Paia Inn: a Hippie Chic Must in Maui

Paia is this cute town 15 minutes from the airport. It’s on the North coast of the island, and as Hawiian’s will tell you, the North coast is always the chilled hippie coast of an island, like North Shore in Oahu. This is the “start” to the road to Hana and some tourists just pop in for a packed lunch in the morning. You should take time to actually stay in Paia! Look no further than Paia Inn.

Where to Stay in Paia Maui | Paia Inn

It’s smack dab in the center of everything but does have parking so you don’t have to parallel (10 bucks to park 3 shops down, or 20 bucks to park in the back lot) and it’s on the beach. It’s a historical site used as the only hotel back in the plantation days (used by Japanese in the 20’s) and now mixes that historical look with modern chic charm.

The rooms are a little small but that’s because they didn’t tear apart the original building. They have comfy beds that take up most of the space, mini-fridge filled with snacks, Apple TV (you can log in to your HULU and Netflix), spa like toiletries, safes, iPod dock, and surfer artwork (more on that later). The floors look like typical hardwood but are bamboo!

The staff are these little hippie Joni Mitchell girls that were so sweet. The lobby is adorable with shell chandeliers and leather couches. Complimentary breakfast included, wait for it…. POPTARTS! so clearly I was happy. There were other things to like coffee, biscotti, fruit, oatmeal and nutrigrain bars.

If you walk out the back you can chill on the beach side patio where they have towels, chairs, sunscreen, boogie boards, and a freshwater shower. The waves here can be rough and the beach is small (maybe Ben should build a reef here) so you have to be careful and aware of the rocks. There are lawn chairs so I just laid out and read. You can even rent a bike from them complimentary.

So, the artwork I mentioned is in every room and is really cool. It’s by this guy Avi Kiriaty and I saw it in some shops to purchase. They have his art in the lobby and in each room. It’s Polynesian style surfer pieces. Very cool!

It’s a 1-2 staff to guest ratio during the day, which is really nice since most hotels and resorts in maui are so big. So, there’s someone to help with bags, help you decide where to have lunch, and make sure you have what you need for the beach! The only moment we wavered at the Inn was around midnight when the AC wasn’t cold enough and no one answered the “night” number on the phone (we were going to ask them to turn it colder in our room, as you don’t have personal access). Although with a small 10 bedroom Inn, we understood why no one stayed awake in reception.

details of the Paia Inn

The smallest rooms are $199, our room was “standard” which go for $239 and up, and the suites go from $259-$999, while the extra 3 bedroom house on the back starts at $1199 and up. As stated, parking is extra at $10 or $20 per night depending on where you choose to park. Breakfast and WiFi are free and you can contact them on their website or email info@paiainn.com & call 808.579.6000

Food & Bars in Paia

Some of the top restaurants in Maui are located in Paia town. One of the most famous is owned by the one and only Willie Nelson!

1. Charley’s Restaurant & Saloon

This is the one owned by Willie. It serves pizza, is crowded is as the night goes on they start to charge a cover.

2. Flatbread company

This is right next to the Inn and was pretty good. We got sausage pepperoni and veggies but it was really expensive with each topping an additional few dollars. There’s usually a short weight, and a 16 inch was too big for me and Ben.

3. Rock & Brew

We actually weren’t that impressed with this. I think the mac n cheese was microwaved… turkey sandwich was good!

4. Paia Fish Market

Really famous, really tasty, and not that expensive. I got fish tacos and two was too many. We also got seafood soup and Ben got the fish n’ chips. It was all really good. Everything closes early so be there by 8 at least.

5. Mana Foods

We went in here a few times and it was so good! It’s a grocery store with a deli counter (hot and cold). Ben loved the turkey meatloaf, and I was crazy about the deli turkey sandwiches and salad bar.

6. Ku’au Store

Kind of like Mana Foods, just past the town, this place had SUCH good sandwiches and hot dogs with coleslaw as well as healthy snacks that obviously I didn’t try ;) I loved the lemonade and homemade cookies.

One we didn’t try that are famous: Mama’s Fish house (too expensive to try), Cafe de AMIS, Ono Gelato, Cafe Mambo to hang out, and mexican food at Milagros. There was also the Hana Bay Picnic Company, but we liked Mana Foods so kept going back there.

Shopping in Paia

There are lots of cute boutique shops along the street. It’s just one (Hana Highway) and the intersection at Paia Inn were you can find a few more shops down that lane. They are very expensive and I didn’t anything to buy; not to say the stuff wasn’t cute, it was!

Some that stood out were: Wings Hawaii who has lots of local designers like dream catchers by Nana’s vintage dreams and littlest birds, then there was Puka Puka and lots of art stores. I liked Maui Hands for homemade items, particularly work by Mario Amata.