3rd floor building 3 - ocean front. I'd rate this hotel a 4.5 overall vs. a 5, but it was a great value and we were very happy here for 6 nights. No issues with the room except the bedding was overly soft and feet seemed higher than head. And we booked a room 9 months in advance with a request for a king bed and ended up with two doubles. But the view was great, great, great! Could not stop taking photos from the balcony morning and night. A terrific setting - We were at three oceanfront hotels on the islands and this was the best. If you want beach, this was the best we stayed at and the best location in Kaanapali. If you want to snorkel, just step off the beach near Black Rock - lots of fish and some turtles. This was a big vacation in our lives - 3 weeks for 25th anniversay, and this hotel was one of our great memories. No doubt that we'd go back and get another oceanfront room if we every got the chance. For dinner, main hotel restaurant was okay - Teppan-yaki Dan hibachi Japanese restaurant was a disappointment and overly expensive for the experience. Go to Hula Grill in Whalers Village (the walkway along Kaanapali beach from the Sheraton to other hotels and Whalers Village is very convenient and scenic) for a great sunset dinner, and if you don't mind spending a few bucks for an extremely nice and romantic dinner go to the Swan Court at the Hyatt.
We had been to Maui 14 years ago and it was not our top choice of the islands, but the Sheraton really with Maui charming us this time.

Our final 5 days of vacation were in Maui at the Sheraton. I was really looking forward to checking the property out after having stayed at the Westin 2 years prior. I have never in any of my past travels actually gone through the trouble to ask for a different room. I am typically just happy to be on vacation. =) We had 2 rooms at the Sheraton before we finally landed in Building 6. I really think the rooms need to be re-evaluated as to what their view/description should be. Our first Ocean View was on the second floor and there were multiple plumeria trees growing taller than our balcony. We could only see the beach after standing on one of the chairs on the balcony. I called to explain the issue and they checked into available rooms. They called me back and gave me my new room number in another building and on the top floor (high above the plumeria). We arrived at the new room to find that the view was actually worse. The palm trees were completely obstructing our view of anything (resort, pool, beach) and there was no balcony in this room. This time I went to the desk to talk to them in person and explain that if I was going to receive a garden view room, I would like to at least have my rate adjusted to the garden view rate. We ended up speaking with the evening manager and getting upgraded to building 6. I was a little upset that we were not offered the upgrade prior to spending an hour dragging our luggage around that maze because of our SPG gold status. There was no acknowledgment of our SPG status at check in.

Speaking of the Maze... =) I don't know who designed that property but they should have to stay in building 6 just for punishment. It took at least 3 elevators to get anywhere. There were people wondering around holding these little maps they give you at check in. Everyone was lost. It takes a day or two just to figure out what floor or elevator you are supposed to be on to get where you want to go.

If it weren't for the snafu on the first day, the resort probably would have been an average stay. The rooms are nice enough though there is only wi-fi in selected public spaces and the pool. The bathrooms were large and clean though they seemed to stop at the tub when they renovated.

There is great snorkeling from the beach (great for those leery of snorkeling from a ship in the open ocean). Most of the staff were great. Food prices were typically out of control. We ate in Lahaina quite a bit. They were changing out the lounge chairs around the pool while we were there. The new ones are much nicer and have a cushion. We did have a difficult time finding two chairs together. Lots of people tossing towels on them and then going to the beach. We saw at least 20 chairs in the immediate area that had no one come back to claim the towels.

We will be returning to Maui but will not stay at the Sheraton. We found the Westin to be much more accommodating and easier to get around.

My husband and I have been to Maui twice before (once for our honeymoon in 2002 and we loved it so much that we managed to go back in 2003 for our 1 year anniversary). Both times we stayed in Wailea (we stayed at the Outrigger which became the Marriott and we loved it!). We decided to come to Maui one month shy of our 5 year anniversary for my husband to run the Maui Marathon. Because all of the marathon events were taking place in Kaanapali we decided to stay in the area, as opposed to Wailea. From our experience on the island we knew that there was a walking path all along the Kaanapali beach area so we chose the Maui Sheraton because we knew it was at the end of the path and we wouldn't have as much tourist traffic going past the hotel or our pool. Of all the hotels in the area, I am glad we chose the Sheraton. The location cannot be beat and for the money, it is a solid, dependable resort (for the most part).

