We stayed in a beautifully reno'd & clean 2 bdrm oceanfront suite (with CENTRAL AC!) at the Milowai with direct oceanfront views from both bedrooms as well as from the living room & lanai...and because the living room was open to the kitchen, you could see the ocean from the kitchen too! Wow! The only way you're going to expand on that ocean view, would be to go on a boat!!

The condo had everything you could need for a home away from home. Great having an in-suite washer/dryer, used it every day for towels and stuff. Modern entertainment system, gourmet kitchen & amenities, comfy oversized new sofa's, cushioned bamboo lanai furniture......I could go on and on!

Pool was nice & clean, oceanfront location, and there is actually a small beach to the right of the condo. You probably wouldn't use it though because there's so many nicer beaches within a 10 minute drive. The grounds had golf course quality grass, and there were a few palm trees lining the breakwater.

The condo building houses the Waterfront restaurant, which was excellent! Delicious food! Make sure to reserve at least a day in advance if you want an outside oceanfront table, well worth it!

From the covered parkade up to our condo unit it was a bit old & grungy looking....enough to make you concerned about what exactly you've got yourself into....until you open the door, and the view takes your breathe away! I guess what I'm saying is, MAKE SURE you get a renovated/updated condo in this building, or you could be really disappointed!

Another side note as well, you definitely want CENTRAL AC in this area of Maui, specifically MAALAEA BAY. The reason I strongly recommend this is NOT because of the heat necessarily, but rather because of the EXTREME DUST that will filter into your suite if you were to leave the sliders w/screens & screened windows open to keep the unit cool!! I kid you not!

First I will say that BECAUSE we had central ac in this unit, we didn't have any problems with the dust I'm about to mention. Now I'll tell you how I know this information first-hand. As well as staying in this condo unit during our Maui visit, we also stayed next door at the Maalaea Kai in a beautiful spotlessly clean upon check-in BUT NO AC oceanfront condo (see our review of Maalaea Kai Unit #404). We always left our 4th floor screened balcony slider open to get those great trade winds in to keep the condo comfortable (no AC required for that). On the second day, we started to notice a thick brown film on EVERYTHING, from the floor to the upstairs bathroom counter, our clothes, under our fingernails from touching anything, etc!!! It was disgusting! 'Gardeners grime' has got nothin' on this! Forget about wearing white! Etc!

Having said all that, we were there in June during their sugar cane harvesting & burning (which the burning also leaves little black ash pieces in the air), so if you visit when this is NOT happening, you'd be ok!

Bottom line, I would absolutely stay here in this particular unit (#307 - found on VRBO), in this area of Maui again! You can't beat oceanfront in Hawaii!! In fact we're already planning our return to the Milowai!

We absolutely loved this condo- great price, central location, and everything you need is provided. This condo features a nice king size bed and the kitchen is well stocked with dishes and a good assortment of pots and pans. The furniture is in very good condition and decorated with an island, beachy touch. There is a sleeper sofa in the living area. There is a TV , stereo, video players for a rainy day. There is also a pool and BBQ on site and a covered parking spot. The best feature for us was the beautiful view from the lanai. It made it hard to tear ourselves away from it. We saw whales every morning and evening from the lanai as we enjoyed this private and comfortable condo.

There is no beach directly in front of this unit, but it is oceanfront with a very sandy beach in easy walking distance. There is also a nice park with picnic tables. It is within walking distance to Maui Ocean Center and some very nice restuarants and shops. You can also walk to the harbor for whale, snorkel, and sunset cruises.

This rental is suitable for anyone wanting a quiet private place to stay in a very central location.This condo is also easy to find and a good starting place for all your day trips .

We booked through the owner and found the owners to be very good to work with - lots of communication. The pictures on the website were well represented. We would definately stay here again and again. For more info on this unit see [---]

Subject: Milowai Condo #403
Location: Maalaea, Maui
Title: Wonderful Milowai #403 condo - and some Maui Advice
ID#: 5619901

We returned 8/4/06 from Maui and loved Unit 403 in the Milowai Condo complex. With private parking, oceanfront setting, sparkling pool, king-sized bed, wonderful breezes, and the awesome harbor restaurants and friendly shops nearby, you could not ask for a better place to stay!

Unit 403:
Our particular condo was sold in the timeframe between our reservation and our stay, but our reservation deposit, and then early payment, were held in escrow and everything went very smoothly, particularly due to the friendly people in Hawaii and the new condo owners who were nice, intelligent, and good communicators.

I also liked that this particular condo was on the top floor (4th) away from the elevators. There was an overhang by the elevators that enclosed the area and a few condos there, and I’m guessing that the noise carries into the units by the elevator (not that we saw many people at all while there at the condo). I just would not care to stay near the elevator because I’m very sensitive to noise. So 403’s location within the complex was perfect for us. Elevator was quick. Shopping carts were available on Basement level by the parking spots if needed as luggage or grocery carts, which I thought that was ingenious.

We loved having our own assigned and convenient, covered parking spot. Some people used car covers on their cars because the sea air coats the windows with salt. Just insure your car rental has water in the washer fluid reservoir. There was a foot wash spigot in the parking garage just before entering the elevator area for your use.

A note about height of condo: I was concerned before we left and ensured that we got a condo on an upper level due to concern about crime, which I believe now is rather unfounded. This area is very quiet and is not frequented by people for any other reason than staying at the condos. There were no locations for people to “hang-out” because of the sea wall and surf. Although there were many surfers (25 at a time maybe), they would (hopefully for their sake) land on the 5 mile beach nearby rather than on the seawall. There was also no short-cutting through from the beach to the harbor area because of the fence of one condo. So although I loved the views and this particular condo, I think my prior concerns about safety were basically unfounded and I would not hesitate to stay on a lower unit within the Milowai complex (which I believe are all 1-bedroom units).

Contents of the condo: We loved the king bed, dresser, nightstands, closet with hangers, table inside with 4 chairs and the same on the lanai with a chaise lounger, 2 stools under the bar, washer and dryer, AC window unit in the living room, ceiling fans, pots and pans, dishes, coffee maker, blender, towels, beach towels, cooler, vaccuum and broom. cleaning supplies, trash bags, toilet tissue, TV, entertainment unit, sleeper sofa, phone with answering machine, utensils for eating and cooking. We bought paper towels, laundry soap, coffee, coffee filters, and left all the extras there for the next guests.

In summary, the location was wonderful being central on the island, the wind was not excessive, and we just loved this condo. The new owners were a pleasure to deal with... booking with VRBO.com was the way to go!

Have a great trip!

We paid $157 (US) a night for 10 nights. We stayed in suite #104. My understanding is that is quite cheap for Maui. Knowing this we kept our expectations of our lodging choice conservative. However we still found ourselves very disappointed. It's wasn't so much that the decor & furniture hasn't been changed since what looks to be the early 1970's, but it was more the heavily stained carpet in the living room, the mildew in the bathroom and if you touched the front screen door it would leave your hand black with dirt.
The crowning glory was on our last night there. I got up to go to the washroom and as I turned on the the bathroom light I found a big rat staring back at me from on top of the counter amongst our toiletries.
This may explain why my wife and 15 month old daughter were sick for a few days before. To be fair to everyone. On the positive side we found the management staff friendly and helpful. There are far better units in the building than the one we stayed in and the barbeques available by the seashore are wonderful. However given our experience we won't be returning anytime soon!