I am sitting on the lanai writing this review on the last
day of our vacation. It is a sad day. But I must put on a stiff upper lip and
pretend that it doesn’t matter to me that I will have to go back to my
nine-to-five next week. But I digress.
For this trip, we have had the pleasure of using unit #764,
a studio unit, of tower 2 at The Whaler. We have also stayed at unit #615, also
a studio unit, in tower one so we’re not newbies at staying here. I will provide a detailed review of the units
later and provide a link to them when complete. You may have heard that The
Whaler has recently undergone significant improvements to its grounds…at a
price. The construction noise was terrible or so I have read and heard. Most
complaints center around the customers feeling they had been duped by the
owners (those that rented direct) not properly revealing the true nature of
what was going on. The owners we have dealt with were excellent to work with
and were completely honest. We were here when the construction was just getting
started back in March of ’08. The noise was minimal at that point but I could
see how it would have been like battle tanks running through the neighborhood
when the construction was going full force.
Most recently, the price The Whaler has paid is in the lower
than normal occupancy rates. This is based on information from an Aston
property representative. Anyway, I’m here to tell you that the construction is
over. No noise except for the ocean, birds and the trickling of the newly
renovated (and improved) water feature. Although water “feature” is probably an
understatement as it’s a very large Koi pond, with small waterfalls. The
landscaping is immaculate. And as it should be as much as it is maintained.
There is always someone working on the grounds (and thereby some noise from
this). The pool is improved although mostly in appearance and an added
mini-waterfall. The pool is admittedly small when compared to the large resorts
just down (or up) the beach but hey, you’re on Ka’anapali Beach. Why would you
spend so much time at the pool? As this is a condominium complex, there is no
poolside bar service but you can bring your beverage of choice down just make
sure it’s not in a glass container.
The two towers, as viewed from the exterior, is somewhat
dated. They were built back in 1975 so their design matches that era. Most of the units themselves, however, do
not. Most owners have updated their
units, some to impressive standards (granite, stainless steel, flat-screens,
high-end finishes, etc.). Others have
done minimal updates, possibly during the time the buildings were last updated
in 2001-2002. Units are equipped with high speed wired internet which worked
very well during our stay although the wired part is a bit stone-age given
today’s wireless technologies. Our unit came with a long cable to connect to
the laptop with ample length to reach out to the lanai and then some. Other units, of course, may vary.
All of the twelve
floors are accessed via three banks of elevators in each tower. We never had to
wait more than about 15 seconds for an elevator. The underground parking garage
is accessed via elevators. Speaking of which, it’s $12 per day to park but is
well secured by attendants manning the front entrance checking for the parking pass. It’s not likely anyone will bother your
vehicle as several of the condo owners leave their vehicles parked there and
they were all in fine shape.
The property is operated by Aston Hotels & Resorts and
one may book through them whereby you will have more selection of rooms (if one
is not to your liking, you have a chance at moving to another). Another option,
and one which we chose, was to book direct through the owner. Several websites
are available such as the Whalers
Realty or VRBO.com. It should be noted that going this route
means you are booking the one unit and there are no options to move to another
if you don’t like it. This hasn’t been an issue for us as both units where
extremely clean, well furnished, and either met or exceeded our expectations. There is a main lobby where you check in
complete with bellhop and concierge service. Massage/Spa services are also
available.
All of the staff were extremely friendly. One staff member,
Bec’s (yes..spelled with the apostrophe), stood out with her helpfulness and
her stories of her childhood growing up in the area, swimming and diving for Puka
shells (in front of where the Sheraton is now located) when she was 7 years
old. This was prior to when most resorts were developed. Though sadly, she said
the shells have all but gone away alluding to perhaps over harvesting or
development. Additional amenities were the services available at the beach such
as snorkel gear and cabana rentals, towels, and of course, various
accoutrements available for purchase. Cocktail service on the beach is not
available (nor is it with any of the other resorts as the beaches are
considered public domain). But again,
one may bring your own beverage of choice as long as it’s not in glass
containers.
The Area
The location of The Whaler is a little north of mid-beach
but south of black rock. Amenities abound along this beach, serviced by a
walk-way that runs along the entire approximately 1.5 mile length connecting
each resort or condo. Whalers
Village resides next to The Whaler and offers splendid shopping
opportunities (so I’m told by my wife) including a few high-end boutiques.
Restaurants also dot along this walkway with several offering nightly live
musical entertainment. All of the catamaran cruises that depart from Ka’anapali
Beach, literally do so. The vessels gently beach themselves and passengers are
boarded. They return and disembark in the same fashion.
