• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Urban Bliss Life logo

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • contact
  • shop
  • cookbooks
  • cooking classes
  • resources
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • 30-Minute Meals
    • Air Fryer Recipes
    • Appetizer Recipes
    • Asian recipes
    • Bread Recipes
    • Breakfast Recipes
    • Cookie Recipes
    • Dairy-free Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Entertaining Recipes
    • Filipino Recipes
    • Gluten-Free Recipes
    • Healthy Recipes
    • Holiday Recipes
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • 5 Ingredients
    • Kid-Friendly Recipes
    • Main Dish Recipes
    • Make-Ahead Recipes
    • Pasta Recipes
    • Salad Recipes
    • Side Dishes
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Snack Recipes
    • Soup Recipes
    • Seafood Recipes
    • Vegan Recipes
    • Vegetarian Recipes
    • Cocktail Recipes
    • Dog Treats
  • Wine
    • Oregon Wine Guide
    • Washington Wine
    • California Wine
    • Food and Wine Pairing
    • Wine Country
    • Wine Tips & Wine Pairings
  • Travel
    • Europe
      • Greece
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Liechtenstein
      • The Netherlands
      • Switzerland
      • The UK (United Kingdom)
    • Canada
    • USA travel
      • California
      • Colorado
      • Hawaii
      • Idaho
      • Montana
      • Nevada
      • New Mexico
      • New York
      • Oregon Travel Ideas
      • Utah
      • Washington
      • New Orleans
    • Travel Gear
    • Japan
    • Travel Tips
    • Hotels
    • Family Travel
  • Restaurants
  • About
    • Work With Urban Bliss Life
    • Press
    • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Fall Recipes
  • All Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • About
  • Work With Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Urban Bliss Life » Travel » Hawaii » Where to Stay in Maui: Fairmont Kea Lani

    Published: March 26, 2011 / Updated: September 8, 2022 by Marlynn Jayme Schotland · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Where to Stay in Maui: Fairmont Kea Lani

    0 shares

    Researching where to stay in Maui? The Fairmont Kea Lani in Maui is an ideal family vacation spot!

    fairmont kea lani maui beach

    How do you celebrate your 10-year wedding anniversary? There's so much pressure to make it memorable. When faced with too many choices, I tend to get overwhelmed and resort to eeny-mmenie-miney-moe.

    Where do you spend your 10 year anniversary?

    Schotland family at fairmont kea lani maui

    Originally, we were looking at taking the kids to Vila Vita Parc in Portugal. We spent our honeymoon there, fell in love with the country - and with Vila Vita Parc. It is truly a magical place, and I highly recommend you go there if you have the means. However, after researching plane tickets for four people to Portugal, we realized we most definitely do not have the means at this time.

    fairmont kea lani maui beach

    So we settled on Hawaii. I had spent two weeks island hopping for work several years ago, but my husband and my kids have never been. I was excited to share the beauty of the islands with my family - but which island, and which hotel? After getting recommendations from Facebook and Twitter, and our own research, we settled on the Fairmont Kea Lani.

    It was the absolute best choice we could make. We all had the happiest time imaginable!

    Stay at the Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea, Maui

    fairmont kea lani maui white buildings

    The Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea, Maui is a study in resort perfection. Every detail of this resort hotel is tailored to the customer experience.

    indoor waterfalls at fairmont kea lani maui

    Upon entering the massive, open air hotel lobby, we were offered the tropical drink of the day (I believe it was a mango passionfruit drink that day). The ladies are welcomed with lovely fresh flower leis (and yes, I know our daughter needs a haircut; she got one right when we got home!), while the men are welcomed with black beads.

    Fairmont Kea Lani Hotel Suite

    fairmont kea lani maui room
    fairmont kea lani maui room

    Our standard king bed room was pretty large. When you enter, there is a mini kitchen with sink, microwave, fridge, and coffee maker. Moving into the living space, you'll find a sitting room with media center, pullout couch, and table for working/eating.

    The bathroom was enormous. There's a large marble bathroom with jetted tub, double pedestal sinks, and walk-in shower.

    Our Fairmont Kea Lani room had a spacious separate bedroom with King bed. The bedroom included two closets, and plenty of drawers.

