I am at the Andaz Maui now and wanted to add my two cents.
Just staying 3 nights on a government rate for $400/night; am in Maui for 4 nights but couldn't get the govt rate for the first night so I stayed on points at the Marriott for the first night down the road.

What a difference! The Marriott was impersonal, not exceptionally guest oriented (construction noises at 6 am? good thing I was already awake), very regimented ("here is your resort passport. tear these tickets off to get your free coffee. Use this card to get a beach towel. etc).

The Andaz on the other hand is so much more laid back. I checked in at noon; I had originally just booked the cheapest room for $400/night. With an expiring DSU I applied an upgrade to a partial ocean view suite; when I arrived I expressed that I really just wanted a view more than I wanted the space and would be fine with a downgrade to whatever room they could provide that had the best view. Instead they upgraded me to an ocean view suite. It's ridiculously enormous especially for someone traveling alone, and I love the modern design and the Sonos speaker in the room. They were able to get me into the room after a short delay -- I changed at the Ohana room on the 1st floor and used the fitness center until the room was ready. The fitness center is well equipped for a hotel gym.

I rented a car at the airport. Thought I might use the Kihei option for parking but there is a large swell going on right now making that option dangerous if not impossible. $90 for parking plus tips is not worth the risk right now, but I'd think about doing it if/when I come back if it were safe.

I didn't use (and don't plan on using) any of the resort's booking services or on-site activities (like the stand-up paddle board lessons / surf lessons / snorkel rental etc); it's pretty easy (and cheap) to find great tours online -- booked a kayak/snorkel excursion and hike on my own, and there are dive shops that I could go to (if the swell resolved) to rent snorkel gear for far less than $30/day.

Pantry breakfast is adequate. I don't plan on upgrading to the full buffet at all while I'm here. The beach bar (not actually on the beach) offered a great chicken katsu sandwich. Haven't eaten anywhere else on property yet.

Had no problem asking and receiving a 4pm checkout the day before my departure.

I am impressed by the Andaz -- while on this trip I found out I'm probably taking a government sponsored 6 month "vacation" to somewhere hot, sandy, and stinky later this year but I'm already looking forward to coming back to the Andaz afterwards.

Is the Kihei option for parking still working?

With regard to?

I have yet to read a report or PM that there are any regulatory issues.

I read a few posts ago that there have been swells that impact walking on the beach, but conditions vary daily, as they have for ever, of course.

We are here now also as returning diamond on a C+P w DSU for three nights and two credit card nights. We're told at checking that we could stay in the suite for the duration - A nice touch. I was concerned with earlier reports about the suites assigned to diamonds but were pleasantly surprised to be assigned a X40 suite (albeit on a low floor). The view is obstructed by the villa rooftops but is more ocean than some of the other suites being classed as POV.

As mentioned, big swells are preventing the beach walk from the kihei parking option, however I have just walked the long way back on the street. Tonight when I parked my car there was a police car idling along that road but I don't expect any trouble.

The pantry breakfast is pretty good - the only thing my wife misses are the juices/smoothies/and cappuccino. I do miss the hush puppies though.

A disappointment: someone from the hotel reached out to me before my stay asking if we needed anything etc. I replied back that we were traveling with our son and we would like a crib prestaged in the room along with a microwave and fridge for the baby food. Never heard back from this person and of course these items were not in the room upon arrival. Come to find out they only have a set number of cribs and could only offer a pack n play. Our son doesn't sleep or nap in these as well so that was a letdown.

Hoping the conditions improve so ican get some snorkeling in!

we might have passed you tonight walking back from the Kihei option.

my husband is also a Diamond and we are here on a paid stay + DSU. we got a x53 suite on a low floor, which, while quiet, doesn't have nearly as nice a view as our oceanfront room last year and I'm not exactly sure whether it is an oceanview, never mind an oceanfront. when booking, we were told that this would be an oceanfront suite.

we miss the breakfast from last year, though i think my husband more so than i do. i mostly miss the green juice. don't think we will upgrade to the full breakfast more than once or twice, the pantry option is adequate for our needs. i am wondering how many people are actually paying for the full breakfast now that the pantry option is available - at 45 bucks, it is considerably more than one might spend for breakfast in kihei, which is all of a 7 minute trip (as long as it currently takes us to walk from our room to the ka'ana kitchen). Andaz may or may not be making/saving money on the downgrade.

what really did stand out to us, and possibly because we are here following a stay at the Grand Hyatt Kauai, is the standoffish attitude newly developed in the front desk staff. last year everyone was positively wonderful and warm, which was a big factor in our decision to come back. in fact, the lady coordinating the breakfast seating is the same one who was here last year, and remembered us. however, the gentleman checking us in (Ben), seemed annoyed by the fact that we were there at all. he asked if it was our first trip to Hawaii, which seemed weird, seeing as it is our second trip to this very hotel, and it was noted on the reservation and logically should be the kind of information available to him at check-in. when we told him that we stayed here last year, he nodded and said "well then you know everything and i don't need to give you an orientation of the property". when we said no, please do remind us, it's been a year and thInga could have changed, he all but rolled his eyes and proceeded to a quick this is here, this is there, here is your envelope from Diamond with all the information you need, and your room number is X. and proceeded to walk off without giving us the room keys - my husband ended up chasing after him to get the keys. there was no acknowledgment of this being a return trip, this being an anniversary trip, nor my husband's diamond status. we are not looking for free stuff, but it would have been nice to hear "welcome back and thanks for staying with us again on your special occasion, and for your loyalty to the brand". much friendlier at the Grand Hyatt.

on the plus side, our waitress at breakfast thanked us for being loyal Diamond members and re-iterated that since we are Diamond members our breakfast is covered, including gratuity, and all we need is to sign the bill.

