Maui’s Neighborhoods: West Maui

Situated on Maui's scenic northwest coast at the foot of the verdant Mauna Kahalawai, or West Maui Mountains, Kapalua Resort is a 1,650 acre secluded destination resort. It is surrounded by 23,000 acres of land owned by Maui Land & Pineapple Company.

Named for its dramatic lava peninsulas, Kapalua translates to arms embracing the sea and is one of Hawaii's premier resort areas. Its shoreline consists of five bays and three white sand beaches. It is so welcoming that monk seals often visit its shores.

It is nestled in one of Hawaii’s larger nature preserves encircling two marine sanctuaries. Kapalua Resort is known for its luxury real estate and accommodations.

For golfers there are two world-class golf courses, the Bay Course and Plantation Course. The area also offers sheltered beaches, walking trails, and other outdoor activities.

Nestled among the meandering rocky shoreline, Napili and Kahana oceanfront properties are hidden away, offering privacy to the residents. The neighborhoods between Ka’anapali and Kapalua offer residential community living in low-rise, higher density condominiums and single-family homes. 

Just a few miles north of Lahaina you will find Ka’anapali.

In ancient times the rulers of Maui enjoyed Ka'anapali as their royal retreat and playground. They liked the perfect stretch of white sand beaches with the gentle waves, the ideal weather, and the broad swath of green that swept up the slopes of the rainbow-laced Kahalawai, or West Maui Mountains.

Ka’anapali is Hawaii’s first planned resort. In the 1960’s Amfac, Inc. developed the area, which is now known as the Ka’anapali Beach Resort.  Along its sandy coastline there are resort hotels, condo hotels, and timeshare properties. There is resort dining and shopping, as well as the Whalers Village, a wonderful open-air shopping center filled with great boutiques and restaurants.

 

Lahaina is probably the second-most famous town in Hawaii after Honolulu. Lahaina served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 to 1845. During this time Lahaina was the center of the global whaling industry. The whaling ships and whalers are long gone now, and today's Lahaina is both a bustling shopping mecca as well as a city steeped in the culture of old Hawaii.

At mile marker 18 and to the south of Lahaina is a neighborhood called Launiupoko. This area is situated above the 6.7-acre Launipoko State Wayside Park. The lots here are agricultural zoned, which requires that 51 percent of each lot has to be farmed with a Maui County approved plan. This area has trails for horseback riding, cycling and hiking.

The West Side from Lahaina to Kapalua has multiple shopping centers as well as the stores offered in all of the hotels. Front Street in Lahaina, which follows the shoreline, is an endless row of shops, galleries, and restaurants. 

In Lahaina there are private as well as public schools ranging from preschool through high school. In Napili there is a private school that educates students from preschool through high school.

There is a rich diversity of religion on the West Side. There is a Buddhist Temple, a Latter-Day Saints temple, as well as churches devoted to Episcopalians, Pentecostals, Non-denominationals, Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Congregationalists, Catholics, and Seventh Day Adventists.