Aston at Papakea Resort

A very mediocre place to stay compared to all the other great places in Maui. Each unit is privately owned and can be rented through VRBO. If you book through a third-party site or the hotel site, you are not given the unit in the photos or anything even close to it. The property itself is very dated. We were given a dirty, very dated, unit in complete disrepair and had to pay to upgrade to a different available unit. Photos below are up the first unit we were given, and were stark contrast to what was advertised.

We stayed in F304 which is a one bedroom ocean front condo. The unit is in dire need of an upgrade, it has not been touched for at least 20 years. No AC in the bedroom so we had to keep the sliding doors open and the bedroom windows to get some air flow while sleeping. The kitchen did not have much for cooking and the one non-stick pan was unusable. If you plan on staying at Papakea which I do recommend, go directly with an owner or VRBO so you can pick your unit. We used a package through Hawaiian Airlines so we did not get to pick our unit. The grounds at Papakea are beautiful and the pools are well maintained. There is a food truck lot within walking distance with a lot of good food choices. The Times supermarket is also close so it is easy to get groceries if you like to cook for yourself. We like to walk so it is possible to get to the Kaanipali beach walk from the resort but it will take about 45 minutes at a leisurely pace. I also recommend Papi’s Ohana for a cinnamon roll in the morning and pizza in the afternoon. There will be a line early in the morning but if you go after 9AM the line is much shorter. Check their website to see what days they are open.

We had a great experience staying at this hotel. We were given a newly renovated one-bedroom apartment with air conditioning in both the bedroom and living room, which was very clean and comfortable. The check-in process was straightforward, even though we arrived after the front desk had closed; the staff were prepared and had left us a temporary key, making everything smooth and hassle-free. The location is excellent—it's within walking distance of an ABC Store, perfect for quick groceries, and close to several food trucks, which offered a great chance to try some local dishes. Overall, a fantastic place to stay with convenient amenities and a welcoming atmosphere.

Papakea L401. We stayed there from Sept 3-10, 2024. I've stayed at this resort every year since 1984. Over the years the Aston managed properties have gone really downhill. So I started booking through various AirbNB type sites. The location of this condo is one of the best on the property--corner unit, larger lanai, 2 br. and 2 ba with the loft (unusual on those plans). There was a person bed in the downstairs bedroom and a two person bed and a single in the loft. Both bathrooms had showers, but no bathtubs. The kitchen and bathrooms have been updated and there is a bosch dishwasher and washer and dryer. It comes with plenty of sand chairs, a small cooler and some pool noodles. There's even some other things, but we didn't use them. In the upstairs closet there is a baby gate for the very steep stairs and a high chair. All this was absolutely good. However, it was ruined by the following things--the door had obviously been kicked in or broken and there it was kluged together with some raw wood showing, making us feel less than safe with a broken door. The handle on the refrigerator was literally taped on. While we were eating dinner one night at the table, the fan blade randomly flew off the fan, over our heads and straight into the window. Someone could have really gotten hurt. But that wasn't the worst of it--the place is absolutely, positively filthy. Our feet got black every time we went without shoes because the floor was so dirty--same with the carpeted stairs and bedroom. The upstairs bathroom shower is so slippery you are taking your life into your hands using it. The couch literally smelled like cat pee and even when we added blankets to it the overwhelming smell and filth of the couch kept us from really using it. The couch is also a bed, I can't imagine sleeping in cat pee if we used it, which we didn't. Even the small things, like the fake flowers, had cobwebs in them and didn't look like they'd ever been cleaned since they day the were purchased. Forget figuring out how to turn the TV on--they have instructions in their welcome book, but the instructions didn't work. That didn't matter to us since we're not TV watchers, but if you are, you better be a TV repairman too. There is no TV in the upstairs loft. Having said that, the owners seem to care to give you a better product than Aston does, I think maybe they're unaware of the extreme flith of the place. We also arrived to other people's half used food in the cabinets and their unused food in the refrigerator. Be sure to leave yourself about an hour or so to do all the cleaning (even though you paid a hefty cleaning fee) they want you to do before you leave. I seriously think their cleaners don't even change the bedding as in the singal bed upstairs, one which a child would use, the sheets smelled again, like cat urine. Our only thought is maybe it was used temporarily as housing for fire victims and they had a cat that pee'd everywhere. The mattress on that single definitely need

It was a wonderful and memorable experience! Beautiful property and everyone were very helpful!! Highly recommended!!!

We had an amazing time at Papakea. It was my wife and my first time in Maui and the unit I booked through Airbnb (G108) checked all my boxes. It had a great ocean view, easy access to the pool, bbq’s, putting green, and shuffleboard. The location has an ABC store connected to the property which we frequently almost daily. It is also a great spot to walk down Kaanapali Beach towards Black Rock. I will say location is everything at Papakea. Each unit is individually owned so the amenities and furnishings will vary greatly. Make sure to book direct with the owners and choose wisely.