Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort

We recently returned from a week stay at the GW. We stayed there several years ago and the rooms were in much need of a total renovation. I am happy to report that they are now completely redone. The new bathrooms are lovely, the decor is very nice and the rooms are very spacious and comfortable. The activity pool is so much fun with it's many slides, rapids, rope swing and lazy river. Food is very expensive but there is a shopping center within walking distance that has a selection of restaurants and cafes. The staff were all very friendly and accommodating. The only two negatives are the expensive parking fee ($75 per night mandatory valet) and the lack of complimentary shower and changing facilities to use if you are flying out in the evening. At one time they had complimentary hospitality suites for your short term use but now there is nothing except an outdoor shower. No changing facilities, shampoo, hairdryer, etc. We hope management will consider making some provisions for people who are leaving on evening flights without charging several hundred dollars to use a room for the remainder of the day. Otherwise, this is a lovely resort with beautifully landscaped grounds and we look forward to staying there again.

We always stay at the Four Seasons and thought we would stay here given it’s a Waldorf and the pool area is a huge draw. The kids LOVED the pool and slides, but the hotel is terrible. Service is atrocious and they are definitely catering to the masses even though they charge prices similar to the Four Seasons. Breakfast doesn’t open until 7 am (even though most families are up earlier given the time difference). There is only a breakfast buffet and by 7 am, there is a line to be seated. There are no a la carte menus that you can order from. Just an overpriced buffet with mediocre food. No fresh juices on the property. The pool area is like herding cats when it opens. More like hunger games as people rush in at 7 am to pick up their own towels and make their own chairs. Food service at the pool is from 11:15-3:50 pm. Not sure why Waldorf would put its name on this hotel as it diminishes the name. This hotel is, at best, the lowest of the Hilton brand. More like a holiday inn. The rooms are not kept up. We had dead cockroaches in our room that wasn’t cleaned out by the housekeepers. Felt like I was on a cruise ship but not on the water actually. I’d take good quality service and breakfast buffet over the pool anytime!!

We stayed at the Grand Wailea with our 2 little kids and loved being right on the Wailea beach with soft golden sand and beautiful sunsets on the beach. The resort is beautiful with tropical fruit trees, fountains and lots of pools with waterslides, a lazy river (but why no floaters?), a sand entry pool for kids & a swing rope. The resort was busy and we could not find any chairs near the pools most days, which was sad. Guests be prepared to pay $150 for basic beach chairs and umbrella, which is unacceptable for an expensive resort like this. We have traveled to several beach resorts and have only had to pay for cabanas or day beds, not for basic beach chairs. Also, I wish there were more restaurant/coffee shop options for a resort this size. There was always a long line at Loulu’s, only one person working at the counter who also made the drinks/food. The food ofcourse is mediocre and overpriced at Loulu’s and Olivine. Nobu is amazing though and once in a lifetime experience. We decided to walk to the Marriott Whale’s Tale cafe next door by the beach to get our morning coffee and breakfast. Grand Wailea needs to open atleast one other coffee shop on property. Wish there was atleast one more pool or beach cafe for drinks, snacks and lunch. Surf Haus tends to get overcrowded and if you didn’t secure a chair before 8 AM, no one will serve you. No service at the paid beach chairs either. We visited the Wailea golf course nearby, which was beautiful. We could also walk to the Shops at Wailea (with an ABC store and a grocery market). They give you refillable water bottles but not enough filling stations. The service was also mediocre at best. We never felt like any of the staff looked truly happy working there. Not a single “Hello, how are you” or even a smile. Not sure if they are paid enough by the company. Everything is an up charge here at the Grand Wailea, which makes it very hard to have an enjoyable stay. I mean when guests are paying 1000’s per day, why not include some other basics like beach chairs, floaties for lazy river, have more pool chairs, more water stations, one more coffee/snack shop & better/more friendly service. These few improvements would enhance the guest experience significantly.

We were in room 7038. Lei was just great. We loved the beautiful suite. The food was superb. The bartenders were terrific.

We came from Oahu to celebrate several birthdays with friends and were disappointed multiple times throughout our stay. Maybe Hilton has just ruined the experience...unfortunately, their reputation for poor customer service held true here, and this is coming from someone with Hilton Honors status and as a Hilton Grand Vacations club owner. From the start, the service didn’t match the Waldorf Astoria name or a 5-star “luxury” rating. The front desk was initially unfriendly, and the check-in experience was inconsistent. Everyone in our group with standard rooms was able to check in early, while the two Hilton Honors rooms were told “a few minutes,” waited hours, and were never contacted when the rooms were finally ready. We ended up hanging out in our friends' standard rooms only to check into our “status” rooms later -- and were disappointed. Although our room was “upgraded” to an ocean view, it was actually worse than the standard rooms our friends received. It was smaller, smelled weird, lacked the large lanai with a daybed, and the “ocean view” was literally the tops of palm trees blocking the ocean. Being on a lower floor would have offered a better view between the trunks. Still a decent view, but definitely not an upgrade worth mentioning. Cleanliness also missed the mark. Our bathroom had hair stuck to the loofah and stains on several towels -- not a great first impression. Another couple found a fake fingernail on their couch and another couple found hair all around their toilet. None of the rooms had slippers and the incorrect number was delivered when we requested it from the front desk. After looking forward to this trip for months and feeling like we were going to be treating ourselves and our birthday honorees, it was a letdown. To make things worse, their payment system went down during our stay, leading to confusion about charges and difficulty keeping track of expenses within our group. At checkout, multiple invoices were wrong: an $80 coffee shop charge that wasn’t ours, uneven hotel bar tab splits that prevented us from using our maximum daily HH credits, duplicate valet charges for the same vehicle, missing credits, and more. Fixing everything was time-consuming and frustrating. On top of all that, everything -- food, drinks, even basic items -- was insanely expensive for the quality and service delivered. Between the prices and the constant issues, the stay never felt worth what we were paying. Our group still had a great time (mostly because of the company and the celebration itself) but that was despite the hotel, not because of it. We’re already looking forward to planning another staycation together....just likely not here. The pool itself was amazing, but overrun with young kids cutting in front of people, and the overall experience simply did not match the price or the name brand.