Half of my wife’s family is from Maui, and she grew up going to Wailea Beach with her mom and brother. Unlike many beaches in Hawai’i, Wailea gradually drops off into the water, making it a terrific place for younger kids, which is why her Mom took them there.
The Grand Wailea (then a brand-new Hyatt) and its cascading tiers of pools provided the backdrop for Wailea Beach from about the time my wife was in middle school. She and her younger brother would stare at the pools longingly during their beach visits, wondering what magical secrets were ensconced in the watery world behind the security guard and entrance ropes.
The Grand Wailea is now a part of Hilton and is branded as a Waldorf Astoria. I’ve been to Wailea Beach with my wife’s family dozens of times over the year, and sold wine to the restaurants, but I had never spent the night there. Last year, over the Holidays, my wife and I used an expiring free night certificate as the ideal reason to check it out.
Grand Wailea Bottom Line Review
The Grand Wailea is an easy place to like, and my wife and I had a great time there. The grounds are beautiful from the entrance to the beach, the room was spacious with a terrific lanai, the pools are world-class, and the beach is one of our favorites on the island. What’s not to like? The prices, that’s what. This place is expensive. The nightly awards are now between 110K-160K/night, and the restaurant prices are so high you won’t be able to tell if you’re laughing or crying. I’d have a hard time paying the cash or points required to stay here, but it’s a very appealing place to use a free night certificate. Thumbs Up
- Price: During our dates, awards were priced at 110,000 pts/night, while cash prices for standard rooms were ~$900/night. We used a free night certificate from one of our Hilton Honors Aspire cards to cover the stay. Since then, Hilton has increased the upper cap on its most expensive awards several times, and now the rate for a standard room at the Grand Wailea seems to vary from 110,000 to an incredible 175,000 points/night.
- Value: Despite the ridiculous points price, it’s usually a decent deal if comparing it to our reasonable redemption value for Hilton Honors points of 0.41 cents each.
- Location: The Grand Wailea is located right behind Wailea Beach, one of the most desirable beaches on Maui. It’s a short drive from the resort to all of the myriad restaurants and bars of Wailea and Kihei.
- Room: We booked a standard king room and were upgraded to an Ocean View King upon arrival. The room was spacious at 640 square feet, had a nice-sized sofa, and a massive bathroom. Our private lanai had a beautiful view of the grounds, wedding chapel, and distant ocean. The room is starting to feel a tad dated, but it was lovely nonetheless.
- Parking: Valet parking is an astonishing $75/night + tax. I’ve heard that members of the US Military are able to get that waived if they ask at check-in. For the rest of us, if you’re willing to walk a bit, there is consistently available free parking on Kaukahi Street on the south side of the Fairmont Kea Lani here. You can take the Wailea Oceanfront Boardwalk directly from the water side of the Grand Wailea all the way there. It takes ~15-18 minutes on foot, not a big deal for an overnight, but something that might get irritating over several days for some folks.
- Resort/Destination Fee: $55/night. This price ostensibly includes several “experiences,” none of which we partook in:
- A private photography session
- Outdoor fitness classes
- Hula and ukulele lessons
- A scuba clinic
- Beach cruiser bikes
- Internet: Excellent throughout the property.
- Service: Given the cost of staying here, not quite as polished as you might hope. Maui’s demand for hospitality jobs quickly overwhelms the supply of superlative candidates, and it’s a challenge to staff the many huge properties here. The Grand Wailea is well-run and maintained, and the staff is efficient and professional. Just don’t expect much beyond that.
- Turndown service: Nightly.
- Dining: Maui is an expensive place to go out to eat…but the restaurants at the Grand Wailea take it to another level. Assuming you have a car, do yourself and your wallet a favor: don’t eat at the resort for every meal. There are terrific restaurants within a few minutes’ drive that are half the price.
