Maui Hotels
Don't Miss West Maui's Ka’anapali Beach Resort
June 4, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Ka’anapali was once the playground for the royal families of Maui. And anyone who’s ever visited the Ka’anapali beach resort on the island can have no trouble understanding why.
Ka’anapali boasts what many consider the best beach on Maui. A perfect swath of white sand, the beach here features gentle waves and a stunning view of the Kahalawai Mountains, the soaring range of peaks that dots the western portion of Maui.
The good news is that this resort area has lost none of its elegance over the years. The Ka’anapali resort area now covers more than 1,200 acres of land, all of which are expertly landscaped.
Ka’anapali was Hawaii’s first master-planned resort, something that’s easy to believe from the lush landscaping. Resort planners from around the world still study it when crafting their own vacation spots.
Planners didn’t forget the tourists, either. Visitors to Ka’anapali have plenty to choose from when it comes to activities and amenities. The area is home to five high-end resort hotels, a shopping district that boasts more than 60 shops and restaurants, and a winding oceanfront beach walk.
The beach walk is a nice way to spend part of a lazy afternoon. It winds gracefully past Ka’anapali’s various hotels, condominiums, shops, golf courses and tennis courts.
The walk takes tourists to one of the more unusual tourist attractions in Maui, the Lahaina-Ka’anapali and Pacific Railroad. This is a restored sugarcane train pulled along by a vintage steam locomotive. As the attraction’s name suggests, the train takes riders from the Ka’anapali resort to the busy shopping and entertainment district of Lahaina.
While the shops and championship-level golf courses are certainly a modern draw, Ka’anapali also features a nod to the history and traditions of Maui with its early evening cliff-diving ceremonies.
At sunset, divers pay tribute to the former Maui king Kahekili, famed for jumping from the cliff at Black Rock into a raging sea, by diving into the Pacific waters themselves. At the time of Kahekili, legend said that this spot was where souls jumped into the afterlife.
Ka’anapali is also home to a string of popular night-time luaus, sponsored by the resorts here. The food at these events is legendary, and is made up of more than just poi.
Ka’anapali offers much to Maui visitors. Even if you’re not staying at a resort in the area, make sure to arrange some time for a visit.
You can’t leave Maui, after all, without attending an authentic luau or watching a diver fall from a thrilling height.
