Located in the 1,800-acre Makena Resort, facing one of the island's best beaches, this hotel rivals the more intimate Hotel Hana Maui as one of the island's most deliciously isolated properties.
Although this hotel is a favorite for its end-of-the-road location, it offers more facilities than many urban hotels. This may be the most well-tended of Prince's Hawaiian foursome, which includes the Hotel Mauna Kea (currently closed for renovation) and Hapuna Beach Prince (currently in dire need of renovation), but its standards are only fair to middling.
Granted the hotel is in good shape, but its noticeably aged and dated facilities, including the guest rooms, are in need of attention. This hotel has been surpassed in quality, if not in breadth of facilities, by the Waliea Beach Marriott. Like its siblings, this hotel too is blessed with a small but startlingly beautiful beach, recently made smaller by a brutal hurricanelike storm.
Housed in a seven-story V pointing toward the ocean, this brash 1983 resort building is softened with lush landscaping. Service is sound, with arrivals receiving leis and
refreshing oshibori hand towels upon arrival. Cotton yukata robes await in guest rooms. Also, in-room refrigerators come with free bottled water, and room service never stops.
While this unpretentious resort cannot boast of theatrical pools found commonly in Wailea, it is built around an exotic one-acre atrium garden full of waterfalls, Zen gardens with raked gravel, exuberant plantings, and a pond teeming with koi. The fish explode in color during the afternoon feeding frenzy.
The Prince Court continues to serve exotic Hawaiian appetizers—volcano-spiced ahi sashimi with wasabi caviar, for example—along with expansive views of the fairways, pool and Pacific. The Japanese restaurant looks like a transplant from Kyoto, spotlighting sushi masters who create dazzling Japanese meals. The all-purpose cafe offers lighter fare—noodles, pizza, sandwiches—and sets forth a bountiful salad and pasta bar. The Sunday brunch is one of the best on the island, with locals outnumbering guests 4-to-1. Duffers converge on the Clubhouse Restaurant after a long day on the recently revamped golf course.
Cabanas and two whirlpools supplement a pair of circular pools set back from the beach. A six-station par course is on the grassy grounds, two Robert Trent Jones Jr. golf courses and six Plexipave tennis courts (two lighted) are close by. The hotel offers free transport there and to area shops. A fitness center, modest but smartly equipped (and free), is on the lobby level.
A superb swath of sandy beach is a brief stroll away. The pathway to it follows the historic route of the King's Way, which, a little farther down the coast, intersects a popular nudist beach. A catamaran departs for excursions from the beach (this is the hotel closest to Molokini islet and its seabird and marine sanctuary). The divisible ballroom holds 350, but the lack of a business center and limited executive services prove that this is a retreat for relaxation, not workaholics. Wireless Internet access is available. Parking is free of charge.
The well-kept but dated guest rooms show simple yet sound Hawaiian flair. Some of the decor resembles a faded Easter egg with pink surfaces and green carpeting. Routine island art hangs on the walls. Upholstered chairs, padded headboards, small desks, TVs and VCRs in armoires, full-length mirrors, digital clocks, 
unsightly refrigerators, safes, and irons and ironing boards in large closets are standard amenities, along with slippers and robes. Coffeemakers are provided.
The average-sized combination baths have dressing areas and common Neutrogena toiletries. The rooms show little innovation in design, but this is one of few hotels in Hawaii with water views from all units. Though they lack the grand blue-water vistas of rooms on higher floors, units on the two lower floors are preferable for families as they are more spacious and come with tubs and stall showers.
Room service runs nonstop. Smoking rooms are available here, but pets are not permitted.
Guests looking to stay here will find touches of urbanity in a castaway location. This is a strong midrange choice that has proven itself to be one of the island's best, but its outdated accommodations alone are not worth the high tariffs. With the exception of its Waikiki property, Prince needs to renovate, and soon.