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Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa: The hotel’s flagship restaurant, floating on a beachfront, waterfall-lined lagoon. It’s famous for having a bartop that’s an actual aquarium. From what I’ve heard, the food is delicious, but the prices have to be seen to be believed. Open for breakfast buffet from 7 am to 10 am ($60++ per person); dinner from 5 pm to 9 pm.
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Olivine: Casual, Italian-ish restaurant further away from the water, but with good sunset views. The TVs behind the bar playing sports give an idea of what the atmosphere is like. Open for lunch daily from 11 am to 3 pm; dinner from 5 pm – 9 pm.
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Nobu: Massive Maui outpost of the restaurant named after the Japanese Chef, Nobu Matsuhisa. The menu is similar to the chain’s other 50+ restaurants around the world, but even more expensive because, you know, Maui. Open for dinner daily from 5 pm to 9 pm.
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Botero Lounge: Bar and lounge in an attractive setting; seemingly suspended in the middle of the main atrium. Cocktails are excellent and pricey. Open daily from 4 pm to 11 pm, with live music from 6 pm to 9 pm.
- Loulu: Grab-and-go restaurant and market with some outdoor tables that overlook the grounds. This is where you’ll end up if you want to try and actually get close to a meal with your $50 food and beverage credit. My wife and I had two coffees, a small acai bowl, and a petite “breakfast calzone,” that ended up costing just over $50 all-in. Breakfast from 6 am to 11 am daily, lunch & dinner from 11 am – 9 pm.
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- Spa: No surprise, there’s an extensive, beautiful spa located on-property. Treatments are available every day from 9 am to 7 pm.
- Pools and Beach: I’m adding a special section to this review because these are world-class aspects of the hotel.
- As I mentioned above, Wailea Beach is a beauty, with soft, golden sand, a gentle entry, and great sunset views over West Maui and the offshore islands. There’s a terrific oceanfront boardwalk that winds over the beaches and headlands of Wailea and is an absolute pleasure for walking or running.
- The Grand Wailea’s pools are the best that I’ve encountered in the state, a multi-tiered complex of water, steamy caves, rope bridges, and waterslides. There’s a Tarzan swing, a lava tube slide, a huge activity pool with volleyball nets, and a sandy kiddie pool. It’s terrific. Families can easily entertain themselves for the better part of a day…and do it again tomorrow. For those without kids, there’s a serene adults-only area with hot tubs, pools, cabanas, and grassy lawns with loungers.
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- Fitness Room: There’s a massive and incredibly well-equipped fitness center that will easily allow you to continue whatever fitness routines you normally do at home.
- Hilton Diamond Benefits:
- Room Upgrade: We booked a standard room and were automatically upgraded to a lovely, 640-square-foot Ocean View King.
- Free Breakfast: $25 per person food and beverage credit per night. This will get you a cocktail in the bar, 1/3 of one person’s breakfast buffet tab, or (almost) grab-and-go breakfast at Loulu Cafe. Hilton’s domestic breakfast policy really hurts here.
- Club Lounge: None.
- Late Checkout: We were proactively given a 2 pm checkout.
- Welcome Amenity: A box of chocolate-covered Macadamia Nuts,
- Would I stay again? We had a great time at the Grand Wailea; it’s a marvelous property in many ways. The problem is the cost, both in terms of points and on-property amenities. Would I spend 160,000 Hilton points (Or $800-$1000) per night to stay here? Probably not.
Pros
- The grounds are stunning, front to back.
- Rooms are spacious and have terrific lanais.
- Wailea Beach is one of the best in Maui, especially for families.
- If there’s a better complex of pools in the State of Hawai’i, I haven’t seen it.
- The sunsets here are dynamite.
- Lots of good (and less expensive) restaurants within easy driving distance.
Cons
- Holy Hilton, this place is expensive…and the standard room award rate has gone up 33% since we stayed here last year.
- The food and beverage costs will make your wallet hurt.
