This was our 7th time in Maui and we had stayed at the Whaler once before. Kaanapali Beach is probably the best place to stay in Maui and the Whaler is likely the best location on Kaanapali Beach: just next to the gorgeous Whaler's Village open mall, right on the beach, 5 min walk from the Black Rock wonderful snorkeling spot (not to be missed!).
You can find cheaper accommodations in the area, but the Whaler has a great pool, beautiful grounds with picnic areas with gas grills. A few activities are included, among which tennis, pickle ball (you can borrow rackets & balls at no extra cost) and yoga… Oh, and parking is also included. On the last day, you can keep the towel cards (provided at check-in) past check-out time and the front desk can give you a card to access the pool and even a shower room so you can still enjoy the beach or the pool on the afternoon of your departure day. You’ll just return all cards right before you actually leave the property.
John’s condo is located on the ground floor on the north side and we enjoyed being able to step out on the grass or having breakfast and lunch on the expansive patio with a nice view on Black Rock. The apartment is very comfortable, the king size bed in the master bedroom is top quality.
The 1 Bedroom 2 Bathroom condo was very spacious for the 2 of us and would comfortably accommodate 4.
The full size kitchen is very well furnished with all the appliances and pretty much everything you would need to cook and serve the grandest of meals. This is one of the reasons why we like the Whaler condos much more than traditional hotel rooms, with their minuscule mini fridges and tiny microwave ovens (when you are lucky to have them). With a full size fridge, you will probably want to bring groceries, and there is a cooler on wheels and 2 ice packs in the freezer to help you go get frozen/refrigerated goods nearby.
We enjoyed watching Netflix movies having dinner in the main living room or later in the master bedroom by connecting our laptop to the high quality Samsung flat screen TVs. Oh, and broadband internet is quite fast. Definitely fast enough for Zoom or FaceTime calls, so this would be a great place to telecommute from.
Otherwise we found it reassuring to put our valuables in the safe when leaving the apartment (to go swimming for instance).
There is a washer and dryer right next to the elevators (there’s one on every floor at the Whaler) that are free to use and very convenient. Laundry detergent pods are not normally supplied, so pack a few with your toiletries in your suitcase. Last year when we came to the Whaler (through the Aston at the Whaler "hotel", not AirBnB) laundry detergent was supplied. So we had not taken any this time around, but John kindly had a few detergent pods delivered to the condo. A really nice gesture from our superhost!
Overall a great host and a fantastic place!