Maui’s Fairmont Kea Lani: 13 tips for families

The gorgeous Fairmont Kea Lani on the Wailea coast in South Maui, Hawaii is perfect for families. Set in 22 acres of lush tropical landscape, it’s Hawaii’s only all suite resort set on the beach. With the recent completion of a $70 million resort renovation,  the footprint of the 413 suites are the same – it’s the views that differ. Suites comfortably fit a family of 4 or 5 and have a main bedroom (with 2 queens or a California king), living area with queen sofa bed, pantry area with a small fridge and microwave and a large private lanai with outdoor furniture. 

Here are some tips for families we gathered from our stay:

1. Each suite gets 1 beach umbrella with the room (2 for the villas). Go to beach services when they open at 8 am (sometimes a short line will form 15 minutes before) to get a front row spot. It will be yours for the day as long as you don’t vacate it for more than 1 hour.
2. One hour of snorkelling equipment is included with every suite for each day of your stay. Make sure to use it! The Wailea coast is known for snorkelling and the rocky end of Polo Beach (in front of the Fairmont) is a good place to start. I saw a 3-foot diameter sea turtle within a few seconds of diving in. 
3. If you can – bring your own body board or rent one from beach services. Body boarding is great on Polo Beach when South swell comes in. I even got behind a board (to the delight of my girls).
4. Bring a Go Pro to film your underwater experiences (there will be many). You will have the utmost respect of every young Hawaiian dude (and so will your teenage girls).
5. You get a beautiful lei greeting on arrival. Put it in fridge each night and it will last whole trip!
6. Check out their award-winning Hawaiian cultural experiences programme – some of the experiences require booking, but for many you just show up. The Hawaiian canoe experience is especially popular – book before you get there!
7. My girls really enjoyed the Hawaiian language class. Joelle, the full-time cultural director, will even look up your Hawaiian name! (Mine is Uki-Uki, which mean Hawaiian Lily)
8. There are coffee machines in each suite – but if want to let the kids sleep in you can get complimentary in the lobby until 6.30 am.
9. The Ciao deli serves all kinds of items to go. Two of our girls totally crashed after a day of sailing – so we got them pizza t0 enjoy in the room while we went out for rinks and appetizers.
10. You can text the front desk with anything you need (including what is on for the day!)
11. Make good use of the complimentary water in your suite. It’s easy for kids to get dehydrated easily.
12. Book the last 2 weeks of August (when the US school are back in and UK schools are still out). I’ve seen specials for as much as 40% off published rates.
13. If you join the Fairmont President’s Club (it’s free to join!) you get complimentary access to high-speed internet.

Enjoy your stay – we booked using United miles and loved every minute of out trip! We are definitely going back (maybe even next year – but don’t tell my girls!)

Photo Gallery:

My 12-year-old’s perspective

One of the activities for kids was making sushi. First the chef told us what all the available ingredients were and then he demonstrated how to make the sushi. I really liked it because you got to choose whatever you wanted to put inside! I choose smoked salmon, avocado, cucumber and pea shoots. When we finished the chef cut the sushi endgame us soy sauce and wasabi. It was my first time trying sushi! 

My 11-year-old’s perspective

The beach at the Fairmont Kea Lani was awesome! The water was really warm, the sand felt nice and there were lots of waves so it was perfect for boogie boarding. It was also good for snorkelling. I saw two turtles and I wasn’t even snorkelling (I saw them from the rocks). It was so good that even mum and dad came in the water and I realised mum had a secret talent for boogie boarding!

IF YOU GO:

Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui 4100 Wailea Alanui Dr, Wailea, HI 96753 +1 (808) 875-4100 fairmont.com/kea-lani-maui

United Mileage Plus United.com

Go Hawaii gohawaii.com/uk