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:
- The breakfast is copious amidst terrific surroundings. You really can eat once and then not again until cocktail hour.
- 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.
- 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 ....
- 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 .....