OMG what a letdown. We are used to the GHK and while this is a newer property and has "swagger," it is way overrated and frankly just not worth the beach or the pool. Save it for the rich kids who want to look cool and claim bragging rights to an elite hotel, not my cup of tea at all. Not going back...

Maybe GHK next year!
 

I will be looking into the GHK for next year! We've never been to Kauai and were considering a return to Big Island but weren't sure where to stay.

Just got back from staying at the Andaz. The hotel was pretty dead the last week. We were upgraded to an ocean view room on the 7th floor. Bags took well over an hour to reach our room. Pretty pathetic when you see that no one else was checking in. It looks like the wood in the bathroom is starting to get some wear and tear.

We had three sources of noise. The first source was from the suite next to us. The doors allow a lot of noise to pass through. It then gets amplified when you lay in bed. I got to hear some pretty interesting phone calls from our older southern belle neighbor. The second source of noise was from something going on above us on the roof (maintenance?). The third source of noise was leaf blowers at 8 am from the gardeners at the condo complex just south of the resort.

There was a maximum of 10-15 people on the beach at any given point. When I went further south to do some snorkeling (far better snorkeling there) there was a huge amount of people there. While it is not allowed... we made our own drinks on the beach. I liked that the staff puts up umbrellas and chairs for you and there is no fighting over spots. I also liked that they provided small cups of sunblock.

From the reviews I thought I was going to see late 20's or early 30's rich kids roaming around. We did not see this beyond couples. There wasn't a party atmosphere and it was pretty quiet and relaxing. I'm not sure what is up with the smell in the elevator? Also, for two days just outside the elevator on the 3 and 5th floor it smelled like dog food.

I had a slight feeling that the hotel is aware of all the negative reviews and is currently putting a small amount of energy to resolve some of the issues with their staff. Checkout was extremely slow. I used the Kilehi option for parking the first night (very easy) and then used valet for the rest of our nights, but the hotel never charged us for valet. I had the front desk double check our bill... but they said that there was no record of us staying over night?

Breakfast each morning was decent. A little hard at times to get a refill on coffee. Talking about coffee.. how about that stale watered down poor excuse of what some might call coffee they serve at breakfast?

The elevators either smelt of citrus or of sweat when we were there!

I believe these were "Andaz scent experiences" lol
The 'sweat-like' smell was appalling.

astro, we are planning on going to Maui Dec.23rd through Jan.2nd and planning on using points as well. We haven't decided on splitting it up between Andaz and Regency or just staying at one or the other the whole time. If you have a chance please tell me your thoughts. Thanks!

I think it is a personal choice. The Andaz is about 30 minutes from the airport and the Hana highway. It is about 1.5 hours to the crater. We stayed for a few nights at the Grand Wailea just down the road from the Andaz. It was definitely a lot larger. Having a big pool area at the Grand Wailea was fun for a day since we wanted to drink and relax. The food in the town Wailea left a lot to be desired.

The rooms at the Andaz are small by my standards. I wouldn't want to put more than two people in a room. Though, I enjoyed the beach at the Andaz since it was not filled with a ton of people and you had more personal attention from the staff. Beyond that I think that I'd be bored after more than two nights at any resort. We were really blown away by the drive after the Nakalele blowhole where the road gets very narrow and the views become more breathtaking. For us a resort was great for a few days of relaxing, but after that it seemed like a waste when all we needed was a place to sleep since we were exploring things on the island.

You could split your time up between the two. Spend two nights at the Andaz and gets some beach time in, visit the crater, do some snorkeling on property... Then head up north and check into the HR and do sightseeing around that area. I have read a lot of comments on FT about people preferring the north part of the island vs doing the road to Hana.

Thanks for the response! My wife and I have been to Maui before but this time we are bringing our 12 year old twins. Last time we stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua.

We've done 2 split stays between the Andaz and Regency (and a split stay between the Regency and Marriott Wailea before the Andaz opened)

I'd definitely recommend a split stay even with children. I like the variety.

The Regency has the club lounge so for diamonds this is a good deal.. and fewer points!

Your twins will probably like the pools, penguin feeding, parrots, etc at the Regency. Lots of food options nearby.

I agree with astro that Maui is worth exploring rather than spending all your time at a resort. Snorkle, whale watch, visit Haleakala.

Both hotels have very small spas if that's a factor.

Maybe I got lucky or things have changed but I was able to book on C&P today for a 6 night stay in late October. Has anybody else been able to book on C&P lately?

Nothing available Sept-Oct-Nov if you're talking Andaz Maui.
Just hung up the phone with the agent in Omaha.
How did you get it? Must be luck. Good for you.

Just booked 7 nights in September using all points. I returned from a visit last week and I agree with others who have issues with the size of the room and quirky design. However, I think the property is beautiful and the food and beverage service is outstanding. I particularly liked being served lunch at my chaise poolside. My husband and I always split our lunch (portions are very large) and the plates were divided in the kitchen which I thought was a nice touch. Servers at the pool also were good about offering free refills on iced tea. Another plus is SHADE. Umbrellas were plentiful. No reason to book a cabana.

