Loved it! This was our first trip to Maui and we ...

Loved it! This was our first trip to Maui and we did not know what to expect, but felt true relaxation and great family time during our trip.

Some details: we have stayed at other Hyatt Resorts and this is similar but seemed to have less structured kids activities, which was fine because all we wanted to do was swim and explore Maui. If you are looking for a robust child's program, better call ahead and find out what is available.

The pool was fantastic, and even though the hotel was "booked solid," I found the crowds very manageable at the pool. Yes, most of the best chairs at poolside are taken from 10am-4pm, but other chairs were available and the pool itself never seemed over crowded.

A real plus was the shave ice stand at pool side, some of the best and most authentic shave ice we found during our trip.

Restaurants were solid but not a highlight. The Japanese offering was good, but we've had better. The morning buffet was tasty but not special. The poolside casual restaurant was surprisingly efficient given the crowds, had our pizza out during lunch rush in about 10-15 minutes. We are not big steak fans, so we skipped the steak restaurant. If you want other options, Whaler's Village is a 1/2 mile walk and the neighboring hotels have options too. We tried the Westin one night for dinner at Oceanside and thought it was no better, no worse.

We saw the Westin and it is not fair to judge as it is under construction now, but one observation is that the Westin seemed more like a traditional hotel with a small lobby, upscale crowd. I found the huge open air Hyatt and more casual crowd to be more to our liking.

The retail mall in the Hyatt was appreciated. My wife found a dress at Macy's as we decided to do a photo shoot last minute. Also, the artisans shop was very welcoming with authentic, local art.

Last point about saving a few bucks. The Regency club for a family of 4 is about $120/day. I think it includes breakfast and light refreshments during the day. If breakfast is NOT included in your booking, this seems like a good deal, as it would be about $105 (with tax and tip) for breakfast and then the extra $15 seems like a fair deal. On the other hand, if breakfast is included, the club is overpriced.

Like all resorts now, the hotel is selling timeshares, but we felt zero pressure and the sales force was actually interested in helping with questions.

Concierge helped us find tennis lessons at a nearby resort, but was otherwise limited to activities one could easily book on their own.

The luau is about $150 for adults, $75 children and seemed very popular, so much so that we could not get seats.

Summary of pros and cons:
Pros:
+pools!!!
+swan garden
+location on the beach
+genuinely caring staff
+great coffee shop with waffles!
+great mall in lobby
+mini fridge in room

Cons:
+restaurants could be better
+housekeeping was overwhelmed and got to our room late most days
+no onsite tennis pro or tennis/basketball activities despite having courts
+limited children's program