slippahs

Sounds like a thread for the HHonors forum (since the Grand Wailea is now managed by Hilton).

So I'll move it there, with a redirect left on the Hawaii forum.

--slippahs, Hawaii forum co-moderator

jgoodm

Thats a bummer. All I wanted was an hour and the hotel will likely be empty at that time... Dec 2nd through 14th.

cndij

I would still call them and ask. It may be different under the Hilton flag now. When we were at the HWV last week we asked about day passes, as we plan to bring our extended family next year and stay at a condo nearby. They did have them available there.
Cindi

slippahs

And if it doesn't work out that they don't have day passes, you could always ask for a day room. That should provide you with a pass to the pool (albeit at a higher cost).

jgoodm

Thats not a terrible idea. I wonder what the cost would be for the cheapest day room in the off season... hmmm...

Weatherboy

I just booked an award stay here for next month.

The agent on the Diamond line said they're all getting used to the new Waldorf "codes" and that not too many people are redeeming points to stay there.

Nonetheless, she was able to book my room. She couldn't say where my room would be, but she said as a Diamond it would most likely be a deluxe ocean view room.

She said I would most likely be charged the $20/night resort fee --she said sometimes the hotel does and sometimes the hotel doesn't, but that I should assume the $20/night charge is coming and be happy if they don't. Fair enough.

And my credit card was charged for an arbitrary amount: $1,300 or so. The Diamond line agent said this charge would be applied to charges I incur there... and in the unlikely event I don't incur $1,300 in food/drink/shopping/excursions, any amount leftover would be refunded to my credit card upon departure.

The only thing else I found unusual with the reservation is that there's a 14-day cancellation policy: if I cancel within the 14 days prior to my arriving, I would forfeit the $1,300 charge.

This will be my first time at this resort... so I'll post a trip report when I get back. After a stay there, I'll be heading over to Waikaloa for another week's award there, so it'll make for some good contrasting. (I've been to HWV many many times before.) With the HWV, while there is a credit card "hold" on file, no charge is made... and HWV still only has a 3-day cancellation policy. The Diamond line stressed that I would not be assessed a resort fee there.

trm2

I'm currently at HWV, but was at the Grand Wailea last week (paid stay). The resort is absolutely beautiful. As diamond, reserved the absolutely cheapest room and was upgraded to deluxe ocean view. The staff is fantastic when you deal with them. Service did seem to be a little lacking. Nothing was bad, but it seems a 5 star resort would have more. The lack of a lounge (unless in the Napua Tower) means $$$$ for breakfast. They did give us a box of cookies and two litre bottles of Fiji water as the welcome amenity. I would stay there again when budget allows.

rocotman

Just returned from a 6 night global award at the GW. There was no upgrade available, so we stayed in our booked Garden room. Room 0032 ground floor Chapel Wing. The room view was awesome. It does have a ocean view (not of the beach though) and stunning views of the grounds. The Chapel wing ground floor is the place to be. Quiet, just far enough away from the pools. It's about 150 yards from the beach, the Spa, Raquetball court, and Gym is down the hallway. I was given a box of cookies, two bottles of water, and a choice of 20% spa credit or $25 food credit for Gold HH.

Weatherboy

The Grand Wailea is offering a unique program: a membership-only program that allows members to save on the cost of hotel rooms for life.

For a "refundable" $3,000 fee and a $135 annual administrative fee, you get 50% off the rack rates offered at the hotel. Guests of members can also stay for 25% off the rack rates, with a maximum of 5 rooms at the 50% off level and 3 rooms at the 25% off level per night allowed.

The lowest rack rate for a room there is $575 (garden view Terrace / Molokini) ranging up to $16,330/night for the 3-bedroom grand suite. The lowest one bedroom suite is $1,800/night with Napau Club rooms at $1,200/night.

With your discount, this means that you'd pay as low as $288/night to as much as $8,115/night.

The catch is you must be approved for membership (there appears to be a fixed number of memberships allowed by the hotel), once accepted you must be a member for a minimum of 3 years, and your $3,000 "refundable" fee is only refundable at the end of a 30-year period or when you cancel your membership after the 3-year minimum passes.

I suppose this program makes a lot of sense if you're a frequent visitor to this property and stay in a moderate/high room category and/or with many rooms reserved / night. As an example, if I had a family reunion there that required 5 1-bedroom suites for 6 nights, I'd save $25,000 in a single visit.

I've never heard anything like this from any HHonors hotel ...it's an intriguing concept, but I'm curious to see who'd bite. The 30-year hold on a $3,000 deposit sounds peculiar... but if it means you can instantly save a lot of money, it makes a lot of sense.

l etoile

The Grand Wailea has offered a somewhat similar program long before it was a Hilton. It used to be a $10,000 refundable deposit though that was kept in an escrow account, IIRC, until you opted out of the program. You were required to complete some surveys for them after stays, and I don't recall there being a minimum time you had to belong to the program. I don't believe the former program had the annual admin fee either, but it's been a long time since I read the details.

MisterNice

I looked into this at one time and as I remember it was no fee and $10k deposit. Somehow I remember a 40%-50% room discount. I declined to join. The nearby Diamond Resort had a similar but cheaper deal.

MisterNice

gregorygrady

Any other experiences at the Grand Wailea since they joined HH on Sept 1? I have a paid reservation there next week (cheapest rate.....$347 per night) and wondering what kind of upgrade to expect as HH Gold. They seem to have pretty decent availability so upgrades should be available I would think. Seems like the Gold above got no upgrade and the Diamond above got a good upgrade. Weird thing is the official upgrade policy at the G.W. is 1 level room upgrade. Does that mean my Terrace Room only upgrades to the lowest level "Garden Room" (there are a couple different categories that are Garden Rooms)? And same would be the case for Diamonds?? Yikes, I hope not!!! If any Golds have any experience here over the past 1.5 months, please post. Thanks in advance........................^

rocotman

All of the rooms except the suites and Napua Tower are the same size. So you need to consider the location and view. The Lagoon wing is closest to the pools and parking garage. Too close to the pools I think. Everyone whoo whooing down the waterslides. I have kids and it is nice to go back to the room for some quiet time. The Chapel wing is the quiet side. The Garden room lanai opens up to either grass or a Koi pond. Our room was grass, which the kids could easily go out and run around feeding koi or catching geckos. The other two wings of the hotel are far away from the pools and beach. Depending on the location you could be taking two elevators and several fights of stairs. It is worth it if you can get into a suite. I did notice that some of the upper floor rooms had a view of the parking garage so be carfeul choosing. Hope this helps.

drewcwsj

I am Diamond and Just back from five days at the GW. I was told no upgrades available at checkin and then had to ask for the spa discount as it wasn't offered. Then I found out the spa was booked 100% for the entire week. No water, no cookies, no manager greeting. On top of all that the service was crappy throughout the stay. For the money it was a complete rip off and I will never return.

Should I even bother to complain?

Drew

Bondiboy

Only if you have already complained while staying at the hotel and there was no action as a result of your complaint.

As a Diamond, I would also be extremely disappointed if my status was ignored, but considering that the hotel is still in the process of transition to Hilton, I would (armed with a copy of the Diamond benefits) seek a meeting with the local manager and give him the opportunity to put things right.

If you complain now it will not make your stay any better. You may however be soother with a few extra points.