Peaceful Upcountry Maui - Private, Views & Pool

We stayed almost 3 weeks over Christmas and New Years in this lovely house in the "up-country" of Maui.   There were 9 of us, 2 families with 5 kids from 8 to 16 years old (the owners were kind enough to bend the rules on numbers allowed).   The house was  big enough for us all, although a couple of the kids slept on extra floor mats. 

The house is situated on an acreage on the slopes of the extinct Haleakala volcano.  It has great views of both north and south shores of Maui and the typically cloud-capped hills of west Maui.  We enjoyed many early evenings on the porch - I mean lanai - sipping a cool drink and watching yet another great sunset.  The setting is rural, with a goat farm on one side and various other farms (vegetable, eggs and cactus!) just up the road.  Although. It has been quite dry, the yard is watered automatically so is green and has avocado, papaya, banana, orange, lime and mango trees.  We had fun trying to spot the chameleons in the trees and shrubs in front of the house.  Along with mourning doves, we were sometimes awoken by the loud squawks of wild grouse.  And it wasn't unusual to see a deer in the neighbouring fields. I even snapped a shot of a buck in the front yard!  

One of the nicest features of the house is the lap pool.  It is not big and is solar heated so isn't hot,  but it is refreshing at the end of the day, or an invigorating way to start the day.  The kids liked chilling out in it on our non-beach days.  

The house has all the regular amenities: dishwasher, TVs, stereo system, fireplace, washer and dryer, coffee grinder and machine, BBQ, etc. and lots of pots, pans,  knifes, etc. We had one issue with the stereo - CD player skipped - and the owner, was over the next day with a replacement. The only other problem we had was a small leak in the kitchen plumbing.  The owner quickly arranged a repair.  

The location was great. The Kula Highway is just up the hill, providing easy access to the whole "up country" area of Maui, including numerous farmer's markets, gardens, restaurants, artsy shops and galleries, a winery, hiking trails and Haleakala National Park. The Hana Highway is just down the road and for the adventurous you can turn right and take the southside road to Hana. Beaches and touristy areas aren't far away by Maui's good highway system. We travelled all over the island and all agreed that we picked the best location for our vacation.

We had a most relaxing stay here for our Maui vacation. The photos do not even do this home justice. When we drove from the airport to Kula we saw breathtaking views of the water and the perfect view of the sunset as we arrived at the home. As we pulled up we were amazed by how large and beautiful the home is. Once inside we felt like we were walking into a magazine. The home was so clean and beautiful. Very open and plenty of room for the 6 of us. We never felt crowded and probably could have even had a couple more people there for the stay.

Everything we needed for our stay was provided. Plenty of pots and pans to cook all our meals here. We enjoyed breakfast and dinner everyday on the patio with an amazing view of the island and sunset. It was so nice to be able to do our laundry after we went the beach and have fresh clean beach towels for the next day. There were even beach chairs, a beach umbrella and a cooler for our use.

Even though we had to a bit of the drive to the beach and main towns (30-35 mins) we absolutely enjoyed being in the upcountry area. The views were unbelievable, there are plenty of hilly roads for walking and great exercise. On my morning runs I ran passed tons of organic farms, horses, cows, mini ponies and goats. Such a different experience then just being at the ocean everyday. We even spent one day just exploring Kula. We went to the Tedeschi winery and sampled the three types of pineapple wine, we toured the Ali'i lavender farm and fed baby goats at Surfing Goat Dairy. These were all right near the house. We were also able to drive to Hana and then continue all the way around through the Haleakala National Park back to the house which was a breathtaking drive. I would recommend an off road vehicle like a Jeep to drive through the Park since there are many gravel covered roads.

Mark, the owner, was more than attentive to us. The rental process was so easy, and checkout was a breeze. We will definitely be returning here for our next Maui vacation.

Our experience at the property exceeded our expectations.

The property is conveniently located relative to the airport. Central to touristy activities in the NW; access to "road to Hana" both from the northern and southern routes; the crater; and hidden gems in Kula (eg the Lavendar farms).

The property is clean and tastefully decorated - nothing is tacky. Beautiful sunsets from the patio. Great amenities in the kitchen.

Property owners are kind, communicative, hospitable and upfront.

For folks wishing to escape the rat race and the tourist traps, this is the ideal home in a perfectly idyllic location, to unwind for a week or so. You won't want to return home!!