Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort

We called the front desk to fix the television at 1:30pm and no one came after waiting for over an hour. We left the room and went out to a nearby bar to watch our program. We called again at 6:15pm after returning to our room and still no one has come. The hotel is beautiful but customer service and follow up have been very poor.

When we were here eight years ago, our room and the grounds were pristine--not so on this trip. We were in a deluxe ocean view room. The ocean view was the only good thing. The following pictures show the cracked tile, cracked bathroom sink, and moldy grout. We were offered a $300 credit for our five-night stay.

Stayed with our elementary school aged kids- loved the pools, beach, service. The buffet in the morning at the terrace restaurant was an incredible way to begin each day. We hit the Costco on the way in from the airport- it is literally at the airport exit- and bought boogie boards and essentials for the week. There is a small refrigerator in the room for the basics- helped to have a few things for the kids and adult beverages on hand. Hope to go back soon!

Keep in mind that my review is from the point of perspective of a family of 4 with two teenage daughters. This was our third trip to Maui. First time we stayed at Westin Villas Ka'anapli, 2nd time at Wailea Beach Villas, and now this time, the first 5 days of our trip we stayed at the new Hyatt Residence's at Ka'anapli then just two nights at Grand Wailea. Since we have two teenagers, we are pretty much "over" staying in one hotel room together which is why we prefer 2 bedroom condos. One bathroom and having one sleeping area just doesn't cut it for us now that we don't have little kids. And it isn't cost effective to book two hotel rooms, especially w/o use of a kitchen and having to eat out all meals. We booked Grand Wailea based on price... we knew the pools were going to be closed during our stay (they were being refurbished) so the price was great and it was so generous that they threw in breakfast buffets for our entire family. They also threw in free water sport equipment. That said, we sure wish those pools were open! I'm sure we would've loved them. But really, we chose Grand Wailea for our last two nights because we just love the beach there. It is so much better than Ka'anapli plus you are closer to a really great part of the island with so much to do (Haleakala, Hana, etc). They have tons of beach and lawn chairs. The hotel itself is beautiful, especially the lobby area. Our room was pretty nice and looks like it must've been updated in the last few years since I know the hotel is older. Our bathroom was huge which was appreciated given that we have two teenage daughters. The beds and pillows were comfortable and we slept well every evening. There is a mini fridge in the room that you can stock with snacks and drinks. Also a Keurig machine is provided. It would be nice if they made it more of a mini-kitchen area with microwave like so many ski hotel rooms have now. Our hotel room was FAR from the beach and pool area. I think it was about a 8-10 min walk which doesn't sound far but really was when carrying all the pool stuff. I remember when we stayed at Wailea Beach Villas, reviewers complained how far the back condo rooms were from the beach. I disagreed then with those reviews and have to say the our room at the Grand Wailea was a lot farther than the farthest room at WBV. We did eat one meal at Humu's. We'd eaten here on a previous visit and loved it. It wasn't as good this time around. The ambience is still awesome but the service and quality of food did not match the price. Our bill came out nearly identical to our meal at Mama's Fish House and Mama's just blows this place away with both quality of food and service! The menu is very small at Humu's. I wish they would expand the menu, lower the prices a touch, and stop trying to be so stuffy. Overall, we really enjoyed our short stay at Grand Wailea's and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to others who like to book a hotel room vs villa (couples or younger kids). For us, we probably won't come back unless we could afford two hotel rooms. We just prefer the condo/villa concept better for our family.

If you’re at Grand Wailea, you absolutely have to try the Pacific Dream Photography. They give you a complimentary 45 minute photo session capturing the absolutely gorgeous grounds of the resort including a magnificent sunset backdrop on the beach. We had Ana as our photographer and she was spectacular, very personable, and her photography skills were excellent. Our photos came out better than we could’ve expected 🤙