Candid Grand Wailea Review | Bad Start; Good Ending

Finding a place to stay on Maui for five days was no small feat. The cost of accommodations from the low end on up was higher than expected, as your comments about Hawaii accommodation prices reflect. We first intended to plunk down at Kihei, where the 2* hotel was north of $400 for Kamaaina (residents), but then we found an acceptable rate at a hotel we’ve driven by for decades and decided to try. It was the Grand Wailea. Before we go further, Beat of Hawaii paid its way to provide an unbiased review.

Grand Wailea, built in 1991, recently completed a $300 million renovation featuring a new look for its 794 guest rooms and suites. A $40 million art collection enhances the opulent grounds. This is the ultimate Maui family destination with its three-story Lava Tube slide and nine pools that include waterfalls, caves, and four jungle pools for all ages. Adults wanting their own pool escape to the Hibiscus swimming pool as a quiet respite. It’s akin to a Disney experience for all, fronting one of our favorite Maui beaches, Wailea Beach.

An unexpectedly consistent, superb staff exceeded expectations.

From housekeeping to the front desk, concierge to pool attendants, management and everyone else, the entire team is customer-centric and outstanding. That was without exception. Grand Wailea has done a surprisingly good job in this area, and it was one of the best parts of the experience. It was a standout among Hawaii resorts in our years of experience.

Planning for the Grand Wailea and how the quirky deal worked out.

We booked an ocean-view room. That seemed adequate until we realized it wasn’t what we expected. We phoned the hotel reservations team the day before arrival to inquire about our room’s location. They told us there was no ocean view from the room itself, despite being in the “ocean view” category. Instead, the room would have an ocean view only from the balcony.

Reservations offered us an upgrade to a room with an inside ocean view starting at about $100 per night extra. The $625 cost we’d agreed to was already very steep for tightwad travel writer types, so we did not agree to any upgrade.

Soon after that, while checking in, we were given the ability, via the Hilton App, to see the room to which we were assigned. We noticed that upgrades were available on their App to the premium ocean-view rooms for just $43 per night instead of $100. Those are the ones that reservations told us actually would have ocean views from within the room itself. So, I was back on the phone with reservations, which resulted in a room change to the deluxe category, given that the Hilton app was throwing errors every time we tried to upgrade online. But it didn’t end there, as you’ll read in one of the most unusual check-in experiences below.

How do you pick your accommodations at Grand Wailea?

Look carefully at the resort map, as your view could have a large chapel in front of it, trees, or one of the busy resort pools. Even more interesting, the first room at the far end of what they call the Chapel Wing was an end room with a side window, giving it a far brighter and more spacious feeling than most rooms with merely one set of floor-to-ceiling windows.

If you’re not sure which area of the hotel to book or view, we suggest you talk to the front desk instead of reservations. They have the best grasp of the views from each room. One front desk person we spoke with had worked at the resort for over a quarter century. Reservations did not have that depth of knowledge regarding the views from individual rooms.

Planning and costs at Grand Wailea Resort.

We booked an ocean view room at the gulp, publicly available Hawaii resident rate of $625. We did note other rates available for the dates we stayed that were similarly discounted, even for non-residents. The cost did not include two significant extra costs. First was a gulp, steep resort fee of $50 per night. That was at least somewhat easier to swallow, considering the number of pools and activities offered. The other cost is below:

Parking at the Grand Wailea is truly exorbitant.

This was the other big gotcha. Upon researching, a little bit after the fact, we found that the only parking at Grand Wailea is valet, costing $65 per night plus tax.

Okay, well, we had a plan. We researched and found public parking available about one mile from the property. We had every intention of using that option instead of paying such a huge parking fee. In the end, however, it didn’t work out, as we needed to cover a lot of ground on Maui to write about everything we wanted to experience while on the island. In other words, how much is your time worth considering the 2-mile round-trip walk when you need the car and the hassle of hopefully finding a place to park?

