Maui Vacation Rentals Let You Shop ‘Til You Drop

Posted on July 19, 2008

Maui is a shopaholic’s dream as well as an arts center, with a large number of resident artists who show their works in dozens of galleries and countless gift shops. Maui is also the queen of specialty products, an agricultural cornucopia that includes Kula onions, upcountry protea, Kaanapali coffee, and many other tasty treats that are shipped worldwide. As with any popular visitor destination, you’ll have to wade through bad art and mountains of trinkets, particularly in Lahaina and Kihei, where touristy boutiques line the streets between rare pockets of treasures. If you shop based from Maui vacation rentals in south or west Maui, expect to pay resort prices, clear down to a bottle of Evian or sunscreen.

With a well-heeled flourish, The Shops at Wailea, an upscale shopping-and-restaurant complex, opened in south Maui in 2001. The 16-acre complex features more than 50 shops and five restaurants, including Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, Gap, Banana Republic, and the ever-popular local retailers Martin & MacArthur and Ki’i Gallery. This is resort shopping much in the vein of Whalers Village in Kaanapali, where shopping and restaurant activity is concentrated in a single oceanfront complex. The Shops at Wailea signal a repositioning of the resort as a place of heightened commercial activity where the rich and famous seek the most luxurious in a Maui vacation home of their own.

When looking for the best vacation rentals Maui offers in central Maui, check out Wailuku, which is poised for a resurgence. The town has its own antiques alleys, Sig Zane Designs has brought a delightful infusion of creative and cultural energy, and a major promenade on Main Street is in the works. The Kaahumanu Center, in neighboring Kahului, is becoming more fashionable by the month.

Upcountry, Makawao’s boutiques are worth seeking out, despite some attitude and high prices. The charm of shopping on Maui has always rested in the small, independent shops and galleries that crop up in surprising places.

Maui’s Own: Ocean Vodka — If you’re looking for a souvenir of your fabulous Maui trip to take home, or a unique gift for friends, Maui has its own vodka, called Ocean Vodka. Produced by Hawaii Sea Spirits, this ultrapremium brand is not only USDA certified to contain organic ingredients, but the water comes from 3,000 feet beneath the ocean off the Kona coast of the Big Island. The deep-sea water is harvested by KOYO USA, producers of MaHaLo Hawaii Deep Sea Water. The desalinated water has become widely popular in Japan, where people swear it has provided beneficial health effects (so far no scientific studies have backed this claim up). The MaHaLo water is shipped to Maui, where it is blended with organic corn and rye to produce this one-of-a-kind vodka. It’s available at restaurants, bars, hotels, and retail shops.

If you are planning a trip to Hawaii, why not enjoy yourself with a Maui vacation home. Be sure to visit HawaiianBeachRentals.com so see their huge selection of Maui vacation rentals. Afterall, a beautiful place to stay makes the hard day’s work of shopping just that much more enjoyable. Just go to the Hawaiian Beach Rental website and look for vacation rentals Maui.

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