Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort

The staff at the front desk were friendly and helpful and gave us directions to our room, since the Grand Wailea is such a big resort. Our room was on the ground floor of the Lagoon Tower, where there was a koi pond near our front door, with the pools immediately outside of the lanai to our room. The room was nicely decorated and it appeared very clean. Due to no fault of the resort, throughout our stay, numerous gnats ended up in our room, with many of them ending up dead on our bathroom counter. Other than the gnats, everything was clean and spacious. The tv was big and clear with a table for two to sit and eat at. The beds and pillows, in my opinion, were not very comfortable. I could not get comfortable on the bed and the pillows did not help at all, either. The bathroom of the room is very nice as there was a large bathtub along with a separate shower. The toilet had a separate area in the bathroom (with its own door for privacy). We ended up eating at the Botero Lounge, which was located in the center of the resort, It was a nice open air place with live music playing while we dined at dinner time. I had the Smash burger along with fries and I thought it was good, but not great. We had also bought some snacks from Loulu, and of course, it was pricey. The resort grounds did not disappoint as the numerous waterfalls and koi ponds with bridges all throughout made for a nice walk to our room. At night the torches lit the grounds of the Grand Wailea, giving it a nice, romantic vibe. In the end, I would recommend you stay here, but only if it’s less than $500 a night. Anything more, I feel is a bit too much.

great hotel. the bellman ikaika was very helpful and friendly with awesome advice for the island. we had so much fun.

I really wish I could leave a higher rating and review because the property itself is truly beautiful. However, when my wife and I stayed here for 3 nights as part of her employer’s “winners circle” trip, our experience was sullied by the presence of what we can only assume is a rodent of some kind, likely a rat or mouse. On the first night of our stay, I was awoken from my sleep by a “scritching” sound. It was too dark to see and I was half asleep so I just assumed it was a bird or critter outside on the balcony and went back to sleep. To our horror, we soon learned the sound had indeed come from inside the room. The morning after the 3rd night of our stay we awoke to a huge mess in the room. On a small table just feet away from our bed, we had left a closed pizza box from the night before with a few remaining slices. Upon inspection, we noticed that a size-able hole had been chewed through the side of the thick cardboard box and chunks of pizza were scattered across the table and floor. Then a few minutes later when beginning to pack up, I opened one of the dresser drawers where I had put away some of my clothes and noticed that my clothes were all crumpled up in a messy pile and littered with more chunks of food including what looked like a chicken bone. There was even a small puddle of what appeared to be urine next to my clothes. Now while we never did see the actual critter, I know from experience that it had to be large enough with teeth to chew through a thick pizza box and cause the amount of mess that it did, not to mention the kind of scurrying sound it made to wake me up. This was not the work of an insect. It had a hiding space and knew to come out at night. We called the front desk immediately who said they would send housekeeping and maintenance staff immediately however we waited over an hour and no one showed. We were checking out that day regardless, and the front desk lady was at least kind enough to agree to have all my clothes from that drawer washed in their laundry facility at no charge. A really gross and disappointing experience from a property that you would expect to have the highest standards of quality control, maintenance, and especially pest control. Again, the building and property was overall beautiful and the staff were all pleasant and mostly helpful, but this rodent problem really did overshadow all of that and what would have been a 5-star rating but instead left us feeling disgusted and violated.

