Andaz Maui REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
Nov 19, 2019, 6:44 am
#3406
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 155
Trying to decide between the Andaz and the Fairmont for part of a honeymoon trip to Maui next year (September). Planning to book on an FHR rate but don't otherwise have any Hyatt status. Any idea what I should expect as far as upgrades, etc.?
Nov 19, 2019, 7:04 am
#3407
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: Delta DM, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Rewards Platinum Elite, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,046
Book the Andaz through Prive - exclusive Prive only 6th night free offer plus confirmed upgrade at time of booking.
Nov 21, 2019, 6:11 pm
#3408
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Canada
Programs: Virtuoso TA, Four Seasons Pref Partner, Rosewood Elite TA, Ritz Carlton STARS TA
Posts: 4,737
You could also consider the Montage if you must be in Maui.
FHR should also have a free night offer in this period, but bcosinteno pointed out you will probably get much more love via Hyatt's own program which is discussed here extensively already.
Last edited by ABG; Nov 22, 2019 at 11:37 am
Nov 22, 2019, 7:05 am
#3409
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 155
Thanks everyone. That's the vibe I was getting from Andaz vs Fairmont, but a bit worried about potential construction at Andaz and potentially being stuck in a smaller room.
Was leaning toward FHR because can use some Amex pts, but didn't realize about Prive. Thanks for the info.
Was leaning toward FHR because can use some Amex pts, but didn't realize about Prive. Thanks for the info.
Nov 22, 2019, 8:31 am
#3410
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: AA & DL / SPG & HGP
Posts: 1,723
Thanks everyone. That's the vibe I was getting from Andaz vs Fairmont, but a bit worried about potential construction at Andaz and potentially being stuck in a smaller room.
Was leaning toward FHR because can use some Amex pts, but didn't realize about Prive. Thanks for the info.
Was leaning toward FHR because can use some Amex pts, but didn't realize about Prive. Thanks for the info.
Nov 27, 2019, 11:56 am
#3411
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 45
Does anyone know who to contact regarding a possible paid upgrade on an award stay? The stay isn't for a few months. I responded to the generic welcome email, but didn't get a response to that. Am I better off calling directly, or is there an email address that gets me to the right place? Thanks in advance.
Nov 30, 2019, 2:48 pm
#3413
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 405
I just stayed 5 nights and overall it was a great stay and I can see why people return to this hotel year after year. Globalist breakfast is excellent, service was great and beach activities included in the resort fee are truly additive to the stay rather than the gimmicky filler you usually see in those resort fee inclusions. I snorkeled nearly every day, either at the little reef off the beach or south at the bigger reef off Wailea Beach and thought it was great. I also never noticed any signs of construction at the hotel.
The one part about the stay that was noticeably suboptimal was the room, which I know is a common complaint. It's small for a resort of this caliber and oddly laid out. They could do away with all the unnecessary doors in the bathroom/closet area. The shower is nice, but it comes at the expense of a tub in a room that size. Also, I was upgraded to what I was told was a "full ocean view" from a base room and though I didn't mind since it was an upgrade, I definitely would have minded if I had paid for it based on that description. There were only a couple slivers of ocean visible from the balcony in the Makai Tower.
We also stayed at the HR which was great for different reasons, but if I'm returning, I'm playing the 5k points premium to stay at the Andaz.
The one part about the stay that was noticeably suboptimal was the room, which I know is a common complaint. It's small for a resort of this caliber and oddly laid out. They could do away with all the unnecessary doors in the bathroom/closet area. The shower is nice, but it comes at the expense of a tub in a room that size. Also, I was upgraded to what I was told was a "full ocean view" from a base room and though I didn't mind since it was an upgrade, I definitely would have minded if I had paid for it based on that description. There were only a couple slivers of ocean visible from the balcony in the Makai Tower.
We also stayed at the HR which was great for different reasons, but if I'm returning, I'm playing the 5k points premium to stay at the Andaz.
Nov 30, 2019, 6:47 pm
#3414
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Live: IWI; Work: DCA/Everywhere; Play: LAS/SJU/MLE
Programs: AA EXP, DL PM, Hyatt Glob, Marriott Ambassador/LTP, Nat'l Exec Elite, LEYE Gold
Posts: 6,670
Had a 3-night stay here about a week ago and thought it was a fine place but I don't really get what the fuss is about. (To be fair, I haven't stayed at many Hawaii resorts so maybe the standards are generally low and this place is simply relatively good -- but for someone coming from the East Coast, it seemed like nothing too special. Hawaii itself was of course quite special, but the property reminded me and my wife of places like the Renaissance in San Juan, good but not particularly memorable.)
