Grand Wailea A Waldorf Astoria Resort

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

8949 reviews

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  I do not get the hype

  Got our room on a special work deal- $823 a night. However, there are so many extra charges, it was around $1200 a night. These include $676 in taxes, $100 per person over 18 (don’t take your college kids!), $65/day valet charge, $55/day resort charge plus more taxes on all of that. Excessive for what you get. The rooms are large and nice- my favorite part. Housekeeping is spotty- one day they forget your garbage, one day they don’t leave you extra toilet paper. The pool chair fight is embarrassing and gross. The pool chairs are also on top of each other like airplane seats. Make sure you like people! The staff is hit or miss- like any hotel. The absolute number of people at this resort is insane. Always 20 or more people waiting out front for their cars. The problem with all of that is that’s it is $1200 a night!!! When people pay that, it’s kind of human nature to want better amenities and service. I’ll be honest- I’m kind of shocked that rich people like this place. Unless they are all Hilton friends and family members getting deals?? I have no idea. It’s kind of just a tropical Disney with no parks and worse service. Now if you are so rich that you don’t care what you get for $1200 a night- by all means stay here. You can rent a cabana every day for an extra $1200. And if you love being with people very close to you, stay here. Otherwise I would try the Wailea Beach Resort or a condo. I’m not coming back.

  Mar 31, 2025
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  Waldorf Maui

  Huge property, beautiful sunset. The most exclusive and manicured area in Maui. We like to snorkel at the black pebble beach just south of the Grand Wailea about 15 minutes drive away. Kihei is close by if you would like to have dinner outside of the resort. You will see turtle swimming every time you swim in the Wailea beach.

  Mar 26, 2025
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  A Beautiful Property with Serious Service Shortcomings

  My family and I spent Spring Break at the Grand Wailea from 3/15/25 to 3/22/25. We booked two adjoining oceanview rooms for our group of five (2 adults and 3 children aged 15, 13, and 11). While there were parts of the resort that we enjoyed, the overall experience left a lot to be desired. The Good: 1. Beautiful Location: The resort sits in an absolutely stunning beachfront location with expansive ocean views, making it the perfect backdrop for a relaxing vacation. The grounds are lush, beautifully landscaped, and well-maintained. 2. Cleanliness: The property itself was spotless, and our rooms were clean, spacious, and comfortable. Housekeeping did a great job maintaining the space. 3. Luau: One of the highlights of our trip was the Luau at the Grand Wailea. While it was pricey (over $1200 for our family), the food was exceptional and the performance was both fun and engaging. 4. Pools: There are many pools on the property, which offered a variety of options for the whole family, from relaxing spots to more active areas. My kids enjoyed spending time at the pools and the water slides (when they were operational). The Bad: 1. Costs at every corner! I hate feeling like someone always has their hand in my pocket, and I feel just violated by the Waldorf. Everything costs extra. The resort charges a mandatory daily “resort fee” of $50 per room, which primarily covers access to the pools. During the first few days, many of the water slides were out of commission due to long ignored wear, which left us feeling like we were paying for something that wasn’t being delivered. The resort also makes sure to charge you for everything – from renting beach chairs ($100) to using the activity room for kids ($15), to getting a microwave for your room (an extra $50). It felt like there was always another charge lurking around the corner. I already paid you over $13,000 for two basic hotel rooms! Isn't that enough? 2. The Pool Chair Madness: The pool chair situation at the Grand Wailea is nothing short of ridiculous. Guests begin lining up at pool entrances as early as 6:30 AM. At 7:00 AM, it turns into chaos as guests scramble over rope barriers and race to throw towels onto chairs to reserve them. We actually witnessed two separate fist fights at 7 AM over chair claims, which was completely unacceptable for a resort of this caliber. It felt more like a Carnival cruise line experience than a luxury resort. To avoid this madness, you can rent a cabana – but they’ll set you back $1200-$1500 per day. 3. Expensive Dining: While we expected food to be on the expensive side, the prices were extreme. For example, dinner at the Humuhumunukunukuapua’a restaurant cost our family $600 and was actually the least favorite meal of the entire trip. While ok, the meal didn’t even come close to the quality of some of the other meals we had off site. 4. Limited Access to Beach Gear & Towels: We were shocked to find that there was no free snorkel gear or non-motorized beach equipment available for guests. Everything had to be rented. Towels were another headache. The towel desk closed at 5 PM, but the pools stay open until 10 PM, leaving us scrambling to find towels for the kids after hours. Our first night I finally had to get pool towels from the valet desk (about as far from the pools as you can get)! 5. The “Water Elevator” and Bike Rental Situation: The resort website boasts about a unique “water elevator,” which we found out has been broken for over three years. We were also excited to use the complimentary beach bikes advertised on the website, but we discovered that only two bikes were available for the entire resort. Two bikes! The rest were “broken and awaiting repair.” There were also two e-bikes available for rent, which just added insult to injury. This all felt like bait and switch. 6. Valet Parking & Poor Communication: Valet parking is mandatory at $65/day, but the service was subpar. The lack of signage led to unnecessary confusion and frustration. We parked in what seemed to be a logical place, only to be told by a valet with an eye roll to move my car just a few feet. On another occasion, I parked in a lane that was part of the general flow of traffic, only to be met with a condescending eye roll from another valet. I still tipped $5 each time. 7. Lack of friendly staff: It felt as if nobody cared for our business, nor that they care if guests enjoy their stay. Even the registration desk at check-in gave us no info on the hotel, amenities, or even how to get to our room! Mike at the pool was about the only exception - he was great! Final Thoughts: While we had an amazing trip to Maui overall, it was not due to the Grand Wailea. I can confidently say that we will not return. We traveled with two other families who had very similar experiences. The resort’s exorbitant fees, lack of friendly staff, and indifferent service left much to be desired.

  Mar 25, 2025
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  Great hotel, terrible pool seating

  The hotel is beautifully landscaped and the art is amazing. We had a great customer service experience with all the employees, from front desk to valet to housekeeping. The slides and pools were so fun for our kids. Although the water elevator stayed closed, all of the slides were open most of the time. I will note that the water is deep and the lifeguards are limited to the slides, so please be careful with kids under 5’0 tall in some of the pools and lazy river features. We had a great ocean view from our room. We saw whales from the beach. We don’t regret staying here. But…they do charge extra for everything, including valet, access to the game room (the Cave), and many of their activities. Hawaii is expensive but this resort is extra expensive. Pro-tip go to the local markets and nearby restaurants. Many of these are even walkable from the hotel. The biggest downside to this resort is the lack of seating in the pool areas. When we first arrived, the hotel was at 75% capacity (according to the front desk) and we still struggled to find pool chairs. By the end of our week, the hotel was closer to 100% capacity and it was impossible to find chairs. Here’s the thing: if you don’t have a place to set your towels down, it’s nearly impossible to enjoy the pools. Management knows and yet they don’t seem to care to solve the issue. The resort is great for families. But until they fix the pool seating issue, I don’t know that we would return. It might make more sense to stay somewhere cheaper and spend more time, money, and energy enjoying all the adventures that Maui has to offer.

  Mar 25, 2025
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  AC didn't work and no pool chairs available.

  Ac did not work in our room. We called the front desk and they never sent anyone. It was unbearably hot. We came for the pool and there were no chairs available unless you get up at 7 and go put a towel down to reserve a chair. Despite their signs saying they will remove your things if you are gone for an hour, they do not actually do so and the chairs at totally booked up for the entire day if you're not out there at 7a.m.

  Mar 25, 2025