beachfan

Wailea is sooo much nicer than Kanapali.

Cmag211

Thanks, all. This is a ton of great feedback.

I just checked our reservation and not only did I book the Andaz before new pricing went into play, but it’s off peak at only 25,000pts per night which I had forgotten.

edit - we also get in the first night at ~6p and we don’t want to switch our flight as we were lucky enough to secure D1 seats with our upgrade certs

zzrayzz

I think should just book a 'cheap' option (from like priceline) for day 1. I think there are options for like $300. I mean you'll save $1000 and you can use that towards other stuff for the trip. Day 1 is going to be a wasted day anyways.

Seagull689

yes, BUT there is nothing cheap in Maui at the moment. A $300 Priceline hotel would be absolute crap. These people are doing 1 week at the andaz. They have certain standards 🤙

dgross

I agree. Even without Priceline, you can get a room at the Days Inn By Wyndham in Kihei for $300 or the Kohea Kai Maui, Ascend Hotel Collection for $285. You arrive in the evening, save the money and move to the Andaz first thing in the morning. The Andaz has the Ohana Lounge available for you to change \ shower before your room becomes available.

Cometstar

I had such a great trip to Maui in May that I'm planning to go back at the end of September. I had found low peak award nights at cat 7 before the category change. Unfortunately in May we got caught between 2 large swells for most of our 2 week trip back then so didn't get to do much snorkeling by the resort and it also limited our use of paddle boarding, outrigger. I had heard so much about the reef in front of the Andaz from this thread! The one day we went was pretty poor visibility. We also got diving certified so hoping to do that on this trip too.

Did anyone go in September of prior years and do you remember how the ocean/snorkeling conditions were? I know in the summer the swells are from the south so I'm worried now that we again won't get good conditions on this trip (one of our reasons for picking the Andaz vs other properties). Definitely will be driving to other parts of the island for more snorkeling/diving but would be nice to go right out from the resort! Thanks

canyonleo

The swells, no matter from which direction (seasonal), are hit and miss. September is traditionally quite good for snorkeling Ulua (likely better than Nov-Jan, not as good as Apr-Jul, as a general guess). Further, I've seen days where Ulua was the best of the south side locations (for example, hit Dumps, Makena, Maluaka, Chang/Poloalenalena, and leave each due to vis but then find Ulua ok).

I frequently do Sep-Nov timeframe, and sometimes the water is calm all day, other times only the morning can be snorkeled and it's whitecaps come afternoon, other times it's a storm.
So, I'd say you just had bad luck with the swell.

beachfan

Last thanksgiving , calm in the early morning, half the days with whitecaps in the afternoon,

king_noro

Wife and I will be here this time next week! So excited. It's our first time at any sort of fancy resort like this. We already have quite a robust itinerary, but if there's any activity / restaurant / 'thing to do' nearby that you would recommend, please share!

platbrownguy

If/when you tire of fancy meals, go to Tamura's (the liquor store) at lunch time and try a few kinds of poke from the poke counter. Cheap and outstanding, I could eat it every day. My wife says the same about the shave ice at Ululani's (any location is fine), particularly with the macadamia ice cream on the bottom and lilikoi on top.

Enjoy!

canyonleo

Tamura's has cut back their selection by about 1/2 (as of last year). I'm the "dinner is a picnic of poke while watching the sunset on the beach" type, and while Tamura's is good I don't think it's all that much better than the good stuff from the better grocery stores or the fast market (like an ABC) in the shopping mall parking lot.

platbrownguy

That is super sad to hear. We were there in Jan 2021 and despite covid it was still going strong. I just looked and the Kahului location appears to be permanently closed!

The Wailuku location, however, appears to be open and was my favorite. (The Kihei one near the Andaz was good but I wonder if the Wailuku location has also cut back? If not, it would be worth the 30 min drive IMO.)

broncophil

I know some Hyatt’s are sticklers. Will they honor breakfast for both my rooms?

also, do you know if the Courtesy Cars are operating right now?


thx.

datch

Checked out on Thursday
The courtesy cars are operating
I had two rooms as well but I gave GOH to a family member in the other room

Cometstar

where did you take the courtesy cars to?