Dettmann1

Does this hotel intentionally block some rooms from award availability? I've been looking at dates in a couple of weeks and they have base rooms for sale, but none available for point redemption. I'm not sure if that's just because they are allowed to with Marriott Rewards, but I've never run into that in the past with Marriott rewards unless its a Platinum force room type deal. In this case, the rooms are available whether I'm logged in or not. It caught me by suprise since I believe early December is usually not peak season either.

escapefromphl

Try opening a new browser, I find Marriott sometime remembers you after you have logged out, so its still showing you the Plat override even though logged out.

Kacee

Unlike Hilton and Hyatt, Marriott does not require that properties make any standard room available for award redemption (Nonetheless, and somewhat counter-intuitively, I find that Marriott overall is better for award availability.)

VCURamFan

Just finished a four night stay here. Was not expecting to be as wowed with this property as I was. The mid century Hawaiian vibe is insanely cool and the stature of the resort is impressive. The rooms were modern, and the service great. The beach was incredible. Had great Sunday Brunch at Manta (did not try bfast on any other days), room service was exceptional for breakfast, and lunch at Copper Bar was well above avg for a beach resort. The Hau Tree beach bar was fun as well, really loved the Grapefruit Mojito. Would like if there were a larger pool or at least an adults only pool.

I would rate this as my #1 favorite Hawaiian resort I've stayed at recently over St Regis Princeville, Koa Kea in Poipu, The Kahala, and Westin Maui.

Started the trip in Maui and ate at Lahaina Grill & Mama's Fish House but found my favorite meals of the trip to be Merrimans in Waimea and Pueo's Osteria in Waikoloa Village.

patmcpsu

I just completed a 4 night stay to attend a wedding on-site. The property is one of the most unique hotels I've ever visited; the scale of everything is massive and they were aggressive-as-possible in incorporating the design trends of the time. Fast-forward to today, and it's a palace dedicated to the 60's. The hotel keeps the furniture and the guestrooms up-to-date, but the common areas are well-preserved in all their 60's glory. I didn't appreciate it at first, but it grows on you, especially after walking through the "Oceanfront" wing which incorporated the same designs on a smaller scale and budget.

There is also eclectic art sprinkled throughout. Trendy by 60's standards and unusual by 2018 standards, but it works. My wife and I especially liked the 1000 year old Buddha statue on top of a staircase that welcomed you into a zen garden:


I booked the base "Golf View" room at the negotiated wedding rate. As a Marriott Gold, I didn't get a room upgrade. They had no problem checking us in around 1pm, but I believe that was just a matter of them providing accommodating service than elite recognition. They did thank me for our loyalty and give me this card at check-in (consistent with wiki):


The room itself was fine - consistent with what you would expect in a business hotel, plus a few bells and whistles. The golf view wasn't bad at all. Some family members booked ocean view rooms, which came with a jaw-dropping view (and price tag).

The beach and pool were enjoyable - the pictures speak for themselves.

Food is what you would expect from a higher-end resort: quality but overpriced. I would routinely drive to Waimea for lunch (Big Island Brewhaus is recommended); the 30 minute drive each way is so beautiful that you won't mind taking it (invest in a convertible if you can). I'm admittedly a cheapskate, and not usually resort-guy, but my relaxation was spoiled by the price-gouging for food/drink onsite.

Finally, I hope you didn't come here to watch TV, but they are currently upgrading the TVs in the rooms and should be complete this week.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the update. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

musicscrip

davidsc111

Just got back from a 7 night points visit. Our treatment was a little disappointing but we had a nice time overall.

Good
The beach is still spectacular...
Interestingly enough for those who have been there, our first morning we went down to Hau Tree and the surf had been so big the night before that sand and debree had washed up all the way onto the concrete floor...I'd never seen it anywhere close to that before.
Food options seem to be improving (as in more options) although prices are still at isolated resort levels.
Beach Club staff were very helpful
Cleaning and nightly turn down staff were great

Less than expected
Even though I'm platinum and regularly do 75+ BIB nights every year (or maybe because of it) I knew it was a points reservation in February so I didn't expect a room category upgrade. We received the Golf View room we booked...as was said earlier in general it was just fine. However, the room they gave us was immediately above the valet area...so cars came and went and people hit their alarm so horns are honking etc. I asked for a same category room but further away from the circle drive and the front desk clerk said they were completely sold out and nothing was available. When we got up to our room she then called back and said she had found a room (must be magic) and she offered me one that was three rooms over on a lower floor but at the other end of the circle drive (so frankly even worse). I had reached out to the resort ahead of time to explain that my wife and I were celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary...apparently it fell on deaf ears. My disappointment isn't that we didn't get a better room category, but that they didn't block us out a room far from the drive...there appeared to be about 20 rooms that would have fit the bill. In fact if I could choose ahead of time I would rather have a regular golf view room far from the valet vs Deluxe golf view right above it. Because I travel so much for work and usually to the same places I don't worry about room placement as much as I should. I ask for a quiet room and they always oblige...not this time. Yes, I did ask for them to find me a room to switch to later in our stay. After the first offer of the worse room I was never contacted by anyone. I did stop by the front desk to inquire about the possibility several times and they had it "in the system" but they found no options. If they were sold out...I guess there were no options but I did see tons of people checking in and out everyday...

