I have at least some of the cocktail menu photographed and will share it once we get back home and settled. They really were amazing drinks.

It is absolutely a farm to table kitchen, but your guess is as good as mine if that means absolutely everything falls under that umbrella, or whether that is simply what they strive for when possible.

Huge thumbs up on the yumminess scale for the meals we had in the restaurant (breakfast and dinner), but outside of the Diamond breakfast benefit just be aware you are paying for what you get. Many entrees were close to $40 and the small plates were often around $20.

Tons more info on my site coming once I get home and organized, but happy to try and answer questions if anyone has them in the meantime.

Oh, and we did not hear any Hawaiian music in our room nor did we find it loud or offensive, but if you want silence by the main pools that probably won't happen. I would call the vibe upscale relaxed Hawaiian chic...or something like that.

Re: cocktails
They are good, but the bartenders are still reading from recipe cards. It seems like they know how to make the recipes and the few we tried were good, however, great cocktails require frequent invention and using what is local/in season. It's not clear they have anyone on staff to do that since they outsourced the menu, but maybe I am underestimating.

If you have had craft cocktails elsewhere in major cities like San Francisco or Boston, you will probably not be impressed (especially from a value perspective).

Also, the drinks are all very measured so you are not getting a lot of alcohol for your money.

They allow 2 + 2 in the King + double rooms iirc, I have some bookings for December. Ironically, Suites have a 2 person max atm per GP.

Just wanted to followup after a few days stay....

The morning to night music was just on Saturday and I'm not sure if it was a weekend thing or if enough people spoke up to have it restricted til only the evenings. The evening music I actually find enjoyable but it was the morning/midday music which was a bit obstructive to reading a deeper book or even just sitting on the balcony to enjoy the scenery. Whatever it was the past few days were very pleasant to have the tasteful music kick on only as the sun was going down.

This Hyatt certainly had the pick of staff not just on the island but throughout the Hyatt organization as everyone we encountered was incredibly helpful and equally thrilled to be a part of the opening as the guests. Part of why my wife and I enjoy staying at Hyatts is the staff is consistently excellent across most all hotels and this is certainly no different, only perhaps they're more outgoing due to the initial high staff/guest ratio. Part of the shock that they were so outgoing initially was that we were in France most recently where the opposite attitude rules (non-Hyatt of course).:D

Thus far it's not a party atmosphere but the hotel concept is something that doesn't exist elsewhere on the island, not simply a W type but a little more upscale and sophisticated than that. I think the Andaz Maui fulfills a niche that is in high demand and will be very successful going forward. If someone wants a very quiet property this isn't necessarily it but they could accommodate it if requested.

The Kitchen opened very strongly with unique, locally oriented dishes and I hope it continues to uphold the standards. The hotel I most frequently stay at, St. Regis in Singapore, also opened strong but the current standards are nothing like when it opened due to economics taking precedence and corners cut but I think this Andaz Maui will be better positioned to resist a downward slide in standards.

Just returned from a 3 night stay.. Overall the service was great. I was not offered a diamond amenity, but I am following up with the hotel regarding this. As many others have noted, the issues with the blinds and lights are real. They blinds (black out shades and sheer) have a mind of their own and open/close all the time on their own. At one point in the middle of the night I turned the thermostat up and all the lights turned on and the blinds started going up as well.

Still some kinks to work out. I visited the spa yesterday and had the entire place to myself. It was quite nice.

Come my stay (November), if I haven't seen a post regarding a fix, we'll leave the blinds up when we go to sleep, and just close them right before sunrise... we won't sleep much later than that. We often do that at home when we want to maximize the airflow through the windows, or hear the sound of the outdoors when we go to bed.

Just to give some perspective, our blinds worked perfectly, so I don't think this is impacting all rooms. However, we were awake before the sun pretty much every day anyway.