Whether you park there or not, at the parking valet, you can ask for a link to the Grand Wailea ride app, where guests can request free rides to nearby areas at Wailea.

Arrival experience at Grand Wailea.

When we arrived early in the evening at the Grand Wailea, we expected an upgraded ocean view room, especially after spending perhaps two hours discussing this with both their reservations team and the front desk.

Unfortunately, when we used the Hilton App’s digital key, which offered us a contactless check-in, we received a message to go to the front desk. Given the vast scale of the Grand Wailea, that meant a 15-minute walk back from the far end of the resort while Rob stayed behind to watch the luggage. It turned out that the room we were first offered and had planned to occupy in the upgraded deluxe ocean view category did not have a significant ocean view, as the view was largely obscured by trees. We were then given keys to another room.

What happened at the next Grand Wailea room was surprising at best.

We then headed to the new room that was offered, which meant hauling suitcases up several flights of stairs since the elevators were too far away. Upon entering, we noticed that the lights were on. Our first thought was how nice of Grand Wailea to leave them on for us. But then we started to notice that things were very much awry. There were clothes and other belongings in the room, and, in fact, the room was already occupied by other guests. That was shocking and left us feeling that we had violated someone else’s privacy, even though, thankfully, they were not in the room when we entered.

At that point, we called the front desk and were immediately transferred to the manager on duty. He said he would be right there to rectify the situation. Moments later, the manager showed up and was extremely apologetic about what had happened. He said we would be assigned to another upgraded room.

It was now getting late, and we were given keys to another room, to which the manager accompanied us. On checking that room (pictured earlier), we found that it didn’t have a good ocean view either, as much of the view was obscured by mature trees and bushes. The manager said that we could be better accommodated in the morning if we accepted that room in the interim.

Grand Wailea Napua Tower review.

The next day, we were upgraded to the Napua Club as a result of everything that happened. The front desk provided several rooms to choose from. The one we chose ultimately was deemed an accessible room, which meant that the shower had a folding seat. Otherwise, it was larger, with a huge lanai and a fantastic ocean view. In total, we looked at five rooms in twelve hours at the Grand Wailea.

The management could not have been more accommodating or nicer about the unfortunate mishap that had occurred and handled it as well as possible under the circumstances.

The Napua Club is like a boutique hotel within the larger hotel. Amenities in the Napua Club lounge include daily breakfast, afternoon snacks, and evening pupus and drinks, plus its own concierge. The Napua guest room views can vary, however, and you need to pick carefully. One room we saw only had a view of another wing even though it was on the ocean side. Entry to the Napua is gated and requires room key access.

Rooms options at the Grand Wailea are vast.

After seeing five different rooms, we can attest to the fact that this at first overwhelming and sprawling Maui resort offers a vast range of rooms, suites, and villas, all of which, from what we saw, appeared to be similarly equipped with modern amenities and some nice touches. All the rooms are spacious, and standard rooms start at 640 square feet. They feature Hawaii-inspired decor and balconies or terraces. Some of the balconies are quite small, while others are large.

As management explained, being a large property means that things are always in a state of constant renovation. That said, the grounds are overall immaculate and well-maintained, and so are the guest rooms. Some of the common areas and hallways needed repairs and updating.

In the final of the five rooms we tried, a large electric blind could not be raised. The front desk told us they had already been informed of the problem, and it could not be fixed during our stay. Taking matters into our own hands, we temporarily repaired the situation with two coat hangers, as pictured above.

Amenities and activities at Grand Wailea.

The resort is understandably renowned for its expansive and diverse pool areas, which are of tremendous appeal to kids and families. The Wailea Canyon Activity Pool, for example, consists of nine interconnected pools with slides. This was fun for all-aged kids and had unusual features like a Tarzan rope swing and a lazy river.

