It’s cocktail time and everyone on the terraces at Andaz Maui faces the ocean, eyes on the dazzling sunset. Except one group at the poolside bar. They’re sitting with open laptops, staring at the screens or facing each other. They’re talking intently. They are millennials, attending a conference in this gorgeous new addition to the Wailea constellation of fine hotels....

The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea has 370 rooms and suites, so it’s not small. But it’s atmosphere is intimate and serene. It almost disappears into the Wailea Beach landscape with its gray-green roof and buff buildings. Angled wings provide each lanai with its own private view over fountains or beach. Polished marble, satiny and cool to the touch, graces...

This massive peach-and-white hotel seems to reach out and literally embrace its 40-acre grounds that contain a wedding chapel, ponds, a nine-pool swim-play complex, grottoes, two restaurants and a re-created tot beach. It’s steps from the real beach. The Waldorf Astoria resort sits at the epicenter of  WailWailea Beachesea Beach, a kind of Fantasy Island for families and lovers. Everything...

For years, mystery surrounded this hillside property above Wailea. Many people made the trek to its well-known restaurant Capische?, but few knew what rooms were like behind the waterfalls and stone lobby. Then called Diamond Resort, it was available only to people who belonged to a vacation club. Now it’s Hotel Wailea, a romantic retreat in a serene setting, open...

Boasting 806 rooms, this is Maui’s largest resort hotel. But it doesn’t seem so. Rooms cluster in three towers widely spaced on 40-acre lush grounds. Even inside the towers, you’ll encounter lushness. The Atrium Tower, which includes the lobby, surrounds an open area with palm trees, philodendron, macaws, a giant Buddha head, lagoon and magnificent carved canoe. Expect other exotic...

Maui visitors often long for the “old Hawaii.” This is it. Though Napili Kai offers a full range of resort activities, it’s low key, laid-back and reminiscent of 1970s Maui. It’s what draws people back. Another feature is the stunning setting on the picture perfect Napili Bay, and just steps from its sister sandy crescent, Kapalua Bay. Both have stunning...

South Maui, which faces West and enjoys the same world-class sunsets as West Maui, stretches from Ma‘alaea Baysouth to Makena. The long thin town of Kihei and manicured Wailea are in between. The area sits in the rain shadow of Haleakala so think warm and dry. It also holds Maui’s greatest contrasts. Ma‘alaea Bay and Kihei have some of the...

Maybe it’s the pale blue and tan color of room décor, or the open-air lobby, or the widely spaced low-rise buildings, but the Wailea Marriott has an airiness often absent from large beach resorts. Its prime setting on Wailea Point offers ocean view on three sides of the 497-room property. Pool choices are endless, including an adult’s only serenity pool,...

The lobby of this Ka‘anapali Beach resort takes on the bustle of a sub-tropical village, especially on days when Maui artisans display baskets and shell jewelry. Or when large groups arrive and surround clusters of suitcases. But the property has many serene spots. Five swimming pools – named for each of Hawai‘i’s major islands – meander through a water garden....

A dazzling white Mediterranean-Moorish villa emerges from the trees when you drive up to the Fairmont Kea Lani. It’s like something out of the Arabian nights. Walk into the arched lobby and out to the manicured grounds and pools and the illusion continues. But once registered and settled into your suite, you’ll see how this is an ultimately good match...

That beautiful slick cookbook propped on the marble counter set the tone for the luxe, spacious suite at Montage Kapalua Bay. Suites are the size of rambling suburban houses. Kitchens boast stainless steel state-of-the-art appliances. But if you can afford to stay at Montage Kapalua Bay, you probably won’t be cooking very much. The resort has just 56 units, with...