The Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, on the island in Maui, has long been a favorite for travelers to Hawaii looking for a luxurious and indulgent experience.
We finally had the chance to stay there when we found five elusive free nights available on Hilton Honors points.
Would the The Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, become one of our Hawaiian favorites? Read on to find out.
Review: Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort (Maui, Hawaii)
Photo: hilton.com
About Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort
The resort, established in 1991, boasts 780 guest rooms, suites, and villas, including our Deluxe Ocean View King Guest Room that provided breathtaking views of the ocean and surrounding landscape.
The resort spans 40 acres of lush tropical gardens and is situated overlooking the stunning Wailea Beach.
Photo: hilton.com
At A Glance: Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort
- Official Website: grandwailea.com
- Average Nightly Cost During Stay: $1,299 ($1,583.86 all-in)
- Loyalty Program: Hilton Honors
- Loyalty Category: 110,000 points per night
- Discount Applied: 5th points night free
- Room Type as Booked: Terrace View – 1 King Bed
- Room Upgrade: Deluxe Ocean View King ACC (Officially: should have been Napua Ocean 1 King)
- Resort Fee: $50 per night
- Parking Fee: $65 per night valet (self-parking is not available)
Booking/Redemption
Hilton Honors Diamond Member Benefits
Location & Parking
The Grand Wailea is located in the heart of Wailea, a renowned resort destination on the southern coast (read: “the expensive coast”) of Maui. The location provides easy access to some of the highest-rated beaches, golf courses, and shopping centers on the island.
The resort offered valet parking for $65 per night (self-parking is not available).
Photo: hilton.com
Photo: hilton.com
FHOP Tip: Grand Wailea is situated “next door” to The Shops At Wailea, a shopping mall that conveniently has an ABC Store (so it’s easy to stock up on cheaper food, snacks, and alcohol).
Lobby
Three Male Hula Dancers by Jan Fisher
Front Desk & Check-In
Check-in was quick and easy, as we were recognized four our Hilton Diamond Status and told we’d been given an “upgrade” to an accessible room on a high floor with “the best view from the hotel” (more on that later).
Welcome Package
We were also handed the following pamphlet (which was curiously “cheap-looking” for a $1,000+ night resort).
Room Key
This makes the list for the “sexiest room key” awards.
Room Upgrade Snafu
On night #3 of our 5-night stay, I decided to check what kind of room our upgrade was.
To my surprise, our room was listed as a Napua Ocean 1 King room (see below). This is significant because all Napua Rooms are supposed to be given access to the Napua Tower (see below) and more importantly, the Napua Club Lounge which serves free breakfast, hors d’oevres, and drinks.
I called down to the front desk to ask if I have access, the answer was (after a long hold to check with the manager), “Unfortunately, no, you do no have access”.
To double check, I called the Hilton Diamond Desk. After another long hold, they came back to me and confirmed my suspicions, “Yes sir, your Napua room entitles you to full access to the Napua Club Lounge.
I called back down to the front desk where I explained to them that the Hilton Diamond Desk confirmed I should have access to the Napua Club Lounge. To my shock, I was told, “We don’t really care what the Diamond Desk says”. This from the front desk!
As I already about an hour and a half into this snafu with the front desk and Diamond Desk, my plus-one convinced me to “just drop it” because we only had one more day at the resort where we could utilize the lounge anyways (because we had a 6am flight out to Kauai on our last day).
I decided to just drop it, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth.
Secure entrance to the Napua Tower
Ocean View Resort King: Promotional Photos
Photo: hilton.com
Photo: hilton.com
Photo: hilton.com
Ocean View Resort King: Walkthrough Tour
Room Entrance
Bedroom
This was weird: Our pillows kept falling in this strange gap
Living Area
Room Amenities
Complimentary water bottles
Bathroom
Panoramic View From The Balcony
View From The Room
Morning
Dusk
Humuhumunukunukuapua’a
For dinner, the resort offered a variety of dining options, that – unfortunately for us – excluded the award-winning Humuhumunukunukuapua’a restaurant (which specializes in Hawaiian seafood dishes), which was closed during our stay.
This looks like it would have been nice! Photo: hilton.com
Photo: hilton.com
Dinner At Bistro Molokini
We instead found ourselves enjoying the casual/sports bar atmosphere of Bistro Molokini for dinner on several nights. The food was delicious overall, and service was excellent.
