This review is strictly for the condos since the hotel part no longer exists. We borrowed a family friend's condo for five days since neither my husband nor I had ever been to Molokai and really wanted to take our children on a bit of an adventure. We were fairly aware of the minimal amenities on Molokai prior to our decision to come here and felt fairly prepared.
We arrived by ferry in the evening and had a pre-arranged cab driver take us to the condos nearly 25 miles away. When we told him where we were going, he repeatedly asked us if we were sure we wanted to go to the west end, telling us there is "nothing" out there. No stores, no transportation, no internet, no cell phone service. We had filled a suitcase with groceries in Maui earlier and assured him we would be ok. Maybe we should have taken the earlier ferry because 25 miles in pitch black headed to nowhere with a local filling your head with fear can be a bit overwhelming, but we survived the trip and settled into the condo and had a quick dinner before heading to bed. The next morning, we woke up to dozens of wild turkeys, one brown chicken, and three feral cats outside our condo door and really started to wonder what we had gotten ourselves into. A introductory walk through our surroundings introduced us to a gorgeous view, several empty beaches, a schedule for the rural shuttle (since we hadn't rented a car), and, to our relief, several other occupied condos. We also became aware of the field of weeds that was once a gorgeous golf course, many abandoned, dilapidated, and sometimes falling down buildings, an abandoned restaurant, and an available pool. It was very obviously a ghost town but perfect for us to get away from our electronic tethers.
This is not a place for the faint of heart to visit. There are NO amenities what so ever. There is one very small gift shop, the pool, and that's it. Town is 45 minutes away, although the village of Maunaloa is 15 minutes by car or via the weekday-only rural shuttle. There's another small store there where you can buy a gallon of milk for $10, eggs from the Mainland, and some other odds and ends. Every single person we encountered, guests and residents alike, was incredibly nice and friendly. One thing to be aware of, though, the west end of the island has beautiful beaches but they are incredibly dangerous with rough waves and lots of rocks. With no emergency services to speak of, no cell phone service, and no people to help, it's critical to be hyper-aware of your surroundings there.
Returning to a touristy part of Maui after five days here was a huge culture shock and we really missed Molokai once we were gone. We will go back to the west end again in a heartbeat, but probably rent a car next time. read more