We just returned from a wonderful month at the Luana Kai. My husband, myself and our 15 month old twins arrived Jan 5. Everything about the resort was great, (i'll get into that later) except one thing.
I had read several reviews about this property on Trip Advisor and was warned that some of the suites were not very clean. I requested to our rental booking company the suite be thoroughly cleaned before we arrived, and i was told the cleaning staff at the resort are very good. Not the case.
We were in a great location. Building A, ground floor suite, #103. Very nice suite and recently updated with a new kitchen, appliances, granite etc...and the view was incredible. The suite however was only surfaced cleaned at best. A note is left in the rooms by the maid, if something isn't up to snuff for you. So, i called her back. She cleaned again...and let's just say, i then had to get back to the grocery store and buy my own cleaning supplies and do it myself.
There was a thick layer of grime, dust, hair (not mine) and dead bugs all over the baseboards, inside cupboards, closets, under and behind all furniture, in the kitchen cabinets etc. It was totally disgusting. Normally i wouldn't get so bent out of shape about this on a holiday, but with two little babies running around the getting into everything, this had to be cleaned. Long story short -- if you are planning on staying at this resort, i would recommend calling the resort before and speaking directly to them about getting a suite thoroughly cleaned and mention the reviews written about the cleaniness. I don't know if i just got a really lazy maid who cleaned that suite, but there was zero attention to detail. And by the way...i spoke with several others holidaying and there...and they too had to do their own cleaning.
Alright, enough about that. The rest of our holiday and everything else about the resort was great. The grounds and pool/bbq area are awesome. At night, the torchs are lit and the ambiance is really cool. The location of this resort was perfect for us. It's in the quieter part of Kihei, which if you have kids is very nice. The beach in front is not the greatest for swimming but it's an excellent running/walking beach. Our babies liked throwing rocks into the water there! And many great beaches are only just a short drive away.
One piece of advice....South Kihei road is a busy one, and you don't want a room too close to the road, because the traffic will keep you up at night. There are 4 buildings all shaped in a "U". At the top of the "U" are buildings A and D (oceanfront) then B and C are at the bottom of the "U". You'll want to stay away from the rooms in buildings B and C starting at "01" For example: B101,201,301...same with C building. Hope this makes sense. There are still great rooms that are nice and quiet in the B and C...you just need to be closer to the beach to get away from that noisy road. One more thing: if you like sun on your deck, Building C doesn't get much just because of the layout.
All in all...i would recommend this resort and we will likely return to it, not next year, but hopefully the year after. I'm just going to come prepared with my rubber gloves and Lysol!
- Luana Kai
