Bryce Robertson

Review of Grand Wailea A Waldorf Astoria...

Overall, I can honestly say that this is one of th...

Overall, I can honestly say that this is one of the best resorts at which I have ever stayed. The service has been generally nothing short of impeccable and the Napua Tower rooms are unbelievably nice. Spending the days at the pool or on our lanai (balcony, in Hawaiian) made this a relaxing trip, while the free breakfast, mid-day tea, and cocktail hour (which really runs from 3-10) were excellent benefits. We came as part of a large corporate experience and as a Hilton Diamond, I was upgraded to the Napua Tower which was described as a "five star hotel within the 4.5 star main hotel". I would generally agree with that sentiment. The rooms were beautiful, the service spectacular and the amenities on point. Zenith, the bartender for cocktail hour(s), knew us and what we drank by day one and took care of us the rest of the trip.

I could spend my time raving about the grounds (infinitely better than next door's Four Seasons), but instead I will point out the few reasons I could not give the hotel five stars.

1) Room condition: when we walked into the room, everything generally seemed to be clean and in its place. At a "five star hotel", however, there should not be two opened bottles of water in the fridge. There should be the two bottles that concierge floor guests receive (per a placard in the room), and nothing more. We did not receive those bottles.

2) Internet access: wifi in the rooms is generally good, but the access in the 6th floor Napua lounge is horrendous. I should be able to work during cocktail hour, especially given that this was a business trip. The ethernet cables are screwed into the two locked-down computers in the lounge, so trying to get any work done on a machine other than those requires relocating to the lobby area.

3) Waterbottles: most tropical resorts provide unlimited water to guests, especially on executive floors. We were able to get bottles during breakfast and cocktail hours, but not down at the pool. There, they saw it fit to charge $5.50. Those charges should be wiped from the bill for Napua Tower guests, given that if you plan ahead you can hoard 6-8 bottles of the day (which we ended up doing).

4) Consistency of service: the majority of the service staff were excellent, but there were areas of failure. The pool attendants tended to disappear for 30-45 minutes, and with the bar often closed upstairs, you really didn't have much choice but to hope they would come back and notice you. There was also a lot of confusion at check-out and I was told that as a Diamond member, I could only get late check out for an hour although they were willing to sell me four hours for $275. I was told this was due to availability. I found it interesting my room could be made available for 3 extra hours magically somehow, if I paid. Same thing at the pool - two days the upper pool closed at 2pm for our corporate events, yet they still wanted the same $350 for a cabana as if I was able to stay in it until 10pm.

5) Food: the food here was fine. It was nothing special, and given the number of restaurants in walking distance (major shoutout to Monkeypod), they really should step it up and maybe consider not charging $22 for a hamburger. The drinks had the same issue - watered down, not consistent, and $15 for a cocktail in a plastic cup. I pay less at the Plaza Hotel across from my office in New York, and they have the name.

In the end, if I come back to Hawaii, will definitely return. I probably would not stay outside of the Napua Tower section given that those amenities really made the hotel stand out. I doubt the "normal" portion is worth the cost (note: one morning we had an early breakfast at the cafe, and two pastries and two coffees were $25).