Hawaii Dream Vacations by Abby

Starwood Maui is now offering complimentary shuttle services between the town of Lahaina and it’s three properties in Ka’anapali: the Sheraton Maui, the Westin Maui Resort & Spa, and the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas. This is an excellent initiative taken by Starwood for the following reasons:

• Traffic in West Maui has reached hair-pulling proportions. Just ask any local, or someone who has returned to Maui after not visiting for a few years. It’s "one road in, one road out" design can make for stand still traffic on the few mile stretch between the resorts and the historic whaling village of Lahaina.

• Maui has one of the highest gas prices of all the Hawaiian Islands. Which is to say, it has the highest gas prices in the country. This past weekend the average price per gallon in Kahului was at $3.08/gallon. The price on Oahu was $2.66. Save yourself some money, take the shuttle, and allow the resorts to absorb the fees.

• Drinking and driving is a problem everywhere and the allure of Lahaina’s nightlife is far too enticing to pass up. There are a handful of fine restaurants with exquisite wine lists, a few classy martini bars, dive bars with pool tables and live blues bands, and college-age bars with jam bands and a room full of 20-somethings.  Live it up on your vacation, but let someone else do the driving.

This new service will help to make Maui a safe, affordable and efficient experience.

The shuttle leaves from the front entrances of the three Starwood hotels, and it will then travel down the road to the Lahaina Cannery Mall on the North side of Lahaina, and then on to Hilo Hattie’s on the far end of town. This goes on once an hour, every hour, until the last pickup at Hilo Hattie’s, at 9:45 p.m. Guests will be asked to flash their room keys in order to board the shuttle.