Hotel Wailea

The much vaunted Hotel Wailea had come strongly recommended by our travel agency but, unfortunately, felt like a bit of a fading star. Whilst the grounds are undoubtedly stunning, the Publicity department seem to be doing a better job than the on-site management. According to the Hotel Policy page on the website, daily resort fee included a champagne toast on arrival. When we enquired why this hadn’t been offered, we were advised it stopped in July. We suggested they might want to update their website. Similarly, the previously discussed complimentary in-room snacks appear to have also disappeared. The complimentary soda continues - for the time being. The king ocean view room felt sparse, tired and dated - worn leather coffee table and headboard, drawers that stuck and wouldn’t open/close and a tiled floor that quickly turned my white sports socks black. However, the real issue came with dining and beverage provision. The open seating pool area closes at 5pm and, after that, without reservations for either the Birdcage or Restaurant Wailea, there is no spontaneous or open seating dining/beverage facility. We enquired about pre-dinner cocktails before eating in their restaurant and were advised this would not be possible as the Birdcage was fully committed until after our dinner reservation started. It was suggested we could either enjoy cocktails in our room or make use of the house car service to visit another property for a drink before returning to the hotel for dinner. Really?! I fully appreciate the need to make dinner reservations in advance but having to plan days ahead for a drink or snack as an in house resident felt restrictive and disappointing. On the plus side, the staff were apologetic, helpful and agreed that we could end our stay early and find a property that more closely matched our desire for spontaneity and food/beverage that was less restrictive. Overall, the property feels like corners at being cut and some of the shine is wearing off what I’m sure was an exclusive and service driven resort.

WORST "MAI TAI" EVER (Great Staff and Ambiance) - I was in Maui for a Health Retreat at the Maui Temple of Peace, near Paia and wanted to explore Wailea and sample a variety of the islands famous Mai Tais. My friend (non drinker) and I toured the beautiful hotel and decided to have a drink at the the amazing "Bird Cage" lobby bar/lounge. The whole situation was off brand for this property. Just looking around, we were greeted by super friendly Sous Chef "Conner" who gave us a tour of the kitchen who told us that the Bird Cage was THE best place to have a drink and watch the sunset. He was right. Watching all the love birds and the sunset was something out of a movie. Our server (Kai) was very friendly and professional. 15 minutes went by and no drinks, 15 more minutes and still no drinks. I mentioned this to Kai who said they had a new bartender in training and they were backed up. He apologized. The sunset was spectacular and what a view! Now 45 Minutes and still no drinks. Finally after an hour the "drinks" arrived. My friend had a non-alcoholic drink which he enjoyed. My "Mai Tai" was just yellow and was literally just pineapple juice. It did not even taste fresh squeezed. It was like canned Dole pineapple juice. There was no light and dark rum which would change the color of the cocktail. It was simple pineapple juice in a pretty glass with a fresh flower. They said the delay was also because the training bartender had to go get rum. (guest should not be told any of this as an excuse). The weird thing was there was no rum. I had my friend taste it and he confirmed no alcohol. The staff told us at the 45 minute mark that our drinks would be complimentary. The fact that we had to wait an hour for "just juice" was a big miss. I have worked in hospitality as a Sales and Marketing Director for over 25 years in many different hotels, resorts and conference centers. This simple service error blew my mind with such an amazing setting and brand like the Hotel Wailea and Relais & Chateaux. After the "drinks" we went to check out the restaurant to see the prix-fixe menu to see about dinner another night, The hostess at "The Restaurant" was friendly and told us all about the menu. We told her about the drink experience and she said we should have come to the restaurant service bar which was slow and staffed appropriately. Some training on team work needs to be done as the restaurant bar could have easily supported making drinks for the Bird Cage - even with a small delay and a cocktail runner. It was clear that the new bartender was not ready to fly solo. The resort has lots of staff. The setting was a 10 but the Mai Tai only gets a 2. So far the best Maui Mai Tai's are Monkey Pod ( drink delivered in 4 minutes and quite tasty and Mama's Fish House (drink made in front of me at he bar immediately when ordered). I hope this is an isolated incident for such a grand hotel. Date of visit: Wednesday, August 13th, 2025.

The hotel is a bit up the hill from the beach, which is good if you want to relax. they do have a shuttle service and you can also walk to the beach, so no need for FOMO. Grounds are well kept and the pool area is quaint and perfect for relaxation. No chaos, mostly couples swimming, reading, or tanning. Rooms are spacious and cozy with all amenities needed (including free nonalcoholic drinks). I recommend the rooms with ocean view (top floor numbers XX3 and XX4) away from the pool. My only complaint are the paper thin walls. Luckily, nobody was next to us for the first 3.5 days. What I did not like were the prices. For example, I can get a massive bowl of delicious poke at Foodland for $10.99. At the hotel a portion approximately 1/3 of the size is $38. The markup for food and amenities was a little over the top. I understand we are on an island, but there are limits... Will I be back? Unsure. For me the hotel lacked a bit of exclusivity and frankly, for the cost, you could have gotten more.

Highest level of service I’ve ever received at a hotel! The adults only boutique resort offers a serene relaxing property quietly tucked away on hill yet close enough to the action for those who want it. We used the complimentary car service often and were always welcomed back by hotel staff with a smile. House keeping went above and beyond to make sure our room was tidy, and they always found a way to not let us see when they were trying to access the room. The pool along with the staff were incredible , I can’t say enough great things- even before our arrival Shannan helped plan some excursions and on site bookings (thank you). Service at its finest!

I purchased their most expensive room with a view..$1500 per night. My room, the Celebration Ocean View needed to be completely repainted because of very noticeable large touch up spots in both livingroom and bedroom. My ocean view suite was interrupted with continuous traffic noise. My in room breakfasts were lukewarm and not tasty. My refreshments were not refilled by housekeeping as promised. Guest Services offered a $150 nightly to compensate for my more than warranted concerns. This is how Hotel Wailea handles a guest's who is unhappy with major issues that now result in negative reviews on this site and others.