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Andaz Maui REVIEW - MASTER THREAD

Andaz Maui REVIEW - MASTER THREAD

Old Jul 28, 2014, 1:17 am
  #1036  
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Looked at a king, ocean view tonight just before having dinner at ka'ana kitchen. Room faced the pool, was pretty small overall - bathroom, balcony, all pretty small.

Front desk person was very nice showing us around and really knew his stuff on every detail - very personable too considering we walked asking for a tour.

Might try a short stay later this year but odds are I won't be staying here often - every bed in the hotel is a platform bed which is not a big deal to 99% of folk but if you've got a bad back, it's an issue.

The restaurant was great, they had live entertainment that was good as well. Service all around was pleasant and engaging.

Wish they had made the beds a priority - and who knows, I may be able to deal with them after I try them. ^
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Old Jul 28, 2014, 9:55 am
  #1037  
 
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Originally Posted by manku
FWIW, the Hyatt CC home page makes a big deal of the Platinum Status...it is one of the highlights of the card. A friend of mine just returned from the Napa Andaz using the same rewards and cc - he got an upgrade to a suite and free breakfast for being a platinum...which only confirms my impression that the Maui Andaz either dropped the ball with me or doesn't really take care of platinums.

Also, the day before I left I asked for late checkout. Our plane left OGG @ 2:50...I wanted to give us two hours minimum, so I asked for a 1:00 PM checkout. After about 10 miinutes, the front desk reluctantly agreed to it...and acted as if they were doing me a huge favor.

We ended up leaving at 11:30 AM, ate lunch at Flatbread in Paia, so the late checkout wasn't even necessary.
So a platinum friend of yours got an upgrade and breakfast at an entirely different property...How exactly does that "confirm" that the Andaz Maui dropped the ball and doesn't take care of their platinum guests?

This has absolutely noting to do with Plat vs. Diam; so let's drop the haves vs have not debate. I've been plat and Dia over the years, and have repeatedly had many different experiences at both levels. The only difference is that when I've been given a less than desirable, room, I've taken the extra 10 seconds to ask if there was a better room available. In fact, I do this anywhere I stay, whether I have status or not. If I am told the hotel is full (and it appears to be full), and that's the best they have to offer me, I believe them...maybe that makes me a sucker, but it seems logical that I will not get a better room than I have paid for if the hotel is full, regardless of what status I do or do not have.

This is exactly why your beloved Hyatt credit card page says specifically "Upgrades to preferred rooms, based on availability upon arrival"... that's not even hidden in a foot note or buried in terms and conditions...its stated clearly in the list of benefits, right next to the "click to apply" button.

Clearly no one in this thread is going to change your mind about whether or not the hotel was being dishonest with you; but if you suspected that to be the case during your stay, you should have asked them, and given them a chance to explain. Making accusations and complaining after the fact is pointless. Although it has made for an interesting read
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Old Jul 28, 2014, 12:06 pm
  #1038  
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Ok people, enough of the bickering about one particular review posted, each review is a persons perception of a unique combination of factors - there is no absolute right or wrong about it.

Peteropny - co-mod - Hyatt
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Old Jul 29, 2014, 5:23 am
  #1039  
 
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
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Originally Posted by LASUA1K
When I was there, they were at full occupancy and management told me I was one of 6 Diamonds.
so it's based on a single data point.

-David
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Old Jul 29, 2014, 8:42 pm
  #1040  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
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Originally Posted by thucanhho

I'm heading to Andaz Maui in January 2015. It may be great, but it is made all the better because I booked it for $150 + 12500points/nt x 7 nights with DSU, putting me in a $1000/nt suite for a week with $200 worth of breakfast for my family of 4. Paying $1K out of pocket for what someone else may be paying $8400. My $1K expectations will be less than the expectations of someone who paid $8400.


