Wailea Beach Resort - Marriott, Maui

“Awesome family-friendly resort that punches far above its weight class!”

I am rating this property based on 13 specific criteria on a 1-10 scale: 1. Overall rating and vibe: 10. Awesome family-friendly resort with great vibes, incredible ocean views, and strong value for your money. Rooms could be renovated to be larger, and have much larger bathrooms and more Hawaii-… more

I am rating this property based on 13 specific criteria on a 1-10 scale: 1. Overall rating and vibe: 10. Awesome family-friendly resort with great vibes, incredible ocean views, and strong value for your money. Rooms could be renovated to be larger, and have much larger bathrooms and more Hawaii-specific decor, but the public areas, pools, waterslides, and staff here are 10/10! 2. Service: 10. Every single staff member with whom we interacted over our 3 days here showed genuine “Aloha Spirit." While the service is not as intuitive or seamless as the Four Seasons, it is still extremely elevated and made us feel more like we were staying at a luxury-branded Marriott property (e.g., St. Regis, Edition, or Ritz-Carlton). 3. Room: 8.5. The room had a gorgeous oceanfront view and gorgeous Instagram-worthy sundeck. However, it also had low ceilings and a small bathroom (with no bathtub, no separate WC, and only a single sink). With renovations that expanded the rooms in size, this place would be a St. Regis/Edition, because everything else about the property exudes true luxury. 4. Complimentary amenities: 10. Many complimentary amenities in stark contrast to neighbor "Grand" Wailea which offers ZERO. At check-in, adults and Keiki are greeted with leis, chilled POG juice, and chocolate bars. The resort has a long list of complimentary activities. Sunscreen by the pools is complimentary. Kids under 5 eat free. The front desk offers complimentary daily amenities, often chocolate bars. Complimentary fresh fruit and extra bottled water was delivered to our room upon check-in (along with a card) to recognize my milestone birthday. There is a great, complimentary arcade room which my 3 kids LOVED. 5. Pools: 10. Amazing pools. 3 oceanfront infinity pools (2 of which are adult-only), plus the family-friendly Nalu adventure pool. The only change I would recommend is to switch the adult-only status of the Maluhia and Ohi pools so that the family-friendly pools (Nalu and Maluhia) and the adult-only pools (Ohi and Olakino) are located next to each other. 6. Cabanas: 9.5. Incredible service at the cabana we rented next to Nalu pool. The only reason I do not give a 10/10 rating here is that $400 is a bit steep, when compared to neighbor competitors Four Seasons (free cabanas) and Fairmont ($300 cabanas). However, compared to the neighbor “Grand” Wailea’s WILD price-gouged ($3,600+tax) cabanas, $400 per day seems reasonable! 7. Waterslides: 11. The Nalu adventure pool has 4 waterslides. 2 of them are big and have 48” height minimums. The other two are small and perfect for 2-5 year olds. The Big Kahuna was by far my favorite of all the resorts in Wailea we stayed at on this trip. At 325 feet, it is also the longest resort waterslide in ALL of Hawaii. The Wailea Wipeout is for thrill-seekers. By contrast, the Big Kahuna offered a calm ride so approachable that even my 71-year-old parents LOVED it! 8. Cleanliness: 9.5. Excellent cleanliness throughout the resort. The only deduction here is because housekeeping here is only ONCE daily, meaning they do not provide any evening turndown service (which is standard at the Fairmont and Four Seasons). 9. Family friendliness: 10. The Arcade is a massive hit with kids, but there’s also the Nalu adventure pool with its waterslides and waterfall-showered grotto, as well as life-sized chess, corn hole, etc. Extremely family-friendly resort! 10. Dining: 8. Superb service and food at Kapa for dinner. Exceptional service and food at Humble Market Kitchen for breakfast buffet, which includes GF pancakes and waffles, which were a huge hit with my 2 Celiac kids. However, when we ate dinner at Humble Market Kitchen, the service was austere and lacking in “aloha spirit,” and the food quality was underwhelming. 11. Luxury: 9. Everything about this property exudes luxury and is very design-forward, except for the undersized, austere rooms. If this property renovated its rooms to be 1.5-2x larger, its bathrooms to be 3-4x larger and include tubs, separate WCs, and dual vanities, and raised the ceilings by 1.5x height, it would easily qualify to be re-branded as a St. Regis, Edition, or Ritz-Carlton property as opposed to a standard, 4-star Marriott. This resort has rightfully earned the AAA Four Diamond Award and Forbes 3-star (“Recommended”) rating. With the above room renovations, this property would be worthy of AAA Five Diamond status, and would be on the cusp of Forbes 4 or 5 stars, as well as Michelin 1-2 keys. 12. Room for improvement: 9. Three ideas for improvement: (1) switch the “adult-only” status of Maluhia and Ohi pools such that the neighboring Olakino and Ohi pools are adult-only, and the neighboring Maluhia and Nalu pools are family-friendly. (2) Train dinner servers at Humble Market Kitchen to exude more “aloha” warmth. (3) Renovate the rooms and bathrooms to be much larger. 13. Value for Families with Kids: 10. Incredible value for families with kids, in stark contrast to the neighbor “Not Grand” Wailea, which offers ZERO value to its “guests."