    Doors from both the bedroom and the living room area lead outdoors to the patio, where we would rest & enjoy the views in between adventures.

    fairmont kea lani maui

    At first we were sad that we didn't get one of the upper floors with the lanais and ocean views, but we're grateful for our room's unexpected added bonus: an expansive rolling green area where the kids would open either the bedroom door or the sitting room door and excitedly run right out to this.

    Fairmont Kea Lani Pools

    fairmont kea lani maui kid pools

    When you're considering where to stay in Maui, beach access and pool access are usually top priority. You get both at the Fairmont Kea Lani!

    overhead view of pools at fairmont kea lani maui

    We spent a lot of time near the kiddie pool that was just one foot deep because our 3-year-old couldn't quite stand up yet in the other pools, which were usually 3 or 3-½ feet deep to start.

    You had to get there early in the day to grab lounge chairs right by the pools, but once there it was so easy to spend a few hours just soaking up the sun, splashing in the pool, enjoying the gentle Hawaiian breezes... paradise.

    where to stay in maio: fairmont kea lani

    There is also a separate adult pool, but with both kids, we never ventured over there. I can tell you that each time we walked by the adult pool, it was very, very quiet. And almost empty. The Fairmont is definitely more of a family-friendly resort in my mind.

    fairmont kea lani maui swim-up bar pool

    Most of our time was spent between the beach and the pools.

    Again: pure paradise. Being in Portland, my kids are already beach lovers (we live less than an hour from the coast), but the Wailea beach is definitely special. For one thing, the water is so warm that my kids actually spent a lot of time splashing in the ocean and chasing the waves. The Fairmont Kea Lani also has canoes and little boats that they would take guests ages 10 and older out into the ocean. We can't wait to come back when our kids are older to take part in those adventures!

    Warm, welcoming customer service

    corner beautiful archway at fairmont kea lani maui resort

    The thing that stood out for us about the Fairmont Kea Lani, was the kind, attentive and personal service we received from the moment we stepped onto hotel grounds to the moment we left.

    Everybody we encountered had a wide smile, a hearty "aloha!" and they remembered our names and did everything they could to make sure we were enjoying our vacation. I can't thank the staff of the Fairmont Kea Lani enough for such wonderful customer service, especially the kind women who did our turn-down service each night, and Lia & Chewy who served us lunch from the Polo Beach Bar & Grill poolside.

    Make no mistake: Maui is not cheap, and neither is the Fairmont Kea Lani. We dropped a lot of cash on this trip. But, it was, after all, our 10-year wedding anniversary. Seeing as how this also was the first true vacation we have taken as a family of four (excluding trips to visit family or for work -- those aren't REAL vacations), it was a splurge that was worth every penny.

    Since y'all know how important food is to me, I'm writing a separate post about our dining experiences in Maui. Stay tuned!

    Where to stay in Maui: Fairmont Kea Lani

    entrance to fairmont kea lani maui

    Fairmont Kea Lani
    4100 Wailea Alanui Drive
    Wailea, HI 96753

    More Hawaii Travel Guides

    • Best Places to Eat in Maui
    • Where to Stay on Hawaii the Big Island
    • Where to Stay in Honolulu Hawaii
    • Where to Stay in Kauai Hawaii
    « Bacon Cheddar Biscuits
    What to Eat at Fairmont Kea Lani Resort »
    0 shares

    Get recipes, travel tips, deals and more delivered to your inbox!

      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. tom says

        June 09, 2011 at 3:17 pm

        marlynn- we are going to the kea lani with our three boys, all under 7, and were thinking of the poolside suites? any good? worth the money? i actually like the room pic where you stayed, having a nice open green area for the kids to run around in is good too- what room was that? thx

        Reply
      2. Renee Martinez says

        April 04, 2011 at 8:22 am

        Thank you for this awesome blog on Maui! We are also going there for our ten year wedding anniversary this September and are now even more excited from reading this! Neither my husband and I have ever been to Hawaii and can't wait! I will be very interested in your blog about the food in part 2!! Thank you again for sharing!!

        Reply
        • Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

          April 05, 2011 at 11:25 am

          Thanks, Renee! Congrats to you on your 10-year anniversary as well! Wow - lots of 10-year anniversaries this year! You will LOVE it. There is so much to do on Maui but it's still SO much more wide open with lots of gorgeous untouched land. It really is paradise! I'll be posting Part 2 on Friday! :) Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a great trip!

