Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort - Wailea, Hawaii

Daniel M. (.

I recently had the pleasure of staying at the Grand Wailea Resort in Maui with my wife for a six-day, five-night vacation. The resort itself is absolutely beautiful, offering stunning views and an impressive selection of pools to enjoy. We had a fantastic time soaking in the scenery, relaxing by the pools, and exploring everything the resort had to offer. The property is kept immaculately clean—almost as if you could eat off the floor. There are plenty of dining, shopping, and drinking options to choose from. Our room featured two queen beds with a scenic view of the Maui area, though not of the beach—beachfront rooms required a higher premium. The room and bathroom were beautifully maintained, and the housekeeping staff was exceptionally friendly. They cleaned the room daily, replaced our towels, and always greeted us with a warm “Aloha.” The service within the hotel was impeccable and truly unforgettable. However, I had a significant issue with the customer service at the pool, which put a damper on our experience.

The Issue at the Pool

When we first checked into the pool area, we were given bright pink wristbands to identify us as resort guests—no problem. However, on the evening of a wedding we attended at the resort, we removed our wristbands so they wouldn’t appear in our photos. We carefully set them aside in our room and didn’t think much of it. The next day, while relaxing by the pool, we went to request new wristbands. The staff informed us that we needed to return the old ones first, which was understandable. My wife went back to our room to retrieve them. This is where the problem started. As I was waiting by the lounge chairs, a rude staff member in a yellow shirt approached me. She immediately assumed we weren’t hotel guests and demanded to see our wristbands. I politely explained that my wife had gone to retrieve them from our room, but instead of understanding, she raised her voice and threatened to call security, insisting she didn’t believe we were guests. I was shocked and extremely upset. Given the amount of money we were paying to stay at this resort, this treatment was completely unacceptable.

The Price vs. The Experience

Rooms at the Grand Wailea range from $600 to $800 per night during the week and can reach $1,200 on weekends. With that kind of price tag, I expected a high level of service and respect, which, unfortunately, was not what we received in this instance. While the resort does offer a variety of activities, including free and paid experiences, an on-site luau, restaurants, and shops, the incident at the pool left a bad taste in my mouth. I had hoped for a completely positive and relaxing stay, but instead, I left feeling disrespected and frustrated. That being said, I would definitely consider staying here again if I return to Maui. Next time, we’ll likely bring the kids and turn it into a family experience. Hopefully, future visits will be more enjoyable all around.

Elizabeth G.

The hotel was beautiful and we had a lovely room with an extended lanai. The lounger on the lanai was great to watch sunset.

Pools were great for the family, but get out early or there will be hard to find seating. The pool deck was crammed with various types of seating but it was still difficult to find seats.

Now, valet was $65/night and I’d expect fast service. We waited for our car for more than twenty minutes multiple times. The drivers were great but they were severely understaffed.

Drinks were significantly more expensive than our other resort and often not as good.

Overall this was a good experience, but I am not sure I’d return.

Gretchen N.

Got our room on a special work deal- $823 a night. However, there are so many extra charges, it was around $1200 a night. These include $676 in taxes, $100 per person over 18 (don’t take your college kids!), $65/day valet charge, $55/day resort charge plus more taxes on all of that. Excessive for what you get. |The rooms are large and nice- my favorite part. Housekeeping is spotty- one day they forget your garbage, one day they don’t leave you extra toilet paper. The pool chair fight is embarrassing and gross. The pool chairs are also on top of each other like airplane seats. Make sure you like people! The staff is hit or miss- like any hotel. The absolute number of people at this resort is insane. Always 20 or more people waiting out front for their cars. |The problem with all of that is that’s it is $1200 a night!!! When people pay that, it’s kind of human nature to want better amenities and service. I’ll be honest- I’m kind of shocked that rich people like this place. Unless they are all Hilton friends and family members getting deals I have no idea. It’s kind of just a tropical Disney with no parks and worse service. |Now if you are so rich that you don’t care what you get for $1200 a night- by all means stay here. You can rent a cabana every day for an extra $1200. And if you love being with people very close to you, stay here. |Otherwise I would try the Wailea Beach Resort or a condo. |I’m not coming back.

Samantha C. L.

