When I was looking for reasonable accommodations for family and friends to stay on Maui for my Hawaiian wedding, I checked out several condominiums in the Kihei area. From all the reviews I read on various sites, Koa Lagoon was the best choice. After talking with Linda, the on-site manager, I was sold. My family, friends and I booked several rooms, including two bedroom and one bedroom suites. Everyone was impressed and very satisfied.
I stayed in a two bedroom suite, room 304. We arrived late, and our key was left in a lock-box on the door. I must admit that the Koa Lagoon is not much to look at from the outside (kind of reminded me of a college dorm) but the inside (and the lanai) more than made up for that. The condo is right on the ocean, and each room has a lanai with an ocean view.
Our two bedroom had one master bedroom with a king sized bed and a private bathroom, and the second bedroom had two twin beds and a bathroom across the hall. The beds were comfy and there were extra linens in the closet. The bathrooms were fully stocked with several sets of towels.
The condos are fully stocked with everything you might need and things you didn't realize you needed, but end up using. We were pleased to find boogie boards, large beach towels, beach blankets, shade tents, a beach umbrella, a cooler, grill utensils, and everything you might need in the kitchen, except the food. Our group saved a lot of money by cooking in and grilling as we purchased most of our groceries at the Safeway nearby.
The condos each have a washer and dryer and this was a huge benefit. We didn't have to return home with dirty laundry, and were able to do all our laundry for free in our own rooms, rather than lug them to a laundromat or community laundry room. They provided us with laundry detergent as well as dishwasher detergent, but we ended up getting more mid-trip to replace their stock.
The ocean view is amazing, and actually, this condo sits in a great spot. We watched whales from our balcony daily, and also noticed some things that kept popping out of the water, but from our room, we couldn't tell what they were. Unfortunately, we didn't find out until our second to last day that the beach directly south of the Koa Lagoon (a two minute walk) is a turtle nesting area. What we had been seeing were sea turtles. It ended up being a great area to snorkel, and is fully protected by the reef. It is also a great spot for wading if you aren't that big in to snorkeling.
There is an in-ground pool on the property also, and we used this frequently after we had finished our beach hopping for the day. Most of the people by the pool were residents, or long time guests, and it was never crowded. We had several people tell us they spend months there each year, and one woman even offered to let us borrow her kayak to go out to see the whales. We watched her kayak out right near whales the day before. Amazing.
The Koa Lagoon is centrally located and is close to a lot of great restaurants & beaches. It's not in the heavy touristy area (that's a few minutes further down on S Kihei Road) and this was really nice. We always felt like we were alone in our condo complex, and rarely saw other people. It was great, because we used the grill every night and never had to wait around for it.
I will definitely be headed back to the Koa Lagoon for my next Maui trip. Now that I have stayed there, I wouldn't stay anywhere else. The value, location, management, and added comforts were beyond what I expected and I couldn't be more pleased that this is where we stayed :) read more