.
When I was there last month with my wife we were in an Andaz Suite (which is supposedly the same as POV suite just higher floor), I asked about occupancy for the suites and thought she said 3. Maybe they have some with 2 beds, but she said 1 extra roll-away was allowed and 3 people max in a suite. Did you get a different story?
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Old Jul 29, 2014, 10:21 pm
  #1041  
 
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Originally Posted by texdoc
When I was there last month with my wife we were in an Andaz Suite (which is supposedly the same as POV suite just higher floor), I asked about occupancy for the suites and thought she said 3. Maybe they have some with 2 beds, but she said 1 extra roll-away was allowed and 3 people max in a suite. Did you get a different story?
My kids are 5 and 6. They usually make an exception domestically. Only time it was an issue was PH Vendome. I believe you are correct that all suite have king rather than 2 beds
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Old Aug 1, 2014, 10:37 pm
  #1042  
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
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I've searched through all the pages and couldn't find an explanation of the "Kihei option" for parking. Could someone please message me and let me know where the inexpensive parking is?
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Old Aug 2, 2014, 5:33 am
  #1043  
 
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Please read post #391 in this thread. You will need to send a Private Message to member Canyonleo for details on the "Kihei option"
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Old Aug 5, 2014, 4:16 pm
  #1044  
 
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Wow -- this might be my favorite hotel/place.

We were here (there?) for a long weekend. This was abetted by their getting is in just after noon on arrival and then late checkout departure day. I had to push slightly for both, but as with all the other properties I have been to in this, my first Hyatt Diamond year, they were good about honoring the (yes, I know, provisional -- subject to availability) spirit of the Hyatt Diamond thing. First full paragraph, and already I am headed off-topic, but I have to say that the way Hyatt allows Diamonds to effectively "stretch" our stays is a huge benefit of this status.

The other great benefit, of course, is the breakfast. I'll come to that shortly. In the meantime, back to the hotel: There are plenty of pictures up on the internet, and they are enticing, but they don't quite do the setting justice. When you enter the long corridor with cool architecture around you and a very large ocean (Pacific -- one of the three biggest) at the end ... well, it's nice. Real nice. This is only the second Andaz we have stayed at, but I have to say that I like the Andaz style and the Andaz buzz. I like the architecture and the way the rooms arranged and stone in place of carpet. Yeah, all the staff buzzing about in unstructured ways can occasionally be ridiculous; and, sure, it causes them to drop the ball here and there; but it can also be kind of fun; and, hey, isn't one of the reasons you go away to get something a bit different? Everyone has their own reason for traveling, for being in Maui. Ours was not to tour, or to be entertained, and the staff cottoned to that pretty quickly and that was good. I guess what I am trying to say is that I read reviews of high-end hotels and resorts that focus on the service, and I'm probably not a good reporter on that. By service, I mostly want the room clean on arrival, cleaned up again once or -- at a more upscale place like this -- twice a day, my coffee topped up in the am, and a fair pour on the drinks in the evening. And if our schedule doesn't happen to be the same as the cleaning schedule, I would like them to adjust, not us. In this sense, service was fine.

Gosh, I hit the late check-out benefit, and I foreshadowed breakfast, but I forgot the other great Diamond thing -- the suite upgrades. So we did cash+points, which meant $150 + 12,500 points, times two nights -- with taxes and stuff this meant $365 or so all-in, at least in cash. The My Elite Rate (MER) -- another great Hyatt thing this year (also available to Platinums) -- was mostly showing $440 a night, so at > 2 cents a point, these were points well spent. I think the MER ticked down to $400 at one point (although I could be misremembering, or hallucinating, or both) which at 2 cents a point would place it somewhere on my indifference curve. The thing is, once you slather on -- no, not the sunscreen -- the suite upgrade, you have some fantastic value for money (or money plus points).

My guilt at so much enjoyment for so little cash out of pocket was partially assuaged by leaving some money at the bar. Lehua Lounge, which is the upstairs bar, overlooking the hanging pools and that big ocean (the Pacific -- one of the two largest), has music late afternoon and into the early evening, a great view at sunset, a convivial feel, well-mixed drinks (not well pours!), and some fantastic bar food. Whether you call them appetizers, pupus -- or dinner -- someone is putting out some seriously good eats. The stuff varies from occasion to occasion, but everything we tried was excellent.