The staff at the Grand Wailea is the best part of the resort. Everyone was so friendly and was always asking if there was anything they could do to make our stay better. The resort amenities earn it 5 stars, but the rooms need an update. I went to this hotel in 2013 and I don't think anything in the rooms has been updated since then. The beds weren't very comfortable, the bathtub didn't drain well, and there were little gnat type bugs that liked to hang out near the coffee machine/mini-fridge area. The pluses for the room was the size, the view, and the balcony. The rooms were large and the balcony was usable. Most of the rooms at the hotel have at least a partial ocean view, unlike many of the rooms at the other 5 star hotels nearby. I've reviewed the spa separately but it's been recently renovated and it was wonderful. The grounds of the hotel are beautiful and well maintained, although it would be nice to have more hang out spots besides the pools. We didn't use the pool, only the beach, but they were always busy and there are some fun pools with slides and a swim up bar. The location is great if you're planning on staying in Wailea but Wailea itself isn't very convenient if you're planning on exploring the whole island of Maui. Overall, you're paying for the amenities, beach access, and location, just don't expect 5 star rooms.

Staci C.

The location of the resort is great. There is a shopping center next to it. Rooms and facilities are dated. Good to have water systems in hotel. Pools, lazy river, water slides are fun. The hotel's service needs improvement. I asked 3 towels by the pool, and I was told only 2 per person. We are a family of 4. I have never been told everyone needs to be in person to get pool towels at other hotels. With the price to stay, I would expect a better service.

Montana D.

When booking my vacation in Maui, I was very excited to stay at the Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort but am sad to report how very let down I was by my experience. From the moment my family and I arrived there was a long line to check-in with only 2 people working! This is unacceptable when you have a resort of this size. It seemed every time we wanted or needed something, there were long wait times. For example, to get your car from valet took forever and much longer than what it should have. Also the line in the market to get a drink or snack also led to insane wait times. The overall feeling of the hotel was that it was severely understaffed.

In addition, the hotel itself needs more attention to detail for a 5-star resort. From the cleanliness to the customer service you would expect to receive. Anytime you asked a staff member a question, it seemed as though you were a huge inconvenience to them.

The second day of our stay we decided to do a pool day and were very unhappy to realize there clearly are not enough chairs for the amount of guests staying at the hotel. Also, to find out that people not even staying at the resort are granted access, which only increase the demand for pool side chairs was very disappointing. This is very unfair for paying guests of the resort to not be able to enjoy the amenities. Also, there was only one staff member making rounds in the late afternoon to see if people were holding chairs but not actually using them…this should be done every hour from the start of the day! Also to charge guest that are staying at the resort and paying a resort fee for beach chairs and umbrella is a bit insane. Most of the other 5 star resorts in Wailea do not charge their registered guest for beach chairs! This is basic amenities for a resort with a resort fee.

Lastly, on our second day of staying at the resort our room keys stopped working. I contacted the front desk and they sent a member of the security team to let us into our room. When I asked if he brought us new key cards, he said no and we would have to go to the front desk for them. This should have been told to us and we would have just walked to the front desk to get new key cards instead of waiting 15 minutes for the security guard at our room. The customer service at this hotel is nonexistent!

My family and I stay at a lot of Hilton Hotels and this by far was our worst experience. I am confident in saying that I will never stay at the Grand Wailea Resort again and will not recommend it to any friends or family.

jennifer W.

This resort is beautiful! The kids love the slides and the pools. Lazy river was lovely for us. The staff was helpful particularly Tommy in the Napua tower was soo great and attentive to our needs. Remembered all the little things we liked and made the trip special for the kids. Mahalo

Dan H.

Do not stay at this hotel unless you want to compete against a fellow hotel. Guests like you are on a reality TV show. If you're up for getting up at 6:00 a.m. and putting towels on pool chairs, this is definitely your place. Also you can no longer call ahead for valet. You have to wait in line to give them your ticket and then wait in line again to get your vehicle which on average is 15 to 30 minutes. Note that there is no other option than valet parking which is approximately $70 a day. You could try talking to the hotel staff but they are of little if any help and really do not care. If you're looking for a relaxing stay, this is not your place although not a big deal for us, they no longer pass out leis upon arrival and this is the first hotel in Hawaii that we have stayed at that did not do that. Read the other reviews, you will find that they consistently underperform on service and will respond - but nothing changes. Sort of like Groundhog Day, with the same shortcomings over and over. This will be our last stay at this resort. For a better experience, I would recommend the Marriott next door.