We absolutely loved our stay at Grand Wailea. We were upgraded for free to an oceanfront view,…read morewhich made the trip feel extra special. Our room was clean, comfortable, and very nice, and every staff member we interacted with was friendly and hardworking. We explored many other hotels while we were on Maui, and honestly, none of them compared to Grand Wailea. The grounds are absolutely beautiful, expansive, and classic. I don't agree with the reviews saying it feels run down. It isn't ultra-modern, but it has a grand, timeless, classic resort feel.
The beach out front is amazing. We explored a lot of beaches on Maui, and I never found one I liked better than the beach at Grand Wailea. The resort itself also feels unmatched in size and beauty. No other hotel we saw had the same expansive grounds, pools, landscaping, and overall resort feel.
That said, the biggest downside was how much everything felt overpriced. I understand Maui and luxury resorts are expensive, but Grand Wailea sometimes felt like it was nickel-and-diming guests. Valet parking is $75 per day, and when you add in tipping every time you retrieve a rental car, it gets frustrating fast. On Saturday and Sunday evenings, valet was also very slow. One night we waited over 25 minutes. The valet staff were clearly working hard, but they seemed understaffed for the volume of guests.
The food pricing was also hard to justify. At the marketplace/counter-service options, we saw coffee for $7.50, hot dogs for $26, hamburgers for $32, and 12-inch pizzas around $30. You also often have to wait in a long line, and if one person is making coffee drinks, it slows the entire line down. Olivine looks beautiful, but the prices were extremely high, including a personal sausage pizza for $38. Considering the mixed reviews, we could not justify eating there. While we were there for over a week, the resort restaurants looked quite empty every day. I truly think if the restaurant prices were even 30% lower, many more guests would stay on property to eat instead of walking across the street to places like Manoli's or Island Gourmet.
The pool area was beautiful, and we appreciated little touches like seeing free pineapple passed out at the pool one day. The idea was nice, although the execution could have been better since the server was putting wet pineapple chunks directly into people's hands. We also wish the waterslides stayed open later, especially for families.
Grand Wailea does offer free Nespresso coffee in the room, which is nice, but after seeing one too many social media videos about people misusing hotel coffee makers, I personally can't bring myself to use in-room hotel coffee machines anymore.
One extra service I would gladly pay for is a paid hospitality suite or shower room option for guests with late flights. So many flights out of Hawaii leave late at night, and after checking out in the morning, it would be incredibly helpful to have a clean, comfortable place to shower and freshen up before heading to the airport.
Overall, we loved Grand Wailea and would absolutely recommend it. The staff, room, beach, pools, and grounds were wonderful. I don't understand all the bad reviews because our experience was very positive. The resort is beautiful and memorable. My only real complaint is that the food, coffee, parking, and extras are priced so high that it pushes guests away from spending money on property. Full restaurants would be more profitable than beautiful restaurants sitting empty.