I do hope that you have contacted management at Andaz Maui. That is the only way they will know that the front desk has individuals like that. It is called the hospitality business for a reason.

I also have a stay in April and am seriously considering going to another hotel.

I am not looking for free stuff either but want a stay worthy of the 500 usd per night.

On the contrary the lady that checked us in welcomed us back, thanked us for being loyal diamond members, explained all the changes since last time, and gave us an overview of the property. Didn't notice any "diamond hostility" at all.

We stayed here in August for a week, with the Diamond changes taking place mid-stay. That said... everyone (except juice guy on weekend) couldn't have been nicer, helpful, courteous with pretentious etc. at breakfast. Front desk was another story... original person checking us in seemed like he was an a robot... going through the motions. Subsequent people during our stay (and questions) ran the gamut -- from one who couldn't be bothered... to others who couldn't be kinder and helpful (getting blankets sent to room & waiting at car for sunrise drive). Our main complaint was checking out and settling our full points stay. We were expecting charges for parking but had other items such as 3&4th guests breakfast charges ("but we're diamond") which took a while to clear up (didn't really have time to spare since our flight was delays and then got update that it was being pushed back closer to original), then finally left (DH - diamond by the car-- was wondering what the heck was taking so long). Days later see mysterious charges from Andaz on credit card and took over a week and calls to Maui to clear up... JMHO abd 2cents.
Enjoy your stay.

I don't think its Diamond specific hostility, it seems like it's people hostility in general and a complete lack of desire to be remotely helpful. During our first stay, everyone we've encountered was fantastic, which was one of the reasons we came back. It's disappointing to see this change.

I found the staff to be appropriately friendly without being saccharine.

I paid $85/adult for a luau at Grand Wailea (where I had my meeting). I thought the food was pretty bad. It really made me appreciate the quality of the offerings at Andaz. I find the breakfast close to the level of PH Vendome. Limited selection of high quality items, with an opportunity to orders sides. If they initially allow the brunch at PHV, then limited it to the current breakfast, there would likely be the same bellyaching. I imagine it is more costly to transport food to the islands and the past breakfast was costly, especially when people have a tendency to be wasteful with buffets. It is not such a bad idea for some of us to have portion control for the thick slab bacon, etc.;) I appreciate that "gratuity included" is added to the gratuity line so there is no confusion. I wish they did that at more Hyatts (more for the waiters than for the Diamonds, since most of us are aware of the T&C.) I did leave extra.

As an aside, it was a pleasant surprise to find Costco prices comparable to that on the mainland. It nice to be able to have dinner for a family of 4 for the same price as a hotdog poolside. We stopped by on the way from the airport and back from Haleakala National Park. Almost worth the price of renting a car.

As for the comment that this is a 3 star hotel, I find this a severe exaggeration. More like 4.5 stars, but certainly not 5.

I would not be surprise if they add a resort fee in the future.

true, but they would then have to do something about the current valet only situation. resort fee + valet only = even more pissed off people.

Was he a youngish guy? He didn't seem happy to refill my juice. Oh well, it was tasty.

We stayed here for two glorious nights in early Jan. I upgraded using DSU and our partial ocean view (definitely partial) was still one of the (if not the) best hotel experience I have encountered.

Unfortunately, the Ka'ana Kitchen was a disappointment. I wrote a review on Yelp, but it was not worth the money.

I found breakfast service to be excellent & the bartenders @ Lehua Lounge awesome. Food there, btw, was much better than Ka'ana.

The gelato is not to be missed (huge serving). And the wine at Mokapu Market is incredibly well priced (1 bottle = 1.5 glasses in the restaurant/bar).

Just FYI - if you're getting a taxi, know that there may be a 30 minute wait. I hadn't factored that into our plans and we almost missed our flight.

agree about the guy at juice bar on the weekend... mr grumpy...
otherwise service there was wonderful

Sorry
 

I didn't realize that the comment that was referenced two posts above was from me... 'cause our stay was way back in August....
sorry for the repost... and yes... a dark-haired young man... seemed like he wasn't the "usual" person who was making freshly made mixtures and asking for input to create something unique towards the customer's preferences.

Apologies if this has been covered somewhere else - did a search in this forum and in the Amex forum, but didn't see anything. In going through the many pages in this thread, I've seen a lot of discussion about the Diamond breakfast being cut back. However, I haven't seen any references to the Amex FHR breakfast. I am a Plat in the process of booking a 4 night stay through FHR and was wondering what the included breakfast covers. Is it the same as the new Diamond breakfast or is it more akin to the old breakfast (or something else)? Also, any experiences with upgrades through the FHR program? Presumably my Plat status won't be worth much there.