The Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui
Aug 27, 2005, 12:51 am
#16
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: yyj
Programs: Alaska Airlines MVP, Fairmont FPC Platinum, Starwood Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 755
Originally Posted by cruisetrek
Somebody that have stayed at the Fairmont Kea lani in Maui?? Planing a weeklong vacation at this hotel. Thanks for any help!!
Rooms are excellent (every room is 800 sq ft plus). Service is up to FS quality. Pools are great including adult only pool wth swim up bar (rare for Hawaii). On site restaurants are excellent. OK fitness centre. Beach is quite good. Weather is fantastic in this part of Maui. Golf and tennis facilities are great.
The average room rate is North of $450 per night. I actually like the Fairmont Orchid (Big Island) just as much and their average rate is @ $300 per night. Two great choices if you ask me. You will love it.
Aug 27, 2005, 3:59 pm
#17
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 36
fairmont kea lani maui suites
Originally Posted by Cascadia
I love this property! As a matter of fact I will be going there this Monday for a week.
Rooms are excellent (every room is 800 sq ft plus). Service is up to FS quality. Pools are great including adult only pool wth swim up bar (rare for Hawaii). On site restaurants are excellent. OK fitness centre. Beach is quite good. Weather is fantastic in this part of Maui. Golf and tennis facilities are great.
The average room rate is North of $450 per night. I actually like the Fairmont Orchid (Big Island) just as much and their average rate is @ $300 per night. Two great choices if you ask me. You will love it.
Rooms are excellent (every room is 800 sq ft plus). Service is up to FS quality. Pools are great including adult only pool wth swim up bar (rare for Hawaii). On site restaurants are excellent. OK fitness centre. Beach is quite good. Weather is fantastic in this part of Maui. Golf and tennis facilities are great.
The average room rate is North of $450 per night. I actually like the Fairmont Orchid (Big Island) just as much and their average rate is @ $300 per night. Two great choices if you ask me. You will love it.
I heard that this hotel have renovated and not renovated rooms. about 50 and 50.
I am planning on booking the ocean view deluxe suites. any idea if this type of accomodation has been renovated?
Maybe during this upcoming trip you can find out. I was advised to ask for a renovated room when checking in. Not sure how the lay out works and what type of suites have been renovated and which not.
Have a great trip in Maui
Aug 28, 2005, 10:42 pm
#18
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: yyj
Programs: Alaska Airlines MVP, Fairmont FPC Platinum, Starwood Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 755
Originally Posted by cruisetrek
Thanks for your reply!
I heard that this hotel have renovated and not renovated rooms. about 50 and 50.
I am planning on booking the ocean view deluxe suites. any idea if this type of accomodation has been renovated?
Maybe during this upcoming trip you can find out. I was advised to ask for a renovated room when checking in. Not sure how the lay out works and what type of suites have been renovated and which not.
Have a great trip in Maui
I heard that this hotel have renovated and not renovated rooms. about 50 and 50.
I am planning on booking the ocean view deluxe suites. any idea if this type of accomodation has been renovated?
Maybe during this upcoming trip you can find out. I was advised to ask for a renovated room when checking in. Not sure how the lay out works and what type of suites have been renovated and which not.
Have a great trip in Maui
Sep 8, 2005, 11:12 pm
#19
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: yyj
Programs: Alaska Airlines MVP, Fairmont FPC Platinum, Starwood Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 755
Originally Posted by cruisetrek
Thanks for your reply!
I heard that this hotel have renovated and not renovated rooms. about 50 and 50.
I am planning on booking the ocean view deluxe suites. any idea if this type of accomodation has been renovated?
Maybe during this upcoming trip you can find out. I was advised to ask for a renovated room when checking in. Not sure how the lay out works and what type of suites have been renovated and which not.
Have a great trip in Maui
I heard that this hotel have renovated and not renovated rooms. about 50 and 50.
I am planning on booking the ocean view deluxe suites. any idea if this type of accomodation has been renovated?
Maybe during this upcoming trip you can find out. I was advised to ask for a renovated room when checking in. Not sure how the lay out works and what type of suites have been renovated and which not.
Have a great trip in Maui
Sep 10, 2005, 4:56 pm
#20
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 36
Kea lani stay
Originally Posted by Cascadia
My stay at the Kea Lani was spectacular! I did stay in a renovated ocean view room. In my opinion the new rooms are no better than the older rooms. If push comes to shove hold out for the view suite over a newer suite. The property is truly world class and in my opinion Wailea is the best spot to be on Maui.
I booked a deluxe ocean view suite. I was told that it has oceant front views and it is located in the top floors.
