What to expect: Located three miles from Kahului Airport and a half-mile from large shopping malls, the Maui Beach Hotel primarily draws business travelers and vacationers on layover. Decor is contemporary and tropical in style. A facelift in 2003 added new carpet, shower doors, and bathroom tile to guestrooms. The spacious lobby opens to an oceanfront lawn dotted with tiki statues. A sandy strip of beach borders the hotel's rocky coastline at low tide, however, this area is not safe for swimming.

Amenity highlights: Amenities include an outdoor pool, restaurant, cocktail lounge, meeting rooms, and 3,650-square-foot ballroom. Additionally, guests have privileges at an 18-hole, par-71 golf course in sunny Kihei on Maui's south shore. Shops are located a half-mile away.

Insider tip: Iao Vally State Park—described by Mark Twain as the Yosemite of the Pacific—is especially beautiful at sunrise. Located five miles away, the park is famous for its misty stream, deep valley, jungle foliage, and an eroded rock spire measuring 2,000 feet from the valley floor.

What to expect: Decorated with Hawaiian royalty memorabilia, the friendly lobby opens to a verandah and a quiet bayfront courtyard. Across from the Kaahumanu Center shopping mall and within three miles of the airport, the Maui Seaside Hotel attracts guests with business in nearby Kahului or Wailuku, as well as vacation travelers.

Amenity highlights: Adjacent to Kahului Bay, the hotel provides a sunny lawn and courtyard splash pool. An on-site restaurant is opening on March 15, 2008 to serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Coin-operated laundry facilities are on site.