Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

9107 reviews

• 

  A large hotel that comes with service to match. High extra fees.

  It’s not inexpensive to stay in Wailea, but it’s a wonderful part of the island, and at the Grand Wailea you are right along the beach, have a large water area for kids (which is why you would want to come here v other hotels in in the area), and good access to other resorts (to visit, dine, consider staying in the future…) and the mall. The service is very much hit or miss, and is about what one could expect for a massive hotel. Downsides are with this Hilton (ok, Waldorf), you may have to wait in line to do basic things like get towels, where you are limited to the number you can get (one morning we waited 15 minutes in line just to get our limit of 4 towels), depending on when you arrive in the morning (we would arrive at 9…they had just 1 employee helping everyone arriving at that desk). You can’t simply grab a couple towels and go - as nice as that would be (it’s like the valet parking…would be nice to just get my car myself...more on that below). If you are staying less than four days, you need to check in for kids every day to get them a new wristband to use at the pool. So no jumping right in and playing. And what we would rather disappointing - the water slides and lazy river don’t turn on until 10:30…that’s HI time, so do you are coming from CA (or farther east), your kids will have to wait until after noon PT to enjoy those. The pools are open earlier, but no water slides, lazy water flow, or rope swing. Most of the lounge chairs are zip-tied together, so you won’t be spaced out from others around the water park. Again, not surprising at a resort of this size. A number of dining options which is useful, and other hotels nearby as well with additional options. Our room was fairly updated, though parts of the exterior overall look tired. Bring your earplugs if you are a light sleeper - we could clearly hear people in the room next to us through the adjoining doors (that setup allows for families to book connecting rooms). Overall, it is an experience that is much in line with an extremely large hotel and you lose a lot of of the flexibility that you would have if staying somewhere else. At the snack store there was one person who is taking and making orders at 9AM, so the line took nearly 30 minutes to get food. Why Hilton has allocated just one person to the task I can't say, but they were working as fast as they could. Let's talk about extra fee$ Offensive nightly fee for parking - no self park, so it’s $75/nt. After calling the valet in advance of leaving the room to ask for our car, it took 21 minutes to get the car the first night and 24 minutes the second (yup…I even timed it…everything takes so long I wanted to see exactly). it may or may not help to even call in advance for your car. I advise going down to ask for your car, then going and getting ready back in your room, and then coming back to get your car. I can’t think of another way that doesn’t involve waiting a while. Yes, you could skip renting a car and grab a cab from the hotel and then keep grabbing cabs all over the island if you explore, but if you’re someone who would like the flexibility of going on a hike, visiting some of the towns whenever you like, out for meals in different locations, then you suffer at the con$equences. It's beyond me why they can't offer the ability for customers to self-park - the lot is just steps from the front door to the hotel, and would offer (presumably) cost savings as well as the ability to get the car without waiting. Comparison parking prices at other hotels as reference (the Grand Wailea is the highest, more than the Four Seasons, Hyatt and Marriott by a wide margin): Marriott: $59 valet/$45 self-park Hyatt Andaz: $59 (valet only) Four Seasons $55 (valet only) Then there is the required “resort fee” which is another $55/nt. And doesn’t matter if you are a Hilton Honors member. Plus the pleasure of faster (streaming) internet access will run you another fee (can’t recall the amount, I declined and just went with the free version - I recall the faster internet being offered at a very high price, but only saw the screen once upon logging in...it might have been $29?). Other hotel resort fees as reference: Marriott unknown resort fees/$19 high speed internet. Hyatt Andaz $50 Four Seasons $0 If you’re considering here, the decision will probably rest of if you are OK paying all the fees in exchange for a hotel with a water “park” in Wailea.