Bistro Molokini Photo: hilton.com
Calamari
Breakfast & Lunch At Loulu
For breakfast, we chose to use our $25 per person/per day Diamond credits at Loulu, which was open for most of the day and served breakfast, lunch, coffee, snacks, alcohol, and even some dinner items.
Loulu Photo: hilton.com
Ube doughnut
Korean Chicken
Rose Brunch At Ikena
On the Saturday of our stay, we decided to splurge and try the “Ikena Rose Brunch” at Ikena.
Ikena was not only popular with guests of the Grand Wailea, but also Maui locals, due to its legendary, king-sized buffet, which featured “all the good stuff” – like lobster, crab, sushi, and DIY Spicy Bloody Mary’s – as well as everything else a breakfast buffet could possibly offer.
Ikena was delicious, but it came with a huge price tag – $115++ per person – but came with a glass of Rose (all other alcohol was extra).
Ikena Photo: hilton.com
Plates #1 and #2
DIY Spicy Bloody Mary
Luckily for us, we found out about the Ikena Rose Brunch through the flyer (below) which was attached to our drink bill at the pool. You’ll notice the backside of the flyer listed the price of the Rose Brunch as $85++.
At check out, I showed them the flyer and asked that the price of the brunch be adjusted.
After a quick, “let me check with my manager,” the front desk attendant adjusted the charge and that was that.
Botero Bar
Photo: hilton.com
Photo: hilton.com
Botero Bar
The Grand Wailea Shops
Mohalu By Spa Grande
Entrance to the spa
The Wailea Beach Path & Wailea Beach
The Wailea Beach path was a beautiful walkway that we used several times to walk between the Fairmont Kea Lani, The Four Seasons, and Ulua Beach Park.
Wailea Beach
Ulua Beach Park
The Fountains
Photo: hilton.com
The Chapel
Photo: hilton.com
The Swimming Pool Complex
One of the highlights of our stay was the resort’s swimming pool complex, which boasts nine free-form pools, four waterfalls, and a lazy river.
We were also impressed by the extensive water slides, including the 262-foot Lava Slide and the 14,700-square-foot Wailea Canyon Activity Pool, where we just had them keep-the-drinks-a-coming.
Photo: hilton.com
Photo: hilton.com
Water slides & bungalows
The Lazy River at Night
The Grand Gardens
Additionally, we enjoyed exploring the resort’s fish ponds, gardens, and beach, which added to the resort’s natural charm.
Artwork At Grand Wailea
The Fernando Botero Collection
Stained Glass artwork by Yvonne Cheng
Maui Captures the Sun by Shige Yamada
King Kamehameha Herb by Kawainui Kane
Fire, Zhou Ling Collection
Edward Brownlee Collection
FHOP Tip: What’s Nearby: Monkeypod is a very popular restaurant/bar just up the street from Grand Wailea that serves amazing drinks and food. It’s definitely worth checking out, but GET THERE EARLY, as the peak wait times can easily run close to 1.5 hours+.
The Monkeypod Mai Tai
Snorkeling On Maui
The Bottom-Line Review: Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort (Maui, Hawaii)
Overall, our stay at the Grand Wailea was a very memorable experience. This is a classic (and legendary) Hawaiian resort for a reason. The resort has many things going for it: A stunning location, a massive and beautiful property, an amazing beach, luxurious amenities, world-class art collections, and incredible and unique pool complex.
There were plenty of activities to do nearby, such swimming at the beach, shopping at The Shops at Wailea, going for sunset walks along the beach trail, indulging in the Ikena Rose Brunch, and exploring the resort’s vast property. The resort also offered a range of on-site activities, including a fitness center, spa, and a golf course. Grand Wailea also offered a famous Luau, which featured a traditional Hawaiian feast, music, and dancing (but which we decided to skip having been to several Luaus in the past).
The only real negative I had was the hotel refusing to honor my Napua Room benefits – even when the Hilton Diamond Desk got involved. I’m still kind of shocked by that. Never-the-less, Grand Wailea had so many positives that I’m not going to let one {major} bad apple spoil the bunch.
I can highly recommend this resort to anyone looking for a relaxing and indulgent Hawaiian getaway – especially if they can find nights to redeem on Hilton Honors points, as it is simply a great redemption with a huge value. Grand Wailea is perfect for families, couples, weddings, girl-trips, or golf getaways.
Final Rating: 8.5 out of 10.
