My husband and I spent one week at the Aina Nalu over the Christmas holiday. We booked one year in advance and found a great deal on Costco.com which included room + rental car. We were pleased with the room which included a full kitchen, living room, bedroom, washer dryer, and lots of closet space. The kitchen was fully stocked with Tupperware, silverware, placemats, pots/pans, measuring cups, serving utensils. The room also came with a built-in safe which is such a plus because we didn’t want to leave our valuables on the beach or in the car. On our first night a friendly woman called to welcome us and invite to a breakfast and orientation by the pool.

The small kitchen has a dishwasher, oven, microwave, blender, and toaster which saved us a lot of money. This allowed us to make all our alcoholic drinks and meals. Not everyone wants to eat every meal out on vacation and this is a great feature for anyone watching their weight or pocketbook. You don’t need to spend the $30-$60 per dinner entrée that we saw on some local menus. We made two grocery runs to Costco and Safeway and were set for the week. Don’t forget to bring some tablets for the dishwasher and the washer detergent. We quickly exhausted our detergent since we washed our beach towels/sheet every night ( the hotel provides 4 beach towels in addition to regular bath towels). The cleaning crew was wonderful and did a thorough cleaning each day – even on Christmas. A few of the days we left some dishes in the sink and we arrived back to the hotel to find them washed them for us. They provided us with plenty of towels and toiletries too. Don’t bother bringing a blow dryer since the hotel provides a small one. Aina Nalu also had poolside internet and a gazillion cable stations. The rooms are not sound proof and on many nights we could hear everyone’s conversations outside the rooms – this didn’t bother me but I had to remind my loud husband to keep it down. Surprisingly the hotel didn’t seem full – the pool was not packed and there were few cards in the lot. The A/C unit in the room works really well and kept my husband cool at night.

The hotel is located a block away from downtown Lahaina. The downtown area had a great walking location where they have touristy stores and dining. Lahaina also has a boat dock where many excursions leave from – so if you are booking a boat trip you can walk to the boat (so easy!) The hotel was also located ½ block from a Church where they held Christmas mass. The property is beautiful and well kept by the friendly staff. The hotel has a friendly security guard that walks the ground with a clipboard to ensure that only registered guests are using the pools. Thanks to Tripadvisor I knew not to pay the $25 per day parking fee. We did not have any trouble finding street parking within a block. However, the street parking and lack of elevators can be difficult for any guests with heavy items or difficulty with stairs. If your room is in the back of the property it might be a longer walk to your car – I was so happy they put us right in the front.

My only complaint about the property was one of the front desk associates. This lady (unknown name) was very unpleasant and rude. She did not acknowledge me when I walked up to the desk and continued to ignore me/stare at her computer. Please note: she was not on the phone either! I stood there waiting on the other side of her computer screen until I realized that I would have to speak up. How Awkward. When she replied she acted like she was doing me a favor by talking to me and had a big attitude. I was shocked that she would treat me so poorly. I may not be the first person to complain about this lady – but it really bothered me and I hope that the hotel does something about it. She was so snooty. Overall the place was a great value and saved us a lot of money. The grounds are impeccable with updated rooms, the fire by the entrance at night is beautiful, and the fountains attract a lot of tropical birds. If you stay in Lahaina be sure to rent a car to drive to the south beaches.

We picked this place primarily from the other reviews. We were given a 1 bedroom condo, and we were quite impressed at the quality of it. Furniture was well appointed but the renovations done to the condo was gorgeous. Kitchen was fully stocked.

Price was great, but the only caveat is that the parking is $25 a day. While the location is a bit tucked away in Lahaina, it is a 5 minute walk to Front Street.

Typically, Susan and I stay at one of the bizillion beach front resorts with an ocean view. This trip we were going for 11 days and thought we would like to see what living in Lahaina might be like. So, I did a read so many TripAdvisor reviews that you wouldn't believe. Then, I landed on the Aina Nalu Resort in downtown Lahaina and walking distance to all of the restaurants, stores, markets, etc. So, I booked our stay at the Aina Nalu. I was in a little quandary because of some of the negative reviews, but let the much larger number of positive reviews help to make my decision.

We love it here. It is like living here rather being a tourist. All of the staff is very friendly. Unit K205 is warm, comfortable and cozy in a nice way. I phoned Aina Nalu ahead of time and made some requests all of which they met. I asked for a second floor unit away from the 2 lane highway going boy Lahaina. I also wanted the vaulted ceiling with skylights. I recommend that you always phone ahead and let the resort know your preferences. When ever possible they always seem willing to accommodate you.

Our condo had airconditioning in all of the living areas as well as ceiling fans. However, by opening a few louvered windows, We were able to appreciate a lovely tropical breeze as well as listening to the sounds of the local birds in the morning. And, no, they were not roosters as one reviewer complained. This is an older, well maintained and updated resort.

Come enjoy Maui as a resident rather than a tourist and enjoy your stay at the Ainu Nalu in downtown Lahaina. It is all a matter of your attitude when you travel anywhere.

I also recommend that you travel to Hawaii between December 5th and depart no later than December 25th. You will get a better deal on everything and deal less with people.

We stayed in room 206B at the Ainu Nalu in mid November 2011. We had been enticed to this property by its partnership with Hawaiian Airlines.

After reading reviews here, we were looking forward to relaxing in a similar comfort to other hotels in the same price range we had stayed at on other Hawaiian islands.

In most ways, we were very disappointed. The room was tiny, and there was no lanai.
The bed was very uncomfortable, and there were only two spartan style chairs and a small dining table to relax at. The "Garden View" room overlooked a large parking lot.

To be fair, the kitchen facility was adequate and the bathroom was fine. We also enjoyed
the salt water pool an the recliners there. We expected the parking fee, so were not surprised by that. The location was excellent if you want to be within easy walking distance of all things Lahaina.

We tried to upgrade, but were not able to; consequently, we spent as little time in the room as possible.

We would not stay at this property again.

RCF, Battle Ground, Washington