- Parking and resort fees will get you to $150/night before even paying for the room (the resort fee is waived on award stays).
- It’s a big property; if you’re looking for low-key intimacy, look elsewhere.
Image Gallery
Grand Wailea Ocean View King Room
Grand Wailea Restaurants
Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa
Olivine
Botero Lounge
Loulu
Grand Wailea Pools
Grand Wailea Beach
Grand Wailea Gym
Grand Wailea Public Areas
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Thank you, Tim, for the parking tip!
Hey Tim, thanks for the review. Headed there in two weeks. I’m hoping you can help answer 3 questions.
1- How late are the pools open?
2- Are the pools heated?
3- considering the price of the Valet parking, would it be feasible to Uber to and from the parking location you suggested. I figure two trips a day would still be cheaper than $75
I’m not Tim but I can answer a few.
Pools close at 10pm.
Slides close at 5pm.
Pools were always warm when we went 2 weeks ago.
As for Valet, pick your poison. We parked at resort because I did not want to deal with the inconvenience.
I’m adding this: Get Napua Tower.
We enjoy really staying there, but I agree it’s $$$. We do Hilton 2 player mode and combine our HH super powers to make it more affordable. Book with FNC’s and use Resort Credits and Surpass Credits combined with the Daily F&B Credits for onsite spending. Usually eat dinner off property.
We stayed there as diamond member during thanks giving time in 2017 with 2year old. It was very convenient, points rate was 90k per night. We did a helicopter tour of the island and didn’t go out anywhere else outside the hotel
Pool and beach were great .
Now we are going during Christmas time this year and just going to stay in a new Hampton inn hotel near airport and this time planning to explore the island, with 10 year old
Tim:
Thanks so much for the (brutally honest) review, it is much appreciated by this Hilton Diamond.
I’ve just poured this property out of my Bucket List, and watched sadly as it flowed down the drain.
I’ve stayed at the Grand Wailea before on points, before the Hilton chart went off the rails. I do have a soon-to-be-expiring AMEX free night cert and, since I need to be in Maui in January, I plan to use it here. I’m definitely not excited about it. We are fond of Wailea: compared to other upscale, planned communities, it’s more fun (likely due to the great beach and nice oceanside walk). But, even as a Hilton Diamond, there’s too much hassle (like parking off-property to avoid the usurious fee) and the lack of a genuine breakfast benefit. As many know, staying in fancy hotels usually isn’t much fun unless you get stuff included.I’m also not a particular fan of the Mega Luxury Hotel concept. We’ve stayed the last two times in Wailea at the Andaz, which is a better experience (especially as a Globalist) but the number of points required now is absurd. Frankly, I’d prefer to use my AMEX cert NOT in Hawaii (especially due to the breakfast issue). But since I need to be in Maui, and hotel room rates everywhere on the island are astronomical, I’m inclined to save myself some cash and spend the night at the Grand Wailea.
It’s a traveler’s prerogative to go wherever they desire. That said, this property is a classic “I’m going here because it’s expensive so it’s worth the value”. Just because it’s high cost and everyone seems to be doing it doesn’t make it fine. Paying $75 for someone to park your car and not even receive it back in a timely manner? What’re you doing?? Please have some self-respect before donating your hard-earned money. Americans have such an incredibly fortunate opportunity to explore the world around them, yet choose time and time again to herd themselves into the same depreciating settings while paying even more.
It seems disingenuous (likely unintended though) to not bring up the high-brow stuff in these reviews. Case in point, check out the towel / chair comments here. It’s even worse for couples / non-families at these resorts.
On the flip side, the more folks that go to these locations, the more availability that remains for true sweet spots in different (and subjectively better) destinations.
OK, what resort do you recommend that’s better? I’ll wait. I want to stay at the resort and enjoy the amenities and the great beach on site. Not looking to sightseeing all day when this place has everything I want and the kids want. We are on vacation, so we spend money on vacation, no matter if it is parking or a beach lounger!!!