Whoops -- this is getting out of order; I skipped the room. Well, with a suite you get a lot of space, and we kind of like that when we are going away to be away. Andaz baths and showers and stuff are always interesting and, hey, having a second toilet and sink in the other part of the suite doesn't hurt either. There is a makai wing (which means "sea") and then there is another wing whose name did not stick with me; we were led toward that other wing. We were also taken down in the elevator. This all has a bad ring to it, doesn't it ... ? ... Surprise! It was all great. Did we get a "partial ocean view" suite? I couldn't tell you. It was makai not mauka in the traditional Hawai`i sense (facing seaward rather than inland). I guess it was a partial ocean view in the sense that we couldn't see all of the Pacific (the world's largest ocean). Also, this floor, denominated 3, was plenty high but had terrassed grass outside, so our lanai was expansive and -- since we were the end unit -- quite private. I know many of you are probably balcony folks and highest view possible and, yes, in Manhattan I get that way, too (well, not the balcony). For us, at the Andaz, we couldn't have had better. It was like having our own private apartment since we could go out right at the end, from the hall or from the lanai. Nice for coming and going ....

This is getting too long. Four wrap-up points:
  1. The breakfast is copious amidst terrific surroundings. You really can eat once and then not again until cocktail hour.
  2. I hate taxis. I especially hate taxis when I haven't been somewhere before. So on arrival we went to the Roberts Hawaii booth and reserved a van ride. It was $42 for two, so $50 with tip. We had to wait 10-15 minutes for a van, then were the only folks in the ride to the hotel. You could do the same thing on the way back, and shave the cost a few bucks, but Roberts is used to driving around skittish tourists, and wanted to pick us up 3h40m before our flight! I said, let's cut that in half, and they said something ridiculous, like, "Then we would not be responsible if you miss your flight." As though they would do something for us if we did ... And is if flights to HNL weren't going out every 20 minutes or so. Anyhow, we had the hotel call a cab (Royal), which was there at the appointed hour, and which got us to the airport in 25 or 30 minutes. Cab was $52, $62 with tip.
  3. Well, obviously we didn't rent a car, so no Kihei option for us. But we were about on foot a lot, and let's just put it this way: Hawai`i is a relaxed place. And there are strong rules and norms that permit beach access all over the place, even alongside the swankiest resorts. We could have gone local at any number of spots ... I'm talking parking ....
  4. There is a beach walk that goes a mile and a half south, to the Fairmount property. Nice enough for walking. From there, if you skirt the Fairmount and the related apartments, there is a nice local street for walking or bike-riding, or whatever. In fact, if you are a runner, the beach path is touted for running, but it's a clumsy place for real running. The main drag at the entry to the hotel has a sidewalk on the makai side of the street that is serviceable until you get past the Fairmount. Whichever way you get there, after that, the main drag or the local streets closer to the beach become fine for running (big bike lane on the main drag). Probably just over 4 miles from Andaz down to Makena Beach Park, and then another couple of miles past some cool properties down to the nature reserve. Like I say, if you're at the Andaz just to be at the Andaz and surroundings, not touring Maui .....
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Old Aug 5, 2014, 4:33 pm
  #1045  
 
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A different Platinum perspective on the Andaz Wailea

Reading upthread about the experiences another Platinum member had at the Andaz, I figured I'd provide my Platinum perspective as well, just having completed a 5-night stay in Maui with a combination of points, points+cash, and Chase certificates.

For what it's worth, I've had Plat status for a couple years before getting the credit card, but the bonus + points-earning opportunities were too good to pass up... maybe it makes a difference that I was a "revenue Plat", because our stay was phenomenal. Typing this review brings back some of the sunshine.

- We were upgraded to a partial ocean view king at check-in, and loved the extremely comfortable bed, pillows, and amenities. We were at the hotel for our last trip before my wife delivers our first child, and couldn't have picked a better, more relaxing venue. When we decided to keep the partial ocean view instead of upgrading to a suite for our last two nights, the manager offered to refund points back into my account... and comped us a cabana at the pool.

- The grounds, staff, and dining options on-property were all remarkable. This really is a striking resort -- the attention to detail was noticed right away, from check-in, to the hallway, to the room numbers. I wonder what this place was like when it was a Renaissance?

We only dined at Ka'naa Kitchen once, but loved our breakfast, Morimoto, and the options at the Bumbye Beach Bar. The evening lounge staff went out of their way on our last night to bring us a dessert from the daytime menu, and found my wife several non-alcoholic options from the bar. Again -- incredibly impressive.

