Aston at Papakea Resort

While my stay in Maui was excellent this trip I will not be returning to this particular hotel. There are a few costly "no see 'ums" that aren't revealed until check in time (i.e. the day resort fee and the surprise mandatory cleaning fee that's tacked on at the end of your stay. No need to tip the housekeepers I guess). And if you want your room serviced daily that can get pricey depending on what you want done (remember when housekeeping was included in the price of the room???)No thank you but we tidied up our own room. And while it is a beach front hotel there isn't actually a beach in front of the hotel. For that you must trek over to the next hotel, beach chair in hand, across a canal to an okay beach. There are 2 nice pools though. Before you book know which unit you're booking because all units are not created equal here. Some are updated and some are straight out of another era (like ours). And check for roaches since ours had an abundance of the critters. The hotel offered to have a pest company come out but I didn't want to smell chemicals during my stay there. Also there is no restaurant on site. So choose wisely when booking this hotel

The hotel was in a nice location close enough to Lahaina for easy access. The maintenance guy was so kind and helpful. It was great to have a washer/dryer in the unit and 2 TV's. The kitchen and unit were generally spacious, well stocked with towels/soaps. The view of the property was gorgeous. The property had beautiful pools and a small golf green which we enjoyed very much. However, we were very very disappointed and slightly angered that this unit was listed as a 2 bedroom when it really was a 1 bedroom plus loft with a knee wall and no doors that overlooked the family room area. Although it was charming and well decorated, this is NOT A BEDROOM! It's just an area with a bed and dresser. Traveling with our 3 adult children requires some privacy and there was none for them. The place in general looked very old, I asked and they said it was built in the 80's..no surprise. But the unit did have very updated appliances which we greatly appreciated. Also the hotel description reads "on the beach", however there is no beach in front of this property, just a wall and the ocean. You had to walk to the neighboring establishment to touch sand. Also, we were given the furthest unit from the water, so we could just barely see it from our "ocean view" unit. Also, we were sticker shocked to pay an additional $200+ for a daily activity fee with only 2 activities per day, both before 9am. The ac and fans were loud. For almost $2.5k, I expected much better than what we were given.

We have stayed at the Papakea resort many times and absolutely love the Ocean front property, which is very clean, well-maintained, and has great amenities. The property is also within walking and shorts driving distance of shopping restaurants and other beaches. The Aston property room we were assigned this time, however, H303, was very outdated and could use some TLC in the kitchen. The beds were also uncomfortable.

Best view ever. Good facilities. A bigger sand beach would make it perfect

Our room was updated and very clean. Just wish there was a tv in the bedroom and a better showerhead