The Whaler on Kaanapali Beach

User Reviews

You Can Do Better
Dale says 16 years ago
Stayed October 2008

3
user rating
out of 5

The Whaler is situated on beautiful Kaanapali Beach in the southwestern area of Maui, Hawaii. It consists of two 12-story buildings which are separated by a courtyard and a small, simple swimming pool. Additional landscaped areas around the building are minimal since the facility is squeezed between the Kaanapali Beach Hotel to the north and The Whaler Shopping Center to the south. Except for the western exposure of the corner suites, all the rooms appear to have balconies facing in a north or south direction as opposed to facing the beach. Partial views of the beach to the west and the mountains to the east are the best that can be hoped for with this orientation. Parking is provided by way of an underground garage situated beneath the courtyard between the two buildings. Unlike other properties along Kaanapali Beach, The Whaler is not a resort hotel but rather a 'condotel' which has a number of vacant condos available for daily or weekly rental. They have a small unconnected lobby/office area between the two main buildings; however, there is no restaurant or bar. These services can be had at The Whaler Shopping Center immediately next door. Concierge and adequate housekeeping services are provided although more than once we had to venture to the front desk to receive our daily coffee packet for the room coffee maker.

We celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary in Maui at The Whaler in mid-October 2008. The property was undergoing an extensive renovation program at that time. The courtyard landscaping had been removed thus exposing the concrete roof deck of the underground parking garage, the swimming pool was being reconstructed, and structural repairs of the parking garage were underway. The beauty of Kaanapali Beach had been supplanted by a major construction zone.

The condition of The Whaler property due to their current renovation program was not fairly represented at the time we made our reservations in early July. At that time, we were correctly advised that the courtyard landscaping was being renovated. Two weeks before our departure date we were then FULLY advised that the parking garage was also under construction, that the pool would not be available and, that we were welcome to walk next door to use the pool at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel. At this late date we investigated the possibility of using other accommodations with our travel agent only to find that the type of room features we wanted were no longer available elsewhere and that any that further room upgrade would be cost prohibitive. We decided not to change anything and hope for the best. That was not a good decision. In hindsight, we wish we had stayed next door at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel which appeared to be a rather lively and fun-oriented property. During our stay it became obvious to us that The Whaler's construction program had been ongoing for quite some time; and, at the time we made our reservations in July we could have been HONESTLY informed as to what we could expect. However, we were "played like a fiddle" and taken advantage of. Then, to add injury to insult, we were charged $12 per day for the privilege of hunting for a parking space in the middle of the night; they had overbooked with respect to the reduced number of parking garage spaces! With the inconvenience, noise, and lack of facilities currently offered their guests, we think it would have been a reciprocal display of goodwill to forego the extraneous parking charge, but management didn't think so.

It appears The Whaler is making a serious effort to improve its exterior infrastructure. Overall, the interior public spaces and finishes are well kept. However, judging from the condition of our room some interior renovation is also required. The room was spacious, we loved the layout, and the kitchen area was well stocked with whatever we needed. However, room 565 in the south building was well worn. The carpet and tile floors were not clean. Painted surfaces were dirty and in need of recoating. The furniture was marred and ready for replacement. Obviously, this weekly rental had been neglected for a long time and its condition was not worth the price we paid for it. If you decide to stay at The Whaler, try to get a north side room in the north building with views of the grounds at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel and the island of Molokai. Our south side balcony in the south building faced the shopping center and was subjected to the constant noise of its HVAC power plant.

Bottom line: If you're staying at Kaanapali Beach you can do much better than The Whaler for about the same price or less.


	3	Check in / front desk
	4	Location
	3	Room
	3	Staff / service
	1	Cleanliness

2481 Kaanapali Pkwy, Lahaina, HI 96761