- Snorkeling on the south end of the beach... ^^^^^^^


A few opportunities for the hotel to improve:

- $32 for sunscreen at the Mokapu Market is insane. Spend it if you have no other choice, because the free stuff at the pool is only SPF 30, and the sun over Maui at this time of year is briiiiiiiiiiiiight.

- I understand the strategy to drive guests to the on-property dining options, but there aren't many options on the room service menu at all -- from memory, I think there's a risotto, a burger, a steak, and the build-your-own-salad option for dinner... that's it. Breakfast options are similar. I expected a few more choices from the Andaz.

- We woke up around 8am one morning to grab a prime spot at the pool -- and all were "reserved" by cheesy guests who presumably woke up at 6:30, threw a Dodgers hat, magazine, or WSJ on a chair under an umbrella, and went back to bed, or over to Ka'ana for a leisurely breakfast. We found one of the last umbrella chairs and laid out until 11am... when we left most of the chairs were still reserved but unclaimed.

for allowing, and even encouraging, this nonsense.


Helpful hints beyond the Kihei option:

- The Safeway in Kihei is ten minutes up the road -- great place to stock up on Gatorade, fresh fruit, sunscreen, and other stuff at 1/3 the price of Mokapu. Is it gauche to bring a Safeway bag into a $500/night resort? I suppose I don't really care.

- We loved our meals both on and off-property. Star Noodle in Lahaina, Da Kitchen in Kahului, Coconut's Fish Cafe in Kihei, and Ululani's Shave Ice on Kihei's north side are all highly recommended.


Final observation: unsure if the Andaz reeled in their target market of "young, hip Californians" while we were there, although we would have fit that definition to a T a few years ago!

Quite a few families -- those with young kids at the lower pool; those with older children in cabanas and villas -- and a ton of international guests at the hotel -- Aussies, Dutch, Germans, Japanese, etc. Surprisingly global for a Hawaiian resort... but still very cool.

We'll definitely be back.
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Old Aug 5, 2014, 4:46 pm
  #1046  
 
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Originally Posted by 318i
- We woke up around 8am one morning to grab a prime spot at the pool -- and all were "reserved" by cheesy guests who presumably woke up at 6:30, threw a Dodgers hat, magazine, or WSJ on a chair under an umbrella, and went back to bed, or over to Ka'ana for a leisurely breakfast. We found one of the last umbrella chairs and laid out until 11am... when we left most of the chairs were still reserved but unclaimed.

for allowing, and even encouraging, this nonsense.
+1

And it may be even sillier than that... I noticed the same nonsense and gallantly suggested to my wife that she look into it further. According to what she was told, you reserve them with the staff for -- wait for it -- $10. Ten dollars ?! Seems to me that either you don't allow this, yes, cheesy behavior -- or you make some real money at it. For all we know, Ellison, the Oracle guy, comes over from Lana`i and reserves all of them until the year 245798.
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Old Aug 5, 2014, 5:05 pm
  #1047  
 
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I know everyone on this board praises this hotel, but I actually have to do the same. Everything from the room, to the food, and the pools were wonderful. This really is a top notch resort. This resort is pretty expensive so try to bring some snacks with you and just relax and enjoy the beautiful views.
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Old Aug 6, 2014, 2:16 pm
  #1048  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
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Andaz Maui REVIEW - MASTER THREAD

I spent 7 nights here in July after staying 5 nights at RC in Kapalua, the drop off in service was obvious and immediate. I had booked a partial ocean view suite using cash+points and DSU, upon arriving at the hotel at 4 pm I was told the room was not available yet and that they would give me a $100 resort credit to use for the 45 minutes they said it would take to get the room ready. Great, no problem, headed down to a table at the pool bar to grab lunch where I was ignored for 20 minutes while attempting to make get the attention of someone who may have worked there as it was tough to even identify them since they wear no uniforms. I didnt receive the phone call that my room was ready for over another hour and was led to a ground floor suite that pretty much sat right on the pool deck and walkway to Morimotos, in other words there was no privacy whatsoever. I asked to switch to a higher floor but no other suites were available, so they offered to comp me a cabana at the pool for the week and refund the DSU certificate. Seemed like a good deal as the cabanas typically cost $200 per day and include lunch. Except these were apparently not the normal cabanas and they included no lunch and not much service either as I sat there for over an hour one day before someone came over. 3 weeks later I am still trying to contact the property to refund the DSU which they had promised. Service over the rest of the stay was hit or miss with a lot more misses then a property of this class should have. Place was very tranquil bordering on cold & dull with very little indication that you were actually in Hawaii. As a gold passport member staying in $1200 a night room for $150 + points I was fairly annoyed by all of this, if I had been paying the standard rate I probably would have left after the first night.