I assume you weren't in a suite? Or didn't use points to confirm a suite?

Always check back regularly online and by phone
I have seen glitches online and then booked by phone or been told no by phone and booked it online
Inventory changes hourly and daily
There were no awards for Andaz 5th Ave for my May dates two days ago
Booked earlier this evening^
YMMV! :)

A few quick notes:

1) The wagyu burger for lunch is pretty good and they will split it for you if you want to share it. The kids portion isn't really worth it because it's about 1/2 the size and doesn't come with fries so by the time you add fries, it's only a little bit cheaper and the portions are much smaller.

The burger at Morimoto for lunch is better and slightly cheaper but you can't eat it poolside.

2) The laundry room is in the hallway near the rooms in the building next to the adult pool. The detergent and everything is free but some of the machines have minor issues due to people who are just plain stupid (someone put liquid detergent into the drum of the dryer, etc.).

3) The beach area is pretty small and not really kid friendly. It's about a 10-15 min walk to wailea beach if you want a big wide beach for kids.

In what way is Mokapu Beach (the beach immediately in front of the property, and where the property has it's activities "desk" and it's chairs/umbrellas) or Ulua Beach (the beach immediately to the south of Mokapu) not kid friendly, or any less friendly than Wailea (the beach immediately to the south of Ulua)? I would say they all have equal slope and depth (maybe Wailea is widest sea line to end of sand).

IMO they're all equally kid friendly, and if anything Mokapu is (if forced to rank with no tie) the most kid friendly due to it's smallest size and typically fewest visitors and least visitor/user density.

I agree, the beach was piratically empty (5-15 people max) last week. Ulua Beach on the other hand had a ton of people. I will say that Ulua side had better snorkeling.

Just returned from 16 days in the islands. 4 nights at Andaz with Diamond upgrade to Ocean front suite. 6th floor, ocean view end suite. Hotel was nice and new. Check in was odd and drawn out. No "hotel uniform" so it was hard to know who was working and who was relaxing. Infinity pools were neat, and we could watch whales jump in the ocean.
Too many kids running around unchecked by their parents, at the pools, in the halls, and at the restaurants. Temper tantrums abound. They must of left their aux pairs at home.
The Andaz is very "glitzy" and pretentious. Its THE place to be seen.
Not what I had envisioned for Hawaii.
We spent 6 nights at the Grand Hyatt in Kauai and were MUCH happier. its a nicer "Hawaiian" hotel, better pools, better service, better food.

Thanks but I was responding to the following thread:

"Originally Posted by bearcatsbucs2
Maybe I got lucky or things have changed but I was able to book on C&P today for a 6 night stay in late October. Has anybody else been able to book on C&P lately?"

Surely we're interested if the Points & Cash are back at Andaz Maui or if this is just a glitch.

Diamond Suite Upgrade
 

To use a Diamond Suite Upgrade, the required room is a Pool Side Suite. The room type is showing available on other websites for my two nights, but Hyatt only shows availability for one of the nights. Even though the third party site (visasignaturehotels.com) shows the room available, they won't let me extend my DSU.

This place really stinks. Would it really kill them to extend the DSU for one more night?

Is it?

I thought it was POV suite? Thats what confirmed my booking although the beating this place seems to get does make me slightly nervous.

I would check with GP to confirm.

More importantly surely though is the issue of C&P being potentially back on.

Any more news?

GP keeps telling me it's only Pool Side Suite. I really think that changed from earlier in the year.

When they denied me a P+C booking a few months ago and we learned of the news of them pulling the benefit promised across every other Hyatt branded property, I made it my mission to find a BRG rate, which I was successful in doing. So instead of $450 a night, BRG brought it down to $305 per night. P+C would have been 12,500+$150, so I'm getting a much better deal now anyway.

They need to stop being so difficult. If they don't agree with the rate that Hyatt GP is paying them for subsidized rooms/suites, then they should take the Andaz name off of the building and become independent.

So you want them to offer you a room they are not even selling (for cash) on their own site?

Availability is one of the factors, if you like it or not. Whatever deal 3rd parties have and what they offer (probably pre-paid to Hyatt already) is not relevant here.

Care to divulge which site you used to secure a BRG?

A slightly different take - my family and I were quite happy with the Andaz Maui. After reading the reviews above I was a little concerned with bringing 2 small children and getting a second room for the grandparents.

We used C&P and were upgraded to the pool side suite with a DSU.

Breakfast worked out well and they allowed the grandparents to also have breakfast with us, along with the 2 kids, for a total of 6 people. Kids get access to the full buffet, adults have the limited version.

The overall service at the Andaz was very prompt and any issues (fitness instructor didn't show up for my wife's bootcamp session, snorkel / kayak instructor was an hour late arriving, billing errors at checkout) were resolved on the spot and they went over and above to take care of us.

