The Fairmont Kea Lani is a posh resort located on 22 beachfront acres in Wailea in South Maui. With a prime spot on Polo Beach at the south end of the Wailea Beach Walk, three pools (including a water slide!), numerous restaurants, an award winning spa, and plenty of golf, tennis, shopping, and dining nearby, it’s easy to see why this place has such a loyal following.

Staying at the Fairmont Kea Lani

I first stayed here back in 2018. It was actually the first “really nice resort” I ever stayed at when I started my travel blog, and I loved it. Fast forward almost eight years, and I’ve since stayed at all six of the big resorts in Wailea (plus a dozen or so others across the Hawaiian Islands). So on my last trip to Maui, I went back to check out the Fairmont Kea Lani with fresh eyes, especially since they’ve done quite a few big renovations since my first visit.

Let me preface this with…this is a BEAUTIFUL resort, and if you’re lucky enough to stay here, you’re very lucky. But it’s my job to give you the nitty gritty reviews, because it’s a lot of money to stay ANYWHERE in Wailea, and you deserve to feel good about your decision.

Things I Love about the Fairmont Kea Lani

I think the Fairmont Kea Lani probably has the best rooms in Wailea. This is Hawaii’s only oceanfront all-suite and villa resort, so every room comes with a separate living area (with a pullout couch, TV, and mini bar). That means you get a lot more space here than you will at the comparably priced resorts nearby.

Speaking of price…I want to clear something up. The Fairmont is often priced comparably to the Four Seasons, and I think that leads people to assume it’s on that same tier of luxury. It’s not, and that’s not a knock, it’s just a pricing quirk. You’re paying elevated rates here because you’re getting a full suite as your standard room, not because the experience is “more luxurious” than the Four Seasons’ standard hotel rooms. All that said, I do think the rooms and bathrooms themselves are genuinely stylish, with really good design elements throughout.

The lobby is impressive, and you get a great arrival moment…the ocean and palm trees are framed perfectly from the moment you walk in. 

Also, both times I’ve stayed here we’ve gotten a special delivery at check in (a bottle of wine from MauiWine and a sweet treat), which was a nice touch. Every time I’ve stayed at a Fairmont, we’ve gotten some kind of surprise like this, so if you’re celebrating something, make sure to mention it when you check in. You’ll also get text messages from the concierge throughout your stay checking in on you, so don’t be afraid to flag anything you need through that channel too.

Pilina, the lobby lounge, is spectacular. They’ve really made good use of the views here, and it feels elevated in a way a lot of the rest of the resort doesn’t quite match (more on that later). The drink menu feels special and high end, and the food is mostly sushi, but they also do a hot rock “interactive culinary experience” (you know…where you cook your meat at your table on a hot rock). It’s a fun thing to do and we enjoyed it. 

I also really like the little market on site where you can grab coffee, lunch, or drinks. It’s a great, easy option if you’re just trying to grab something quick without committing to a full sit down meal or if the options from the pool menu aren’t doing it for you. 

The beach here is good, and the Fairmont is the only resort that sits directly on this stretch, so you’re not sharing your sand with guests from other hotels the way you are on Wailea Beach.

Things That Could Be Better

I’ll be honest, the food and beverage situation here don’t really wow me (besides Pilina). Nick’s Fish Market is the resort’s signature restaurant, but it was pretty much dead when we went, and compared to other resort restaurants in Wailea, it felt pretty mid. There wasn’t much to recommend about it. I liked the menu at Ko a little better, but it’s still not a home run for me. And neither restaurant really has great views (they’re both located on the bottom level of the resort so you see palm trees and sky in the distance but not ocean views really).

The pool area is pretty much a miss for me these days. It has an “old school” layout, and none of the pool spaces really take advantage of the ocean views the way you’d hope. The adults only pool is tucked back against the hotel and feels pretty “meh.” The family and kids pool areas are more spread out, but they don’t come close to competing with what you’ll find at the Grand Wailea or Wailea Beach Resort if attracting kids is your priority.

Service at the adults pool was decent, but it was pretty lacking everywhere else. There just aren’t enough servers to cover all the areas, and when we finally did flag someone down, it took 45 minutes just to get a drink.

They also sell day passes here, and it feels like there are too many people for the space available. To accommodate everyone, they end up putting out a lot of extra chairs lined up on the lawn areas, but the grass gets torn up and muddy pretty quickly, and overall it’s just not a great experience. Listen, if this resort was priced at $600-700/night (with other Wailea resorts sitting at $1000+), all of this would feel like a totally reasonable trade off. But since it’s priced in that same upper tier, it just doesn’t quite measure up.

The location isn’t my favorite either. The Fairmont sits at the far south end of the Wailea Beach Walk, and I personally prefer being closer to the stretch along Wailea Beach towards Mokapu. If that busier area isn’t your vibe, you might actually prefer this quieter spot. And yes, it’s an easy, walkable distance if you’re just out for exercise, but I think it’s a bit far (and can feel hot during the day or dark at night) if you’re planning to walk to dinner somewhere up that way and then walk all the way back.

And lastly, this is super niche, but I found out something interesting while I was in the area during Hurricane Lala. The Fairmont, along with everything south of it in Wailea and Makena, is on the upcountry power grid, which is the area most likely to take the brunt of the damage during a major storm. Everything north of the Fairmont, meaning the rest of the Wailea resorts, is on the south Kihei grid, which tends to be more reliable. Again, this is VERY niche information that’s really only relevant in the event of a MAJOR storm, but I thought it was worth passing along. (When Lala came through, the Fairmont had no power for over 24 hours while all of the other Wailea resorts were up and running). 

Overall

The Fairmont Kea Lani is still a beautiful resort, and if you’re staying here, you’re going to have a great trip. The rooms are probably the best in Wailea, the lobby and Pilina lounge deliver a real “wow” moment, and the beach access is great.

But coming back with fresh eyes (and a lot more Wailea resort stays under my belt since my first visit), I don’t think it quite holds up against the competition at this price point anymore. The pool experience, the food and beverage program, and the service all felt like they were a notch below what you’d expect paying what you’re paying here, especially when you’re going up against places like the Four Seasons, Andaz, and even the Wailea Beach Resort just down the beach walk.

If the price were a bit lower, I’d be recommending this place without much hesitation. As it stands, I’d say go in with the right expectations…

If you’ve read this far, you’re probably actually planning a trip to Maui…not just daydreaming.

When someone I know in real life tells me they’re going to Maui, I’ve got a list of spots and recommendations that tend to rattle off the top of my head. The ones that are top of mind…things I’m loving RIGHT NOW. So I finally just sat down and put them all in a Google Doc that I can easily send. Want a copy? I’ll send it to you for free. 

Grab my Top 25 favorite things on Maui RIGHT NOW >>> HERE.