Hawaii tip: Cat 4 Hyatt in Maui now bookable

As I was looking through Category 4 Hyatt locations, I stumbled on one that recently became bookable with Hyatt points: Lahaina Shores Beach Resort is a Destination Hotel that is now bookable with 15,000 Hyatt points per night or a Cat 1-4 Hyatt free night certificate. While you will not get any Globalist benefits when staying (i.e. no free breakfast, no room upgrade, parking ?), the location is appealing for those who want to be near the action in Lahaina and the rooms include a kitchen. The price is certainly right for those looking for a value award stay in Maui.

Destination Hotels partnership (no breakfast or upgrades for Globalists)

As noted in the intro paragraph, the Lahaina Shores Beach Resort is part of Destination Hotels, which is a brand under the Two Roads Hospitality portfolio that Hyatt acquired about a year ago. The “Destination Hotels” brand has been slowly coming into the fold, with Hyatt gradually adding more properties where you can earn and use Hyatt points.

The bad news is that not all Destination Hotels offer standard room awards and not all of them offer free breakfast for Hyatt Globalists. While the Lahaina Shores thankfully does offer standard room rewards at 15K points per night, they unfortunately do not offer free breakfast or room upgrades for Hyatt Globalists.

In this case, that’s not the hotel being unreasonable: as best I can tell, they do not have a restaurant as the Lahaina Shores Beach Resort is all condos. Even the “standard” level room (a studio) includes a full kitchen with microwave, utensils, etc. That could certainly be appealing to those who prefer a self-catered vacation.

According to the amenities on Hyatt.com, there is free parking for everyone at this hotel, which a decent added bonus.

Good value versus cash prices

Availability generally looks pretty good at this hotel, with one catch: I can’t find availability (neither for award stays nor paid stays) for a stay of fewer than three nights. It looks like the property simply has a 3-night minimum stay.

Room rates in comparison to cash rates look pretty good: during low season, I found rates as low as about $300 per night tax included ($260 before tax for an average of $296.33 per night with taxes included). Most of the year was north of $300 a night with taxes included based on my random searches. That makes this a perfectly decent value for Hyatt points at 15,000 points per night.

Furthermore, if you can take advantage of United saver availability to fly to/from Hawaii for 15K miles round trip with Turkish Miles & Smiles and stack that with this hotel, you could have a really reasonable trip to Hawaii for not many points at all.

Not a great option for family travelers

For those curious, the standard “studio” rooms have a max occupancy of two people. Just out of curiosity, I tried adding a 2 year old child to see if it would still show the studio available, but it did not. I didn’t see any options with two double beds, so this one will be best for those who are traveling in blocks of 2 people.

Good location

In my opinion, this hotel is particularly well-located. I’ve stayed in both Wailea and in the Ka’anapli areas and spent time wandering around Lahaina. While the beaches in the Wailea area are nice, I’d personally prefer the Lahaina area. This hotel is located less than a mile and a half from the Old Lahaina Luau and a within an easy walk of the many shops and restaurants on Front Street in Lahaina.

I don’t have upcoming plans to travel to Hawaii, but neither will I count it out for 2020. I’ll keep an eye on this place if I do make it back to Maui as I’d like to check it out and at 15K points per night it would be hard to beat.

Other Destinations Hotels options may be even better

One thing that’s worth noting is that there are a few Destinations Hotels options in Maui and cash prices look pretty reasonable on some of those. Since you will not get elite benefits at some of these properties, you might consider booking through the Chase Travel Portal (unless you are chasing stays for Hyatt elite benefits). For example, if you prefer the Wailea area, I see 1 or 2 bedroom condos at the Grand Wailea Champions Villas for 14-20K per night through the Chase Travel portal with the Sapphire Reserve card.

There are lots of other properties, both more and less expensive, but the prices at the place above seemed particularly reasonable for a 2-bedroom condo in Wailea that sleeps up to six people. I’ve not researched the property but rather stumbled on it accidentally while taking a closer look at the Lahaina Shores Beach Resort. Lahaina Shores remains a great option for two people looking for a good budget award stay option and/or those with Category 1-4 Hyatt free night certificates, but I thought it was also worth noting that there are other good opportunities to consider depending on the season and availability.

Bottom line

While looking at Hyatt Category 4 options, I stumbled on this property in Hawaii that I thought would be appealing to some readers since it makes for a great value-priced option in Maui that looks to be pretty well-located and would likely be a popular use of free night certificates from the World of Hyatt credit card. Elite benefits won’t do you any good since there is no free breakfast for Globalists, but a hotel with no resort fee and free parking that offers better than 2c per point in value for Hyatt points would be a pretty good option in any tropical location: getting a hotel for 15K per night in Maui is particularly good. I hope to someday get a chance to check this one out.

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