Montage Kapalua Bay

Namalu Bay is a small rocky cove at the tip of the Kapalua headland, on the north-west coast of Maui, with clear water and lava ledges where snorkellers slip in, and Montage Kapalua Bay is laid out on the slope above it. The ground has been given over to hotels since the 1970s, and the present resort follows a residential idea: every room is a suite, planned and sized as an apartment.

History

Kapalua was part of Honolua Ranch, a pineapple and cattle estate run by Maui Land & Pineapple, and in the 1970s the company began developing the coast for visitors. The Kapalua Bay Golf Course opened in 1975, and the Kapalua Bay Hotel opened above the bay in 1978, for many years one of the best-regarded hotels on Maui. The Plantation Course followed in 1991, and The Ritz-Carlton opened up the road in 1992. The Kapalua Bay Hotel was demolished in 2006 to make way for The Residences at Kapalua Bay, a development of large private apartments with hotel services, which struggled during the financial crisis of 2008. Montage Hotels & Resorts later took over the operation and opened the property under its own name, combining owned residences with suites let to guests.

Architecture and design

The buildings are low and spread along the slope, so that from the upper floors the view passes over the roofs to the sea and to Molokai across the channel. Interiors use wood, stone and soft colours, and the lanai are deep enough to live on. A wide lawn runs towards the cliff edge, and a large pool on the terraces faces the ocean, with cabanas along its side.

Rooms and suites

Every room is a suite of one to four bedrooms, the largest bigger than many family houses. Each has a full kitchen, a living and dining room and a lanai, and most face the ocean. The plan suits families and groups who want to cook, stay for a week or longer, and come and go without passing through a lobby. Housekeeping and room service work as in any hotel.

Dining

Cane & Canoe is the main restaurant, serving breakfast and dinner with views over the bay, and a poolside bar and grill feeds the terraces during the day. Because every suite has a kitchen, many guests also cook for themselves, with groceries delivered or bought in Kapalua and Lahaina.

Wellness

Spa Montage occupies its own building, with treatment rooms, a fitness centre and outdoor areas looking across the channel to Molokai. Yoga and fitness classes are held on the lawns, and the coastal trail outside the gate gives a morning walk along the lava shore.

Weddings and events

Ceremonies are held on the oceanfront lawn above Namalu Bay and at other outdoor sites on the grounds, and the resort hosts receptions and smaller corporate groups. The suites, with kitchens and several bedrooms, make it practical for families gathering for a wedding week.

Location

Kapalua sits at the north-west corner of Maui, where the West Maui Mountains fall to the sea. Kapalua Bay, a sheltered crescent of sand beside the resort, is one of the island's calmer swimming beaches, and the Kapalua Coastal Trail runs north from it along the shore. Honolua Bay, a marine life conservation district with clear water for snorkelling in summer and a well-known surf break in winter, lies a few miles further on. The Plantation Course, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, has long hosted the PGA Tour's opening event of the year. Kahului Airport, the island's main airport, is about an hour's drive, and the small Kapalua airport handles inter-island flights. For a resort on Maui that works as a house by the sea, with hotel staff behind it, this is the address.