Andaz Maui at Wailea: Review of a Room and Suite

Sep 16, 2013

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Our recent anniversary trip to Hawaii happened to line up perfectly with the opening of the much anticipated Andaz Maui at Wailea. This hotel is a part of the Hyatt family of hotels, which means we were able to avoid the $400 – $500 per night room expense, and instead use points for our stay. It also meant that we earned valuable Hyatt points for dining and spa charges that we incurred on our trip. I am going to have numerous posts on this hotel because it is new (we were there the week it opened) and I know many people are curious about details that I would not normally include in reviews. Apologies in advance if some of the details seem a bit mundane to those who just want the “big picture”. That said, because this trip was also our anniversary trip and we were also busy having fun, I am sure there are some details that I totally missed. Here are other posts in this trip review series:

Planning an Anniversary Trip to Hawaii

Flying to Hawaii in United Business ClassWestin Moana Surfrider in WaikikiFlying Hawaiian Airlines from Honolulu to MauiReview of a Room and a Suite at the Andaz Maui at WaileaThe Pools at the Andaz Maui at WaileaOn-site Restaurants at the Andaz MauiThe ‘Awili Spa at the Andaz Maui at WaileaExploring Maui Beyond the Andaz Maui (Little Beach, Monkeypod, and More

Location of the hotel:

The Andaz Maui at Wailea is a 15-acre beachfront resort located in the beautiful and luxurious Wailea area in Maui. You will find this hotel near other luxury options like Four Seasons, Fairmont, Grand Wailea, and more. It is about a 20 minute drive from the airport. I do recommend renting a car if you plan to stay at this resort. Here is a post on getting good rental car deals in Hawaii. I will post more about some things we did off-property in Wailea in a subsequent post.

Check-in and lobby:

When you first arrive at the hotel, you will be greeted by staff who will assist you with your luggage and valet park your car. The only parking option at this hotel is valet ($30 per day), so whether you like it or not, your stay will start by you not having to worry about lugging bags and searching for a parking spot. You are officially now on vacation. It is important to note that there is no resort fee at this hotel.

You then get to walk down a long and beautiful entry way into the lobby of the hotel. This entrance is beautiful in the day, and even more dramatic at night.

The Andaz brand does not have formal check-in desks, and instead has hosts that will come to you with an iPad and help you get checked in while you sit anywhere in the lobby and get comfortable.

At this particular hotel, that is a real treat because the lobby itself is large, comfortable, and beautiful. Not only are there tons of seating options and an amazing view, but there is even a little garden of sand!

The lobby is also where you will find the nightly reception that offers complimentary (alcoholic) punch. Three nights per week the evening reception is actually a manager’s reception where you can chat with the general manager. We were told there are sometimes light appetizers from the in-house restaurant served on nights that the manager is present.

You can also find some other treats in the lobby throughout the day like hot tea and fruit.

Every time we walked through the lobby there were several Andaz employees there to say hello and assist you with any issues or questions. They don’t wear outfits that look like uniforms you are used to, but after a day or so it becomes pretty easy to identify the employees. The hotel does not have a formal activities schedule that we ever saw, so I recommend just asking one of the employees in the lobby if there is anything special going on that day. The concierge staff who are also located around the lobby should be able to assist with this as well.

Andaz Room:

We stayed in the Andaz Suite which I will talk about in a moment, but while we were there we asked to see a regular room, both so that I could share it here with you, and also so we would know what to expect on a future trip if we weren’t able to afford a suite. Both the room and the suite were on the 5th floor, which is the same floor as the entrance and the lobby.

The regular room had a balcony, tile floors, and two queen beds. There was no real space in the room for a rollaway bed, and we were told that indeed the only rooms permitted to have rollaways were the suites due to fire regulations.

The two queen beds looked low to the ground and just as comfortable as the king bed in the suite. However, I will absolutely admit that coming in to the room it seemed small. In part this was because it is not very large, and in part it is because I had gotten spoiled in the suite. If you were to book this room with a family, I would highly recommend being very organized with your belongings and putting things away when you come into the room, otherwise it could get kind of crazy with the limited space in a hurry!