I am rating this property based on 13 specific criteria on a 1-10 scale: 1. Overall rating and vibe: 0. I would rate it “negative infinity” if I could. The Grand Wailea took literally EVERY SINGLE THING that makes the neighboring Four Seasons so extraordinary and went in the EXACT OPPOSITE direction. It is abundantly clear that the owners of this property have DELIBERATELY chosen to WILDLY UNDERSTAFF, CUT ALL COSTS, and MAXIMIZE ALL NICKEL-AND-DIMING TACTICS TO MAXIMIZE SHORT-TERM PROFITS. I feel bad for the staff here. It isn’t their fault that the owners have removed every last shred of any “aloha spirit” that once existed here long ago. I can’t imagine this property EVER gets ANY returning guests, so the ONLY thing keeping them in business is MASSIVE CONVENTIONS, of which there were TWO during our stay. I am also honestly shocked that this "Motel-6-run" property is allowed to keep its name as a “Waldorf Astoria” resort, when in reality it makes any Hilton Garden Inn look like a Four Seasons. Kindly allow me to provide specific examples: The LINE JUST TO CHECK IN (which you HAVE TO WAIT IN because of the wristband police all over the resort) WAS OVER TWO HOURS LONG, with HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS of people lining up all across and around the entire massive lobby. The front desk is WILDLY UNDERSTAFFED, with only 5–6 employees checking in the 1,000+ new daily guests. When you finally get to the front of the check-in line, YOU DO NOT EVEN GET A HAWAIIAN LEI GREETING. You do NOT get ANY chilled Oshibori washcloths. You do NOT get any chilled tropical drinks. You get ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Worse yet, NOBODY even wishes you a happy birthday, anniversary, or honeymoon (even if you specifically mention your special celebration in your booking). You also do NOT get ANY room upgrade, EVEN WITH HILTON DIAMOND STATUS; you’re lucky if the front desk clerk EVEN MENTIONS your Hilton status (I had to raise with her even though I clearly provided it with my booking ... unbelievable). Also at check-in, the front desk person ONLY PASSES OUT ADULT WRISTBANDS (which are REQUIRED for ANY pool access by the "Grand" Wailea Wristband Police). The front desk person said that our KIDS EACH HAVE TO GET NEW WRISTBANDS---EVERY SINGLE DAY---at the “pool check-in desk,” which is HIDDEN AWAY as far out of the way as humanly possible and VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND, especially because the resort has almost ZERO STAFF ANYWHERE to help direct guests to where they are going. After this AWFUL check-in experience, we spent ANOTHER 2 HOURS JUST TRYING TO FIND OUR ROOM, and there was ZERO RESORT STAFF AROUND ANYWHERE TO HELP DIRECT US to our room. This pool check-in desk also happens to be the ONLY place across the resort’s massive pool complex where you can get pool towels. It is, quite frankly, ABSURD that they do not just give all your kids full pool wristbands AT CHECK-IN. LITERALLY EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS PLACE is deliberately set up to make you feel LESS RELAXED. If you are lucky enough to ever find your room, you will find ONLY ONE PILLOW PER GUEST on your beds. I REPEAT: EACH QUEEN BED HAS A TOTAL OF ONLY TWO PILLOWS ON IT, JUST LIKE YOU'RE AT A MOTEL 6 OR SUPER 8. Yet you are paying 50x the price. UNBELIEVABLE. And OF COURSE there is NO EXTRA PILLOW in the closet. Instead, the only thing we found in our closet was a pair of DIRTY SOCKS from a past guest. GROSS. WORSE YET, OUR patio furniture WAS ALL ABSOLUTELY CAKED IN BIRD POOP and clearly HAD NOT BEEN CLEANED IN MANY YEARS. “Guests” at this “resort” are universally angry that they were also tricked into staying here. The vibe is ZERO vacation and 100% STRESS, SADNESS, AND ANGER. 2. Service: 0. See above. Unlike ALL of its neighbor resorts in Wailea (ALL of which we stayed at on this same trip), at check-in, the “Grand” Wailea offers NO lei greeting, NO chilled towels, NO tropical drinks, and ZERO recognition of special celebrations like milestone birthdays, anniversaries, or honeymoons. After the AWFUL 2-HOUR check-in, you spend ANOTHER 2 HOURS JUST FINDING YOUR ROOM with ZERO STAFF to help walk you to your MOTEL 6 FURNISHED ROOM. 3. Room: 0. ONLY ONE PILLOW PER GUEST (only two total pillows per queen bed) and mattresses from the 1980s with WILDLY UNCOMFORTABLE, 1-star hotel sheets and thin and lumpy pillows. WOEFULLY INADEQUATE SUPPLY OF Kleenex, towels, washcloths, hand cream, etc. NOT A SINGLE birthday gift, NOR EVEN ANY PERSONAL NOTE OR CARD