If you go to Lahaina-Kaanapali in Maui

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Near the end of of Lahaina on Maui, boys play at the boat ramp beside the bedragged Mala Wharf, which still suffers damages incurred during 1992’s Hurricane Iniki. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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Lahaina, once a whaling town on the west end of Maui, these days teems with restaurants, galleries, boutiques and T-shirt shops. Tourists gaze out to sea with eyes on the sunset. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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A busy street on Lahaina marks the town’s bustling tourist trade. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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The Old Lahaina Luau on Maui offers food, music and hula dancing performers on a seaside site. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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The quiet shoreline near Maui’s Lahaina Jodo Mission Buddhist Cultural Park includes a beach well-suited to families. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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The Lahaina Jodo Mission Buddhist Cultural Park on Maui, which includes a large Buddha, offers a contemplative spot. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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Black Rock, a landmark neighboring the Sheraton Maui Resort in Kaanapali, Maui, is the site of a nightly torch-lighting and high dive at sunset. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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The Kaanapali resort area, located on the west end of Maui near Lahaina, was born in the early 1960s. Its beachfront hotels and vacation-condo complexes include the Kaanapali Beach Club. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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Palm trees and hammocks punctuate Maui’s Kaanapali Beach Resort, several miles north of Lahaina, which includes five hotels and six condo complexes and one upscale mall along three miles of beach. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

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Maui’s Aston Kaanapali Shores, a vacation condo resort, stands along the beach north of Lahaina. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

By Christopher Reynolds

Nov. 7, 2010 12 AM PT

Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

WHERE TO STAY

The Lahaina-Kaanapali area is full of hotels and condos. I dodged the priciest, most luxurious properties (including the Ritz-Carlton in Kapalua and the Hyatt Regency in Kaanapali) and wasn’t impressed by a few of the low-end properties (including Lahaina’s Best Western Pioneer Inn and the Aston Kaanapali Shores condos). Between those extremes, here are four hotels I checked out and liked.

Plantation Inn, 174 Lahainaluna Road, Lahaina; (800) 433-6815, https://www.theplantationinn.com. It looks historic, but this two-story inn behind Gerard’s restaurant went up in 1987. Nineteen rooms and suites, with a small pool and free breakfasts, within easy walking distance of downtown Lahaina, driving distance to the nearest swimming beach. Affiliated with the Kaanapali Beach Hotel. Rates $159-$259 through Dec. 22.

Lahaina Inn, 127 Lahainaluna Road, Lahaina; (808) 661-0577 or (800) 222-5642, https://www.lahainainn.net. Twelve rooms and suites, with stylish new furniture and wallpaper. The property, reopened in September after renovation, is just upstairs from the upscale Lahaina Grill and one of the busiest streets in town. It has no pool or beach frontage, but guests get access to amenities at the Royal Lahaina Resort and free shuttle rides. Rates $89-$175 through Dec. 21.

Kaanapali Sheraton Maui Resort, 2605 Kaanapali Parkway, Kaanapali; (866) 500-8313, https://www.sheraton-maui.com. Prime location, part on beach, part perched on rocks; 508 rooms and suites. Rates $259-$755 for most rooms, more for suites, plus $25 daily resort charge.

Kaanapali Beach Hotel, 2525 Kaanapali Parkway; (808) 661-0011 or (800) 262-8450, https://www.kbhmaui.com. Its buildings have a spare, square ‘60s look, but staffers pride themselves on family-friendliness and old-school Hawaiian hospitality; 430 rooms and suites, whale-shaped pool, 11 acres of grounds.

Room rates usually $159-$262, suites $277-$457.

WHERE TO EAT

Hula Grill, 2435 Kaanapali Parkway, Building P (in Whalers Village mall), Kaanapali; (808) 667-6636, https://www.hulagrillkaanapali.com. Hawaiian surf and turf in an enormous dining room and patio fronting the beach. Chef-owner Peter Merriman is a local favorite. Dinner entrees: $21.95-$31.95.

Lahaina Grill, 127 Lahainaluna Road, Lahaina; (808) 667-5117, https://www.lahainagrill.com. Great contemporary bistro food in a grown-up setting. Dinner entrees: $29-$85.

Old Lahaina Luau, 1251 Front St., Lahaina; (800) 248-5828, https://www.oldlahainaluau.com. Dinner alfresco nightly, extensive buffet including Hawaiian favorites. Live music and hula performances nightly; Price: $92 plus tax for adults; reservations a must.

TO LEARN MORE

Maui Visitors Bureau, https://www.visitmaui.com

If you go to Lahaina-Kaanapali in Maui

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