Eujeanie

I wouldn't give 2 cents for these new ones - so dark and claustrophobic. A regular canvas cabana is bright and still offers sun protection, these wooden closets look awful, and in many resorts the cabanas are separated from the hoi polloi, here they are right next to/in back of the regular free lounge chairs. We need sun protection and we found that the umbrellas coupled with a good location were just fine.

I would like to put an asterisk on what I just said above....looking at a picture of them on the GW website, it looks like the louvers are adjustable, so you can let light in if you want. However, what we saw when we were walking around was that they were all closed up dark and tight, and I know why....because every one was EMPTY, we saw almost none that were occupied, so they probably keep them closed up until they are rented. Still a big pass for us.

BlueZebra

We have been in three of the new cabanas...they are certainly different, in both negative and positive ways.

Nope, the louvers don't move.

Eujeanie

Please share the pros and cons...

BlueZebra

Yes, they aren't as open, but where there are close neighbors, you feel a little more privacy. The furnishings are better than the old style. Yes, the look more clunky, view blocking.

worldiswide

Thanks for the information. Makes me kind of chuckle a bit, but everyone has different ideas of where to spend $$$ - that's what makes horse races and discretionary travel/vacation spend such an interesting topic for discussion.

Eujeanie

Thanks for the info. Now, do ALL cabanas have fans? If not, how is the air circulation in the new wooden ones? And do they have lights? The unused ones we saw looked very dark.

BlueZebra

All have fans, as did the older models. No lights. They aren't that dark during the day.

bobdillingerz

Earlier this year our reservation showed up as Terrace View King, now it shows up as Ocean View King. Aren't those the same rooms as technically all rooms there are ocean view? Or, does that mean an upgrade has processed? Have not received an email and checkin is Monday.

Also, from reading previous discussion, it appears best practices is to not complete a mobile check-in if we're hoping for an upgrade because the room we select will mostly lock us into what we accept via mobile?

Beachchaser

No base rooms available September to November, is this property playing games with award availability?

carlitos

Ja, our two reservations 12/23 to 12/28 & 12/28 to 1/2 (5 + 5 nights on points @ 90K each night) also show "Ocean View 2 Queen Beds" instead of "Terrace View 2 Queen Beds", which is stated on the reservation email sent months and months ago when booked. So I guess I will take that as a standard change in characteristics and Not a free upgrade.

At this point, we land before 11am, so by 1pm we will be at the Hotel. We ll try to get early check in and see if they do offer a complimentary upgrade by checkin in in person instead of from the app.

carlitos

Looks like they are back to their old way of doing things. At the moment, I will can believe I got in with points in Christmas and New Years for 90K points per night. I have been there for Christmas and New Years 2017, 2018 and 2019, but not in the Grand Wailea but in the Wailea via Marriott Points. First time I have seen the Hilton points working for those high season dates. 2020 had to obviously be cancelled, and I had a reservation at the Marriott.

Eujeanie

Not all the rooms have ocean views, many have garden, or as you reserved, terrace. This was discussed on this thread a while back.

I would consider a change on your reservation to Ocean View to be a pre-emptive upgrade. Enjoy.

BlueZebra

Your Marriott might have been canceled, but GW was open at Christmas 2020. We were there Dec 3-10, 2020.

carlitos

Sorry, my bad. Marriott didn't cancel, we cancel the Marriott Wailea reservations and decided to go elsewhere closer to home and avoid the hurdles that were in place to travel to Hawaii from the East Coast (MIA). I actually ended up using those same amount of points to go to the Marriott Wailea last month during Thanksgiving week (Tuesday to Sunday) and had a blast. Now returning again for Christmas and New Years. Guess this time it is better to stay inside the US and not travel abroad. We ll see how our Ocean View Room at the Grand Wailea compares to our Garden View room at the Wailea

Eujeanie, thanks for the heads up. I will consider it an upgrade and enjoy it.

I only need ocean view on a beach front hotel and two comfy beds in amazing Wailea. Main reason I never reserve the AC or Residence Inn. Hoping one of this days I can switch to the Andaz. For now, we are good with Marriott and Hilton.

Megan Murray

I’ve been looking for availability for the 95,000 standard rooms and it seems only a handful of nights are available in 2022. Do these now sell out as soon as they’re released? When I booked for 2021 they seemed freely available throughout the month of August and now there are none for August 2022. I’m debating whether to save them for a trip to the Grand Wailea in 2023 or spend them now at the Waldorf in Orlando for 80,000 a night / $800 a night.