Best Maui Vacation Rental or Resort

We went in April for my husband's company trip. We stayed at the Fairmont, which was nice as all rooms are suites and they had a nice pool with one water slide and a kids club. We also had access to the Grand Wailea. We saw our friends room and it look like a regular hotel room, and I don't know what kind of kid activities they had, but their pool was amazing. It had multiple pools, an adult only pool, a lazy river, a "beach" area in the pool that my 6 year old loved, and I believe 7 water slides. It also had beach access where they provided umbrellas and chairs. As for both resorts, I liked the rooms at the Fairmont better and the Fairmont also ran shuttles to various locations around the local area. However, if I was going to book with kids in mind, I would probably go to the Grand Wailea just for the pool alone. If I remember correctly when I looked up both hotels online, the Grand Wailea also had a kids club.

I would try a website like VRBO or AirBNB. You can find ones at most all price points and they are a lot more homey than a resort!

The Kaanapali area is great, but pricey depending on your budget. We stayed at the Westin and it was divine. Napili Point has some great affordable and really family friendly condo rentals. I can't remember the name of the specific property we stayed at but it was a small complex, like 18 units, and right on the beach.
The great thing about Hawaii is you don't NEED activities. The beach is your playground, all we ever did was go to the beach and the pool and out to a few restaurants and we always had the best time.
Oh, and eat at Mama's Fish House, expensive but worth it. Enjoy!!!

We stay at Maui Banyan in Kihei about every other year. It is just across the street from the beach (and the beach never seems crowded). There is some decent snorkeling right there, too. Some rentals have a full kitchen and some a kitchette. They have two pools with grills you can use. There are also tennis courts. I think one or two days a week they have a kids' activity (like making leis), but we have never gone to it. It is walking distance from restaurants and some shops. But like Mamazita said, we spent most of our time at the beach and maybe would use the pool once or twice. We leave our condo fairly early in the day and return fairly late in the evening.

We like staying in Kihei for a lot of reasons. We aren't really resort type people and Kannapili is mostly resorts. Kihei feels more small town/local. Kihei is closer to Makena Beach and Big Beach which are my favorite beaches. But the riptide is kind of strong at Big Beach so not the best if your little kids want to be in the water. It is great for body surfing and boogie boarding. Both of those beaches also have limited facilities so fewer people go to them. It is a nice drive up the coast to Lahaina and not far from Honolua Bay where we catch whale watching tours.

I just became aware of a website that has family vacation rentals. Search for Maui and it has several possibilities of different kinds from condo/home rentals to resorts. It also has info on attractions and restaurants too.
familyvacationcritic.com

Our family has used vrbo.com to find vacation rentals in several different places. We've had good luck with it.

Have fun. Maui is one of my favorite places!

i've done half rental and half resort.