With points, I think the andaz and the marriott are both nicer. Without points, I also prefer the fairmont, although the suites are a little dated and dark
I’ve been to all 3 of those. I’ll pass. I love walking right out to the beach, I love the pools and I love the Napua Tower.
I think the big limiter for many Americans, particularly those with families and limited PTO windows, is the time to get to some of these other places. If you are West Coast based like I am Europe is an 11 hour flight away, while Hawaii is 6 or less. We can get to Asia easier than the East coast but you’re still looking at 9 hours minimum from LAX to NRT, and 10+ for the places further in. South America is even quite far at 8.5 hours to Lima and 10+ to Chile or Brazil. It’s a lot more planning to travel for that length of time and deal with all the time zone changes.
(Family just came back on a direct Air France flight Paris to Phoenix, I thought it was wonderful but even with the business class seats my P2 expressed how much she hated being on a plane for that length of time and felt sick for part of it)
There are probably resorts better within North America to use the Hilton FNC at (Cabo Pedregal lives up to the hype), but it’s certainly a much smaller selection. Not surprisingly many of the best Hilton FNC values are a solid 10+ hours from most of the US.
I want to travel the world, but sometimes how far away it is makes it harder to visit!
I sort of hate this hotel. Was there for a few nights last year with free night certs. Its crowded and everything is inconvenient. You cant call for your car- you have to go down and wait for it. No leis at check in. Racing for chairs by the pool. No free chairs at the beach. Huge lines for breakfast at the one place that was reasonable. Wrist bands. Having to wait in line for towels.
The andaz is so much nicer in every way- except for the slides, which my kids did really enjoy.
FWIW, they gave me a valet ticket that had a QR code, which, when scanned, opened up the message app to message them to get the car ready. It was ready within 15 minutes.
Getting our towels took a whole 12 seconds. It was huge families with a bunch of kids that had all sorts of questions at the towel/wristband booth that held up the line, each and every time. Pro tip: if you see a family with lil kids headed to the towel/wristband counter, run your butt off to get there before them. Or wait the 10 minutes they take to run through their QA sessions, each and every time.
I didn’t find anything being inconvenient. One does have to be able to walk and enjoy walking, in general, to enjoy this massive resort. Couch potatoes need to look elsewhere.
The hotel was at capacity while we were there, but we ended up finding poolside lungers each of the three days we were there. We didn’t get ones with a sun umbrella, but got loungers nevertheless. Others did too. Crowded would not be the word I would use, but what do I know. I lived in a massive East Asian city of 10 million people for the longest time so my idea of crowded is different from somebody else’s that doesn’t get to interract with folks much.
Free chairs at the beach? Which resort are they free? They’re a paid amenity at every resort I’ve stayed at.
Your complaints seem valid from the perspective of somebody that hasn’t experienced a nice resort before, and/or expected free stuff, and a resort devoid of customers…
Glad you enjoy this hotel. Different strokes….
I live in manhattan- so I havent seen crowds before- good point.
Seriously though, having to time you trip to a towel stand isnt my idea of fun.
The andaz had lots of lounger,- by the pool and by the beach- all free. Lots of umbrellas- also free. They also have attendants who will find you chairs, set them up and bring you towels. In addition, they have free sunscreen, fruit infused water, and guys who come around with free snacks from time to time. Pretty sure the four seasons does all of these things too- but I haven’t stayed there- I try to use points when I can.
These are all little things, but they create a sense of luxury.
One usually has to pay more for this kind of stuff, but the price points are pretty similar in this case.- in money and/or points.
Seems like they fixed the valet thing- in February, they was no way to get your car other than to go and wait- I had a previous short stay there a year earlier, when a more normal valet policy was in place.
