Grand Wailea.....

Is it ever not swarming with kids? I would love to hear from someone who has had an experience with this hotel that didn%26#39;t involve a Disney-esque experience.I realize that there are parents who pull their children out of school, but does it ever settle down there????

For two adults considering a vacation there, the pictures look like absoulte paradise, but then again they don%26#39;t have millions of children running in them(:

Grand Wailea.....

In my experience, the best times to avoid large family crowds at the Grand Wailea are May, October, and the first two weeks of December.

Grand Wailea.....

I%26#39;m in your same position, snowbunny.

My husband and I are going mid Jan and I%26#39;m really hoping there aren%26#39;t too many kids there. From looking at the hotels in Maui, Grand Wailea seems like the best one and I%26#39;m really hoping to book this week. :)

Well that was THE hotel I was going to stay at. I hadn%26#39;t even considered anything else. However, before booking I decided to check out the TA reviews. They are just horrible!! I know everyone has their own ';opinion'; and you have to take everything with a grain of salt, but when every single review says pretty much the same thing, it%26#39;s gotta be true in some fashion. It%26#39;s not what I wanted to stay at.. Too many kids, too big and too far everytime you have to walk anywhere, the nickel and diming, bad service, and the place apparently really needs an update... I just didn%26#39;t really see anything positive about it. It%26#39;s too bad cuz I found great deals on expedia for that place but i%26#39;m not going to book 9 nights and then complain about things that I should have already known before going. I decided on the 4S. It%26#39;s more expensive but when you%26#39;re already spending that kind of cash, what%26#39;s an extra few thousand. ;-)

I agree ........we booked the Grand Wailea and after reading the reviews on TA we changed to FS and we have children but FS ended up cheaper as they had a package for Sept to Nov and included a car rental and breakfast.

Does anyone have information on the renovations at the Grand Wailea?

What is the timetable for the public areas (ie. pools, restaurants, etc.)? According to reports I%26#39;ve read this is the first extensive work since the resort opened in 1991.

The room updates seem to be well underway and I%26#39;ve heard the Napua Tower redo is complete.

Having stayed at the Grand Wailea recently (Sep 3), I can definitely tell you that it isn%26#39;t swarming with kids after Labor Day. Hotel occupancy was probably about 40%, at most. Far less crowded then I ever expected, but our porter did state that it was swarming with kids during the summer (Jun-Aug).

Lucky for us since there were plenty of lounge chairs available with roungly only 2 dozen other families with little ones enjoying the pool area. There were very few kids of school age around during our stay.

I was well aware of the negatives of the resort (Vegasy, nickel-n-diming, $250 cabanas, so-so food, etc.), but I actually ended up enjoying my stay and enjoying the pools with my 4-yo son, doing a few backflips off the Tarzan rope swing, taking the water elevator and riding the surprisingly fast water slide too ;-).

My only disappointment was the lack of room upgrade despite the low occupancy considering most of the other hotels on my Oahu/Maui trip provided substantial upgrades. But the rooms were clearly renovated, comfortable, decently appointed and had the nice floor-to-ceiling sliding shutters. Separate bath/shower was nice but the bathroom%26#39;s orange sherbert coloring was overdose (resort%26#39;s exterior color).

As HH members, enjoyed $40 off our dinner at Humuhumu (nice setting for the family). As for breakfast, wife didn%26#39;t care for the breakfast buffet at the Grand Dining Room (wonderful terrace setting), but I enjoyed the a la carte Banana Macademia Nut Waffle. There%26#39;s also Cafe Kula for a quick breakfast fix if you so desire.

Overall, having been prepared with the neg TA reviews, we ended up really enjoying the beach, grounds and pools at the Grand Wailea resort.

Typo. Meant to say ROUGHLY 20 other families, which BTW was far less than the number of adult couples at the resort.

';From looking at the hotels in Maui, Grand Wailea seems like the best one...';

Really depends. Having stayed at the Ritz Carlton Kapalua and Four Seasons Maui on the same trip, I wouldn%26#39;t put the GW above them in terms of luxury or service. And the GW%26#39;s starting rates aren%26#39;t necessarily lower if you can get a deal at the Ritz (4 nts for price of 3). Besides, GW kept me in a low category room, while the Ritz upgraded me from a resort view to a deluxe oceanfront room without even asking.

But if your desired options are a terrific pool area and incredibly lush, varied grounds, then the Grand Wailea can%26#39;t be topped on Maui.

With the low occupancy rates the Grand Wailea has been recently facing, it%26#39;s no surprise that it is now offering some deals (can%26#39;t ever recall any like this in the past 5 years).

From a Hawaiian Airlines email:

Stay 3 nights in any room category and receive the 4th night free! PLUS, receive double HawaiianMiles.** Rates start at $375 for Terrace or Mountain View. Offer valid Sept. 9 - Dec. 19, 2008.

Plan Code VHAL

4th night free is also available on their own website (code 4NF) but not with double HA miles

Wish these were available before my stay!

My hubby and I have stayed at the Grand Wailea two different summers. However, it has been a few years ago. Yes, there were kids there, but most of them were down at the kiddy pool, kiddy beach, and older ones were at various parts of the fabulous pools. They didn%26#39;t bother us at all. We were there during June both times.

There is an all adults pool that is large and lovely. We spent a lot of time there and enjoyed it. Don%26#39;t let the negative posts scare you too much. I think there are kids at all hotels....no matter when you go.

Why would you go to the Grand Wailea when you could go to the Four Seasons next door??