Lumeria Maui Educational Retreat Center

Lumeria was an Unexpected Gem We wanted to spend half of our vacation away from the touristy west side of Maui and found Lumeria. The website is very professional with beautiful pics of the property, but pictures never do justice. Lumeria was a gorgeous hideaway with tropical landscaping...and extremely peaceful. Our first half was spent at the Westin Villas in Kaanapali where the staff was less than helpful and engaging. At Lumeria, every staff member was extremely kind and happy to assist. We'll stay at Lumeria every trip to Maui.

Frustrating Stay While it's a really beautiful property, we had an unfortunate stay. We were sold a specific kind of room to fit an extra bed and then extra bed was unable to be found, our room smelled terribly of sewage, very limited classes and the only breakfast option was bacon, eggs and sausage which felt a bit odd for a place that focuses on health + wellness. Staff was kind and tried to be accommodating but overall not what I had hoped for. On a positive note, the room was comfortable and clean and again, the property is quiet and beautiful and a departure from the other bigger, crowded hotels but important to know what you are getting into.

Maui Yoga Retreat I wish this could be a more positive review. I had wanted to stay here for the last five years. It was a weekend getaway with my two daughters. They are 16 and 18. Both love the quiet beauty that was depicted on the website. Day 1 was sweet as we arrived at the hotel. We had a smallish room on the back side facing the parking lot. We unpacked and walked the grounds and watched the sunset from the pool. The grounds are gorgeous! We all wished that the fire pit had been working. We would have loved to sit and cozy up here at night after dinner. But it stayed turned off (propane) the whole weekend. The staff was a skeleton crew, but friendly. We were surprised with an abnormally high $29 a night per person resort fee! I guess that was for the breakfast shown in the photo. Yoga classes were only once or twice a day! We ended up doing our own practice because the times didn’t work. Day 2 saw about 50 new guests that were here for a wedding. It was the venue. Thank goodness we were leaving and missing that! This group was the rudest, most obnoxious wedding party ever! So loud. Loud talking, loud walking, and loud and en force in the pool and hot tub area. They piled into the hot tub (literally 11 people) and were so loudly telling each other about where they worked and lived. It was as though we were forced to be a part of it all. They also hung out on the lanai (porch) area just outside our room. They would see us come back and continue the loud conversations non-stop. I would think the management would contact us and tell us that they booked a wedding party to be there. Sorry it won’t be a quiet weekend retreat for you! But no, we learned that upon check in, just like the surprise $60 per night addition for basically nothing but some lame breakfast that was nothing like the photos on the website! I tried to bring this all up in my email to the manager, but never got any kind of response to it even 3 weeks after. The staff was super kind and very friendly. There was a Front desk employee that was nice enough to give us extra towels that were not in our reserved room for some reason. The last thing one wants to do is go searching for someone to get towels for a reserved guest. I wish they had taken the time to see that there were 3 of us and only 2 sets of towels. Regardless we had a great time shopping and eating and driving around Hualalai. But what a shame that my dream retreat center was an absolute bust! I work at the Four Seasons and I know this is not anything near that, but with kindness and attention to ALL guests at all times this place can be a dream. They have a lot to learn on the manners of email etiquette when it comes to what guests say when they are forgotten. It shouldn’t be hard to juggle a group and a smattering of other guests at the same time. Also have the courtesy to warn other guests that you have simultaneously rented out the whole place as a wedding venue for the weekend!! We would have been happy to move to another room away from the noisemakers, but that wasn’t even offered. But then after I raised some of these things to the manager, I heard nothing. And that’s probably the biggest shame. That they were missing the good manners of a reply. Mahalo for not much .

Bummer This place has a lot of potential to be awesome. It’s beautiful property with a beautiful pool you can swim in at night. But the management and containment is pretty hands off, which lead to things feeling like a frat party during our stay. Online it’s presented as a peaceful yoga retreat, or a romantic couples place. In reality, it may not go that way. And the management is not concerned/ it’s not their problem. It’s true that people can live however they want and management doesn’t know how guests will act. But to pay $450/night and about $300 in resort fees and taxes, I would want the management to be more aware. Or, at least offer a discount or gesture of understanding, when things happen outside of their control. (Like having wild guests that just want to party. It happens. Management didn’t know it would play out like that. But it would still be nice if management respected our experience too and make a gesture of kindness). I was hoping for a peaceful retreat, so I was happy to spend the money for a nice place. But in reality, it might not be what you were hoping for. Consider that when you are deciding whether or not to book here. It seems like there are just too many variables at play to be able to expect to have a nice, peaceful time. It’s possible, but not guaranteed. To be specific, we came during a wedding party, and so the property was full of guests in their 20s drinking bud light, not sleeping, and being very loud. Separate from the wedding, there were also children who stayed here (despite it saying online that it’s not a child friendly place). All good and normal things - children and weddings and loud parties can be fun - it’s just not a yoga retreat center or a romantic couples experience, as described. Also, the breakfast is fast-food quality!? Think small packages of ketchup, and small packages of creamer for coffee- like at the gas station. I can 100% roll with that, just for $500-$600/night (with taxes and fees), something is off.

Great oasis in Maui I had the best stay at Lumeria. I camped and rented a van for most of my trip in Maui so having the last few nights at Lumeria was a treat. Their property is serene and I loved the yoga classes and the pool. Compared to a lot of the hotels in Maui, this stay was more affordable than most options and has a unique and local charm rather than the "resort feel" which I'm personally not a big fan of. Will be back!