Your editors took a dip in the adults-only Hibiscus Pool, which provides a more serene environment for relaxation​ with its large and well-functioning jacuzzis​. Plus, enjoyed many ocean swims at Wailea Beach.

Grand Wailea dining reviews

Dining anywhere at the Grand Wailea is, in a word, expensive. Several restaurants, bars, and outlets offer a variety of dine-in options and takeout.

Grand Wailea breakfast buffet review – underwhelming.

We tried the Ikena restaurant breakfast buffet ($65 per person) which is set in a lovely mostly outdoor restaurant with beautiful ocean views​. The breakfast, however, was just not up to the breakfast buffet standards we’ve come to expect other high-end Hawaii resorts, such as, the Mauna Kea Resort on the Big Island. For the cost, there was a lack of variety and the buffet simply lacked the finesse we would expect at that price.

Grand Wailea Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa review – their signature restaurant impressed!

We didn’t arrive with high expectations after the sub-par breakfast buffet experience and were very pleasantly surprised. The food in their signature rustic yet at the same time refined outdoor restaurant, which had just been renovated, was very good across the board.

Everything we both tried at Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa was well-prepared and nicely served, better than the food we have experienced in many other higher-end Hawaii resorts. The range of food we tried included two local fish entrees, salads, and a shared appetizer. It was expensive but not disappointing in any way. The service might have been a bit faster, but that’s the only point we could take off the otherwise stellar experience.

Beach and outdoor activities at the Grand Wailea.

Grand Wailea guests will love the resort’s direct access fronting beautiful Wailea Beach, known for its clear and calm waters, lack of crowds, at least when we were there, and excellent water activity opportunities. While the resort lacks on-site sports facilities like tennis courts or golf courses, those are available nearby at the Wailea Tennis Club and Wailea Golf Club.

The beach and pool towel situation was a hassle. In the evenings, towels were not available, so you needed to get them earlier in the day. We loved swimming in the ocean in the morning, but the towel booths were still closed. We usually looked at the cabanas and found unused towels stacked there, which we grabbed to use.

Access to the pools and towels is controlled by wristbands that must be obtained from attendants during their service hours. When we wanted them, they never seemed to be there. This should have worked better.

The new $50 Million Grand Wailea Kilolani Spa review: disappointing.

Those working at the hotel frequently mentioned that we must try the $55 million renovation that has just been completed to the resort’s Kilolani Spa. With the prices of services like massages too high for editors’ budgets, we opted for the recommended experience, known as the Hydro Therapy Gardens Pass.

At a cost of $125 per person (plus a mandatory 20% gratuity), that provides two hours to enjoy the spa amenities that include such things as the giant hamman (think coed steam room), a beautiful large ocean view lounge with some snacks, a smallish indoor warm salt water therapy pool, unusual but not particularly satisfying rain showers that turn themselves off after thirty seconds, and regular men’s and women’s areas with steam, sauna, and showers.

As a side note, the men’s and women’s areas are the same, and that’s where most of the amenities are. Co-ed couples can meet together again at the large saltwater pool and hamman.

There are also salt scrub products available on demand if you know to ask, as there was nothing indicating their availability in the spa. There were multiple highly attentive staff on duty to help introduce and explain the offerings.

Surprisingly, while there was a small cold water plunge and a large “warm” water Jacuzzi in both the men’s and women’s areas, there was no traditional hot tub/Jacuzzi in the spa, which did seem odd to us. Those are only available in the public pool areas such as the Hibiscus adult pool we already mentioned.

Honestly, neither of us left the Kilolani Spa with a feeling of calm or having gone through anything particularly special. The most noteworthy after-feeling, unfortunately, was the price. While the spa is indeed very beautiful, the very high cost for the basic visit and the odd albeit interesting and attractive array of services and features left us less than satisfied. Since the facility is literally brand new, perhaps it just needs some time to all get sorted out for the better.

We would love to hear about your own experiences at the Grand Wailea Resort.