OK People-Here are the facts of the Maui Prince Hotel--HEAVEN.
My wife and I just got back from a five day Honeymoon stay at the Prince and have only GREAT things to say about our experience.
Let's start from the beginning. The front desk and lobby are absolutely GORGEOUS. The entire Lobby area is an open air atrium with a koy pond, waterfall and beautiful garden. We were met at the front entrance by a very attentive valet, received a seashell lei, and were pleasently directed to the front desk. At registration we were informed that we had been upgraded to a full ocean view room (Thank's Expedia!) Our room was just off the elevator. Very convienent.
Our room (418) was perfect in every way. Very large, spotlessly clean, huge bathroom with a seperate toilet area, refrigerator with FREE bottled water, soft robes, fantastic view of the Ocean, pool and golf course.
No matter what words I write, they can't begin to accurately describe how wonderful our stay was. Please take the Molokini Snorkel Trip that is sold in the first floor office. At first I thought that the price tag was a bit steep (114.00), but the Catermaran picks you up right in front of the activity hut and the crew of the ship are friendly, knowledgable and funny.
I saw none of the problems that some other reviewers complained about. The room was large, NOT outdated and exceptionally clean. The pool has plenty of lounge chairs, a full service bar and very personable bar tenders. No, the pool is not HUGE, but it was never even close to full capacity. If you need some type of extravagant pool, stay out of Hawaii and go to Orlando instead! The nice thing about having a "normal" size pool is.....NO KIDS!
The management sent us up a very nice bottle of Champaign for our Honeymoon stay. The coffee in the coffee shop is $2.00 for a large size. The food in all the restaurants is well above average. I could go on and on, but I think you get my point. This was my first trip to Hawai'i, and I couldn't have been more satisfied.

We stayed at the Maui Prince for 3 nights in mid-January, before our usual trip to the Big Island. For context, we’ve stayed at the Prince several times previously, most recently in 2002. We’ve also stayed at the Grand Wailea and Four Seasons a few times each; we have also stayed in Kaanapali (Westin) a few times. We chose the Prince for this stay (despite the mixed reviews) because we love the location and it’s very special to us and because we’d heard the hotel was going to be demolished/renovated and we wanted to say goodbye. (I asked the desk staff—they say the decision whether to renovate and upscale or demolish and build new will be made in the 2010 timeframe. Until then, it will continue to be managed by Prince Hotels.)

Our room was deluxe ocean view on the 5th floor. The view of Pu’u Ola’i, Molokini, and the Pacific was spectacular. With the lanai doors open a crack, the sound of the surf lulled us back to sleep in the morning; the sound of birdcalls reminds us that we’re here in Makena again. We originally booked via the hotel for about $330 for a deluxe oceanview room. Then in December, we got a Prince Preferred email for “winter escape” at $290 (same room) including a $100 resort credit.

The Makena area is our favorite part of Maui. On the drive from the airport, we saw how much has changed and been added in the way of new shopping centers, stores, housing, vacation rentals. Wailea, although lovely, felt more like Scottsdale to me than Hawaii, despite the palm trees (they have them in AZ also). Once we were down on the lower road, there was no view of the sea, just gorgeous gated properties. We gave a sigh of relief and the “relaxing” part of the Maui stay began as we crossed into Makena. For now, at least, there is still kiawe along the road, and it’s quiet.

Although the outside of the structure show a few signs of wear (could use a repainting) the inside is clean and fresh after renovations. The hotel was built in the 1980s and has a minimalist, Japanese sensibility. The rooms are functional but not ornate—no over-the-top marble baths, no luxurious furniture. The furniture is simple bamboo and light wood, Hawaii-style. The king bed was very comfortable, carpets fresh, paint spotless, bathroom immaculate. It does have the Japanese hand-held shower, which many find annoying; I actually find it convenient. Housekeeping once a day was thorough. The empty fridge had complimentary bottled water, replenished daily (a must in this hot and sunny area).

There is construction at the south (Pu’u Ola’i) side of the property. They did not work on the weekend; weekdays they start around 8 am. It was not overwhelmingly loud. We were away from the hotel for the afternoon, so I can’t speak to what it would have been like if I wanted to doze by the pool.

