while it was raining. The shower is separate from the tub, and plenty roomy, as is the bathroom in general. There was a hallway closet, plus his and her closets in the bedroom.

The beach is small, but adequate, and you can always take the beach trail over to the Grand Wailea's beach for larger waves. There was a nice view of the sunset over Lanai. There were some hotel offered programs, such as koi feeding and canoe activities, but we had other things planned.

So, to sum up, if you are using this hotel as a base of operations, or you don't have kids to entertain, I'd highly recommend this hotel. If you have school age kids or pre-teens, I think the GW would be better, if you can afford the increase, esp if you plan to spend lots of time at the hotel. If privacy from the kids is important, go with the Fairmont. The Fairmont is more peaceful than the GW also.

It's a bit of a drive to Lahaina, and if there's an accident, you can be waiting for a long time. If you find the Hilo Hatties, there is also a Safeway there that you can stock up on snacks, if you don't want to pay hotel rates for every meal.

I fully intend to return to the Fairmont, without kid in tow, for a romantic, relaxing vacation on my next trip to maui.

Great location..nice grounds...Hotel in need of a MAJOR RENOVATION..very run down..no personal touch for a 5 star rating..I would only give it 3 stars at the most...My husband and I wanted to stay at The Four Seasons which was located next door but our friends insisted on staying at this hotel. We went over to see The Four Seasons and I was truly sorry I had not been a little more insistent.

We just returned from our trip to Maui - were there for an incentive trip - and we absolutely loved the Kea Lani!!! The suites were awesome - it's so nice to have a huge room with the bedroom and living area separate! The bathroom is also very big, with a walk-in shower and a nice big bathtub. I never used the shower because I loved the tub so much! There was plenty of closet space, too, which is so nice when you have as many bags as we had. I had read the previous reviews where some of the people talked about how the rooms needed to be "updated" - we actually stayed in 2 different rooms and both were beautifully decorated - everything was very nice!

The hotel grounds were beautiful and the pools were very nice! We didn't get to eat at Nick's Fishmarket, but we heard it was fabulous! We ate at Cafe Ciao restaurant and it was very good!!! I don't know what the other people ate there that they didn't like, but we both stepped out of our Texas comfort zone and ate things we otherwise would not and it was excellent. Yes, everything is pricey, but you have to expect that in Hawaii! We learned that when we were in Oahu a few years ago. Polo beach is actually bigger than it looks in pictures and they have activities for you to do from there. My husband and I went out on a double kayak and he went snorkeling. They also have umbrellas that you can rent for the day - not sure how much, but I don't think it's that expensive.

The resort is located in Wailea, which we thought was the nicest place on the island - that and the neighboring Makena. It never rained there and the water was gorgeous - hardly any wind on that part of the island. We suggest renting a car - we rented a jeep for the week and really got to see a lot of the island. We took the Road to Hana - quite an experience! We also went up to Lahaina and ate the Hard Rock there. We did a Rainforest/Waterfall Hike which was okay - If I had my choice again, I would probably pick the Snorkel Sail excursion over the hike, but the hike was still okay.

All in all, it was wonderful - we would definitely stay there again!

This hotel was great for our 2-yr old son. The grounds were easy to navigate, crowding wasn't a problem and the kid's pool was terrific.

However, if you are not a 2-yr old, it lacks a lot for the price. Our first room was directly over the conference room and at night the conference room hosted a party with live band until midnight. The music was incredibly loud and rendered us unable to sleep. After we complained to the front desk they offered to move us and the next day we moved to a room at the other end of the property, near the pool.

Note: if you have kids that like to play outside, request a room on the ground floor near the pool. There are no enclosures so the kids can run around on the grass and you can watch them from your patio.

Other than being overpriced as many other reviewers have mentioned, my only other beef was with the staff. With the exception of the Concierge, they were generally disinterested in helping, lacking kindness and enthusiasm. We also noticed this at other places on Maui (restaurants, stores) so it may just be a Hawaiian thing but we don't recall this kind of careless attitude from past trips.

We've stayed at the Grand Wailea as well and our family agreed that we will go back there or try the Four Seasons before we come back the to the Fairmont.