Booked on points (2 cat-7 certs + 30k points technically), was only able to secure a 2 Queen room on points despite all room types being available for cash; emailed in response to the welcome email saying my only request was a King room if at all possible & was willing to pay if necessary, that email was ignored. (I also emailed the concierge desk re: restaurant & other stuff and they were very responsive, so in hindsight perhaps I should have sent them the bed request as well.) At check in, was informed of an upgrade to a deluxe full view... with 2 Queens. Took a lot of haggling to get them to put us in a King room, which ended up being an ADA room (nbd) in the Akau wing facing the ocean (the front desk said the view wasn't that great but it was indeed a full ocean view so i don't know what that was about, it was room 350). There was noticeable construction but we were out all day each day so it didn't bother us; I think the rooms across the hall (349/351/353) would have a direct view of the construction, which is at the north end and just east of the Akau wing. Also, we arrived at 8 p.m. after a long day of travel, and it took about an hour to get our room, so that was a little bit of a let down. We drove over to the Monkeypod and had a nice meal there while we waited though, would recommend ^.
No welcome note, amenity, or follow-up from management re: ignoring my email. I did fill out the survey post-stay and got a canned "we hope to prove ourselves to you next time" response. Eh, whatever.
Agree that the snorkeling off the beach was great, that was a true highlight and a reason to come back. One day it was too choppy & silty but other than that it was clear and relatively calm, and we saw sea turtles and eels right away; on the choppy day, a turtle came within a few feet of the beach much to everyone's delight.
Food seemed resort-average. No real made-to-order breakfast items other than eggs, with the usual sorts of toppings. The local hot sauces are a nice touch (try the Scorpion one, or the Raspberry Ghost pepper one), you have to ask for them. Fresh fruits and grilled vegetables were good breakfast options but all as expected, nothing above expectations for tropical resort. The premade stuff like dim sum, pancakes, etc., were relatively underwhelming because of how food gets when it's left under a heat lamp for ages.
The "Bitters & Bites" meal at the Ka'ana bar was above expectations, but I think they are changing it. (We had 3 savory courses + 3 cocktails, you pick your spirit -- I had bourbon, wife had gin -- and they do the rest; you can do a dessert instead for the 3rd course but we were glad we went with the savory options.) You sit at the bar and have your personal bartender essentially (there's just 2 couples at a time for the dinner), good conversation and good food/drink.
The other hassle was that the ice/water stations weren't on all the floors, seems like a cheap move. A carafe of water was randomly placed in our room on the second night with turndown only (not before that), and taken away the next day with housekeeping (and it didn't show up again that night). I get the "no plastic bottles" thing but wouldn't hurt to have more ice/water stations, carafes in the room, and so forth.
All in all a fine use of expiring cat-7 certs, but for normal points I'd much rather spend them on PH Maldives (sure, yes, it's farther away, but from the East Coast, Hawaii is pretty far too).
We personally enjoyed the Grand Hyatt Kauai more, I think, because the service in the club lounge there was great, we were given a nice room with a view without quibbling, the kitschy entertainment in the lobby was actually pretty entertaining (especially when combined with the option to go to the club lounge for self-poured $5 cocktails and bring them back to the lobby to enjoy with the entertainment), and we enjoyed hanging out at the sushi restaurant/bar there. There was ice on our floor, and the one day when housekeeping didn't bring a new ice bucket liner, I called and had a bucket of ice at my door in 5 minutes, despite the large distances that the hotel hallways span. The GH Kauai is obviously dated, old, and so enormous as to be impersonal (reminded me at first of childhood trips to 3-star all-inclusives in Cancun, shudder). But it ended up being a much more memorable experience for us than the Andaz Maui, probably because the Andaz gets so much hype (that it didn't live up to, for us) and the GH doesn't (so it exceeded expectations).
Booked on points (2 cat-7 certs + 30k points technically), was only able to secure a 2 Queen room on points despite all room types being available for cash; emailed in response to the welcome email saying my only request was a King room if at all possible & was willing to pay if necessary, that email was ignored. (I also emailed the concierge desk re: restaurant & other stuff and they were very responsive, so in hindsight perhaps I should have sent them the bed request as well.) At check in, was informed of an upgrade to a deluxe full view... with 2 Queens. Took a lot of haggling to get them to put us in a King room, which ended up being an ADA room (nbd) in the Akau wing facing the ocean (the front desk said the view wasn't that great but it was indeed a full ocean view so i don't know what that was about, it was room 350). There was noticeable construction but we were out all day each day so it didn't bother us; I think the rooms across the hall (349/351/353) would have a direct view of the construction, which is at the north end and just east of the Akau wing. Also, we arrived at 8 p.m. after a long day of travel, and it took about an hour to get our room, so that was a little bit of a let down. We drove over to the Monkeypod and had a nice meal there while we waited though, would recommend ^.
No welcome note, amenity, or follow-up from management re: ignoring my email. I did fill out the survey post-stay and got a canned "we hope to prove ourselves to you next time" response. Eh, whatever.
Agree that the snorkeling off the beach was great, that was a true highlight and a reason to come back. One day it was too choppy & silty but other than that it was clear and relatively calm, and we saw sea turtles and eels right away; on the choppy day, a turtle came within a few feet of the beach much to everyone's delight.