The PROS are the benefits to diamond members are quite generous. Up to $150 per day for breakfast at the Kaana Kitchen and they let you also use the credit for food&bev at the Mokapu market if you wish as well. You could probably stock up on snacks and drinks for the duration of your stay if you wanted and if the minibar fridge were not so small. The beach is possibly the best on Maui with great views of all 4 Maui islands. Also snorkeling just 20 ft off the beach is very good, I saw huge sea turtles all 3 days I went out. Live music every night is also a plus but it tends to be the same thing every night.

I would skip Morimotos unless you wish to pay $200 for sushi you could find in your local strip mall.
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Old Aug 7, 2014, 9:20 am
  #1049  
 
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Originally Posted by bubbabp
Place was very tranquil bordering on cold & dull with very little indication that you were actually in Hawaii.
Unless you, like, open the door to your balcony or walk outside. Were you looking for tiki torches and leafy green comforters?

Originally Posted by bubbabp
As a gold passport member staying in $1200 a night room for $150 + points I was fairly annoyed by all of this, if I had been paying the standard rate I probably would have left after the first night.
But you weren't paying the standard rate. Which is probably why you got the room you did.

I guess it's a matter of perspective. I looked at my stay like I was getting $3,000 of value for my points, certs, and $300. So I wasn't furious about slow service (yeah, Bumbye and Lehua dawdled a bit) -- and the vast majority of people we interacted with were so positive that I didn't really remember until your review triggered the thought.


Originally Posted by bubbabp
I would skip Morimotos unless you wish to pay $200 for sushi you could find in your local strip mall.
Counterpoint - we paid $130, including a nice tip for our waiter, for a couple drinks, a delicious entree we shared, and three separate rolls. The maki is reasonably priced. Two people could get a couple drinks, four rolls, and tip for under $100 easily.
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Old Aug 7, 2014, 11:21 am
  #1050  
 
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Originally Posted by bubbabp
I spent 7 nights here in July after staying 5 nights at RC in Kapalua, the drop off in service was obvious and immediate. I had booked a partial ocean view suite using cash+points and DSU, upon arriving at the hotel at 4 pm I was told the room was not available yet and that they would give me a $100 resort credit to use for the 45 minutes they said it would take to get the room ready. Great, no problem, headed down to a table at the pool bar to grab lunch where I was ignored for 20 minutes while attempting to make get the attention of someone who may have worked there as it was tough to even identify them since they wear no uniforms. I didnt receive the phone call that my room was ready for over another hour and was led to a ground floor suite that pretty much sat right on the pool deck and walkway to Morimotos, in other words there was no privacy whatsoever. I asked to switch to a higher floor but no other suites were available, so they offered to comp me a cabana at the pool for the week and refund the DSU certificate. Seemed like a good deal as the cabanas typically cost $200 per day and include lunch. Except these were apparently not the normal cabanas and they included no lunch and not much service either as I sat there for over an hour one day before someone came over. 3 weeks later I am still trying to contact the property to refund the DSU which they had promised. Service over the rest of the stay was hit or miss with a lot more misses then a property of this class should have. Place was very tranquil bordering on cold & dull with very little indication that you were actually in Hawaii. As a gold passport member staying in $1200 a night room for $150 + points I was fairly annoyed by all of this, if I had been paying the standard rate I probably would have left after the first night.
.
Let's see.

You got $100 because you waited for your Suite to be ready....

You got a Cabana for the whole week because you wanted a Suite on a higher floor and the Andaz didn't have one.
You would have liked the Cabana to include a free lunch and were somewhat disappointed that this Cabana didn't come with it.

You were promised the return of your DSU because you did not like the Suite on the ground floor mainly because it didn't have enough privacy.

Is there anything else you think the hotel should have done for you?

It seems to me Andaz did more than it should have to accommodate you.
It certainly did not have to return your DSU.
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