Family Vacation to Hawaii 2017
Part 2 – Our stay at the Andaz Maui at Wailea
First let me explain how we booked this hotel using points. As I had mentioned before in previous posts, I am a Globalist member for World of Hyatt. That’s the main reason why we stay mostly at Hyatt properties. I want to maximize what I can get from being a Globalist. Some of the perks include free breakfast, suite upgrade upon check-in if available, late 4 pm check out, four guaranteed suite upgrades a year sometimes even to their Ambassador or Presidential suites. The breakfast alone saves me at least a thousand dollars a year. The breakdown goes like this–most hotel breakfasts cost anywhere from $30 to $50 per person so with a family of 4 thats $120 to $200 per day.
We booked the hotel on points alone. It was 25,000 points per night and with the suite upgrade we would have paid $1100/night including taxes and fees. That’s a saving of $4400 for 4 nights. I transferred some Chase Ultimate Reward (UR) points into our Hyatt account to get the 100,000 points total that we needed to redeem our stay. Hyatt points are valued at 1.9 cents per point but I was able to get more than 5 cents per point out of it ($4400 + $600 for breakfast and free parking). I say in this instance it was better to redeem using all points rather than pay cash or even cash/points to get the night stay credit. You just have to do the math to see what is the best value you can get from your UR and Hyatt points.
For Hyatt when you book with all points, all fees and parking fees are waived. This is one of the new perks to the World of Hyatt program.
Hotel Review
Andaz Maui is a 15-acre beachfront property offering a setting directly on Wailea’s shores. It has 300 spacious guest rooms and suites with ten luxury villas. It has four cascading infinity pools with a poolside cocktail lounge at each pool. It has beach activities, spa and recreation including Kayak tours, pilates and yoga classes. It has five delicious dining options onsite boasting the region’s freshest ingredients. It’s a beautiful property overall!
When we first pulled up to the hotel, we were greeted with all smiles. The valet addressed me by my name which was quite impressive because I can see that going very wrong. We were given leis and were directed to proceed to the hotel lobby. My oldest was impressed with the water fountains flanking the entrance way.
The hotel lobby was grand and open. We were immediately greeted by a check-in personnel who asked if we wanted lavender lemonade or iced water. The lemonade was pretty good. The check-in process was seamless. She had informed me that she had upgraded us to a family suite but the room wasn’t quite ready yet. She asked us to have a seat in the lounge area and just relax.
My girls quickly found their favorite place as we waited. They had tons of fun playing in the sand. The sand was super fine and very clean. I normally hate sand and don’t like the girls to play in it but this however was a rare exception.
While we waited one of the employees came back to check on us to see if we needed more lemonade or water. Next she came back with a tray of necklaces for the girls to choose from. My oldest loved it! My second didn’t care so much for it, she rather play in the sand!
When our room was finally ready, we were again escorted by someone to our room. The room was a pretty good size, about 1000 sq ft. When you first walk in, there’s a living room with a dining table and a wet bar. They had already set up the rollaway for my daughter.
The bedroom had a king bed and they also had set up the crib for us. There was also a chase in the bedroom for lounging. There were flat screen TVs in both the bedroom and the living room.
What impressed me the most was their customer service and attention to my family. They obviously noticed that I had kids so milk and cookies and reading material were brought up for the girls on our second night. The crib was all set up upon arrival with all the children amenities. The attention to detail was quite remarkable. It was a pleasant surprise and the girls definitely enjoyed these!
The bathroom had a double sink with a separate toilet room and shower/bath area. This made using the bathroom a bit more convenient when the toilet is separated from the shower area.
The suite had 2 balconies. We were located on the left side of the property on the 5th floor. It had a full ocean view but unlike the right side of the property where the views were better, our side had a more quieter and serene feel. I didn’t mind it since I felt like we had our own little corner. The only draw back is that we also overlooked the villa’s roof tops.
The main pool was the 4th pool on the property. The property has 3 other infinity pools where most of the couples and adults hung out. The main pool is more known as the family pool. It’s surrounded by Morimoto restaurant, the beach and a cocktail bar.
The hotel had water toys and floaties for you to borrow but we brought our own floaties. The girls had a blast in the pool every day! The temperature was perfect. It’s not a heated pool but the sun generated enough warmth to keep the water in the 70s.
The hotel charges a daily resort fee of $35 which includes unlimited access to their fitness classes and use of their equipment. You can go paddle boarding, canoeing, kayaking, etc. We had the kids so didn’t get a chance to take advantage any of that. But if you have a chance to enjoy these activities, I highly recommend it!
The breakfast buffet at Ka’ana Kitchen was probably one of the best buffet breakfast I’ve had at a hotel. Breakfast is served from 6:30 am to 12 noon. It’s normally $47 for adults and $28 for children from 6-12. Children under 5 eat free. There is so much variety that you don’t really get bored. As a globalist the breakfast is included for up to 4 people. We saved $120 a day (with gratuity) and we stayed 5 days so that’s a $600 in savings.
And if you’re hungry at random times they have a 24 hour market place where you guy buy snacks, gelato, sandwiches. They also have souvenirs.
Conclusion
Overall our stay was amazing and very relaxing. The hotel is very family friendly. I didn’t feel as if they treated families any differently than honeymooners or other couples. It’s definitely a high end hotel but yet it still has that relaxed vibe to it. The food options are delicious. The service was top notch and very attentive. The room was clean and room service was speedy and reliable. I think Wailea is definitely more relaxing than Kaanapali. I would definitely stay in this part of Maui, especially the Andaz again!
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not endorsed by any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Reader acknowledges that the author gets referral point bonuses for readers using the referral links above.
