My Tour of the Andaz Wailea on Maui - Coming Soon

It's still a construction zone, but I can't wait for the Andaz Maui to open.

While I was on Maui last week and staying in Wailea, I was invited to take a quick tour of the island's newest luxury property, the Andaz Maui, which is scheduled to open in the Spring of 2013.

The resort will be on 15 beachfront acres in the Wailea development where the old Stouffer resort used to be on Mokapu Beach – though all that remains of the old building is the foundations.

The Andaz is on sandy Mokapu Beach in Wailea.

It's kind of T-shaped with a main wing pointing directly out into the ocean, and two adjacent wings radiating from either side of it, and Hyatt has hired architect David Rockwell to design the property.

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This is how the entry looks now, but wait until the "arrival bridge" is finished.

Some of the conceptual show-stoppers I got to see visualizations of were a raised "arrival bridge" lit by lanterns and flanked on either side by lily ponds that leads guests from the entry of the resort into the lobby for check-in, like a fabulous catwalk, as well as an amazing-looking pool area with four cascading infinity pools in a row leading down to the beach.

How the arrival bridge will look once architect David Rockwell is done with it.

The new resort will have 297 rooms and suites including seven two- and four-bedroom residential villas in their own little area along one side of the property (all I can say is: drool!). Here's the breakdown:

143 King
24 Deluxe King
72 Queen/Queen
16 Deluxe Queen/Queen
33 Suites
2 Premier Suites
7 Residential Villas

What a king room at the resort will look like.

From the conceptual pictures I saw, the palette is going to be cream and gold and taupe with wood accents, reflecting the colors of the beach just outside. Floor plans look very open, for instance in the King rooms, there's the bed, and then a small sitting area with a daybed/lounge, a wall-ensconced flatscreen television and a private bathroom area behind the bed, as well as floor-to ceiling windows that open completely and maximize the space with an indoor-outdoor combination.

A view of the adults-only wing, still under construction.

Suites look like they'll have completely separate informal sitting rooms with dining room tables and larger balconies or patios.

The hotel will also have two full-service restaurants – one of them by a soon-to-be-announced celebrity chef – two pool bar/grill venues, a retail market and a spa with 10 treatment rooms, an adult pool and fitness center, while guests will also have access to Wailea's tennis courts and golf courses.

The conceptual sketch of what the lobby will look like.

The resort's main pool area will include four multiple-cascade infinity pools leading to the beach, while in the adults-only wing of the building to the northwest, there will be an adults-only pool as well.

Another interesting fact: the resort will be Maui's first LEED-certified luxury hotel, so Hyatt has committed to environmentally conscientious building practices as well as sustainability measures. And, of course, since this is an Andaz, it will feature free WiFi and minibar snacks.

A conceptual sketch of the pool area.

Since it's still a construction zone, no Gold Passport category has been assigned, though I'm pretty sure it'll be top tier at 22,000 points per night and will be a good redmption choice for those with the Chase Hyatt Visa.
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