We loved our stay at Hololani - the ocean views were amazing and the sounds of the waves were the perfect lullaby at night. We saw whales splashing and breaching nearly every 30 seconds (mid March), some divers and SUPers, a few turtles, and had gorgeous views of Molokai and Lanai - all from our balcony. While there is no beach directly in front of the complex, there was a great little beach a few blocks down the road where we saw lots of turtles and fish while snorkeling. Our water socks came in handy here as some parts are a bit rocky and we were more adventurous, but there is still plenty of sand so you can swim/snorkel barefoot.
While there is no air conditioning, we were comfortable most of the time thanks to multiple ceiling fans and box fans that were provided. It got a bit humid inside in the middle of the day, but it wasn't too bad as we were usually out and about at this time. Unfortunately the unit is pretty dated and the carpet definitely needs to be replaced as well as the chipping/scuffed paint on the walls, but it wasn't anything unbearable and the ocean views made up for it. Everything else was very clean. The unit had pretty much everything we needed, but was missing a scissors and regular dish soap (there were only dishwasher pods) and all the knives were extremely dull. We were a bit disappointed to learn we could not use the beach toys and boogie boards in the locker by our parking spot, but the provided beach towels came in handy and we still found ways to have fun at the beach. There is a few rental places nearby as well as stores and gift shops. We were able to buy everything we needed without ever having to take the car. (Bring your reusable bags - Hawaii is very eco-friendly and either doesn't give bags or charges you for them!)
We had seen several reviews mentioning the sliding door being tricky, so we asked about it and they told us it had been repaired in February 2022. The two large doors onto the lanai worked fine, but the door in the second bedroom (twin beds) was very tricky to get locked and it goes directly out onto the main walkway for the floor's other units. Once we got it locked, we just left it closed the rest of the time but it would've been nice to have it working better to let the breeze flow through.
We went to a great luau in Lahaina only a 10 minute drive south, and Kapalua is only 10 minutes north. The area is touristy but still quiet and relaxing - nothing like Waikiki where we had been in the days prior to staying here. This complex is a 45 minute drive from the airport, but it's a beautiful drive between the mountains and the ocean so we didn't mind at all.
Vacasa was helpful and relatively easy to reach when we needed them, the only downfall of their service is that housekeeping came 15 minutes before checkout and stood outside annoyed waiting for us while we finished packing up (even though they were early and I was given a link to check out which would let them know when we left.) We ended up throwing everything into bags and finished packing in the garage which was a bit stressful.
Overall we had an amazing time and will definitely come back to Hololani - but next time we will probably choose a more updated unit (we booked last minute and this was the only one left). Mahalo to the owners and Vacasa!