I don’t disagree with you about the Andaz being nicer. That said, it’s also more expensive. Our RRV for Hyatt is 1.7 cents each, while Hilton is .41. It’s a rough comparison, but using it, 1 Hyatt point is worth ~ 4 Hilton points.
During December, the Andaz is normally 45K per night. At 4:1, that would be the equivalent of 180,000 Hilton points, or ~63% more than the 110K nights that I see throughout a lot of December right now (although, I’m still not certain what’s up with the multiple standard prices that Hilton is displaying).
If you factor in a 5th Night Free stay, you can get 5 nights at the Grand Wailea for 440,000 Hilton points. That same five-night stay would cost somewhere between 165,000-225,000 Hyatt points at the Andaz, depending on peak/standard or off-peak pricing. If we did our little 1:4 exchange rate, that corresponds to spending 660,000-900,000 Hilton points.
Again, I don’t disagree with you about the Andaz being a great place, and I’m constantly shocked by the prices of most hotels in Hawai’i, regardless of chain affiliation. However, you’re also paying a significant premium when using points in comparison to the Grand Wailea.
All good points. I always used 3:1 as the conversion, but with the devel of Hilton 4:1 is now correct- funny how the devaluation of their program makes this one hotel look like a better deal.
The Hyatt is more, but as a globalist with suas, I feel like I get much more value there- free parking a very good breakfast for the whole family and very nice suites
Tim, thanks for the review. I would add a con: if you come at all during the busy season, you’ll have to go down to the pools at 7:30am and lay a towel across a chair to “reserve” your spot. Ridiculous, I thought, but that’s what my wife and I experienced last March for a 5-day stay on points. We had a great time 15+ years ago with our boys and looked forward to returning. However, the experience as a couple wasn’t as fun as with our family. Then, we went to the pools and got seats whenever we wanted and had a great time going down through the pools and back around. This time, too crowded. We ended up at the adult pool at, like I said, 7:30am each day. Still an enjoyable time, but we could’ve transferred our AMEX points elsewhere and got the same experience for far less points.
Great review Tim. This place gets a lot of negativity online, I think because people don’t realize prices and points in wailea are high! But for families with kids under 12 the pools and beach are second to none. Still decent value if you book 5th night free with points or use FNC’s. We went in Feb 26, and are going back in Feb 26.
I just got back from The Grand Wailea. I agree with your review 100%. I got my room with certificates, I’m diamond and upgraded to Napua Tower for $300 a night and it was worth every penny. We had zero complaints our 6 days there. We had the $50 daily credit that you must use daily, we had the $200 resort credit on my wife’s aspire card(I had used my cards credit already) and we had $200 off when you spend $1000 on my AMEX gold. Overall $700 in credits. And if you don’t know what the Napua Tower is, check it out.
Also we never had an issue with loungers, pools were all open and all the slides and lazy river worked flawlessly, we called for our rental whenever needed and stayed in Napua (got keis on arrival) so we had the Napua lounge each day for food throughout the day and open bar from 4-7pm. Never waited in line for anything except for that little store downstairs. I would not hesitate to go back!
The pool could use some love, actually. We stayed in June 2025. The slides between the pools were non-functional. No actual sliding by my kids.. needed to scoot down the slide. The slide is concrete, and the water has worn away the slick, polished ability to slide. It will ruin a swimsuit if you try to actually slide. Also Diamond members, we did get an ocean view in an updated room, no welcome amenity, and no late check out.
We stayed here at least a half a dozen times in the past 10 years. The cost at this point has gotten out of control. You used to be able to get a five night stay here by opening two or three Hilton cards not even remotely possible at this point if you’re thinking of going, also know that the pools and slides are geared towards children 12 and under and often slides are 15 feet long or less. It is a beautiful hotel and great location, but certainly no longer a great option for most people in the credit card points game.
Glad I went there when I did (about 15 years ago). Even adjusted for inflation, resort+parking+breakfast is more than the hotel price I paid.