ACKNOWLEDGING MY major decade milestone birthday. Literally the EXACT SAME service and facilities as a Motel 6 or Super 8, for 50x the price. RUN!!! 4. Complimentary amenities: -10. ZERO complimentary amenities and ABSURD nickel-and-diming EVERYWHERE. NO free sunscreen, NO lei greeting, NO kids amenities (unlike the neighboring Four Seasons which provides DOZENS of complimentary kids amenities). NO BATHTUB in our room. WILDLY CUMBERSOME AND UN-RELAXING process to get kids’ wristbands EVERY morning at a HIDDEN desk as far as physically possible from where it should be. 5. Pools: 6. The pools are literally the ONLY SEMI-redeeming factor. However, the "wristband Police" will NOT let your kids into any pools without daily wristbands which are HIDDEN AWAY in the most INCONVENIENT location imaginable—which is also the only place to get towels. NOTHING HERE INSPIRES RELAXATION OR MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE ON VACATION. Moreover, the pools are highly chlorinated (unlike the glorious saltwater pools at the neighboring Four Seasons) which makes this awful place EVEN LESS RELAXING than it already is (and it already is the antithesis of relaxing). 6. Cabanas: -10. The exact same large luxury cabanas that are COMPLIMENTARY at the Four Seasons cost $3,600+ tax PER DAY here. It is ABSURD PRICE-GOUGING taken to its EXTREME. Free chairs are PACKED TOGETHER LIKE SARDINES with ZERO SPACE IN BETWEEN CHAIRS and less than a 5% chance of EVER finding ANY free shade. 7. Waterslides: 6. The waterslides are the only SEMI-redeeming characteristic about this “resort.” However, the Wailea Beach Resort (Marriott) next door has BETTER waterslides and charges about HALF the price of this place (and includes all the usual freebies in Hawaii like a lei greeting, etc.) 8. Cleanliness: 0. DIRTY SOCKS in our closet on arrival and VERY OLD BIRD POOP CAKED ALL OVER our lanai furniture that looked like it had been there for YEARS. NO EXTRA TOWELS OR PILLOWS EVER PROVIDED, DESPITE MY REQUESTS FOR SAME. 9. Family friendliness: 0. OK waterslides and it ends there. NO kids amenities, NO complimentary kids club, NO free food for kids under 5, NO discount for older kids ... ZIP, ZILCH, NADA, NOTHING. 10. Dining: 2. AWFUL and MANDATORY buffet breakfast with OUTLANDISH PRICE-GOUGING—even BABIES are charged $25. The buffet "bacon" and "scrambled eggs" would make even the hungriest person on earth gag in disgust. WORST OF ALL, THERE IS A MANDATORY 18% SERVICE CHARGE on ALL DINING BILLS EVEN FOR PARTIES OF ONLY FOUR (4) PEOPLE and EVEN FOR BREAKFAST BUFFET "SERVICE" THAT ONLY CONSISTS OF A GUY POURING YOU COFFEE ONCE!!! 11. Luxury: 0. This "Motel 6-run" property makes any Hilton Garden Inn look like a Four Seasons. The “Grand” Wailea has shockingly continued to be awarded the AAA 4 Diamond award; I would give it 0 Diamonds since it is deliberately run like a Motel 6 or Super 8. It also has the 3-star (“recommended”) rating from Forbes which is, quite frankly, shocking. The "Grand" Wailea is (very correctly) NOT rated by Michelin Guide. Bizarrely, Google, Expedia, Priceline, Booking.com, etc. all list this as a “5-star” hotel, which is astonishingly unwarranted because the "resort's" owners treat their "guests" like they are at a 1-star Motel 6 (e.g. only ONE pillow per guest, absurd pool Wristband Police, NO lei greeting, NO special amenities or even mention of major milestone birthdays, awful cleanliness throughout resort, zero attention to detail, zero staff, crumbling buildings, zero personalization of a guest's stay, etc., etc., etc.). 12. Room for improvement: 0. LITERALLY EVERYTHING HERE MUST IMMEDIATELY CHANGE, starting with the "resort" owner's shocking disregard for its “guests.” 13. Value for Families with Kids: -10. When you factor in the $25 BABY buffet breakfast (with MANDATORY GRATUITY), the absurd nickel-and-diming EXTRA FEES AT EVERY CORNER, and the $3,600 cabanas, there is NEGATIVE INFINITY VALUE at this Motel 6 that masquerades (very, very poorly) as a "Waldorf Astoria." RUN!!!!!!!!!!

Overpriced for what you get. No real benefit from $55 daily resort fee. Drinks and food horribly overpriced, even for Maui. The resort's ride app always says, "No ride available." Pools are nice but resort allows people to claim loungers by throwing a towel on them and then leaving for an hour. This morning there were 15 people in adult pool and every one of 50+ lounger was taken. One guy "claimed" 8 for friends who were still in rooms or at breakfast. Beds were very comfortable but Hilton won't figure in any future trips.