The bathroom was the same modern style as the suite with the shallow sink, a shower, and soaking tub. The only difference was everything was “miniaturized”, or perhaps everything was enlarged in the suite. Either way, it is the same concept and style, just in a smaller package.

Andaz Suite:

We had room 540, which was the Andaz Suite. This is the suite that you could get if you spend 33,000 Hyatt points per night, or used a confirmed Hyatt upgrade certificate. We got the suite thanks to some good luck, asking nicely, saying it was our 5th anniversary (it was), and being fortunate that the suites weren’t actually for sale yet. I don’t expect a “pretty please” to work very well once the hotel gets up to full capacity! Though it never hurts to ask…

The suite has a good sized living space and one and a half bathrooms. There are also two patios so that you can sit outside and take advantage of the view! I will say that the patio furniture was not quite as comfortable as I wish that it was. However, the view was everything I hoped for.

Neither the couch nor the bench was not a pull-out that could be used for additional sleeping space. I think the furniture in the living room was functional in the sense that it was built for folks to come in from the beach, but it was not all that comfortable for sitting for long periods of time. It certainly was not comfortable if you tried to sleep on it. If you need additional sleeping space in the suite, the hotel does provide a rollaway bed for suites free of charge.

There is also a small desk for working…if you are inclined to do such a crazy thing in Hawaii. I personally think it was built so that sad mainlanders could huddle around their computer to watch non-nationally televised football games at 7AM!

Also located on the small desk was a little pot to make hot tea or coffee. We didn’t use the in-room options as we preferred to just have it done for us as part of the breakfast in the restaurant, but if you can’t wait until they open then there is this option.

The bedroom was located just off from the living room and was very comfortable and could close off from the living room with a real door.

The chair in the living room was actually pretty comfortable, moreso than the living room furniture. If you had a young child who wanted their own “little bed”, I think that chair could work for that purpose. I can speak from personal experience that it is perfect for reading with the breeze coming in from the balcony!

Behind the bed is the shower with some shutters that can open so you can look out at the bedroom and onto the ocean while taking a shower. They can also shut if showering with open shutters doesn’t work for your situation.

The shower itself is very long and somewhat narrow. The water pressure and temperature were both very good. I wished there was a small ledge to put things like soap that was within arms reach of the nozzle, because as it was set up you have to leave the water stream to go retrieve a different soap from the set-up against the wall. Not a big deal though.

Here is the view from the shower out into the room and beyond.

The soaps in the shower were a very generous size and made by a local company. I thought they smelled delicious!

The rest of the bathroom was just as stylish as the shower. There was a soaking tub that we ended up using to lay out our wet swimsuits. The two sinks are quite shallow, so keep that in mind. They really are just designed for things like brushing teeth or washing your face. Don’t expect to wash your swimsuits or similar without making a mess, just do that in the bathtub.

There were some Andaz Suites that walk out into their own little pool area that is next to the adult pool.

If you want an even better look at the suite and the rest of the resort, then take a look at our video overview below!

To us, the biggest drawback to the suite was that some of the furniture in the living area and on the balcony really wasn’t all that comfortable. It wasn’t terrible, but I would have liked a more comfortable option to sit out on the balcony and enjoy the view. Overall, it was a very beautiful space that was quite comfortable for sleeping! We didn’t hear anything from outside the room, though the resort was certainly not fully booked while we were there. In upcoming posts on the hotel, I will cover things like on-site food options, the spa, the pools, a “secret” kid’s activity, beach activities, Diamond perks, how this stacks up to other Hyatt options on the islands, and more.

If you are already dreaming of a trip to the Andaz Maui at Wailea, then here is a post on how to rack up Hyatt points so you can be on your way without breaking the bank! I can tell you that without a doubt we hope to save up enough points to return to this hotel in the not-too-distant future.

If you’ve already been to the resort, or if you have just been anticipating it’s opening, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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Andaz Maui at Wailea: Review of a Room and Suite

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