MaKai Sunset Inn

My boyfriend and I recently stayed at the Makai Sunset Inn for five nights. I had booked the hotel through Southwest Airlines' website, and received Southwest Rapid Rewards miles for staying there. Maui is the most expensive of the Hawaiian Islands and we wanted something somewhat affordable that was a step up from a youth hostel. We are too old to be sharing bathrooms! Here are the Pros and Cons to this hotel: PROS: 1. The hotel manager was very kind. We were checking in late, so he taped an envelope with my info on the office window. He also repaired our shower drain, which wasn't draining properly. 2. Our room had a full kitchen. 3. Great location, in walking distance to a few restaurants. 4. Laundry facilities available on site, for $1.00 to wash and $1.00 to dry. 5. Ocean views from second floor balcony. 6. Cozy sitting area near sea wall. 7. Free beach equipment (boogie boards, coolers, etc) to borrow, as well as beach towels. CONS: 1. No A/C in our room. I didn't think that would be a problem, since there were nice ocean breezes, but our room got very hot, even with a ceiling fan and a floor fan blowing. I had a hard time sleeping. 2. Very thin walls. We could hear our neighbor in his bathroom at 5 am. 3. Tiny bugs in the kitchen and bathroom. They were everywhere. 4. Tight parking spots. Luckily, we had rented a compact car. 5. No beach access. That being said, in Hawaii by law, there are no private beaches. Every hotel and resort must provide a specified number of beach access parking spots. We visited the beach at the Hyatt Regency Resort and parked there for free. 6. No TV in the room. This didn't really bother us, however, since we were too busy to watch TV most of the time, anyway. Overall, we had a good stay, but we will splurge for a hotel with A/C next time.

Upon check-in, all the excitement and anticipation I had for my stay completely disappeared, and I became anxious.The room was quite old and smelly, with worn-out kitchen and furniture, and there were many ants crawling around. The windows were shaky and the curtains were old. Despite that, we paid a ridiculously high room rate. The current photos may show a renovated appearance, but the actual room I stayed in was completely different from the pictures on the website at the time. The most notable issue was the Wi-Fi, which was the worst I have ever experienced in my life. It would disconnect within a second of connecting, making it impossible to get any work done.The only positive aspect was the daily presence of sea turtles swimming in the ocean right in front of the hotel (not a beach). It was a constant delight to watch them. Additionally, the hotel is conveniently located near town, supermarkets, and restaurants, and there is parking available. However, if you need to work or if you want to swim right in front of the hotel, I would recommend avoiding this hotel.

We found our Maui home here! Things that were awesome; View - right on the waterfront. Every night we fell asleep to the sound of crashing waves and woke up to singing birds and more lapping waves. Nightly sunset, sipping tea on our private chairs and breakfast on the lanai dining table. Having a fully equipped kitchen was SUCH a blessing. We really had everything we needed. Close enough but far enough away. So we were nestled in a tiny nook in between the busy/crowded resorts and the town shopping center. Far enough to avoid noise/people, but close enough to have great restaurants, nice grocery store and a great luau offered at one of the neighboring resorts. Staff - Brittany greeted us warmly and happily! She really set the tone for a very pleasant stay, we arrived a little late but she still made sure we had everything we needed before we settled in. She was a delight.

Sweet hideaway. Exceeded expectations. Clean room with kitchen facilities and island decor. Loved the location -convenient to groceries and restaurants, walkable town, and short drive or shuttle to larger resorts and shopping. Nice view of the water. Friendly staff.