Maui With Kids – Fairmont vs. The Four Seasons

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Okay, so this was a post I didn’t think I would write (niche topic anyone?) but it seems like quite a few of you are interested and if it helps some other people traveling, then hooray! Last month I spent almost a week in Maui, at the Fairmont Kea Lani, a hotel I have been to before (but never before with kids). We usually stay at the Four Seasons (sorry, bougie alert) and I was just there last year with kids so feel comfortable reviewing the two properties. We go to Maui a lot (it’s an easy 4-5 hour flight) and a favorite destination of ours – I hope this review comparing them both from a family perspective is useful to some of you who might be taking the trip in the future!

Now first, starting with:

THE ROOM:

If you’re a family with young kids, I think the Fairmont’s room layout is superior. At least at the base level. EVERY room is a suite, which means even the entry level ones, which means they all have a bedroom and a big living room with a pullout couch. The living room also has amenities like a fridge, microwave, which is great but we didn’t use them at all. Honestly I think if we were going to do the bring your/cook your own food route then I’d probably just rent a condo/AirBnB and enjoy the extra savings.

This photo is a great view of the suite – you can see the bedroom and then the couch, which is pull out. We booked an entry level (aka cheapest) room and this is exactly what we got – so rest assured, this is the very least of what you will receive. We actually requested a crib as my daughter still sleeps in one (she is two) and the hotel has full sized cribs available – (SO important and not something I used to think about) versus a smaller pack and play. A tip – I always bring a sheet and blanket from home, to make it more familiar and cozy as I’ve always found hotel crib mattresses to be quite hard, likely for liability reasons.

Also- another great part of the room – the bathroom, which you can’t see but is to the left of the bedroom, is accessible from both the bedroom and the living room. Which is GREAT. So that no matter if the parents are sleeping in the living room or the bedroom, you can still access the bathroom without waking the kids.

All that being said, and IF money were not part of the equation – the Four Season’s actual product is better, if comparing suite against suite. I mean…duh. It’s newer and the Grande Dame on the island. When we went last year with kids we actually did not get a family suite but rather two connecting regular rooms (which comes out to be about the same price as one suite, which I’m sure is deliberate) – the two room format also had its advantages.

So, in terms of the hard product of the rooms themselves I would give the edge to Four Seasons based on a) how new they were, b) decor, and c) view and style of lanai (the Fairmont’s, especially the outdoor furniture, was a little ratty). That being said I want to say we paid over more than 2X the Fairmont so keep that in mind! It’s definitely a sort of “pay more and get more” deal BUT the Fairmont in itself is a great and well designed product. Remember: this review is only for the super picky.

Alright, so moving on…to:

AMENITIES:

I got personalized toiletries! (Please note that this wasn’t some sort of influencer trip – I bought the package on COSTCO ONLINE). And actually, on that note, I usually like to book trips via Virtuoso/FHR to get the free breakfasts and everything BUT the Costco price was so much cheaper. However, one final note – this was our first time booking Costco and it came with a “free airport transfer” which I only realized once at the airport is this kind of shuttle which might drop off up to ten passengers first, at other hotels on the island. Which is fine, but when you have two squirmy toddlers after a flight….asking, “is there our stop”? you might find yourself going crazy. On our way back, we declined the shuttle and booked our own taxi (about $60 before tip).

I swear this isn’t because the amenities had my name on them but I did like the Fairmont’s bath amenities better. Because from what I remember, the FS was L’Occitane or some other brand I don’t remember. WHY? This is where you can differentiate yourself! I’ve always like the scent of the Le Labo ones and yah, the brand is great.

One other nitpicky point – you have to call for extra slippers at the Fairmont, they don’t give q-tips (AT A BEACH RESORT? WHY?) and in general the bathroom was less well stocked than at the FS. I did feel confident I could call down for whatever I wanted, but it usually took some time to come up.

Oh! One other tip – the pillows were quite soft here. I called down and got a memory foam pillow which was perfect. Housekeeping said they only have a few though. Just something to keep in mind.

FOOD:

Breakfast: Breakfast buffets are great in Maui so even though I would say the one at the FS is better, that doesn’t mean the Fairmont’s wasn’t great. It was and more than enough food and selection for us, including a Japanese buffet options, kids items, etc. No fresh pancake/egg bar like at the FS though, which is probably the biggest difference, but they had enough that I was more than happy.

HOWEVER, the other restaurants – I would say, not so great. The FS has almost all the best restaurants between the two, including Ferraro’s (my personal favorite) and actually DUO which we went to twice this trip and was better than I recalled. The one thing the Fairmont has going for it that I liked was a little cafe/”market” on the first floor where you could buy sandwiches, fresh poke, slices of pizza, ice cream to take to your room. The prices were fair ($40-$50 for lunch for 4). Fairmont has “kids eat free” which did NOT work at the market, however if you compare to the cost of eating two adult entrees at a restaurant…they came out about the same. Also, the restaurants could be REALLY slow with bringing out kids food (like 40+ minutes) and the food was uneven, at least at their “flagship” restaurant, Ko, which we tried multiple times.

