Review: Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa

The Location

Like they say in the real estate business, “Location, location, location.” The Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa definitely has location. This 23-acre Kaanapali Beach resort straddles the legendary lava rock landmark of Black Rock (Pu’u Keka’a). If I’m not mistaken, I believe that the Sheraton Maui Resort was the first resort built on Kaanapali beach nearly 50 years ago. I suppose they got first dibs and they sure picked a winner.

Here’s a quick list of what makes this Black Rock location special:

• The Sheraton Maui Resort tells the story and reenacts the cliff diving skill of King Kahekili each evening at sunset. This Maui king was famous and especially revered because he leapt off Pu’u Keka’a (Black Rock) and returned to shore unharmed. Essentially, Hawaiians believed that he jumped into the afterlife and returned.
• Snorkeling at Black Rock is one of Maui’s best spots.
• Black Rock is ruggedly beautiful. I recall the first time I saw Kaanapali Beach in 2003. I was strongly drawn to Black Rock.

While we’re on the subject of location, I should mention that the Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa is within a 10 minute walking distance of Whaler’s Village where you’ll find shops, restaurants, free nightly entertainment and a free whaling museum.

The Rooms
When you go to Hawaii, ideally you want a view of the ocean from your room, right? At the Sheraton Kaanapali, over 80% of the rooms have an ocean view.

The room decor includes subtle shades of blue and brown that mimic the hues from Kaanapali Beach. The dark wood furniture and rattan accents also added to the tropical feel.

The features of the room that we particularly liked are:

The baths had marble countertops and a tub shower with adjustable shower heads. A make-up mirror and hair dryer were included in the room.

The Amenities
The grounds of Sheraton Maui are beautiful. We brought my parents on this trip and they couldn’t get over how beautifully manicured the lawn was and they loved the abundance of blooming flowers, trees, and shrubs.

The lagoon-style inter-connecting pools are beautiful. Unlike other resorts on Kaanapali Beach, you don’t feel like you’re shoe horning yourself into wall-to-wall lounge chairs by the pool. I only wish we’d had more time to just sit by the pool.

A brand new spa, The Spa At Black Rock, has just opened this Spring. Andy and I poked our heads in the door and and were offered a quick tour. The spa is decorated with stone and exotic woods. The spa offers both indoor and outdoor treatment areas. One really neat feature I’ve not seen anywhere else is that some of the treatment rooms have their own shower for privacy. I noticed that the spa had a special offer that combined a few treatments for a lower combined cost, so check with the spa to see if they have special deals. You could really get some pampering here.

There are several on-site restaurants and bars. We particularly enjoyed the lavish breakfast buffet and the Lagoon Bar. (Tip: the Lagoon Bar offers great happy hour specials, so check those out.)

The Sheraton Maui offers an on-site a luau twice weekly. You can learn more about it here. You can see how the Sheraton luau compares with other Maui luaus.

The on-site fitness center is spacious compared to many that I’ve seen. It was well equipped cardio and strength training equipment.

The Service
The staff at Sheraton Maui were all very friendly. We were greeted with shell lei which was a nice welcome. That was the first resort in about the last eight or so that has actually greeted us with a lei.

What I’d change, if I could
Let me preface this section by saying, we had a lovely stay. Before we booked our stay, we spent hours deliberating on where to stay on Maui. As you may recall, we brought my parents on this trip and we really wanted to make it special for them. Taking all things into consideration, the Sheraton Maui was really an excellent choice. All four of us were quite pleased with our stay.

If I could change some things about the Maui Sheraton, here’s what I’d do:

• Add more benefits to the $25 per day resort fee or reduce the fee. This link will show you the list of what the resort fee offers. We didn’t feel like we got $25 per day value out of the resort fee.
• Provide shower caps and Q-tips. These are basic supplies that most guests tend to expect from a 4-star resort.

Final Thoughts
I think the Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa is a wise choice for Kaanapali. We’ve stayed in two other resorts on Kaanapali Beach and the Sheraton Maui has been our favorite by far.  Also, check out all our photos from our stay.

Have you stayed at the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa? What were your impressions? (Hey Mom, I know you’re reading this post. Would you like to make your first comment? No pressure, of course. 🙂 )