From my prior experiences I would have to rate the Maui Sheraton as average. It did not sweep me off of my feet. The bed was okay, the shower was a little less than average. I agree with many other Tripadviser reviewers when they complained about the mildew smell in the bathroom. We were in building 3 with an “oceanfront” room and the bathroom was very small and had a mildew odor. I have mold allergies so I was a bit reluctant to stay in the room but it wasn’t HORRIBLE so I decided to deal with it since it was only for 5 days and it was so late at night when we arrived. The bathroom did have Pantene shampoo and conditioner so it was nice to have a well known brand to use. The room was nicely decorated and I am glad they had a refrigerator in the room so we could keep some drinks and snacks cold. The lanai was VERY small. And although we typically don’t spend a lot of time in our hotel room when we are in Hawaii, it is nice to be able to sit out on the lanai and take in the beautiful scenery. We did not have that opportunity at the Sheraton. However, the lower rooms seemed to have a larger lanai (we were on the 5th floor).

The prices at the hotel's restaurants were beyond outrageous. We have been to Hawaii before and are used to the resort prices but I have never seen a place charge $20 for a breakfast omelet (just the omelet - no bacon, no breakfast potatoes, no toast - nothing else with it!). I must say, however, that we had the same waiter for 2 different meals and by the 3rd time he saw us he remembered our names and even came from another area of the restaurant to say hello and ask how our vacation was going. So we were very pleased with the service. We tried to eat off of the hotel premises as much as we could. We really enjoyed our pasta dinner at Longhi’s (my husband had to carbo-load before the big race) and we had a typical outstanding dinner at Mama’s (this is most favorite place to eat on Maui).

Another minor disappointment for us was from the first day we arrived we received messages from someone in the Sheraton Vacations area (basically looking to sell us a timeshare). They left messages saying they had a “welcome gift” for us. By the 3rd day of messages I went to the Vacations office just to get them to stop calling. When I arrived I found out that I could not just go and pick up this welcome gift but I actually had to speak to the actually person (sales rep) who had been leaving the messages. I never did go back to pick up my welcome gift.

If you are looking to save some money, it is very easy to become a Starwood resorts member on their website (you can sign up for free). If you do this you have an opportunity to save 35% on your meals and to get a good discount on your room rate.

Thankfully the hotel allows you to check your bill before you check out (through the TV menu). We found charges to our room that we did not make. I am glad the staff was very responsive in removing the charges … it just makes me wonder how many people do not review their bills when they check out and pay for food or drinks that they did not order.

I know I have mentioned several negative things but all in all we did have a decent experience at the Maui Sheraton. I just wanted to bring up the less-positive things that I went through to hopefully help someone else make an informed decision.

I've been to Hawaiian islands 9-10 times. The last time I was in Maui, I stayed at a bed and breakfast and also a condo. I didn't enjoy those experiences very much so we decided to stay at a resort. The Sheraton was fairly empty this time of year so they were kind enough to upgrade us to an ocean view room. The only down-side was we had 2 double beds instead of 1 king. We had the option of having a garden view with a king size bed, but why would we? The double was fine and the view was beautiful! They also sent up a complimentary bottle of champagne and we had an unexpected lei greeting at check in.

Overall, our experience at the Sheraton was very good. My only complaints are the following: The bathroom had a lot of black mildew on the shower tiles and it smelled very strong. The cleaning lady was very nice, but really didn't do a very good job during our stay. Overall, the staff is very nice, but they do not seem at all happy to be working there which is kind of a downer when your on vacation and in such a good mood. Also, the level of service is really not there for a 4 star hotel. The staff who are transplants to the island really do not cater to the guests as you would expect at a 4 star hotel. After visitng the islands many times, I've learned not to expect great service unless your at the Four Seasons or equivalent so in spite of the service, I would still rate this hotel very good.