The Sands of Kahana Vacation Club, Lahaina

We requested a quiet unit. What we got was a unit (#212, bldg 2) that could have been located in the middle of a busy, noisy industrial park with all the sights, sounds and ambiance of same (think car horns, vehicle doors slamming shut, “backing up” beeps of large trucks, garden/leaf blowers). From our living room balcony we had the DIS-pleasure of overlooking the tin roof of an adjacent (and attached) hotel maintenance/engineering facility. From our bedroom we viewed the parking lot and trash dumpster. Since each floor had garbage shoots leading to the first floor dumpsters, we were disturbed by the crashing of garbage and bottles hitting the dumpster 24 hours a day. The elevator was located just a few steps from our unit, allowing the loud voices of waiting guests to carry into the unit at all hours. Night time was especially loud when other guests were making their way back to their own units. We noticed caution signs to be careful of “slippery when wet” floors. Perhaps there should have been a sign posted at each stairway and by the elevator that read “quiet is appreciated by fellow guests.” It was obvious that Interval International “Exchange” customers get low priority when it comes to assigning units.

This property claims to be smoke-free, but smoking is allowed by certain residents including the chain smoking residents directly below our ocean front unit. This renders the lanai (and the oceanfront rooms when the door and windows are open) of the unit useless for anyone wanting or needing to avoid second hand smoke. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that many units do not have air conditioning and the only way to cool the units off to a semicomfortable temperature is to have all of the windows open. Pick your poison.

I love the fact it is on the beach. Hawaii is beautiful. But after traveling and going to many of the other vacation rentals like WorldMark and etc., the Sands of Kahana needs an upgrade. The decor is something from the 80s with faded furniture and pictures and outdated wicker. You can also notice very shotty workmanship on repair jobs. Everything is just really dated. The carpet is gosh awful with an ugly brown and some major water damage as you can tell. Other than this, it's a spacious room with a great view.

I spent the beginning of August here with my boyfriend and his family. They have been going for years, but this was my first visit. It is true.. There is no AC in the Unit, but trust and believe we didn't need it. The CONSTANT breeze off the ocean was excellent. Even before Hurricane Felicia came stumbling around the island. I enjoyed the time on the beach and the downstairs restaurant. They have good Eggs Benedict and I don't even like Eggs Benedict. We went down to Front street and hung out and had a good time by the Banyon tree. The Burger King across the street was disgusting.. so don't go there. We went along the harbor and did parasailing, dinner cruises, submarines, and a bunch more. It seemed to be the perfect spot to enjoy yourself. Yes, there was a lot of banging and leaf blowing in the morning, but I didn't expect there to be complete silence. I would have gone to a cabin in Wisconsin for silence. It wasn't disturbing to me, but I don't complain that much. The sunsets from the balconies were GREAT. I thought Chicago and Maui had a totally different sun. I don't see that here. The 3 bedroom 2 bathroom condo was SOOO spacious. It was 9 of us at one point, but you wouldn't know it. I really want to go back and the beauty of the place alone was enough for me. There was a huge kitchen and we BBQ on the grills downstairs. We had a lot of food. Stop at the Costco near the airport and just load up for the week. There was a washer and dryer in the unit, so it was the first time I didn't come back home from vacation with dirty clothes. The Road to Hana, the volcanos, the land, the sight seeing... I even saw dolphins. What more could you possibly ask for. And the service was good to us. Sorry to those who had a bad visit... I had a beautiful time.

We stayed at the Sands 2 different times. The condos are very roomy and nice and clean. Huge kitchens, w & d. Good location. Only drawback was that the bedroom window opened onto the walkway and earlybirds sometimes made a lot of noise.

We have been to Maui 8 times now and continue to enjoy the Sands. The location is easy to get to, however a rental car is a MUST as it is about 45 minutes from the airport. The two bedroom unit is HUGE, you won't know what to do with all of the space. It will easily sleep 6 people, even more with a pull out couch. One nice feature is that all of the units have built in washer and dryers, so pack light! The grounds are very nice and well kept. The beach in front of the property is small and a little rocky and is not the best swimming beach. However the world famous Kaanapali Beach is just a 10 minute drive away. The restaurant is a great choice for a lunch or afternoon snack, however is expensive for dinner. Don't worry about finding a good place to eat however, downtown Lahaina is about a 15 minute car ride away and has plenty of options. The night life options are limited in this area. If you like the club scene, there are a couple of hot spots in Lahaina, however the are limited options close by the condo. This also varies with the time of year as various celebrations take place throughout the year. Halloween is one of the the biggest party times in Lahaina. If you like to cook for yourself, make use of the full kitchen or one of the 8 gas BBQ grills located around the property. There are three tennis courts and a basket ball court as well if you need to work off the dinner from the night before! All in all, this is a great resort with spectacular views of the ocean. The service is great and the staff are friendly and willing to help. I would recommend this one to anyone who wants a relaxing vacation in Maui!

We visited the Sands of Kahana for a timeshare presentation. I did not have my ID, although my wife did. They told us we should have know to bring the IDs because it was on the invitation. Unfortunately, the broker who invited us failed to give us the invitation (which they also blamed us for). They treated us rudely and after spending a half hour getting my ID, they canceled the presentation. I've never been treated so rudely by a salesperson. I can only imagine how they would treat us after the purchase.

“ I love the Sands of Kahana resort. The location is perfect. I loved our condo, Unit 356. There was six of us and we had plenty of room. It was quiet, there isn't a bad view, the layout is perfect, it's open and airy. Never even thought about air conditioning. The condo just needs a good cleaning. I passed the information to the owner who lives on the mainland . He was able to get his on-site property manager, Sullivan Properties to do a deep cleaning on the property and he made sure the cleanliness of his unit will never be a problem again “

Large roomy quiet units for a large or multiple families. Pleanty of room to spread out for the $. Great restaurant, pool and beach access without the crouds of Kaanapali, yet close enough to whalers village and Lahaina. Great range of food and shopping with in a short walk. We go back year after year with the kids. It isn't the Four Seasons but a great value for those who enjoy their space and cooking in with family.

My wife and I bought our timeshare at Sands of Kahana in 1989 and have been relatively happy with the purchase. (We were disappointed in our original one-bedroom unit, but upgraded to a two-bedroom unit and that solved the problem.) In September of 2006, we were vacationing at the Sands of Kahana and were persuaded (tricked) into trading our Sands of Kahana ownership for a Tahiti Village ownership. The pivotal point of the deal for my wife and I was that we were promised that we would retain “Ownership Privileges” at the Sands of Kahana resort. (I travel on business to Las Vegas several times a year, and have less than no interest in actually “vacationing” in Las Vegas.) Now that I have tried to exercise those alleged “Ownership Privileges,” I have discovered that there is no such policy and that if I want to vacation on Maui, much less at the Sands of Kahana, I have to get in line with along with everyone else. As I see it now, I have about a 10% chance of actually being able to vacation at the Sands of Kahana, only as long as I am 100% flexible as to the date and type of accommodations, and put in my request at least one year in advance. In the last week or so I have learned the sad truth that the Sands of Kahana resort as it is now will probably cease to exist in the not too distant future. Rather than being honest with me and my wife, Consolidated Resorts tricked us into giving up our rights.