We booked two rooms and stayed at the Whaler last year in Tower I and had a fabulous stay. The rooms were clean and fresh and the room journal had entries from many other satisfied renters.
When we made reservations this year, we assumed all the rooms were this way...big mistake. Room 770 was dirty looking (Carpet was discolored) and smelled dank and mildewy, as did the entire hall, but less so. It took a day to "acclimate" to the smell, and so long as the AC was full blast, it kept it at bay. The smell was characteristic of washing clothes and then forgetting about it in the washer for a day or two. All your clothes smelled of this when you left the room.
The next huge problem was the elevator...it was located directly behind the headboard of the bed. All day long and through most of the night it sounded as if a grocery cart was being rolled up and down the wall. I would assume all the rooms on each floor located adjacent to the elevator had this problem, but when I brought it up to the manager she acted as if this were the first time it was ever brought up. This noise and vibration is way too loud to act as if nobody else has ever mentioned it. She acted surprised. We were there for 6 nights and it never relented.
The last problem was the mysterious bites we would wake up with. They didnt look like mosquito bites and we didnt have them before we went to sleep. They itch like crazy and look like little dots...not raised like a mosquito. I got mine mostly on my belly and butt...kinda odd to get bit through clothing.
Overall, we still managed to have a great time in Maui...we love kaanapali and would even recommend staying at the Whaler. Just dont be naive like us and assume all rooms are the same. Do your homework as we will next time if we stay there again. I did a search on google when we got back and noticed 770 was on sale. Perhaps the new owner will do something about the cleanliness, bugs, smell and sound.
Will and family