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Location
Kaanapali is located on the
northern border of Lahaina.
Information & History
From its lu'au lawns to its
golf tees, Ka'anapali is fit, trim and manicured, a
playground for all tastes.
Its hotels line a 3-mile coastline with premier
accommodations, gourmet dining rooms, lagoons with swans and
flamingos, art treasures in improbable places, and vast
landscapes and waterscapes that elicit shrieks of excitement
from their mega-pools and thrill slides.
Favored by the Hawaiians of old, Ka'anapali has maintained
its playful spirit with the enhancements of modern water
sports: catamarans, outrigger canoes, boogie boards,
surfboards, snorkel and dive gear, and more.
In ancient times, the rulers of Maui savored Ka'anapali as
their royal retreat and playground. They liked the perfect
stretch of white sand beach, the gentle waves, the ideal
weather, and the broad swath of green that swept up the
slopes of the rainbow-laced Kahalawai, the West Maui
Mountains.
Maui's "royals" surfed, raced their canoes, feasted at lu'au
lasting for weeks, and, where the Ka'anapali Golf Courses
now blanket the land, they played ulu maika, a form of lawn
bowling using stones.
Ka'anapali 's two championship golf courses are open to all.
One is the creation of the eminent Robert Trent Jones, Sr.,
the other designed by Arthur Jack Snyder. The way the
courses are laid out, both duffers and pros get a good game.
The only problem is whales. If they're jumping offshore in
their fantastic gymnastics, nobody seems to make par. The
magnificent vistas of sea and mountains are distracting
enough to be considered outright hazards on the links.
In the 1960's, Ka'anapali was Hawai'i's first master-planned
resort and has become a model for resorts around the world.
The hotels and condominiums offer the gamut of experiences,
from soaring marble lobbies to beachside bungalows.
All are planted in a 1,200-acre enclave amid lavish gardens
along the beach and golf courses. In the center is Whalers
Village, an open air, world-class shopping complex complete
with a whaling museum.
The shops, hotels, restaurants, nightlife, activity centers,
and golf courses, as well as Lahaina town, are all connected
by shuttle transportation.
Children and adults are invariably thrilled by the
Lahaina-Ka'anapali and Pacific Railroad, a restored
sugarcane train pulled by a vintage steam locomotive.
Chugging through the sugar fields between Ka'anapali and
Lahaina, it evokes the plantation era of West Maui.
Ka'anapali 's rich history and traditions are honored daily.
Every evening at sundown, cliff divers reenact the feat of
Maui's revered King Kahekili, who bravely dove from the
cliff at Pu'u Keka'a, or Black Rock, into the churning sea.
The Hawaiians of old considered this spot to be the jumping
off place for the soul to enter the nether world. Tiki
torches are lit along the shore as ancient pahu drums and
conch shells call the hula dancers and revelers to the
beachside lu'au.
To preserve the unique culture and Maui way of life, some
Ka'anapali properties have adopted innovative cultural
programs that encourage employees to share their heritage
with guests. They do this in large and small ways, such as
greeting them with genuine aloha, sharing music and family
lore, and in colorful programs during Aloha Festivals, Lei
Day and Kamehameha Day, in honor of Hawai'i's greatest king.
Even with the amenities that have grown with time,
Ka'anapali has retained its core of natural beauty and
gracious, royal Hawaiian hospitality - two of the many
qualities that made it the choice of kings.
Links:
Maui Map
West Maui Museums & Landmarks
West Maui Beaches
West Maui Hiking & Camping
West Maui Snorkeling & Scuba
Diving
West Maui Watersports
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