  Dec 13, 2025
• 

  Wouldn’t go back

  My husband planned a last min trip in Dec. 2025 to get away begore Christmas. I was so excited to go back to Hawaii. We went to Maui this time and stayed at the Wailea Grand Resort. The location was great. Beautiful view of the beach with easy access. However, plan on sitting on the sand if you don’t want to pay something outrageous to use one of their loungers. I think they told me it was like $120 or $150 to rent one for the day! I’ve never been to a resort that charges you to sit in a plastic chair by the water. I ended up at the pool (they let you sit in those for free), I have a bad back and can’t sit on the ground all day. There’s a lot of different pools so that’s nice, and they do have an adult pool if you want peace and quiet. The pools definitely need renovated, along with the rest of the place. The pools were kinda dirty and missing tiles. The whole place was pretty dirty actually. It was like surface clean. Like they sweep once a week but don’t actually mop to get the cakes on dirt. There was paint chipping and dirt in cracks, corners and on the walls. We definitely expected it to be way nicer for the price! Speaking of the cost…everything is so expensive! We’re big foodies so we don’t mind paying if it’s worth it. However, this place was ridiculous! I’m talking like $30 min for one cocktail that doesn’t have much alcohol in it! We’re drinkers too so we know how much the alcohol is and what that drink is worth. I understand everything’s a little more expensive at a resort, but when two drinks just bought the whole bottle you poured from, that’s insane! They wanted $75 for a single shot of tequila. It was a higher end tequila but the whole bottle new is only $160. The restaurants all close early…like 9:00 pm. Even room service! Most places have 24 hour room service. The food was subpar at all the restaurants. Not worth the money in our opinion. We went to NOBU the first night we were there. It was good but we found a better sushi restaurant in town that was way better and way cheaper! NOBU wanted $26 for one piece of tuna nigiri and you had to order at least two pieces to order it. The place in town had it for $10 a piece. The second night we went to the steakhouse on the resort. Again, it was ok, but not worth the price. We went into town the rest of the week. There’s a shopping center with a lot of great restaurants in it. There’s a Wolfgang Pucks that we went to…still expensive but worth it at least. There’s also a Ruth Chris steakhouse and Tommy Bahamas which were all good. The shopping center is in walking distance from the resort so that’s great if you don’t have a car. We rented a car but weren’t informed of the $75 a day parking valet. There is no other option but to use the valet for parking. We were under the assumption from whoever we spoke with when we booked the trip that the parking was included with the extra resort fee they charge daily. All the employees were great. Everyone was super pleasant and helpful. Most of them had said they had been working there for years. The grounds and landscaping was beautiful. You can tell the workers put a lot of effort into it. We definitely wouldn’t stay there again though. It just wasn’t worth the money in our opinion. We’ve been all over and stayed at way nicer upscale resorts for half the price.

  Dec 08, 2025
• 

  Worlds Best Pools!

  Beautiful grounds and pools! This hotel is awesome! They have the best pool setup in the world. All of the pools are heated and the slides are awesome! Lhen at the front desk was very nice when checking us in. Jake was the bellman who helped us out at check in and check out. Jake was awesome, he went above and beyond. He did a great job! I would definitely recommend this hotel to anybody who is looking for a nice place to stay in Maui The only downside of the hotel is that the food prices are very expensive but its to be expected in paradise.

  Dec 07, 2025
• 

  Not What It Once Was

  It is pretty appalling how downhill the experience here has gone since we were last here in 2019. I have no doubt this is in no small part due to the general manager Wendle Lesher. Wendle is very condescending, rude, and unwilling to provide any help. We are currently staying here for a very special occasion, and nothing at all was done to commemorate the occasion…not even so much as a note in the room even though we made it clear. We did get a room upgrade, which was expected as both Hilton Gold and Amex Platinum members…not some sort of special favor as they were trying to make it seem. The “room service” arrived in a paper bag and paper plates…hardly a 5 star experience. Last time we stayed (and at every other 5 star resort), the food arrived on a table rolled into the room, with real dishes and silverware. The front staff and other staff were also cold on our arrival and in communication prior. Any question or request was treated as an inconvenience. I’m sure this problem is rooted in upper management. The bell desk is an exception, and they’ve been great. It’s mind boggling that you are no longer greeted with leis on arrival. For comparison, we called Four Seasons Maui and asked what the experience there would have been. They informed us you are greeted with leis, kukui nuts, and a small toy for your children. And in room dining would have offered something complimentary to commemorate the occasion along with a sign. We are so displeased with our experience that we have decided to leave the premises for all meals. We will be having brunch at the Four Seasons next door. Next time, we will stay next door.

  Dec 06, 2025
• 

  Fantastic experience at Grand Wilea, with exceptional employees we had to call out! Can't wait to go back!

  My family and I had a wonderful experience at the Gand Wilea the week before Thanksgiving. It was an absolutely beautiful resort and our kids (6 and 8) played for hours in their super fun pools and at the beautiful beach. I've never written a review here but absolutely had to so we could call out two exceptional employees. First, KAREN, one of the lifeguards at the pools, connected with our kids from day 1 and was completely wonderful with them. For the couple of days we got to have her on shift while we were there, she engaged with our kids and was one of the nicest employees we've ever met at any property, let alone a Hilton property. Second, we need to shout out JUIL, who was our server for the day we rented our cabana. She was super warm and bubbly and an excellent server. We felt like we got first class service and had an amazing time in our cabana. When we had Juil over in the regular seating area later in the week she was just as friendly and efficient and we appreciate her service! My only suggestion to the Grand Wilea is to have a kids menu at every restaurant on property. It felt like a family friendly resort but when there's not options for the kids eat, it can make for a more difficult grumpy meal for us parents. Other than that- a fantastic relaxing experience all around and we look forward to coming back!

  Dec 03, 2025