I agree that Wailea is the place to be in Maui!!
Nov 25, 2007, 1:55 pm
#21
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 5
Fairmont Kea Lani - AWFUL!!
Mobs of wild kids, substandard restaurants, blood on the sheets at the spa:
My wife and I had stayed at the Kea Lani previously, in Sep., 2000. We enjoyed our stay very much & decided to book there again. We did not notice that, in that time period, the Kea Lani had changed from a privately-owned & managed hotel to being owned by Fairmont Hotels.
To make a long story very short, the stories from other reviewers about the pool areas are right on. If you travel at anything other than the lowest of the low season, you will encounter literally hundreds of out-of-control kids playing, screaming, crying and generally raising Cain in every way. It is also extremely difficult to find a chair that is anywhere near the pools (i.e. less than 200 yards away).
As to the restaurants, the food at the breakfast restaurant is only one small step better than what you could find at a Shoney's buffet. An interesting note is that what they offer for their breakfast buffet (c. $25) is five steps lower in quality from what is offered on their a la carte breakfast menu (which would cost you close to $35 if you ordered each item you might want for a breakfast comparable in size to the buffet). Mass scrambled eggs on the buffet vs. special egg dishes on the menu. Portuguese sausage (nasty) on the buffet vs. applewood smoked sausage links on the menu. You get the point.
The food at Nick's was excellent, but the service was a crapshoot. One evening we had a server who was very attentive and took great care of us. Two evenings later we had a server who literally came to our table twice in over 2 hours. I spoke with the manager about that experience & he offered us one free dessert for our troubles (?!?). Needless to say, we would have much rather had attentive service than a free slice of cheesecake.
Finally, and most astoundingly, we made reservations at the spa for massages for each of us. At the end of my massage, the therapist opened the door and I see my wife standing there in tears. She says we need to talk & comes into my treatment room. Through sobs & profuse tears, she proceeds to tell me how, halfway through her massage, her therapist asked her if she was bleeding. She stated "no" and informed the therapist that her cycle had been 2 weeks prior. Extensive evaluation by the therapist and my wife of my wife's body revealed not so much as a tiny scrape. The problem is, the sheets on the massage table had blood spots in multiple places. It turns out that the massage therapist had some cuts on her hands & that these were the sources of the blood.
I spoke with hotel management immediately, who stated that they would involve hotel security and inform us how they intended to handle the matter. Hotel security, after extensively questioning us, asked us what we feel would be appropriate resolution. Naturally, we told them that something should be comp'd from our bill, whether room nights or restaurant tabs or whatever. Hotel security felt that was an appropriate request and said they would have to put it to hotel management. We received a letter under our door 2 days later stating that they would be unable to offer us any compensation for this travesty, other than the accommodation (?!?) that they would not charge for the massage received. Other than that, they simply provided us with the name, address and telephone number of Fairmont Hotels' corporate insurance carrier, located in Canada.
When I spoke directly with hotel management about this situation, they were extremely cold and did everything possible to avoid saying almost anything to me, repeatedly telling me that they should not discuss the matter on the advice of their attorneys. When I told them how abundantly displeased we were with their response, especially considering that we did not want to pursue this matter via litigation, but were satisfied to accept some manner of local comping, they simply repeated that they were unable to accommodate us beyond removing the spa charge for the massage, and that we should contact their insurance company if we wanted to pursue a legal claim.
Needless to say, we will never return to the Kea Lani, and will utilize the Four Seasons or the Grand Wailea in the future. Everything we have heard and read about those properties seems to indicate to us that they know how to handle unfortunate circumstances that arise because of their OWN FAULT. Sadly, the Kea Lani has apparently decided that it would rather pursue a cold, hostile, and legalistic approach to problem resolution than simply reaching out to its customers and making right what they made wrong. For $500 per night, you can do much, much better in the way of amenities received and service provided than the Kea Lani.
My wife and I had stayed at the Kea Lani previously, in Sep., 2000. We enjoyed our stay very much & decided to book there again. We did not notice that, in that time period, the Kea Lani had changed from a privately-owned & managed hotel to being owned by Fairmont Hotels.
To make a long story very short, the stories from other reviewers about the pool areas are right on. If you travel at anything other than the lowest of the low season, you will encounter literally hundreds of out-of-control kids playing, screaming, crying and generally raising Cain in every way. It is also extremely difficult to find a chair that is anywhere near the pools (i.e. less than 200 yards away).
