Review: Andaz Maui Wailea

It’s hard to believe how much we packed into a 3 night stay at the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort. Read on to learn more about our adventure at this luxury hotel.

Andaz Maui Wailea Review tl;dr

Except for repeated failures by the Andaz Maui management prior to our arrival, our 3 night stay at the Andaz Maui was one of the highlights of our 10 day trip to Hawaii.

The Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort & Spa is an ultra luxury property with 297 rooms and suites on 15 acres in one of the most beautiful locations in Hawaii. Even though our stay was free (learn how we do this in our “Luxury Travel for Free” guide), it’s easy to understand how people are happy to pay over $2000 per night for this hotel.

Best Hyatt in Hawaii

From the moment we arrived, the staff, food, room and amenities were exceptional. The Andaz Maui is the best Hyatt in Hawaii and was the best hotel stay we’ve had in all of our trip adventures.

Why Stay at Andaz Maui?

While planning our 10 day Hawaii itinerary, we knew we wanted to stay on Maui. And since hotels in Hawaii are so expensive, we knew that we needed to use our Hyatt points to stay for free.

Best Hyatt Point Redemption on Maui

The Andaz Maui is one of 16 Hyatt properties on the island. 13 of the others are Destination by Hyatt Residence properties which are notorious for not being available to book with points.

While it’s not easy to find award availability at the Andaz Maui, it was the only property on the island that worked with our schedule.

Best Hyatt for Globalists in Maui

As a top level elite in Hyatt’s loyalty program, Globalists enjoy many free upgrades and perks. Unfortunately, the 13 Destination by Hyatt Residence properties on Maui are exempt from providing most Globalist benefits.

Only the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa and the Andaz Maui offer significant perks for Globalists.

Other Andaz Maui Reviews

We always search for resort reviews before booking. There aren’t many reviews of the Andaz Maui but here were the most helpful ones we found prior to our Hawaii trip.

• The Luxury Travel Expert – tons of pictures
• Travel Sort – Hilary has one of the most comprehensive reviews that we found
• One Mile at a Time – One of the older Andaz Maui reviews but still very helpful

Booking & Reservations

Before this Hawaii trip, the Park Hyatt New York was the most expensive hotel we’ve stayed at. But the Andaz Maui was about $500/night more expensive!

Did we want to stay at a $2000/night hotel? Of course!

Could we afford to stay in a $2000/night hotel without travel hacking? Of course not!

Prices

Base rates for the cheapest room at the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort ranges from around $800 to $1900 depending on the season.

During our stay in February, the cheapest King Bed Room with Resort View was $1430 per night, or $1735 with tax and fees. Add $45/night for parking and you’re at $1780 per night.

As a Hyatt Globalist, I got a free upgrade to a King Bed Partial Ocean View room which was $195/night more.

With taxes, resort fees and parking, the nightly total was $2009.

Quick note on Andaz Maui Prices

For complete transparency purposes, I didn’t save all my original screenshots of room prices. Some of the prices in this review are my estimates & recreations as best as I can based on what I did save.

Hyatt Award Category 8 Hotel

The Andaz Maui is a World of Hyatt Award Category 8 hotel. While it normally costs 40,000 points, you can stay at the only Andaz in Hawaii for 35k points for off-peak nights and 45k points for peak nights.

We stayed just before the resort changed from a Category 7 to Category 8 so we only used 30,000 points per night.

Redeeming Points

I didn’t have 90k points for 3 free nights at the Andaz Maui Resort in my World of Hyatt account, so I transferred Ultimate Rewards points from my Chase account.

Click here to learn how we quickly earned enough points to stay at the Andaz Maui for free.

I didn’t have to wait more than a minute since transferring points from Chase to Hyatt is almost instant.

How Much Were Our Hyatt Points Worth

Our free room would have been $6,027 if we had paid cash. Since we traded 90,000 Hyatt points for $6,027, that means that each Hyatt point was worth 6.7 cents!

If you include that we got the $120 breakfast (OMG it was Great!) each morning for free, you could say the Hyatt points were actually worth 7.1 cents each.