Our only service related issues were a man who came by to collect our room service trays each morning although we never had room service. He seemed quite confused by this. I'm also not 100% sure what we got that counted as the diamond amenity. There was what seemed to be a welcome amenity in the room when we arrived, and then we requested the amenity and were told it would be a bento box the next day. However, wine and drinks appeared the next day. We were fine with that, but I'm not 100% sure what the Diamond amenity was. They seem to have just one amenity choice per day.

The evening drinks at 5 in the lobby are worth stopping in for. They were tasty and free. Three days a week the GM is at the evening drinks and their are supposedly some appetizers there those days.

What is the beach like/snorkeling?

Glad to hear they had a come to Jesus moment because we had NO Hawaiian music and we certainly had loud techno! Most of the music was generic crap. Good to know that the powers that be caught on quickly.

Now, can anyone who's stayed there tell me they found the chairs on the room lanai, comfortable? I'm truly curious.

As to the Ka'ana Kitchen, perhaps it depends on where and how you usually eat, but in my opinion, the compressed watermelon salad for $15+ wasn't and the three tiny pork meatballs for $16+ were not "dumplings" or very good. The flatbread from the Mokapu Market, on the other hand, was tasty and filling after our expensive non-meal.

I don't know how snorkeling would be, but the beach was fantastic! Uncrowded, gorgeous sand and easy access in the ocean.
We were told that the umbrellas are already not working correctly and new ones need to be ordered.
I got the distinct impression that many of the aspects of this hotel came from corporate, well outside the realm of reality in Hawaii.

I did not find the chairs on the patio comfortable. I found them odd and not comfortable. Not horrible... but not great either.

I found the beach to be very nice. Not a huge surf and nice enough to go wading for a few hours. We were offered chairs and towels.

I thought the food was priced very highly... breakfast for 2 with 20% tip was $110... realizing that is waived for diamonds is nice... but still very high to pay out of pocket.

Alcoholic drinks? This is a nice touch even just to get some POG (we don't drink) and appetizers.

What are some appetizers and drinks offered?

Alcohol punch the two nights we went. I didn't ever see the apps, but we were told they are there on "manager reception" nights.

For those wondering about snorkeling, I thought it was pretty good. Colorful fish, coral near the rocks, turtles at times (according to others, we didn't see one).

I didn't find the patio chairs super comfortable, but I found the view awesome. ;)

It amazing how many people, especially those that haven't even been to the Andaz, are complaining so much. I was there the first 6 nights the resort was open and never heard loud techno music. Not even close.

All alcoholic mixed drinks are made with two ounce pours. That is heavy on alcohol so whoever said the drinks didn't give you any value for the money please explain what you mean. If you get a drink at Grand Wailea you are getting 1.5 ounce pours. I know this from experience and because the bartender I got to know at Andaz told me this and he came to Andaz from the Grand Wailea.

This resort had little corporate influence according to the employees I spoke with. They have casual uniforms and when I asked about them I was told the GM hand selected the uniforms which are dresses for the women in the lobby, shirts and Hawaiian shirts or Nike shirts, etc.

The lanai chairs are horrible. My only thought was the cushions just haven't arrived yet but maybe they meant them to be like that??

I said this upthread but the Ka'ana Kitchen for dinner is a waste of money. We spent $100 and literally went to the cafe to fill up after dinner. Regarding breakfast, someone is complaining that the buffet has canteloupe, watermelon, and honey dew because they're crappy and star fruit, papaya, pineapple and guava because they are cheap??? What else would you like? A plum? Name what better fruit there is. I don't see guava and papaya at many restaurants.

And yes, the rooms have 2-inch deep sinks. If that is a deal broker you should find another hotel. I can't understand why someone can't rinse a bathing suit in the tub or shower??? So many complaints it is comical.

This is always a good time to point out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCqm4H3m3Ew

We got cheap salt and two candies as Diamond amenity. Upgraded to deluxe ocean view king. I like the breakfast here, they have everything... Food in general is overpriced, and the cocktails is so so.

P. S. Yesterday ordered Piña Colada and bartender didn't know how to make it...