      3. Loretta says

        April 01, 2011 at 3:02 pm

        My husband and I leave in 4 weeks for our 10 year anniversary celebration at the Fairmont Kea Lani - so glad to hear of your awesome experience! Second marriage for me, so my babies are grown and in college, and to their dismay, not invited! We will be on Maui for 6 days and Oahu for 5 - Any other recommendations welcome - First time in Hawaii for both (well husband was born there, but left when he was 1!) Thanks!

        Reply
        • Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

          April 05, 2011 at 11:23 am

          Congrats on your 10-year, Loretta! How wonderful! The Kea Lani is such a great spot for any celebration. We loved KO retaurant and really wanted to try the Fish Market also at the Kea Lani but the kids weren't up for it so if you try the Fish Market there, let me know! If you like sight-seeing, I hear that getting up & driving to the top of Haleakala to see the sunset is AMAZING. We went up there during the day and it was still a breathtaking sight to see. I also like spending some time walking along the shops & restaurants at the boardwalk in Lahaina (Longhi's has a great breakfast). Those are all on Maui. It's been a while since I've been to Oahu but I remember there being more luaus there, and more shopping. Have a GREAT time!

      4. HS says

        March 26, 2011 at 4:51 pm

        This was a really inspiring post! Our ten year is only two years away...and not having had a night away from our toddler and preschooler yet (except to have the 2nd baby!), this would be a great trip. I love hearing that the resort was so family friendly. Looking forward to hearing about the food...

        Reply
        • Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

          March 27, 2011 at 2:10 pm

          Most places in Maui are super family friendly, but the Kea Lani was really something special. There were lots of other kids there for our kids to play with as well. For kids ages 5 through 13 there's a Keiko Camp with 1/2 day and full day as well as night camp options and they have a lot of great activities planned for the kids. We'll definitely take advantage of that at least for a 1/2 day or maybe one night so we can go out to dinner by ourselves when we go back, since our daughter will finally be old enough. We're going to start saving now though! ;)

      5. Becca -Our Crazy Boys says

        March 26, 2011 at 3:41 pm

        OH MY... That looks amazing, and I am now wanting to go back to Hawaii right. this. minute.

        I love your pictures. All of them, but especially the first one :)

        Reply
        • Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

          March 27, 2011 at 1:59 pm

          We want to go back right now too! Especially since it's cold & rainy in Portland :)

          Thanks, Becca! Hope you get to go back there sometime soon!

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

      Primary Sidebar

      Marlynn Jayme Schotland 2021 profile pic

      Hi! Thanks for stopping by! I'm Marlynn - a cookbook author, writer, photographer, and mom of two teenagers + a lovable lab retriever. Here you'll find my fast, easy, and delicious recipes, wine pairings, and travel guides. I hold a WSET 2 with Distinction in wine, and am a member of Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and the International Food, Wine, and Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA).

      More about me →

      Featured In

      Urban Bliss Life Press Featured In graphic

      Game Day Recipes

      • Air Fryer Potato Skins Recipe
      • Best Instant Pot Turkey Chili Recipe
      • Creamy Dairy Free Queso Dip
      • Instant Pot BBQ Ribs with Homemade BBQ Sauce

      New Recipes

      • Chocolate Rice Krispies
      • Lobster Pasta
      • 40+ Low Carb Air Fryer Recipes
      • Air Fryer Garlic Bread

      New Travel Tips

      • Best Bangkok Temples
      • Best Pad Thai in Bangkok
      • Brazen Banff
      • Best Things to Do in Banff
      • Twitter
      • Facebook
      • Pinterest
      • Instagram
      • YouTube

      Footer

      ↑ back to top

      logos of media outlets that have featured urban bliss life.

      Recipes

      • 30-Minute Meals
      • 5-Ingredients
      • Air Fryer
      • Asian
      • Dairy-Free
      • Pasta
      • Seafood

      About

      • About
      • FAQs
      • Privacy & Accessibility Policy
      • Terms & Conditions

      Contact

      • Contact
      • Work with me

      As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
      Copyright © 2022 Urban Bliss Life

      All rights reserved. You may not use any photos or recipes on this site for any personal or commercial use without my express written permission.