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“Wonderful resort, fantastic staff and gorgeous views”

We had a wonderful week-long stay and would absolutely recommend this hotel. The property was clean, spacious, and very well maintained. The grounds are beautiful, with a walking path and stunning ocean views that made it easy to relax and enjoy the setting. Every staff member we interacted with wa… more

We had a wonderful week-long stay and would absolutely recommend this hotel. The property was clean, spacious, and very well maintained. The grounds are beautiful, with a walking path and stunning ocean views that made it easy to relax and enjoy the setting. Every staff member we interacted with was warm, friendly, and attentive. The pool areas were well stocked with plenty of towels and chairs, which made our days there easy and stress-free. There are several on-site dining options. While they are on the pricier side, we found that to be consistent with most places on the island. The shuttle service to nearby restaurants and the golf course was a great perk and made getting around very convenient. Two employees truly made our stay exceptional. Paige, who served us twice in the restaurant and once at the pool, went out of her way to make our kids feel special and included. She was incredibly warm and engaging—we were always happy to see her. In fact, we changed our dinner plans on our last night just so we could dine where she was working because our kids were so excited to see her again. Arman at the front desk also went above and beyond to help with a request, and did so with genuine kindness and professionalism. His friendliness really stood out. We loved our stay and would happily return.

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“A Delightful Maui Resort Hotel”

This is a wonderful resort hotel. It is in a delightful setting close to shops and restaurants. Families will find it enjoyable. Friendly and helpful staff are a plus. A delightful costal trail is very popular. Shuttle service is available. Room quality is up to Marriott standards for a resort dest… more

This is a wonderful resort hotel. It is in a delightful setting close to shops and restaurants. Families will find it enjoyable. Friendly and helpful staff are a plus. A delightful costal trail is very popular. Shuttle service is available. Room quality is up to Marriott standards for a resort destination and the pools and grounds are well maintained.

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“Very nice-The Olakino Pool for adults only a must!”

The Marriott Wailea was very nice and huge! It was in a great location next door to the Grand Wailea Hotel. Beautiful beach walking path to all the hotels including the Four Seasons and the Fairmont. The Wailea Mall is also walkable with limited shops. The Marriott has a free shuttle to many area… more

The Marriott Wailea was very nice and huge! It was in a great location next door to the Grand Wailea Hotel. Beautiful beach walking path to all the hotels including the Four Seasons and the Fairmont. The Wailea Mall is also walkable with limited shops. The Marriott has a free shuttle to many area restaurants. We had an ocean front room that was comfortable and clean nothing extradionary. The best part of our stay was the new wellness spa pool Olakino. You pay extra per day or 1/2 day. Adults only, plush lounge chairs, big umbrellas, personal service, your water glass is never empty. The staff was incredible and knew you by your first name. Gorgeous view, live music, 2 passed snacks. Yes it comes with a price tag but well worth the price of admission. Cheers to the incredible staff at this pool! I traveled with my husband and another couple no children. But if you are traveling with kids there was a tremendous amount of activities for them. The food selection on the property was great-Starbucks, pizza and 2 other restaurants on site.

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