I have
been fortunate to stay at the Montage twice in recent years. In these articles I will review the hotel as well as explaining how I managed to save £1200 on the original price on my last visit. In part 1, I will be looking at the room and the hotel itself. Tomorrow, in part 2, I will look at things to do, food, drink and how I saved money on my stay.
In this post:
The Hotel
The Montage Kapalua Bay on Maui has been named the world’s fifth-most-expensive hotel with room rates averaging $1,554 a night, according to Luxury-Hotels.com. Rest assured I do not pay anywhere near that rate! The Montage Kapalua Bay officially opened in June 2014 following a $15 million renovation and features 50 suites. Also on the property are privately owned residences, which I will be buying one of if I win the lottery!
The Montage is situated in Kapalua Resort which is a resort with plenty of facilities on Maui’s West coast. Kapalua is nestled in one of Hawaii’s largest nature preserves and also has two world-class golf courses. It is a long drive from the airport at around 1 hour 20 minutes so I would recommend hiring a car as transfers can be incredibly expensive. This also gives you the option to self cater as the hotel rooms are like an entire apartment with a full kitchen. One option if you arrive late or after a long international flight is to stay at the airport which keeps the cost of your trip down. I stayed at the Courtyard Marriott which was comfortable, modern and reasonably priced.
The Montage overlooks Namalu Bay and is a 4-minute walk from Kapalua Golf Club’s Bay Course. The resort is set across 24-acre beachfront gardens. It’s 1 mile from the Dragon’s Teeth rock formations.
The Pools and Beach
One of the main attractions of the Montage is its multitude of pools surrounded by lush tropical gardens. The main pool is set over many levels with waterfalls, rocks, bridges and jacuzzis. There are also several other pools such as the adults only sunset pool with its loungers set in the water and the infinity pool at the Spa. Finally, there is the Beach club pool which was generally quieter and had lovely views of the Ocean. Sitting by the pool sipping a tropical cocktail, whilst gazing out over the Ocean with the island of Molokai in the distance is definitely one of life’s great pleasures.
The water was heated to a pleasant but still refreshing temperature although some part were a little chilly on cooler days. The loungers around the pool are large and plush with built in head cushions. A couple of them did look like they had seen better days which I would not expect from this quality of hotel. There is pool side service for most of the day although sometimes it was a little slow if you were sitting in one of the more secluded spots around the pool. It did improve on our second visit when they were very attentive, particularly when sitting in the more open areas.
The beach at the Montage is just a short walk from the main building and as a guest of Montage you get complimentary towels and beach chairs. You can also rent snorkels and paddle boards at the beach. The bay is home to some enormous sea turtles. The first time I visited I did not have swim very far to see at least 4 large turtles in the water right next to me, nibbling on the sea grass.
The room
The rooms are set over a number of buildings, some close to the ocean. I actually preferred being close to the main building so that we got views all over the beautiful gardens and down across the ocean. All the rooms are apartment style in up to 4 bedroom configurations. They have modern, island style decor and garden or ocean views. I had an ocean view both times and would definitely recommend the extra expense for this.
Kitchen and Living room
All rooms have full kitchens, living areas and private lanai (covered balcony) and are huge. The kitchen had everything you could possible want including a huge american style fridge freezer, full oven and hob, dishwasher and even a wine fridge. The highlight for me was the day bed on the lanai which was a great place to lounge taking in the stunning views. The lanai also had a dining table and additional chairs for relaxing.
On our first visit the welcome was particularly great. The bellman actually unpacked all our food shopping for us. Both times we were given a bottle of sparking pineapple wine as a welcome gift as well as a $20 token to spend in the bar. Despite sounding a bit odd, the pineapple wine was actually very enjoyable and not overly sweet. You are also given 2 full size bags of local ground gourmet coffee. There is a shop on site where you can purchase the pineapple wine and coffee if you want to replace them. If you need other groceries there are plenty of shops a short drive away.
Bedrooms and Bathrooms
The bathrooms were enormous and even had a mirror actually in the shower. There were large size Attica Farmacista toiletries and Turkish cotton robes and slippers.
In the 2 bedroom version, one bedroom overlooked the Lanai and had access to the patio but both had sea views. There was a large dressing area and wardrobe in each room next to the bathroom. Both rooms were similar in size and had the same facilities so it would be easy to share with another couple which would keep the costs down. Another useful feature was the way that the temperature could be controlled individually between the living room and each bedroom. There is an additional toilet in the hallway as well as a washing machine and tumble dryer.
The rooms were not the most glitzy I have ever seen. They did however have absolutely everything you could want and were the biggest hotel rooms I have ever stayed in.
Tomorrow I will look at the other facilities in the hotel and what there is in the local area.
