So my 10 year wedding anniversary is coming up in October, and my husband and I decided to go somewhere affordable yet somewhat exotic. We went to Mexico a couple of years ago, so I'm not keen on going back there right now, and we can't afford a full-blown Caribbean trip right now. My husband has never been to Hawaii before, and it's been years ago for me. We both agreed that Maui might suit our needs-- interesting things to see/do, nice beaches, proximity to restaurants/shopping if we need it, etc. We had also considered Kauai, but I think that may be a little TOO remote for our liking, and perhaps not the best intro for him.

Anyhow, I've been researching various condos online, but thought I'd put this out there for you travel fiends. We are thinking about staying a week in mid-October, and would like easy access to beach and preferably a kitchen so we can prepare some meals on our own. We'd like to keep total costs down to $4000 or less (this would include airfare, car rental and lodging).

Any place in Maui you'd recommend? Any places in particular you would NOT recommend, so I can avoid those? Any suggestions are appreciated!

we stayed at royal lahaina in feb, which i heard was 6 months too soon -- the east side is better at that time. there's no exact place, but exact activities. Except for the main big park to drive thru (or fly over), but can't remember it now.

I stayed at the Palms at Wailea for a week, 2 bedroom with kitchen, ocean view; close to Kihei which has more shops and restaurants.

http://www.outrigger.com/hotels_detail.aspx?hotel=25

To save a bundle on hotel, car rentals, meals etc, consider picking up an Entertainment card. We got an amazing discount at this place.

The Palms was actually one of the ones I was considering... good to know.

It was really, really great there. I saw the whole island and liked Wailea the best, but obviously everyone will have their own preferences of what they're looking to get out of the experience.