As to the restaurants, the food at the breakfast restaurant is only one small step better than what you could find at a Shoney's buffet. An interesting note is that what they offer for their breakfast buffet (c. $25) is five steps lower in quality from what is offered on their a la carte breakfast menu (which would cost you close to $35 if you ordered each item you might want for a breakfast comparable in size to the buffet). Mass scrambled eggs on the buffet vs. special egg dishes on the menu. Portuguese sausage (nasty) on the buffet vs. applewood smoked sausage links on the menu. You get the point.
The food at Nick's was excellent, but the service was a crapshoot. One evening we had a server who was very attentive and took great care of us. Two evenings later we had a server who literally came to our table twice in over 2 hours. I spoke with the manager about that experience & he offered us one free dessert for our troubles (?!?). Needless to say, we would have much rather had attentive service than a free slice of cheesecake.
Finally, and most astoundingly, we made reservations at the spa for massages for each of us. At the end of my massage, the therapist opened the door and I see my wife standing there in tears. She says we need to talk & comes into my treatment room. Through sobs & profuse tears, she proceeds to tell me how, halfway through her massage, her therapist asked her if she was bleeding. She stated "no" and informed the therapist that her cycle had been 2 weeks prior. Extensive evaluation by the therapist and my wife of my wife's body revealed not so much as a tiny scrape. The problem is, the sheets on the massage table had blood spots in multiple places. It turns out that the massage therapist had some cuts on her hands & that these were the sources of the blood.
I spoke with hotel management immediately, who stated that they would involve hotel security and inform us how they intended to handle the matter. Hotel security, after extensively questioning us, asked us what we feel would be appropriate resolution. Naturally, we told them that something should be comp'd from our bill, whether room nights or restaurant tabs or whatever. Hotel security felt that was an appropriate request and said they would have to put it to hotel management. We received a letter under our door 2 days later stating that they would be unable to offer us any compensation for this travesty, other than the accommodation (?!?) that they would not charge for the massage received. Other than that, they simply provided us with the name, address and telephone number of Fairmont Hotels' corporate insurance carrier, located in Canada.
When I spoke directly with hotel management about this situation, they were extremely cold and did everything possible to avoid saying almost anything to me, repeatedly telling me that they should not discuss the matter on the advice of their attorneys. When I told them how abundantly displeased we were with their response, especially considering that we did not want to pursue this matter via litigation, but were satisfied to accept some manner of local comping, they simply repeated that they were unable to accommodate us beyond removing the spa charge for the massage, and that we should contact their insurance company if we wanted to pursue a legal claim.
Needless to say, we will never return to the Kea Lani, and will utilize the Four Seasons or the Grand Wailea in the future. Everything we have heard and read about those properties seems to indicate to us that they know how to handle unfortunate circumstances that arise because of their OWN FAULT. Sadly, the Kea Lani has apparently decided that it would rather pursue a cold, hostile, and legalistic approach to problem resolution than simply reaching out to its customers and making right what they made wrong. For $500 per night, you can do much, much better in the way of amenities received and service provided than the Kea Lani.
Nov 27, 2007, 2:49 am
#22
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Belgrade, Serbia
Programs: Etihad Guest
Posts: 1,549
I've read and re-read takl's comments from where this was cross-posted in the Starwood forum.
The massage incident seems to have been a genuine question which precipitated some sort of hysterical response. I wondered at first why security were called, and I now suspect that they were called to ask Mr and Mrs takl to not attempt to pressure hotel staff to give them some sort of pay-off.
I'm genuinely sorry for Mrs takl that she become so distressed on her vacation, but I can't see any evidence of harm to them, or of intentional damage to them, or even of neglect.
The massage incident seems to have been a genuine question which precipitated some sort of hysterical response. I wondered at first why security were called, and I now suspect that they were called to ask Mr and Mrs takl to not attempt to pressure hotel staff to give them some sort of pay-off.
I'm genuinely sorry for Mrs takl that she become so distressed on her vacation, but I can't see any evidence of harm to them, or of intentional damage to them, or even of neglect.
Dec 21, 2007, 11:57 pm
#23
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: yyj
Programs: Alaska Airlines MVP, Fairmont FPC Platinum, Starwood Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 755
Mobs of wild kids, substandard restaurants, blood on the sheets at the spa:
My wife and I had stayed at the Kea Lani previously, in Sep., 2000. We enjoyed our stay very much & decided to book there again. We did not notice that, in that time period, the Kea Lani had changed from a privately-owned & managed hotel to being owned by Fairmont Hotels.
To make a long story very short, the stories from other reviewers about the pool areas are right on. If you travel at anything other than the lowest of the low season, you will encounter literally hundreds of out-of-control kids playing, screaming, crying and generally raising Cain in every way. It is also extremely difficult to find a chair that is anywhere near the pools (i.e. less than 200 yards away).
