Planning a Maui trip - September
 

Hello fellow FTers,
I am in the verge of booking my first ever Hawaii trip with my wife. Listing out how i am planning to do this and few questions at the bottom:

Questions:

Right now both United and Andaz look wide open in September; I would book as soon as possible as either one's availability could slam shut.
7 nights in Hawaii is never enough, but it is much better than 6 nights.
I would stay put in one hotel for the duration-Andaz if available and you have enough Hyatt points.
Tip/recommendation: go to library or Amazon and get Maui guide books for ideas on what you want to do. Loneley Planet, Moon and Eyewitness all have Maui guide books.

Hotel / car rental
 

Hyatt regency is Kaanapali which has great facilities and on the south end of the beach at Kaanapali. Close to Lahaina and only 40 mins drive from OGG.
Andaz at Wailea about 30 mins drive fro OGG. I prefer Kaanapali but any amount of nights on Maui is great. As others have said stay in one hotel.
Car rental try Costco, priceline or discount Hawaii rentals.

Thank you for tip on staying in just 1 hotel - we have not decided what we are going to do in Hawaii but just wanted to know if 7 nights will be enough

Good tip on car rental thru costco - will check it out

Any other tips/recommendations?

Thanks again!

If you can swing more nights, do so. A week isn't enough in my opinion. I had 16 nights (15 on points and 1 on a gift card) two years ago; that was about right.

7 nights being too much depends if you like it or not, and you won't know until you get there. I did not care for Maui, and was glad I only spent 5 nights before moving to the BI for 6. Most of my friends stay 2 weeks and love every minute of it.

I don't think 7 nights is enough to island hop to even 1 other island though, and I would not fly all the way to Hawaii for any less than 7 nights, so... lol, 7 nights would be perfect, haha.

Thanks guys, i was able to book for 9 nights - all in Andaz Maui. IF there is any other suggestions (now that i have finalized the booking) please let me know :)

Just returned
 

We spent 7 nights in a condo just north of the Andaz area called Kihei. Then moved to the Four Seasons for 6 days, just down from Andaz which is Wialea area.
We did go up to the Kanapali area for a snorkel tour and it is So over crowded and commercial with terrible traffic.
The weather in the south Wialea area is always sunnier and drier. Not sure what time of year you are looking for.
We enjoyed a day trip up the volcano and last year did part of the road to Hana
It rained all the way best part was lunch at Mama's fish house outstanding views and food.
At the Andaz is my second fav Morimoto restaurant loved had dinner twice.

Thanks for the advice LillianJ!

We booked thru hyatt points does anyone know if we will still be charged for the resort fee or $40+ tax per night? or is it waived if we book with points?

There is a master thread on the Hyatt Forum for this hotel. It will have the latest info. Enjoy.

Enjoy your trip! You may also want to read JohnRain's recent Maui TR as he stayed at Andaz.
We recently stayed at nearby Grand Wailea and friends have stayed at nearby 4S. That area is so lovely and a car rental isn't super needed - you can walk to various shopping malls for dining and groceries while enjoying the resort.
Maui has a lot to see but it's also easy to spend most of your time in the Wailea and Kihei part of Maui. 9 days is a great start. 2011 was my first time in Maui since the 80s and now I only want to go to Maui for annual holiday.
Enjoy your holiday!!! And yes, go to Hyatt forum for a lot more info on Andaz.

I think Andaz like 4S has a car to take you to near by hotels and Shop of Wailea that is next to Andaz.
4S does not charge a resort fee so it is best to contact hotel and get it straight from them.

I think your questions about the Andaz are better asked here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hyatt...er-thread.html

Take a snorkel boat to the Molokini crater. We did this in January and it was one of the highlights of our Maui trip.

I encourage you to use the master thread on the property to ask questions. However, according to Hyatt there is no resort fee on a points booking.

Enjoy waived resort fees on free night awards

I'd take a print out of that page on vacation for peace of mind.