How do I find a good deal for lodging in Hawaii

I have been looking for inexpensive hotels planning on May 2013, on the Big Island Looking in the "Hawaii Magazine", I have found several.
I would suggest investing in one - They have Bed and Breakfast, By owner, Condo's and so on. Here are a couple from a 2011 Magazines, /$129 / night - in Kahana www.mauikondo.com (800) 742-7955, There is another one no rates www.MauiCondo.com (800)822-4409 . Then there is a FREE ACCOMMODATIONS GUIDE you can order @ wwwMauiAccmmodations.com/hicl --- Good luck !

Check out VRBO [vrbo.com] for great deals on condos. Most come with a kitchen which can help you save big on your food.

Also, when looking for a place, look for one up on the mountainside rather than one on the beach. You will have a better view of the beach and you will pay quite a bit less for an equivalent condo.

Not that it will answer your question, but we were in Western Maui a couple years ago and I thought I would chime in.

Stayed at the Westin. Awesome hotel with an amazing breakfast buffet and really cool pools. It was expensive though, and definitely more than $1000/week. Anyway, Maui is great. I would highly advise staying away from the touristy restaurants - they are overpriced and the service sucks. The more 'local' restaurants had the best food, prices and service - and they aren't anti-tourist either.

The weather (in April) was outstanding. The only way to describe it was "perfect".

I also highly recommend doing The Road to Hana. Outside of a car rental and gas, it's free. You can pick up a guide CD for about $10, which makes the trip much more entertaining. You get to see most of the island with the little stops along the way. We took the South Road back which was quite interesting. It's an all-day trip, but again, very worth it IMHO.

If you like scuba diving, Maui has some great dive sites. I would suggest the Molokai Crater. They also have boat tours that offer snorkeling or scuba if you have family members who want to do one or the other.

And make sure to visit the Hallekala volcano.

Maui can be expensive, but there are a lot of things to do for cheap which are better than most paid excursions.

Also, to save money on food/groceries, make sure to get the free "membership card" at the local grocery chain (I forget the name offhand). You have to fill out an application, but it's free and can save you a ton of money.

My only real complaint was that, in my opinion, most of the natives were quite rude and insulting. Almost like they resented tourists being on their island. While I can understand that this might be the case, their entire economy is based on tourism, so it seems like biting your nose off to spite your face. But my prior image of "friendly people" was definitely shattered.

[QUOTE=Brian1;51090150]Check out VRBO [vrbo.com] for great deals on condos. Most come with a kitchen which can help you save big on your food.

[QUOTE]

frbo.com is another site. Try homeaway.com as well. Have a great time!!!!

I would be looking at TripAdvisor and see if there are any websites devoted to hotels there. I would have to think that August in Hawaii is off season.

zzyzzx,

And you would be incorrect. August is very peak season for Hawaii (school is out for summer). The only other more peak travel period for Hawaii is Thanksgiving and Christmas.



OP,

$1,000/wk your budget is fairly low for peak season, that being said it could be doable. I would look in the Napili area. Definitely get on VRBO and look for a condo, although from what I have found is that the cheaper ones tend to go first. You may have to stretch your budget to say $1200-$1300 for the week. Are you looking for a full 7 nights? How much space do you need? (studio/1bd/2bd)


Also make sure you have your car rental locked in. If you have a costco membership try them and also www.discounthawaiicarrental.com

If you have other questions feel free to ask. I'm quite the Hawaii aficionado (I've been 3 times this year already). Feel free to visit us on the tripadvisor forums (I hang out there too, same name as here).

Found a great package deal with Alaska Air. 4 people, 8 nights, in west Maui villa with kitchen and full airfare for only $2600!

For july

car from Hotwire -$25/day +tax

Via Priceline
Hotel- $215/day + tax + 25/day (resort fee)
Air - 580 /person

Quote from ruv : Found a great package deal with Alaska Air. 4 people, 8 nights, in west Maui villa with kitchen and full airfare for only $2600!

What "villa"? El Dorado?

Quote from PiratesSayARRR : What "villa"? El Dorado?

Aston Villas

Quote from ruv : Aston Villas

Nice. I like their location.

Quote from ruv : Aston Villas

So how exactly did you get this killer deal? I must admit I'm kind of interested! I don't see squat for under $4k for 4 people for a week.

Quote from LivninSC : So how exactly did you get this killer deal? I must admit I'm kind of interested! I don't see squat for under $4k for 4 people for a week.

the price has gone up since thursday, but it's departing PDX to OGG (maui) on August 28th returning on Sept 5th for 4 people 8 nights at the Aston Villas. When I looked Wednesday it was $2500.