The 14 best hotels in Maui

One cascading outdoor infinity pool is pretty special. But four is… well, it’s what you’ll find at this fantastic beachfront hotel in Wailea. Along with the pools (one of which is reserved just for adults), visitors can also enjoy some of the island’s best restaurants, including Ka’ana Kitchen and Morimoto Maui. There's also a heavenly spa. Set on 15 beachfront acres, this luxury property offers direct access to Mokapu Beach, an onsite luau, and amenities like private hiking tours. Frankly, it's a wonderful place to stay. If you decide to coop up in your room, you can also enjoy the balcony, and complimentary non-alcoholic drinks. If you want some activities, kayak and surfing lessons are available on site. 

Set along famous Ka’anapali Beach, Hyatt Regency checks off all the ingredients of an indulgent Hawaiian getaway: expansive pools, immediate beach access, an onsite luau, and a palate-pleasing variety of eateries day and night. You’ll also find a few surprises here, including resident penguins (yup!), a grotto bar set in a cave surrounded by waterfalls, and a rooftop astronomy program. Plus, every single guestroom has a private lanai for enjoying magnificent views. You can also grab a champagne brunch here, which is exactly how you should spend a holiday.  

If you’re looking to check out and completely dedicate yourself to authentic island life, you can’t do much better than the Hana-Maui Resort. This award-winning hotel of spacious rustic-chic cottages in the secluded eastern tip of Hana sits perched amid rolling grass fields and towering cliffs studded with palm trees, giving the sort of remote Maui experience that’s far removed from the rest of its tourist hubs. Want to see the best of Maui’s natural beauty? This resort is conveniently close to some of the island’s most famous wonders, such as Wailua Falls and the seven sacred pools cascade of waterfalls. Activities here include horse riding, bamboo pole fishing, and more. You won't be short on things to do, though that being said, you'd be forgiven for simply soaking up the sunshine. 

Situated on the home of the PGA Tour’s season-opening golf course, Kapalua offers one-to three-bedroomed villas with views onto Onaloa Bay, Molokai, and Lanai. While these don’t come with a centralised hotel hub, their island vibe aesthetic and state-of-the-art kitchen and bathroom amenities make them the perfect place to stay if it’s a self-catering holiday you’re after. Dinner party, anyone?

Recently voted Fairmont’s hotel of the year, the Kea Lani boasts the title of being the only all-suite and villa luxury beachfront resort in Maui. So, if lapping up some elegance is what you’re after, this is where to come. Compared to a lot of other hotels on the island, the Kea Lani is pretty design-focused, featuring spacious, family-friendly suites and two and three-bedroom villas with full kitchens, courtyards, and private plunge pools, all done in an understated Hawaiian aesthetic of muted whites and earth tones. There’s a 24-hour gym if that’s how you roll. Plus outdoor pools and a massive waterslide. Hotel of the year indeed.  

Based in the historic town of Lāhainā, the Plantation Inn is in a prime location for experiencing this hip town’s food and drink scene. Value-packed accommodations offer a quieter approach to island life, with just 18 guestrooms and a private inner courtyard with a pool and jacuzzi surrounded by lush Hawaiian vegetation. Traditional décor and furnishings immerse guests in island heritage, as does the included breakfast of fresh fruits, local coffee and savory entrees. Rates can be found at under $200 a night, which in a spot already this chic and nice is frankly, too good to be true (except it is). 

This five-star hotel perched on Kapalua bay boasts 24 acres and 60 one-to-three-bedroom luxury suites, making it one of the more intimate luxury hotels on the island. With three restaurants and bars (including a private dining room on the edge of a cliff), and a full-service spa with highly personalizable treatments featuring luxury Swiss skincare products, the Montage’s Kapalua enclave covers your resort bases without making you feel like you’re staying at just another cookie-cutter luxury chain outpost.

Home to famed Hawaiian chef Roy Yamaguchi’s restaurant Humble Market Kitchin, and one of the best luaus on this side of the island, the Wailea Beach Marriot’s luxurious beachfront location is an ideal base for immersion in the Wailea Beach scene. Plus, there’s great snorkeling at neighboring Ulua Beach, while the resort itself has three distinct pool areas, including an adventure pool with four waterslides. There are also golf courses, nature paths and many more activities right on the doorstep along with retail galore The Shops.

Located on a private section of Wailea Beach, these tropical-styled two-to-five bedroom villas come complete with modern kitchens, flatscreen TVs, and your own BBQ so you can grill while you lounge on the terrace. Kids and adults can both enjoy the pools, with a family-friendly pool featuring waterfalls, and an adults-only infinity pool for downtime with drinks. Just 15 minutes from Kihei, Wailea Beach Villas is perfectly situated to explore the less touristy parts of the island.

To experience authentic Hawaiian accommodation and hospitality, look no further than Ka’anapali Beach Hotel with its views of the West Maui Mountains and immediate access to the soft sand at famed Ka’anapali Beach. Dubbed ‘Hawaii’s Most Hawaiian Hotel’, KBH preserves and shares Hawaiian culture through complimentary on-site ʻōlelo (language) lessons, ukulele demonstrations, traditional décor and so much more. Its new beachfront restaurant Huihui integrates traditional cuisine with modern flavor, and is the perfect spot to gather with friends. There are also firepits overlooking the sea. Sitting there with a tropical cocktail, there's your holiday, people. 

Located in Kapalua on the quieter side of the island, Maui’s Ritz-Carlton is all about understated elegance. Home to six restaurants, a private beach, a locally-inspired spa and two of Maui’s most exclusive and renowned golf courses, the Ritz-Carlton is the sort of hotel that you never actually need to leave - unless you want to. Pro tip: no stay is complete without a fancy brunch (and a few guava mimosas) at the Plantation House, the golf course’s club-house restaurant. There's body treatments, facials, two tennis courts, and a fitness center, and many other activities. If you do leave, there's plenty of nearby beaches, shopping resorts and more. 

If you’re the sort of person that defines a Maui vacation by a whole lot of pool time, then the Grand Wailea is the hotel for you. Following a recent $4m overhaul, the hotel now boasts everything from a scuba pool to a Tarzan rope swing to a lava tube slide with a 360-degree exterior loop and LED-colored light bands. Add in the fact that it’s just installed the world’s first water elevator and you’ve got yourself a water baby’s dream. If you prefer dry land, you can enjoy the spa, three golf courses, yoga lessons, and so much more.