Food seemed resort-average. No real made-to-order breakfast items other than eggs, with the usual sorts of toppings. The local hot sauces are a nice touch (try the Scorpion one, or the Raspberry Ghost pepper one), you have to ask for them. Fresh fruits and grilled vegetables were good breakfast options but all as expected, nothing above expectations for tropical resort. The premade stuff like dim sum, pancakes, etc., were relatively underwhelming because of how food gets when it's left under a heat lamp for ages.
The "Bitters & Bites" meal at the Ka'ana bar was above expectations, but I think they are changing it. (We had 3 savory courses + 3 cocktails, you pick your spirit -- I had bourbon, wife had gin -- and they do the rest; you can do a dessert instead for the 3rd course but we were glad we went with the savory options.) You sit at the bar and have your personal bartender essentially (there's just 2 couples at a time for the dinner), good conversation and good food/drink.
The other hassle was that the ice/water stations weren't on all the floors, seems like a cheap move. A carafe of water was randomly placed in our room on the second night with turndown only (not before that), and taken away the next day with housekeeping (and it didn't show up again that night). I get the "no plastic bottles" thing but wouldn't hurt to have more ice/water stations, carafes in the room, and so forth.
All in all a fine use of expiring cat-7 certs, but for normal points I'd much rather spend them on PH Maldives (sure, yes, it's farther away, but from the East Coast, Hawaii is pretty far too).
We personally enjoyed the Grand Hyatt Kauai more, I think, because the service in the club lounge there was great, we were given a nice room with a view without quibbling, the kitschy entertainment in the lobby was actually pretty entertaining (especially when combined with the option to go to the club lounge for self-poured $5 cocktails and bring them back to the lobby to enjoy with the entertainment), and we enjoyed hanging out at the sushi restaurant/bar there. There was ice on our floor, and the one day when housekeeping didn't bring a new ice bucket liner, I called and had a bucket of ice at my door in 5 minutes, despite the large distances that the hotel hallways span. The GH Kauai is obviously dated, old, and so enormous as to be impersonal (reminded me at first of childhood trips to 3-star all-inclusives in Cancun, shudder). But it ended up being a much more memorable experience for us than the Andaz Maui, probably because the Andaz gets so much hype (that it didn't live up to, for us) and the GH doesn't (so it exceeded expectations).
Dec 1, 2019, 10:05 pm
#3415
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 1,394
Had a 3-night stay here about a week ago and thought it was a fine place but I don't really get what the fuss is about. (To be fair, I haven't stayed at many Hawaii resorts so maybe the standards are generally low and this place is simply relatively good -- but for someone coming from the East Coast, it seemed like nothing too special. Hawaii itself was of course quite special, but the property reminded me and my wife of places like the Renaissance in San Juan, good but not particularly memorable.)
The GH Kauai is obviously dated, old, and so enormous as to be impersonal (reminded me at first of childhood trips to 3-star all-inclusives in Cancun, shudder).
The GH Kauai is obviously dated, old, and so enormous as to be impersonal (reminded me at first of childhood trips to 3-star all-inclusives in Cancun, shudder).
Dec 6, 2019, 4:49 pm
#3416
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: AA & DL / SPG & HGP
Posts: 1,723
In light of this week's devalua...ah, enhancement announcement, I booked my annual Andaz Maui all points reservation way in advance. I can report that there are ZERO one, two, four, five, six, etc. night availability - for what I researched (Oct/Nov).
Again, it's all three night availability. So, I booked a series of consecutive three night reservations. Works for me - better than booking one reservation as if one is to after March delete a night or two from a reservation I'm told it will trigger a repricing (PEAK maybe?) of all nights kept...
Shame that Hyatt feels the need to join the race to the bottom.
Again, it's all three night availability. So, I booked a series of consecutive three night reservations. Works for me - better than booking one reservation as if one is to after March delete a night or two from a reservation I'm told it will trigger a repricing (PEAK maybe?) of all nights kept...
Shame that Hyatt feels the need to join the race to the bottom.
Dec 11, 2019, 11:14 am
#3417
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: AA Exp, MR Gold, Hyatt Exp
Posts: 35
Does anybody know if Property Development View rates would be restricted from applying a Suite Upgrade? With Suite availability on the dates I'm looking at, thinking could save some money but avoid the downgraded view.
Dec 11, 2019, 7:23 pm
#3419
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Thousand Oaks, Ca., USA
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat; Bonvoy Titanium Lifetime Elite;Hyatt Globalist; HHonors Diamond; United Silver
Posts: 8,315
Having stayed at both and seen a lot of other Hawaii hotels, i'd say the Andaz is popular because all the chain hotels (and a lot of the non-chain hotels) in Hawaii have that old, large, impersonal feel to them. The Andaz is small, relatively very new, and has a good vibe to it. Relative to everything else available in Hawaii, this does rate well ahead of the rest and thus the hype. Agree that compared to other Cat 7 properties, not a stunner. But part of the high price of the Andaz here is related to its relative convenience to a large pool of Hyatt members. However long it took you to get to Maui, it would have taken twice as long to get to the Maldives...
I’m sure I might have felt differently with poor service and a poor room, but I’m surprised that some think this is just an average beach resort.
Last edited by beachfan; Dec 12, 2019 at 9:11 pm