We had a small ant trail that was passing through our room on a daily basis. These were the smallest ants I've ever seen and were never a problem but kind of put my wife off. I didn't really care as I've had worse things crawling around a hotel room.

We had toilet issues with one occurring at a very bad time. It was early and I was going scuba diving...my wife was sleeping and I didn't want to leave here with a broken toilet so I had to wake her up. I've never had that issue at a hotel before but I assume it can happen...then several days later the same thing. Not sure what the problem was but very frustrating.

In the end I won't go all Flyertalk and claim our vacation was ruined (it wasn't) because they didn't pamper me as a platinum...It would be nice though to get a consistent experience even when you're at a resort. I probably could've got somewhere if I hounded the front desk or stalked the GM but I was on vacation without the kids and wanted to focus on the time with my wife. I would have appreciated it if the GM (or frankly anyone) had at least reached out to me and explained that Google booked 30 rooms last minute and etc, etc, etc... but nothing...

escapefromphl

My recommendation next time is to book the upgrade for $150 or $200 a night. Emailing and calling ahead and doing the whole wedding anniversary approach has about a 10% chance of succeeding. They get that all the time The manager also has to weigh long time repeat guests who pay $$ year in, year out, vs a Platinum one time on an award stay. If I was manager I know who I would be giving the upgrades to.

Basically all the golf view rooms get the traffic circle noise. The only upgrades from this category is into something ocean facing, so the chances of that are slim, especially for a 7 night stay.

davidsc111

That's fair, although it's not the first time we've been there (3rd) and again I wasn't expecting an upgrade (although we did receive them in the past). My complaint was that there are about 20 rooms that were east of our room that are still considered "golf view" that were not directly above the circle drive. I learned a good lesson. Normally I get taken care of from a room location standpoint (always seeking quite rooms). When we return (and we will) I'll make sure that I speak with their Legacy desk and make sure we get a room on the east side that's all.

My point in explaining it here is so that others who book on points can preemptively contact them to make sure their "golf view" isn't really a driveway view.

patmcpsu

I'll add that my "golf view" room was the 2nd from the west-end (AKA the north-end, depending on how you consider the hotel to be oriented). It was above the guest parking lot, not the circle. While the view overlooked the parking lot, there were some mature trees between to block the sound/view and make it feel more secluded. Although it was less-than-ideal, I still had no problem relaxing on the lanai and room-noise was never an issue.

Also based on my experience, the driveway was pretty quiet during the week but and absolute zoo throughout the weekend. Having a room above the circle may be less of an issue midweek.

As far as the premium for oceanview rooms, I would gladly pay a $150-200/nt premium (and I'm pretty cheap) just because the views are that stunning. However, premiums during my stay were exorbitant (I want to say $500-600/nt).

Hippster

Visited the Mauna Kea for a week in January! I had been there a few times as a child and this was my first time back as an adult. They didn't have TV's in the room back then but do now! Just thought I'd share a few pics from the trip. I splurged and paid for the ocean view in advance as the hotel was otherwise sold out on arrival. The view is well worth it! Did not expect to see whales on several days right from the balcony! Enhanced Internet was free as a Marriott Gold and the speed surprised me. It was faster than most hotels I visit on the mainland!


View from 8th floor Ocean View balcony


Sunset view from inside Manta restaurant


Sunset view from Manta patio


Lobby entrance as seen from circle drive


Whales! View from 8th floor Ocean View balcony

Jim055

Thanks for the review. Same thing is happening to me at the Wailea on Maui. No more Marriott Hawaii resorts for me until the next recession.

hockeyinsider

This is what irks me. Too many hotels fail to recognize that there is a difference between gold, platinum and non-elite Marriott Rewards members. I get that this is a resort and doesn't have to provide any benefits, but if they're going to offer something it should be different based on the status level.

hockeyinsider

What makes this hotel so expensive? The public rates are very, very high.

I'm staying next door at the newly-renovated Westin Hapuna Beach, which is owned by the same Japanese hotel company as the Mauna Kea, Prince Hotels, in August. Rates here are much, much cheaper.