The pool area has shade (umbrellas, cabanas) and a pool bar/restaurant. We did not use them. We also did not dine at Hakone because it was only open for buffet night while we were there (we love the sushi made by Chef Ivan, but the trip timing did not work in our favor this time. The breakfast buffet was $23 and had a wide assortment of items hot and cold, American and Japanese. The mac nut waffles were excellent; service was friendly and efficient. The only downer was the very grubby/mildewed green plastic placemats in the outdoor seating. They have to get rid of those (to be balanced, my spouse did not notice!).

All in all, it was a lovely and quiet stay in our favorite area of Maui. I think the Prince would be my recommendation for someone who wants a South Maui base of operations in a hotel with lovely grounds and a great beach, and where Maui (not a “destination resort”) is where he/she wants to be. It would also be a possibility for a repeat visitor who has experienced all the “attractions” and is tired of Kaanapali and the drive to and from the West Maui lodgings.

The Maui Prince is very quiet—some say “dead.” It’s quiet and so for “night life” one must go elsewhere. For context, we ate at Capische? one night (see my review) and at Ferraro’s and Spago’s the other two (reviews forthcoming). We stayed at the Prince and ate in high-end places every night for less than what a room alone at the Four Seasons would have cost…since we don’t spend much time in the hotels, this was a good choice for us.

We love the Maui Prince. “Until we meet again, thus sweet memories come back to me.”

My husband and I just returned from a week long stay at the Maui Prince hotel, and we were so happy that we decided on this hotel. After reading some of the reviews prior to booking, we were a little apprehensive about it, but as soon as we drove up to the hotel, and saw the beatiful manicured setting on which the hotel sits, I knew we made the right choice. We booked a prime ocean front room, and that is exactly what we got. Room was very clean, spacious, and as far as the view goes, I feel sorry for the others who choose somewhere else to stay hoping to get a better ocean front view. It was awesome, and everything we had hoped for. The rooms decor, even though may be older than other hotels, added to the character and aloha charm of this hotel. I would not choose another hotel solely because of this. Cleanliness gets an A+, our room was attended to every day while we were out, and we never had any issues. Construction Noise? There was only one time that we heard a little noise, it was a dozer moving some dirt around, not enough to make a big deal out of... the ocean and birds drowned out any of that. Again, don't choose somewhere else solely because of construction noise. Not an issue.
The breakfast buffet was delicious, although pricey. You may want to do a room + breakfast package to get a better deal. This is the only place to get a hot breakfast at this hotel. We also ate at the Prince Court Restaurant for the Friday night Prime Rib and Seafood buffet, it was excellent, and worth the money as well. There were all types of seafood dishes to choose from and they had a great dessert bar to finish it off. You must also go to the Molikini Lounge at least one night, and listen to the local musicians while having a cocktail..the mai tai's were my favorite. It was a great ending to our days. The pool area was a nice size, we never had a problem getting a chair, or cabana. The attendant was always friendly, and would get us water or a cocktail. The beach was secluded, and was like having our own beach. It was never really crowded, and therer were plenty of lounge chairs. We spoke to many other couples who have been to Maui numerous times, and agreed that this was the best hotel beach on Maui. I think that says alot. We attended the hotel luau, and this was one of our highlights of the trip. I would definitely recommend it to others. We paid $10.00 more for premium seating and we were front row, it was worth the extra $$$. Overall, I have nothing bad to say about this hotel, our experience was great. Maui overall is expensive, and for the price of this hotel compared to others, I'm not sure you can beat the value you will get here. We're lookng forward to returning.

My wife and I celebrated our 30th anniversary on Maui, and we stayed 6 nights at the Maui Prince, 12/17-12/23. The Maui Prince was the perfect place. The grounds are beautiful; complimentary champagne on arrival for our anniversary; great view from our spacious, comfortable, simple but tastefully appointed prime oceanview room (544); one of the best beaches in Maui with a terrific reef to explore. Service was friendly and courteous. My wife and I both loved it. One of the unique items is a little 9 hole grass minature golf course, and a large practice green. The hotel provides putters and balls at the pool hut. There is also a croquet green. We were very happy with our experience at the Maui Prince.