Also – on the topic of food – on one of the nights we went to Hotel Wailea. It was REALLY good. The best food I’ve had on Maui! About $200 for two with alcohol.

And the view was gorgeous. The entire hotel is no kids allowed. AKA the sort I would have definitely booked before we have kids and which we don’t anticipate staying in for another ten+ years. It does look great. Have you been? Let me know your thoughts if so. Sigh. It describes itself on its website as an “Adult Only Oasis”. Ha.

Next…moving onto:

KIDS:

Both hotels have Kids Clubs where you can drop off your kids, for free (YAY!) However, my kids aren’t big enough for the kids club at either, so we haven’t done it (BOO!). So I’m not qualified to speak to them. I did take the kids to the FS club several times, and they loved it but I had to stay with them. We didn’t try the Fairmont club (above is a picture).

Though what I CAN say is that: in general, the FS makes you feel more special about bringing your kids. Their kids menu is overall better (and like at the Fairmont, kids under 5 eat free at all restaurants except Spago). Whenever we check into the FS, there’s a little set of stuffed animals for the kids – we still have all of them and the kids remember that they came from Maui. Usually each day we would find a little treat in our room too, just to enjoy and share as a family, little desserts, dried fruit, etc.

The Fairmont does/gives nothing which isn’t a big deal (does anyone really need more stuffed animals) EXCEPT for the fact that on the list of amenities you get with their “Resort fee” (more on that below) they list little kids gifts, etc. We didn’t see any of that.

BEACH/POOL:

FS takes the cake here. Honestly I was really disappointed by the Fairmont’s beach service (aka none). The staff acts like they hate you when you ask them to set up the umbrella (why? I’m being nice! I tip!). They never once brought by water or asked if we wanted to order food at EITHER the beach or the pool, and I kind of do expect pool service for food, especially at these prices. Each resort charges one of those hated “resort fees” which is supposed to include complimentary sunscreen, little pool treats, etc. At the FS, sunscreen stations were set up everywhere, including the ocean, and staff would bring by little treats like watermelon and ice water popsicles every hour or so. At the Fairmont, there was one sunscreen station which you had to trek to if you were by the ocean, and I don’t think we ever were offered anything else? But not a big deal either way.

Also, the cabanas at FS are free, the Fairmont charges (this is annoying). The chairs, ESPECIALLY at the ocean, are really rickety (as in your butt might fall through the slats). And another nitpicky point but at the FS they always had sand toys for the kids to play with…at the Fairmont, at the ocean stand, I asked if they had any and the dude grunted and pointed to a stray dirty shovel on the ground. We ended up buying two sets at inflated gift shop prices and asking the hotel to keep them as sets to let other guests use when we leave. The request was received with benign confusion.

SO. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you might know that I have an interest in hotels – I used to do travel lots and lots more and over that time have been lucky enough to talk to various hotel staff, general managers, etc. My read on the Fairmont is – I think the management could pay a little more attention. Because the deficiencies I was specifically annoyed about weren’t really related to the hard product (rooms being old, decor, etc which costs $$$$ to execute and which would raise rates considerably) but rather service. Service recovery at a restaurant (when a kid’s meal takes 40 minutes + to arrive in an empty restaurant, and the manager says he’s going to be nice and “comp” you a kid’s brownie when the night before you were told it was free since kids eat free); the ocean/beach service, which again I mentioned was quite bad, and which other guests complained about too. The hotel has so many great things going for it and so many excellent staff members that these lapses really stood out.

THAT BEING SAID – here’s my final verdict. If you are a family with kids, if you aren’t super picky, if you are okay with “okay” food choices and/or going out sometimes to other properties for lunch/dinner, and you want decent value for luxury – go for the Fairmont! It’s a great value and still a luxury hotel. The suite setup is great.

If you are picky – if you’re the kind of person that wants your stay to be seamless, if service recovery is important to you, if you want multiple excellent food options at your hotel and just want to chill and hang out with your kids and have a flawless time (and to be honest, the FS may not be flawless either, not if you’re used to Aman or certain Asia hotels) – I would go for the Four Seasons. In Maui, between these two hotels – I would say, depending on what you value, you get what you pay for but if you can relax your standards just a tad, I might try the Fairmont as the savings are considerable. That all said, the next time I’ll likely be back at the Four Seasons if I can find a decent rate.

Okay – I hope this was helpful for some of you! And if any of you have any input, please share!