As to the restaurants, the food at the breakfast restaurant is only one small step better than what you could find at a Shoney's buffet. An interesting note is that what they offer for their breakfast buffet (c. $25) is five steps lower in quality from what is offered on their a la carte breakfast menu (which would cost you close to $35 if you ordered each item you might want for a breakfast comparable in size to the buffet). Mass scrambled eggs on the buffet vs. special egg dishes on the menu. Portuguese sausage (nasty) on the buffet vs. applewood smoked sausage links on the menu. You get the point.
The food at Nick's was excellent, but the service was a crapshoot. One evening we had a server who was very attentive and took great care of us. Two evenings later we had a server who literally came to our table twice in over 2 hours. I spoke with the manager about that experience & he offered us one free dessert for our troubles (?!?). Needless to say, we would have much rather had attentive service than a free slice of cheesecake.
Finally, and most astoundingly, we made reservations at the spa for massages for each of us. At the end of my massage, the therapist opened the door and I see my wife standing there in tears. She says we need to talk & comes into my treatment room. Through sobs & profuse tears, she proceeds to tell me how, halfway through her massage, her therapist asked her if she was bleeding. She stated "no" and informed the therapist that her cycle had been 2 weeks prior. Extensive evaluation by the therapist and my wife of my wife's body revealed not so much as a tiny scrape. The problem is, the sheets on the massage table had blood spots in multiple places. It turns out that the massage therapist had some cuts on her hands & that these were the sources of the blood.
I spoke with hotel management immediately, who stated that they would involve hotel security and inform us how they intended to handle the matter. Hotel security, after extensively questioning us, asked us what we feel would be appropriate resolution. Naturally, we told them that something should be comp'd from our bill, whether room nights or restaurant tabs or whatever. Hotel security felt that was an appropriate request and said they would have to put it to hotel management. We received a letter under our door 2 days later stating that they would be unable to offer us any compensation for this travesty, other than the accommodation (?!?) that they would not charge for the massage received. Other than that, they simply provided us with the name, address and telephone number of Fairmont Hotels' corporate insurance carrier, located in Canada.
When I spoke directly with hotel management about this situation, they were extremely cold and did everything possible to avoid saying almost anything to me, repeatedly telling me that they should not discuss the matter on the advice of their attorneys. When I told them how abundantly displeased we were with their response, especially considering that we did not want to pursue this matter via litigation, but were satisfied to accept some manner of local comping, they simply repeated that they were unable to accommodate us beyond removing the spa charge for the massage, and that we should contact their insurance company if we wanted to pursue a legal claim.
Needless to say, we will never return to the Kea Lani, and will utilize the Four Seasons or the Grand Wailea in the future. Everything we have heard and read about those properties seems to indicate to us that they know how to handle unfortunate circumstances that arise because of their OWN FAULT. Sadly, the Kea Lani has apparently decided that it would rather pursue a cold, hostile, and legalistic approach to problem resolution than simply reaching out to its customers and making right what they made wrong. For $500 per night, you can do much, much better in the way of amenities received and service provided than the Kea Lani.
My wife and I had stayed at the Kea Lani previously, in Sep., 2000. We enjoyed our stay very much & decided to book there again. We did not notice that, in that time period, the Kea Lani had changed from a privately-owned & managed hotel to being owned by Fairmont Hotels.
To make a long story very short, the stories from other reviewers about the pool areas are right on. If you travel at anything other than the lowest of the low season, you will encounter literally hundreds of out-of-control kids playing, screaming, crying and generally raising Cain in every way. It is also extremely difficult to find a chair that is anywhere near the pools (i.e. less than 200 yards away).
As to the restaurants, the food at the breakfast restaurant is only one small step better than what you could find at a Shoney's buffet. An interesting note is that what they offer for their breakfast buffet (c. $25) is five steps lower in quality from what is offered on their a la carte breakfast menu (which would cost you close to $35 if you ordered each item you might want for a breakfast comparable in size to the buffet). Mass scrambled eggs on the buffet vs. special egg dishes on the menu. Portuguese sausage (nasty) on the buffet vs. applewood smoked sausage links on the menu. You get the point.
The food at Nick's was excellent, but the service was a crapshoot. One evening we had a server who was very attentive and took great care of us. Two evenings later we had a server who literally came to our table twice in over 2 hours. I spoke with the manager about that experience & he offered us one free dessert for our troubles (?!?). Needless to say, we would have much rather had attentive service than a free slice of cheesecake.
