By Jim Byers
Member, Society of American Travel Writers (SATW)
NAPILI, MAUI, HAWAII – I was scrolling through Instagram the other day and found a post from my friends at the Napili Kai Beach Resort on Maui. It was a photo of a little coastal path that runs along the point and stretches from Napili Beach to a group of hotel rooms on a rocky point of land that separates Napili Bay from Kapalua Bay.
I hadn’t given it a ton of thought before, but as I gazed at the photo I started to think of how many times I’ve walked along that path, and how much I love it.
My family first started going to Maui in 1968, when there were only a couple of buildings at the Napili Kai. The units on the point weren’t there at the time, but the coastal path was already in existence. I’ve been to Maui probably 25 or 30 times by now, and every time I go I walk along that path, even if I’m not staying at the hotel.
A panoramic shot showing Napili Beach and part of the coastal path at the Napili Kai Beach Resort. Shot on iPhone13 Pro Max. JIM BYERS PHOTO
There are native plants and dark lava rock on both sides of the path, along with orchids and leafy, bright green naupaka plants. At most you’re maybe five or ten yards from the blue Pacific Ocean as you walk the path, which fronts several groups of hotel buildings that line the point.
About halfway down there’s a stone bench under the shade of a small tree called a Hau tree. It’s a place I love to sit and admire the view of Napili Beach, the green slopes of the West Maui mountains and the not-too-distant island of Lana’i.
There’s a sign along the way that points to some rounded indentations in the rock, which is where Hawaiians used to gather salt. You’ll also find remnants of an old stone dock that a previous owner built, only to have the ocean eventually knock it down.
A few years ago I noticed that they had installed a white stone seat that looks like a giant seashell. That’s another great spot to bask in the sun and gaze at the view.
My Dad at the Napili Kai Beach Resort. JIM BYERS PHOTO
(The path is actually part of my life almost every day. For years, my laptop background photo has been a picture of my Dad standing on the path not far from the Sea House restaurant. I smile every time I see it.)
I’ve stayed in a number of units over the years, and they’ve all been terrific. The last one from February was utterly fabulous (see video), a spacious, one-bedroom, two-bath unit in the Puna Point building, which is the last set of buildings on the point of land between Napili Bay and Kapalua Bay. You don’t see the beach as much as you do from Puna I or the two Lani buildings, but there’s a wonderful sense of serenity, as well as amazing sunsets and great views of west Maui and Lana’i.
Both Puna I and Puna Point have swimming pools, large patios for relaxing and a bbq, so you can make your own meals. Mind you, our unit had a full kitchen, as well as a microwave, coffee maker, blender (hello, Jimmy Buffett) and a gleaming, stainless steel refrigerator/freezer.
We had a good-sized bedroom with a full bath, then a second bathroom with a shower and lots of storage space. The kitchen led to a large living/dining area with two sofa beds that would work well for a family with small kids, and then a gorgeous lanai with a table and chairs and two other chairs. Not to mention that fabulous view, which was just as pretty at sunrise as it was at sunset.
Napili Kai Beach Resort, Maui, Hawaii. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Other units face directly onto the beach or the extensive gardens.
They’re little things (literally and figuratively), but I love, love, love the bathroom amenities. I’m a sucker for anything that reminds me of the tropics, so I must admit I grabbed all the pineapple shampoo and tropical-scented body lotion that I could.
One of the great things about Napili Kai Beach Resort are the Hawaiian programs. They take their responsibility to represent Hawaiian culture very seriously here. Every morning at the beachfront pavilion they offer free cultural demonstrations, including palm frond weaving, the history of the lei and the history of Hawaiian fishing and the Hawaiian canoe. There’s free coffee, iced tea and lemonade, too.
Every night just before sunset a fellow in a Hawaiian-style sarong and no shirt dashes about lighting the tiki torches along the coastal path, in front of the Sea House Restaurant (more on that later) and along the beach. There’s a putting party every Monday on the deep green putting green, with prizes on offer, as well as a free children’s hula show every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. that’s open to all guests. They have a weekly Mai Tai party on Wednesdays, and a horticultural tour (the grounds are stunning) every Thursday.
Every Wednesday and Saturday night there’s a Hawaiian slack key guitar show in the on-site covered pavilion, featuring multiple Grammy Award winner George Kahumoku Jr. He’s a lovely guy who plays amazing guitar and sings splendid Hawaiian tunes. He also tells fantastic stories about Maui and Hawai’i and his personal life, some of which might actually be true. It’s a treat you don’t want to miss.
Napili Beach has some of the prettiest sunsets in the world. This was taken directly in the front of the Sea House restaurant. JIM BYERS PHOTO
There are four swimming pools, two hot tubs, two shuffleboard courts, and a free book-lending library in the open-air lobby. On top of that, they offer special rates at the magical Kapalua Golf Resort, which is just a minute or two up the road.
Oh, parking is free and there are NO RESORT FEES.
The resort is at the north end of marvelous Napili Beach, a golden crescent of sand that might be the best beach in the world. The north end, adjacent to the resort, is almost always calm, even in winter, and there’s a nice reef for snorkeling. You’re likely to see brilliant, yellow, black and white angel fish and colourful humuhumunukunukuapua’a, the Hawaiian state fish. It’s not unusual to see sea turtles, as well.
The middle part of the beach tends to have bigger waves, which makes it great for body-surfing. No property on the beach is allowed to be more than two-storeys high, so you’re not closed in by a wall of condos.
The Napili Kai is just steps from Kapalua Beach, which is a bit smaller than Napili and has fewer waves, but better snorkeling owing to the numerous reefs.
Pork belly at the Sea House Restaurant, Napili Kai Beach Resort. JIM BYERS PHOTO
The Sea House restaurant serves up excellent seafood and land-based dishes. The macadamia nut-crusted mahi mahi is a standard that’s been on the menu for decades, but they’ve given it a fresh update if you ask me. I also loved the crispy, crab-crusted monchong (a delicate white fish) on my recent visit, as well as the coconut shrimp, the fresh ahi ceviche and the sliced pork belly. They make a great Mai Tai, and I also like their take on a Moscow Mule, which features passionfruit and Thai basil.
At breakfast, try the Molokai Sweet Potato Frittata or the Banana Bread French Toast with Hawaiian vanilla custard. If you love sausage, skip the usual and get the Portuguese linguica, a Hawaiian favourite.
The Sea House is a beautiful, open-air restaurant that’s just a few feet from the ocean, so you get fabulous views and killer sunsets. There’s also an indoor bar with great views and a terrific outdoor patio with umbrellas and unobstructed beach/ocean views. In all my visits, we’ve never failed to book the Sea House for a special family dinner.
I fell in love with Napili Beach and the Napili Kai Beach Resort more than 50 years ago. The resort is beautiful and luxurious, but it’s never stuffy. The Hawaiian programs are terrific, the rooms are beautiful, the beach is perfect, the views are amazing, and the atmosphere is super casual. For me, this is as good as it gets.