Andaz Maui Management Failure

I won’t spend too much time on this but the management at the Andaz Maui did a horrible job with communication before arrival.

10 days before our stay, I responded to a welcome email from the Andaz Concierge Team asking for help with a reservation to Morimoto’s restaurant. No reply ever.

There were reservations available on OpenTable but I asked for some specific help related to seating time and location.

8 days before our Andaz Maui reservation, I forwarded that email to my Hyatt Globalist concierge and asked for help. No reply ever.

At this point, there were NO reservations available on OpenTable anymore. Ugh!

5 days before arriving at the resort, I received a personalized email from the ANDAZ MAUI AT WAILEA RESORT, Director of Operations- Rooms who wanted to “personally thank you for your continued business and loyalty to Hyatt Hotels and Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort.”

Ignored by General Manager & 5 other Hyatt Employees

The Director cc’d 3 others at the Andaz Waikiki including the hotel’s GM. I replied all with “Could you please help with an unresolved request?”

No reply ever from any of the 4 Andaz Maui management team.

The direct result of them ignoring my 3 emails to 6 different people was significant. Because I waited on their reply, we were not able to get a reservation to the Andaz Morimoto restaurant and we missed the opportunity to see the (supposedly) spectacular Feast at Mokapu Luau.

Was this ever resolved? Read on and I’ll let you know…

Location

If you want a true luxury trip to Maui, Wailea Beach on the South Side of Maui is the place to be.

Situated in what feels much more like a residential area, the Andaz Maui Wailea Resort is surrounded by high end resorts, fine dining, golf courses and Hawaii’s most posh shopping.

Address

Nearest Airport

Only 30 minutes from Kahului Airport (OGG), you can either get a rental car or hop an Uber to get to & from the airport. With so many things to do on Maui (like the Road to Hana), it was a no brainer to rent a car at the Maui Airport.

Nearest Grocery Store

If you need to stock up on groceries, Island Gourmet Markets is just a 5 minute walk from the Andaz Maui. Be aware that you’re in the high rent district so this isn’t a mega grocery store. You won’t find as much as you’d expect in a Kroger or Publix. But you will find snacks, drinks and made to order food at a much better price than the Andaz Maui gift shop.

You will have to cross a divided road to get to this boutique grocery store but there’s not much traffic for you to dodge. It’s more like a residential street than a highway.

Other Hyatts on Maui

As I said, there are 16 Hyatt properties on Maui. In the months before (& after) our stay, most of the Destination by Hyatt Residence properties had ZERO availability. Beside the Andaz Maui, the only Hyatt properties that can be booked on the island are:

• Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa
• Hana Maui Resort – the only Destinations property that I ever saw as available to book

Entrance

What’s a great 1st impression looks like? Step up the the elegant wood, stone and water runway that is the entrance to the Andaz Maui’s lobby.

It may sound a little silly, but we felt a growing sense of relaxation as we walked the 20 paces from the Andaz Maui parking area to the lobby.

Lobby

And then we arrived at the most uniquely beautiful beach resort lobby that we’ve seen.

Most beach resorts have a money shot (view) of the beach and ocean front and center when you walk in the lobby. But a sandbox?

Every day, there was some new decorative message in the lobby sandbox. When we arrived, it said “Aloha, Welcome to Andaz Hawaii.”

While the entire property is Instagram worthy, there’s a colorful wall for your selfies in the lobby. Although we took about a thousand pictures, somehow we didn’t get the obligatory selfie in front of the Aloha #AndazMaui wall.

There’s alot of seating in the open air lobby with great views of the palm trees, Mokapu Beach and the Pacific Ocean.

As you enter the lobby, the Andaz Maui has a traditional front desk to your left, facing the sandbox.

Further to the left in the lobby is the concierge desk which was rarely staffed during our visit.

Check-in

Unlike many Andaz properties, the Andaz Hotel Maui has a traditional front desk with 3 stations. The desk itself is a natural stone which blends nicely with the stone used in the rest of the lobby design.

At the front desk, Nico greeted us with a warm Aloha welcome.

He thanked me for my World of Hyatt elite Globalist status, gave us a free upgrade to a partial ocean view room and reviewed the other Globalist benefits with us. He was the exact combination of friendliness, professionalism and efficiency that you would expect from staff at a 5 star luxury resort.