Finally, and most astoundingly, we made reservations at the spa for massages for each of us. At the end of my massage, the therapist opened the door and I see my wife standing there in tears. She says we need to talk & comes into my treatment room. Through sobs & profuse tears, she proceeds to tell me how, halfway through her massage, her therapist asked her if she was bleeding. She stated "no" and informed the therapist that her cycle had been 2 weeks prior. Extensive evaluation by the therapist and my wife of my wife's body revealed not so much as a tiny scrape. The problem is, the sheets on the massage table had blood spots in multiple places. It turns out that the massage therapist had some cuts on her hands & that these were the sources of the blood.
I spoke with hotel management immediately, who stated that they would involve hotel security and inform us how they intended to handle the matter. Hotel security, after extensively questioning us, asked us what we feel would be appropriate resolution. Naturally, we told them that something should be comp'd from our bill, whether room nights or restaurant tabs or whatever. Hotel security felt that was an appropriate request and said they would have to put it to hotel management. We received a letter under our door 2 days later stating that they would be unable to offer us any compensation for this travesty, other than the accommodation (?!?) that they would not charge for the massage received. Other than that, they simply provided us with the name, address and telephone number of Fairmont Hotels' corporate insurance carrier, located in Canada.
When I spoke directly with hotel management about this situation, they were extremely cold and did everything possible to avoid saying almost anything to me, repeatedly telling me that they should not discuss the matter on the advice of their attorneys. When I told them how abundantly displeased we were with their response, especially considering that we did not want to pursue this matter via litigation, but were satisfied to accept some manner of local comping, they simply repeated that they were unable to accommodate us beyond removing the spa charge for the massage, and that we should contact their insurance company if we wanted to pursue a legal claim.
Needless to say, we will never return to the Kea Lani, and will utilize the Four Seasons or the Grand Wailea in the future. Everything we have heard and read about those properties seems to indicate to us that they know how to handle unfortunate circumstances that arise because of their OWN FAULT. Sadly, the Kea Lani has apparently decided that it would rather pursue a cold, hostile, and legalistic approach to problem resolution than simply reaching out to its customers and making right what they made wrong. For $500 per night, you can do much, much better in the way of amenities received and service provided than the Kea Lani.
After my 6th visit to this property last week I still love it. Fantastic service and ammenities.
Jan 4, 2008, 4:49 pm
#24
Join Date: Dec 2007
Programs: Delta Silver Medallion, UA 1P, Starwood Gold, Fairmont Plat, HHonors Diamond, Amex Plat
Posts: 62
Funny about lack of service at Nick's, there are usually 3 servers hanging around at all times. Food was excellent.
My only quibble is they now charge for valet parking - the valets looked very upset at the lost tips now that most everyone is self-parking.
Sep 7, 2008, 4:50 pm
#25
Join Date: Jun 2008
Programs: UA Premier Exec; AA Gold; SPG Gold
Posts: 6
Fairmont Kea Lani
Just got back from a short stay at the Fairmont Kea Lani (Wailea, Maui). It was fantastic ^^^ Upgraded to a partial ocean view suite. The suites could use to upgrade to HD TVs and put in DVD players, but other than that no complaints (after all we were not indoors much anyway).
As someone who is gluten intolerant, the resort made every effort to make sure I was taken care of, and the entire staff was knowledgeable about what ingredients were in different menu items. There did end up being a contamination issue, but the front office manager Victoria and the Asst. Food and Beverage Director Pete were so committed to finding out exactly what went wrong.
I can't say enough about how wonderful these people are and how stunning the property was. We were there for a wedding, and it was the most beautiful wedding I've ever been to. I will definitely be back!
As someone who is gluten intolerant, the resort made every effort to make sure I was taken care of, and the entire staff was knowledgeable about what ingredients were in different menu items. There did end up being a contamination issue, but the front office manager Victoria and the Asst. Food and Beverage Director Pete were so committed to finding out exactly what went wrong.
I can't say enough about how wonderful these people are and how stunning the property was. We were there for a wedding, and it was the most beautiful wedding I've ever been to. I will definitely be back!
Jul 8, 2009, 3:31 pm
#28
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: YEG
Programs: Now AC Peon, *A nobody, SPG Gold, Hertz 5*, FPC Platinum
Posts: 1,427
Jul 20, 2009, 12:27 pm
#30
Join Date: May 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: AS MVPG, DL PM, Starwood gold, Fairmont plat
Posts: 63
All the rooms in the main building are suites, and nearly identical. You can request an ocean view (especially if you are FPC platinum) if that is what you would like. Personally, I prefer a corner where the other balconies aren't able to watch you drink morning coffee.