Cheryl Field

Review of Grand Wailea A Waldorf Astoria...

You will spend a small fortune to make some really...

You will spend a small fortune to make some really great memories here... exceptional service, gorgeous grounds, but overall accommodations and value really don't justify the total costs. If you're thinking of going for that upgrade, it's probably worth it once ... otherwise, you'll never be in your room and they're all basically clean with the same amenities, furnishings, etc. Trust me on this, we stayed in four different rooms and locations over a two week period in September (long story). And you're already going to spend about $85 extra per day on mandatory resort and valet fees for those "free" greeting leis, a few "free" bottles of water, semi-slow wifi, beach umbrella or bike access based on availability, and a few other misc. things you likely won't ever use. Food, expensive meh. Humuhumu served us the worst we've ever had anywhere, but Volcano was pretty good and poolside convenient, while Kula Cafe had all day coffee along with a fairly decent mixed bag of sandwich type eats. Spa was quite a disappointment, 3 visits for everything from nails, to facial and massages, hydro-circuit... all very over-hyped and over-rated. Basically, the best part of staying at the Grand is the outdoor experience; absolutely stellar grounds for strolling! The pools are also awesome and so is the beach. And however crowded any scene might be at any given time, you can always move to some more semi-secluded spot (btw, ALL beaches in Maui are public by law, aka you can park yourself in front of another resort too). Overall, not bad ... just not fantastic either. Even with that said? At much better weekday room rates during non-busy times, we'd still go back just to skip down memory lane.