Lahaina town is nearby (10 minute drive) offering more of a
robust nightlife, variety of restaurants, bars, shopping and is where the local
marina is located. Here, you can also find less expensive dining options if you
look for them. The drinks can be less, again, if you look for them. This is
also where you can find historical offerings as this is the original whaling
town from back in the 1800’s. Many of the original buildings are still
functional (albeit upgraded and its use changed). Of notable interest, there is
a Banyon Tree that is absolutely huge. A Banyon tree grows mostly outwards and
off-shoots of branches can grow down and start new roots. What you have is a
very large canopy-like tree with many “trunks” going into the ground. My
description doesn’t do it justice. See a picture here.
Golf courses are in abundance on Maui. If you count Lanai
and Molokai, there are 18. I’m not a golfer but speaking to a few people that
are, the courses are great…and expensive. I’d encourage research in this area
as I’m sure what I consider expensive ($230 fee at Kaanapali! That’s expensive,
right?) might be normal.
The Cost Breakdown
Let’s talk a little about costs. It’s probably no surprise
that this area is not the least expensive, in fact, it’s down-right exorbitant.
Do we think it’s worth it? Is a Mai Tai worth $12? No. But are we willing to
pay this for being on Ka’anapali Beach? You bet. Besides, we can control a lot
of what we spend by renting a condo and buying groceries to have the option of
eating in (not so with hotels in the area). Beers will run you about $5 to$7, a
standard well drink about $7 to $10, dinner at some of the local restaurants
around $26 to $36 on average. I suppose one could be really thrifty and only
purchase the pre-made sandwiches from the ABC stores (which are everywhere
including within Whalers Village) but I wouldn’t recommend it. On average, I budget about $300 per
day for my wife and I. We will not burn through all of this and come home with
money left over ($500 to $1000). I budget this much because I don’t want to
have to worry about money on our vacation. I would say that this amount is more
than is necessary for most couples unless you’re staying at one of the hotel
resorts. Then this may not be enough.
Here’s an example of our time, activities and money spent: Over a nine day period, we had coffee and ate breakfast
out on the lanai every morning (the restaurants don’t open as early as we like
to eat which is typically around 7:30 or 8am), had lunch out about five times,
dinner out almost every night (including meals with the excursions we did),
frequent trips to the bars for drinks (we also purchased liquor from the
stores), and purchased too many souvenirs for friends and family (over $130
worth…yikes!) We purchased groceries from the local grocery store and spent
about $120 for a fairly minimal amount of groceries (did I say things are
expensive here??).
We did three
excursions, the Lanai Safari
Boat Excursion ($152 breakfast and lunch incl.), an evening cocktail cruise
with the Pride
of Maui Catamaran ($139 all inclusive), and an evening dinner cruise with
the Hula Girl ($138 cruise only), a
65-foot sailing catamaran. We also participated in a Luau. Specifically, we did
the Old Lahaina Luau ($192 all
inclusive) which from the information I could gather, is the best one to
attend. Many locals agreed with me. We certainly thought so but solely based on
one other we have attended, so not an expert recommendation by any means. For
our transportation, we rented a convertible Mustang ($428) but one could rent
something much less expensive. My recommendation, if you are a Costco member,
is to rent a car through
them as I found it to be the least expensive by over $100 for the class of car
I was looking for (which was a full size car…I upgraded to a convertible at the
rental car counter as they were having a special). In fact, I might recommend
that you select the smallest car you would be satisfied with and see if they
have specials at the time of pickup for an upgrade.
My total daily figure does not include items/activities I
had previously paid in full (as in already booked and paid for before we
arrived). This included the Lanai Safari Boat Excursions , the Pride of Maui, and the Old Lahaina Luau. The Hula Girl was booked in advance but they
did not debit our account until we boarded.
So…
I’ve read that Ka’anapali Beach is the best beach in the
world. I really find that hard to believe but do think it undoubtedly ranks up
there with the best. The beach is fairly steep as it slopes into the water.
That’s not a problem really but does make for slightly more difficult walking
or jogging. The sand is beautiful, and often is described as a “white” sandy
beach but it isn’t. It’s more of a tan sandy beach. The swimming is wonderful as the water
temperature remains around 75 degrees and is very clear, although the waters of
the Caribbean are clearer. The surf is fairly small but was a bit bigger this time
than when we visited previously. This makes for fun body surfing and the
occasional surprise as people walking, who don’t pay attention to the surf, get
swamped by a larger wave. Nothing serious or dangerous just more wet than they
probably wanted to get…and kinda funny to watch.
Ka’anapali Beach is truly a great place to vacation. It’s a
great place to bring the entire family. The nightlife is minimal (so minimal
roudy-ness) along the beach making Lahaina Town the preferred place for the
younger nightlife crowd. It is expensive so be prepared.
Wade & Maureen Bissell
www.seasthedaycruises.com
Author’s Note:
We did not receive any compensation, monetary or otherwise, for this review. It
is based solely upon our experience and opinion. As travel professionals, we
feel it is important that factual and unbiased experiences are provided to our
customers.