HI Maui Resort Wailea Marriott

[John R]

Hi, we spent a week at this hotel in May, 2009. For the price ($120/night) we were pleased but we found it dubious to call it a resort. Here are the highs and lows:

Pros

- Excellent location. The area is beautiful and you are within walking distance to the shops and restaurants.

- The price via Priceline was a good deal. We paid $120/night and other people got it for as little as $105/night.

- The property is nice.

Cons

- There is no beach whatsoever on the hotel property. I'm not sure how you get away with calling a hotel a resort in Maui without having a beach. You have to hike either north or south on a pathway for several minutes to access a beach.

- The parking is crummy. It costs you ~$20/day and spaces are difficult to find at times. Additionally the space are so ridiculously narrow people often take more than one. That further exasperates the problem.

- The dining options on the property are very limited. There is only one (overpriced) restaurant.

- The hospitality is not on par with other resort level hotels on Maui. For instance I called the front desk to inquire if there was a microwave somewhere we could use to reheat some leftovers. The response I got was "We don't allow guests to heat food." When we stayed at the Sheraton in Kaanapali I made the same request once. They brought a microwave up to the room within a few minutes.

So, stay there for the price and the location. Stay elsewhere if you want a true resort experience. There is no comparison between this place and The Grand Wailea, the Fairmont Kea Lani or the resorts in Kaanapali.

Best regards,

John

[leric]

We just got back from our trip to Maui. We stayed at the Wailea Marriott from 3/2/12-3/6/12. We got the room for $200 per night.

Pros:

-I called ahead and asked if we could get a room with a view. They said "no", but I wonder if they kept it on record that I requested it because when we arrived, we got a free upgrade to a junior suite with a view. It was really nice to wake up every morning and see the ocean, palm trees, and even some whales!

-The Serenity Pool - fills up fast, but a great place to relax and read in a quiet pool area. The pool (infinity type) is great but probably a tad too cold. Come early since the chairs fill up fast!

-Although there was no beach directly in front of the hotel, I would hardly call it a "hike" to get to Wailea Beach or Ulua Beach. It's really not far of a walk, and we enjoyed taking the scenic stroll in front of the water/resorts to get to the beach. We got to see so many whales too!

-Shops at Wailea - high end mall that you can walk to - just nice to have close by. There's the "Whaler's General Store" which has items like toiletries or snacks that you can purchase if necessary. And Lappert's for an evening dessert of ice cream. Yum!

-Very friendly and helpful staff.

Cons:

-As noted earlier, the parking can be a hassle with the narrow spaces, but we never had a situation where we couldn't park our car. If the main lot gets full, they open up the valet section for you to park at the normal self-park rate. Yes, it does suck that you have to pay per night, but I believe that is standard.

-Free wifi only available at the Starbucks on property. It would be nice if they at least offered it in the lobby area. Most hotels at this point don't offer free wifi in the rooms and the same is true for this hotel. You could easily be outside of the Starbucks and use their wifi without purchasing anything.

-Food was overpriced and not great. For food though, we are not into eating at the hotel restaurants anyway. We like to venture out a bit since the resorts always charge an arm and a leg. We ate here twice. Once for "happy hour"...which was really exorbitant in price. And once for lunch, when we were poolside and it was most convenient.

Overall, this hotel met all our needs. It felt more adult-like as there were not as many children around (although there was a children's pool area, didn't check it out). The property is smaller, but it made it feel nicer. We had stayed at the Westin Kaanapali in the past, and I'm not a fan of rows and rows of pool chairs with no view. I also noticed this massive amount of pool chairs at the Grand Wailea. Seems like an eye sore to me. Anyway, we didn't stay on property the whole time, so it depends on what you're looking for. This was perfect for us to get a little poolside time and then hit up the beaches and off-site restaurants the rest of the time.