Wailea’s beaches, golf courses and restaurants are wonderful; the resort-strip price tags less so. Makoa Resorts’ vacation rentals sit in south Kihei, about four miles and ten minutes by car from Wailea Beach, on a quiet street steps from the Cove. Our Wailea Inn estate, villas and beachfront homes give you the same sunny coast with a full kitchen, a lanai of your own and a local team — and Wailea is a short drive whenever you want it.
Wailea is a planned resort community: a string of large resorts, three golf courses and an upscale shopping centre along Wailea Alanui Drive. It is beautiful and it is expensive, and most of what you pay for — the beaches, the golf, the restaurants — is open to anyone who drives in.
Kihei is the beach town next door, where South Maui’s residents live, eat and surf. It has miles of beaches (Kamaole I, II and III, Charley Young, the Cove), plus the restaurants, food trucks and grocery stores that come with a real town. Our properties are at its southern end, on the Wailea side of Kihei, so the drive to Wailea Beach, Ulua and Polo Beach or the golf courses is about ten minutes.
What you gain is space and a kitchen. Instead of one room you get a two-, four- or ten-bedroom home with a living room, a lanai and a pool reserved for the guests staying on the estate — generally for less per bedroom than a comparable stay on the resort strip, especially for families and groups.
What you give up is the lobby. There is no valet and no swim-up bar — just a gated estate, a lockbox and a local Kihei team a text away. For most of our guests, that is the point.
Despite the name, Wailea Inn is in Kihei — on Ili‘ili Road, a few minutes’ drive north of Wailea and steps from the Cove. It is a newly renovated, two-story gated estate with a heat-pump-heated pool, a yoga studio and a poolside BBQ area for the guests staying there. Rent one unit or the whole estate:
Lele Penthouse — the whole upper floor: 4 bedrooms, sleeps 16.
3 Ground Level Villas — the three downstairs suites together: 6 bedrooms, sleeps 20.
Poolside Bungalow, Lele Hideaway and Ohana Hale — two-bedroom suites sleeping 4 to 8 each.
Wailea Inn Estate — all of it: 10 bedrooms, 14 baths, sleeps 36, with events for up to 50 on a full-estate rental.
If you would rather be on the sand than near it, our three beachfront homes open directly onto the beach. Honu Cottage (1 bedroom, sleeps 4) and Mana House (2 bedrooms, sleeps 6) sit side by side on the ocean at the Cove, ten minutes from Wailea; the Oceanfront Hideaway (3 bedrooms, sleeps 12) is a single-level family home on the quiet “Secret Beach” stretch of Halama Street, a few minutes further north.
Across the road from the Cove Beach Park, Villas by the Cove has nine one- and two-bedroom garden villas, two ocean-view penthouses, the Plantation House and the Garden Hideaway around a solar-heated pool — 21 bedrooms in all, sleeping up to 50 as a whole-estate rental. Couples take a villa; families take a penthouse; reunions take the lot. See our Maui villas page for every option.
By car. Wailea Beach, Ulua Beach and Polo Beach, the Wailea Golf Club’s Gold, Emerald and Blue courses and the Shops at Wailea are all about ten minutes down South Kihei Road and Wailea Alanui Drive. Makena and Big Beach are a few minutes beyond that; Kahului Airport is about 30 minutes.
On foot. From the estate gate it is about 25 feet to the Cove, a one-minute walk to Charley Young Beach and a few minutes to Kamaole Beach I, with cafés, restaurants, a grocery store and the farmers’ market along South Kihei Road.
Beyond. Our complimentary concierge arranges snorkel tours to Molokini, surf lessons at the Cove, a personal chef or grocery delivery — all before you land, so the first day is a beach day.
Full kitchens stocked with the basics, air conditioning and ceiling fans, high-speed Wi-Fi and, in nearly every rental, a lanai of your own. Beach chairs, a cooler, an umbrella and a boogie board are waiting when you arrive, and stand-up paddleboards are available to every guest. Wailea Inn’s heat-pump-heated pool and Villas by the Cove’s solar-heated pool are each reserved for the guests staying on that estate, along with a yoga studio and BBQ area. Most properties use a lockbox for self check-in, shared laundry with detergent is on site, and our complimentary concierge is included with every stay.
Our best rate is always the direct rate — no online-travel-agency markups or service fees, guaranteed. And instead of a call centre you get our local Kihei team, who know every unit, can tell you which one fits your group, and are a call or text away before, during and after your stay.
Straight answers for travelers comparing Wailea with the Kihei side of South Maui. Anything else, our concierge is a message away.
No — and we would rather you knew before booking. Wailea Inn is on Ili‘ili Road in south Kihei, about four miles (ten minutes by car) from Wailea Beach. You get Wailea’s beaches, golf and restaurants as a short drive, and Kihei’s beaches, cafés and shops on foot.
About ten minutes by car to Wailea Beach, the Shops at Wailea and the Wailea Golf Club, and a few minutes more to Makena and Big Beach. All of our properties are within a few blocks of each other in south Kihei, except the Oceanfront Hideaway, which is a few minutes further north on Halama Street.
For most families, Kihei: gentler beaches like the Cove and Kamaole III, casual restaurants, grocery stores within walking distance, and rentals with kitchens, lawns and several bedrooms. Wailea is worth the drive for a resort restaurant, a round of golf or an afternoon at Ulua or Polo Beach.
Three: Honu Cottage, Mana House and the Oceanfront Hideaway open directly onto the sand. Wailea Inn and Villas by the Cove are steps from the Cove Beach Park rather than on it.
Wailea Inn sleeps up to 36 (events for up to 50 with a full-estate rental), Villas by the Cove up to 50, and together our properties host up to 80. Events with outside guests require a full-property rental — see our Group Stays page.
Yes, three nights at every property, year-round. Check-in is from 4 PM and check-out by 11 AM.
Wailea Inn has a heat-pump-heated pool and Villas by the Cove a solar-heated pool, each reserved for the guests staying on that estate. The beachfront homes have direct beach access instead of a pool.
Our best rate is always the direct rate — guaranteed, with no third-party service fees — and you deal with our local Kihei team from the first message to check-out. Live rates and availability are on our booking page.
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