A famed Hawaiian beach once celebrated for its wide, postcard-worthy shoreline is steadily being claimed by the sea — and many residents are skeptical that officials can stop the loss.
Ka’anapali Beach on Maui, long admired for its clear blue water and soft, warm sand, is now among the most visible examples of Hawaii’s worsening coastal erosion problem.
The retreat has been severe in places, with palm trees toppling into the waves and parts of beachfront hotel properties left increasingly vulnerable to the ocean.
State leaders and Maui resort operators are now supporting a beach restoration proposal that would involve hauling in thousands of cubic yards of sand and placing it along the damaged coastline.
But the area’s dense resort development, seawalls and nearby infrastructure make natural recovery after storms far more difficult. The shoreline is bordered by several high-end oceanfront properties, including the Westin Maui Resort, Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club, and the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa.
The Hyatt Regency Maui Resort has been particularly exposed to the shifting coastline. In March 2026, a Kona storm arrived with unusually powerful southwest winds instead of the region’s more typical northeast trade winds, damaging the walkway fronting the property.
Following the damage, the resort sought an emergency permit to add a 360-foot “erosion protection skirt” along the coast, on top of a sand barrier already in place. The proposal quickly drew pushback from residents, who argued it could affect access to the nearby and heavily used Hanaka‘ō‘ō Beach Park.
“Hanaka‘ō‘ō Beach Park is special because it’s where everyone has baby showers and birthday parties and retirement parties — everything,” Kai Nishiki, executive director of Maui Nui Resiliency Hui, said in a statement. “It’s the last beach where folks really feel at home, where they’re not pushed out by tourism.”
Kaanapali Beach in Maui remains a popular tourist destination for its clear waters and proximity to hotels
There are large sand piles along Kaanapali Beach as a preventative measure for high waves and a shrinking shoreline
‘It’s a living cultural space that local people are using every single day, so any potential negative impacts due to a neighboring parcel installing de facto shoreline hardening is very concerning,’ she added.
According to Civil Beat, the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa hired contractors to lay sand beneath the southern end of their paved walkway, a project that began in early April.
Hyatt officials agreed to hold off on installing a more permanent barrier after facing a wave of criticism. The company said it would give state officials more time to review the plan and continue discussions with concerned members of the community.
In 2023, there was a different $10 million plan in the works to help protect the community while creating a ‘nature-based adaptation solution,’ according to a summary of the restoration project.
By adding sand to the northern and southern sections of the beach, the project aimed to restore much of the beach to its original width and size, helping it to withstand erosion and high waves.
‘The proposed project represents an effective and beneficial step in coastal adaptation to sea level rise,’ the summary reads. ‘Beach restoration is a nature-based ecosystem restoration project that is designed to improve mid-term ecologic function, cultural and recreational resources, and coastal hazard mitigation.’
This restoration was meant to be a medium-term solution while longer-term plans chugged through the system, but it was shot down by the Board of Land and Natural Resources following public opposition.
Some worried about the impact on marine life, while others called for a ‘managed retreat,’ where coastal properties would move more inland instead of altering the shoreline, according to SF Gate.
A local’s picture of the sand barrier installed to protect the resorts along Kaanapali Beach in Maui
There is a walkway along Kaanapali beach, Maui that was partially impacted by bad weather in March
Now, the shoreline along the beach continues to moving inland at up to two feet per year, according to Beat of Hawaii.
A separate barrier the Hyatt installed in 2015 was originally approved for 180 days but remains standing more than a decade later.
For some, Hyatt’s proposed ‘six month Band-Aid’ isn’t enough to fix nature itself. Balsam Nehme, director of sustainability at Sidara, explained that coastlines, climates and conditions are constantly shifting – and the way humans plan cities and hotels should reflect that.
‘By far the best way of approaching this is to bring together engineering, environmental thinking and local knowledge early on,’ Nehme told the Daily Mail.
For nearly two decades, Balsam has leading Sidara’s sustainability efforts, helping build firms with the environment in mind.
‘That way we can design in practical ways, from restoring natural buffers like dunes and wetlands, to setting buildings back from vulnerable edges and improving drainage to better handle stormwater and rising seas,’ she added.
Along Kaanapali Beach, the likelihood of luxury resorts uprooting their existing buildings is highly unlikely.
Some Kaanapali Beach hotels have been operating for over 60 years, as the area was developed as Hawaii’s first master-planned area in 1959.
The Westin Maui hotel on Kaanapali Beach has oceanfront lounger chairs for guests to use
People gather at a resort pool near Kaanapali Beach near Lahaina, Hawaii
The first hotel, the Royal Lahaina, opened in 1962, followed closely by the Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa in 1963. Both remain operational today despite their proximity to the shrinking shoreline.
In essence, she continued, the solution is about planning for ‘the long term.’ That means using data to understand future risks, choosing materials and layouts that can withstand change, and ‘creating places that can adapt and continue to thrive as pressures increase.’
For Dr Leatherman, a professor at the Department of Earth and Environment at Florida International University, there is ‘no easy solution’ in sight.
‘Where infrastructure, particularly buildings, are at risk, something needs to be undertaken now,’ he told the Daily Mail.
Dr Leatherman added that Kaanapali Beach is fairly well protected from large oceanic waves by other Hawaiian islands, notably Lanai and to a lesser extent by Molokai.
But that doesn’t always protect it from Kona storms or other environmental risks.
Although Kaanapali Beach’s future still sits in limbo, many tourists still flock to the resorts for their amenities and fine-dining.
According the Kayak, the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort remains among the most popular, with an average night ranging between $435 and well over $988, depending on the season, room view and availability.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort for comment.