Very timely post. Wife and I just returned from Grand Wailea this morning after spending three nights there. Booked 2x nights for 110K points each, and added a 3rd night with a FNC. Checkin said that this was a “points booking” and those folks are placed in the large southern wing the furthest from the beach. I made the booking via a call to the Diamond desk. At check Heck in, the lady offered to see if a better room was available – I said yes please and she got us into a room on the 4th floor, north of the lobby, with a garden view, and literally in the wing behind where you stayed. This room was a double win – nice garden and the ocean view was slighly better than yours given that we were a little higher up the hill.
No macadamia nuts at check in, no late checkout (“at capacity”), but our digital room key was available at 11am. We arriced at 2pm.
Bonus – Room slippers are soft and squishy, but one has to call to get them delivered to the door.
Curious about the differing experience level given we are both Diamond.
We dined at the long fish name floating restaurant and it was the most we’ve ever spent on dinner – $250, for a petite seafood spread, pork chops, two drinks, and a dessert. Would we do it again? Not at our current salary levels, otherwise yes. The place was booked out and busy. And the food was great.
Your wife is lucky to have grown up swimming on Wailea Beach. It’s a 10/10 and I don’t even think that the sand being white would be an upgrade here – the golden sand just didn’t reflect sunlight and blind as much! Turtles swim and eat at the rocks just a good 100 yards north of the beach.
I agree with your review here, and its the best review of this hotel. Wish this was a post 5 months ago when we started planning this.
Also, we plan on returning for 5 nights next year using points and fnc. We liked it that much, and it’s an easy flight from Seattle. I’m still seeing 110K per night point redemption rates. This, I can do.
Fun read. I’ve been following the blog on and off over the past decade – maybe more, and glad to see its still going. It’s thanks to you and a few other great bloggers that I was able to learn the game, and do it well, and have amazing vacations.
I just returned from the Grand Wailea, too!
I got the Hilton Aspire card in Sept 2024 and used a FNC and 110K points to book the 2 nights for Oct 2025. No car, no kids—just me on my way back from Japan and happy to break up the long flight. When I checked in at GW, I was told it was my lucky day and upgraded to a 9th floor room ocean view room in the exclusive Napua Wing, at no cost. This upgrade included access to a very nice, uncrowded lounge on the 8th floor that served breakfast, lunch, dinner & afternoon snacks. I also received a $50 daily credit, which I used for mango coladas at the Botero Bar. Delicious! I don’t know if I received this upgrade because I was a Hilton Diamond member, and I didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I didn’t ask. But I agree with Roger that being in the Napua wing and all that entailed was key to my positive experience at the resort.
At the time of booking, GW allowed guests to use the Hilton resort credit & Amex Biz Plat credit to start a tab before the stay. Although GW told me they stopped allowing that practice after I had banked $250 with them, it allowed me to amass $500 all told to pay expenses. I splurged by spending it all at the beautifully renovated Kilolani Spa. The 2 days were like being at a Hawaiian Disneyland, and because I didn’t have any prior experience to compare it to, and I wasn’t having to complete for beach chairs or cabanas or pay a king’s ransom for parking, I found the whole visit enchanting. While I’m not sure I would stay at the GW again, partly because there are many other places in Hawaii and around the world I’d like to see, I do appreciate Frequent Miler’s urging us all to strike while the iron is hot on these redemptions, as that nudged me into action. Mahalo!
That’s great info! When I started writing this, I looked at the Hilton website, and the lowest price was 160K/night. Then I read your comment and looked again. You’re absolutely right, there’s a ton of availability at 110K per night.
Interestingly enough, there are also some nights where standard awards are 175K/night. So, Hilton currently seems to be pricing the same standard room at either 110K, 160K, or 175K. I don’t recall ever having seen that before. I’m not sure if that’s intentional, or the start of multiple, fixed price levels for standard rooms.
Regardless, thanks for the heads up that you were still seeing that price!