Priceline Hotel: 2* Maui (Kihei) Aston Maui Lu

[cytoguy]

Another old bid that I found, for a hotel not on the Maui (Kihei) list:

2* Aston Maui Lu

Check-In Date: Monday, September 20, 2004

Check-Out Date: Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Kihei

575 South Kihei Road

Kihei Maui, Hawaii 96753

808-879-5881

[LoneStar]

Was the place any good?

I'd sure like to be able to find something under $100 to recommend to folks going to Maui. You can do that on Kauai and the Big Island (and certainly Waikiki), but Maui is tough on those who don't want to drop $150 night.

[cytoguy]

That definitely depends on your definition of "good" :) You're totally right about the prices on Maui. After spending a couple of days at the Maui Hyatt for $175/night (my girlfriend ran the marathon there so we wanted to stay somewhere nice for her to recharge a bit) we went to Haleakala National Park to backpack for a couple of days. That's a guaranteed way to spend a couple of nights in Hawaii for $5/night, and also see how unbelievably beautiful the crater of the volcano is :) Since we're not filthy rich we just wanted somewhere to be able to crash cheaply (my bid was $60/night) and buy some food before beginning our backpacking trip.

This place wouldn't probably fit anyone's definition of nice by Maui standards, as it's still permanently stuck in the 70s. It's definitely off the beaten path a bit (especially compared to the western coast of Maui), close to many small houses and not far from a couple of strip malls/restaurants. The main building is at the end of a long driveway on the opposite side of the road from the beach. But, we stayed here another night ($57/night I think) after our backpacking trip (to clean up before flying back to Kauai the following morning), and they offered us an oceanfront room for an additional $20. That room had 2 levels with a small fridge, couch and small balcony overlooking the water and the West Maui mountains. Both of these bids were placed the day before our stay, which was nice, as we didn't have any definite reservations for those two nights :o

So, the place fit our needs perfectly and was clean, which is all I look for in a cheap room. Someone wanting a room to be the highlight of their trip to Maui would probably be quite disappointed here.

[LoneStar]

thanks for the info. I think folks travelling to Hawaii are willing to drop the big bucks because they figure it's a "special event," so why not splurge. If you're only staying a week and you've got the money, that makes some sense. But there are a lot of times when you're not really going to be spending much time at your hotel -- sightseeing, late arrival, etc. I wish there were something like a Courtyard (new and comfortable) that you could crash at for 50 or 60 bucks. In Hawaii, the cheaper properties tend to be the old a-little-down-on-their-luck "resorts." I've stayed in a couple of them, however, and they're usually fine. I'm not always sure it's "worth" $175 to stay in a resort, even with the substantial priceline discount.

[cytoguy]

Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more Lonestar. I'm too cheap to spend $175/night to stay in a hotel EVER, but with my girlfriend running the marathon it worked out perfectly (especially since it starts at 5 am there!), since it was about a 10 minute walk back to the room after she finished. She paid the $175/nt for the room, and even though I'd always rather save some $$ myself, I'd admit that if I were the type to drop that kind of cash on a room then the Hyatt was worth the expense. A really nice place.

I'm definitely from the same school of thought that you are, and would gladly pay $50 or so to stay in a Courtyard or Residence Inn, Summerfield Suites, etc, no matter where I am, as they are almost always pretty nice and spacious. But, on the other hand, if I saw these same hotels in Kauai or Maui it would be a very sad day, as it would mark the fact that Hawaii had turned into the same cookie cutter landscape as most of the rest of the US :)

I rarely ever stay in the room at all, as vacations for me usually involve outdoor activities like backpacking, cycling, etc. Which explains why $60 for a 2* in Kihei works for me. Or $50 for the 1* Kauai Sands Hotel too. Given said outdoor activities, sometimes you just need a clean room with a bed and a bathroom. I don't ever want to be the smelly guy on the plane! :)