The free Hyatt Kids club on site from 9am-3pm was something we would use a couple hours a day and my daughter was constantly asking to go back!

We used the "kihei" option for parking. No problems finding parking spots and no vandalism, tickets, etc.

Thats Island Time for you! Anyone else think the outrigger boat dude was high?

Lack of uniform seems crazy! Did you have a drink / Bite at the Four Seasons a short walk away, I just LOVE this hotel even though it is an older style FS!

Haha... You must have had a different guide than we did! The guide for our August 2014 outrigger ride was very good, and sober. It was an early morning ride so maybe he just hadn't had a chance to partake in the "island offerings" just yet.

Michael
http://thehoneymoonguy.com

Too many squares here... most could never tell the difference between someone (a guide) that has smoked a little or hasn't. People who work in an office (other than military or others that are tested) probably have co-workers that smoke each day (during the day) and don't have any clue of it.

It's not similar to alcohol or heroin or pills.

Wondering if anyone has any recent experience here not as a Diamond (ideally with Amex FHR).

Just a Hyatt Plat, but stayed at the hotel and loved it last March. Considering going back in May for a babymoon with the wife since we had such a great time previously but a little worried by some of the recent reviews. Has there really been a drop off in service or, just more of a scaling back of the level of perks given to Diamonds?

Since Amex FHR currently has a fourth night free and the pool suite is only $624 (effectively $469 since we'd do exactly four nights since that works out well with what we could get for saver award flights) planning on doing that.

If we do go that route I think I'd like to try and push for an upgrade at checkin (Amex FHR + Hyatt Plat + Special Occasion + Lower Season should hopefully give us a somewhat decent chance of getting kicked up) to something with more of a view but was wondering if people thought that was worth it (not sure if the partial view suites are better than the pool based on experiences of others) and, if we do end up with a pool suite if there are particular room numbers we should make sure to avoid.

Thanks!

EDIT: I assume the FHR breakfast is the same full breakfast and not the new reduced breakfast but if anyone has confirmation with that as well would be great!

Recent but short stay here everything was good.

Room was nice, had some issues with AC but quick call to FD had engineering there within minutes. FD staff was attentive and provided great service (I asked if they knew where I could buy some rice to dry out a wet phone and they delivered a bag to my room). Valet staff was quick and helpful.

Property was clean and room was clean as well. Great views, nice amenities in the room, and food was good (nothing outstanding, though never had dinner here).

Overall good stay, and got what I paid for.

Will P&C ever come back 😢

So we called into Hyatt to ask a few questions about booking with points for our trip to Maui from Dec.23rd-Jan.2nd. After speaking with the Hyatt rep on the phone she told us the Hyatt Regency wouldn't be available until Dec. 28th but we could stay at the Andaz from the 23rd-28th and then the Regency the last 5 days which was fine because we wanted to stay at both properties. We told her we would call back the next day after we talked about things and moved some chase ultimate reward points to our Hyatt account. We call back the next day and the rep tells us we have to stay a total of 10 days at one property or the other when booking with points over Christmas. Has anyone heard of this?

Andaz Maui REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
 

Seems excessive, but minimum stay during peak times is nothing new.

A ten day minimum stay is absurd. I've seen two or three day minimum stay requirements elsewhere but not ten. Perhaps that agent was mistaken.

Andaz Maui REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
 

Around Xmas and NYE I've seen 5 nights as well....

And beach resorts probably can use a minumum stay otherwise some of the nights will end up with a low occupancy. But 10 does seem excessive, try booking a paid stay and see what happens then.

But the property has the option to exclude a few peak periods a year for points redemption. So if 10 nights is a way to get a room on points during that time it's still better than not offering at all.

We would be perfectly happy with 5 nights at each property, that is actually what we were hoping for.

I'm wondering if this 10 night minimum stay has been extended into 2016 as well. I've been checking multiple times per day for the past month or so for reward availability in Jan or Feb 2016. There is not one day available. What is weird is there is not a single paid day available in the standard room for either month either.

Has anyone ever come across this? I'm wondering if there is a system error or if the hotel truly is sold out for standard rooms.

Thanks!

So we called back again and for whatever weird/dumb reason they would allow us to spend 2 nights at the Andaz and 8 night at the Regency. We were hoping more 5/5 but at least we will get a couple nights at the Andaz. It seems like every time you call back you get different rules but I guess when booking with points beggers can't be choosers. Now to book the flight:)

Why would you call anyway for a simple points booking?

know from the past that Andaz Maui has a minimum stay requirement around Xmas.. and that's why they'd allow you to stay there up till 12/25 cause after that date is when they start having minimums... also they might not have award availability...
BTW please be aware of the cancellation policy that Andaz imposes for around Xmas time == think it might be 90 days before and if later it's a one or two night fee... and for the Andaz rack Xmas basic room (which can be the garden - parking lot view -- even for Diamonds) is in the $500 per night...
Good luck.