And then he asked if he could help with restaurant or luau information.

When I recounted how management ignored my 3 requests for Morimoto’s restaurant help, I believe he was honestly shocked. He apologized with real sincerity that it was too late to get the Morimoto’s reservation that was available when I had made my original requests. To try to make up for that, he gave us a $100 resort credit and alerted the Hotel’s manager.

The next day, I got a call from the hotel General Manager. The GM, who was 1 of the 4 people who ignored my email request, apologized.

However, in contrast to Nico who took ownership of the problem, I felt like the GM was simply going thru the motions. But I’ll give him credit for hiring someone like Nico and empowering him to offer a resort credit.

Hyatt Digital Key in iPhone Wallet

In addition to getting physical room keys, I also got a Hyatt digital key in my iPhone’s Wallet app.

The digital key worked just fine to get in our room.

I opened my iPhone’s wallet, pulled up the Hyatt digital key and held it next to the electronic lock on our door. It worked exactly the same as a traditional key card so it was nice to have a digital key as an option.

King Bed Ocean View Room

We were met at our room by Robert who had valet parked our rental car and was now our bellman. Just like Nico at the front desk, we received 5 star service from Robert as we entered our room.

While not the most impressive room we’ve had at a hotel, this King Bed Partial Ocean View room was very nice and had plenty of space for our Maui beach vacation.

Comfortable Bed

From the comfortable King bed which faced the balcony, we could see the peak of Lanai Island over the palm trees. Crisp white linens and wonderful down pillows met the expectations of the 5 star beach resort that all the Andaz Maui reviews described.

For a relatively small room, there was a surprising amount of storage space including 2 good sized drawers hidden under the bed. Since we travel light with only 1 carry on apiece, we didn’t use these drawers at all.

Below the master switch which controlled all lights and the blackout shades, you can see a little wear and tear on the top of this bedside table.

Plenty of Electrical Outlets

There were plenty of sockets in the room including this one which was built into the top of the bed’s headboard. The outlet placement was actually pretty convenient as we used these for our phones overnight.

Across from the bedside tables, there was a full size mirror, a small table, a long seated lounge chair and a medium size desk. Since I work on most of our trips, I really appreciate the desk being there.

Fortunately, I stayed in full vacation mode and during our 3 day Maui itinerary, I never used this desk.

Above the lighted mini refrigerator was a coffee maker, ice bucket and Andaz Maui labeled reusable water bottles.

While we never touched it, the room’s thermostat was also above the minifridge. The weather and temperature was pretty much perfect because, you know, we’re in Maui!

Just around the corner from the minifridge and the thermostat was a nice flat screen TV on a long pivoting arm. The TV faced the desk but you could pull the TV out and point it directly at the bed if you get tired of looking at paradise outside your room.

Big Beach Closet

Before we take a look at the full bathroom, here’s our room’s closet which is just inside the bathroom. It’s much larger than we were expecting for a relatively normal sized room.

There’s easily enough floor space for 4 to 6 suitcases. Plenty of room for your hanging items with a dozen nice hangers. On the left side of the closet is a long, 2 drawer dresser with a double sized safe in the top drawer.

You’ll also find a pair of nice Andaz Maui robes & slippers as well as an ironing board and iron in the closet.

Now, on to the most impressive part of the room: yes, the bathroom.

Bathroom

Our bathroom at the Andaz Maui made a good first impression. And then it kicked it up a notch with the shower.

Plenty of space for the 2 of us in this beautiful beach bathroom with lots of stone & wood.

We never lacked for fluffy white towels. There was a hair dryer in a bag under the sink.

The bathroom toilet room had almost everything that you would want.

After enjoying (interesting choice of words, right?) our first bidet at the Hyatt Waikiki Beach, we were a little disappointed to not have a bidet at the 5 star Andaz Maui.

Even more disappointing was that there was obviously the extra water line and the electrical outlet needed for a bidet, but no bidet installed.

Bathroom Amenities

The standard bathroom amenities were perfectly fine. Tissues, toothbrush, toothpaste, blah, blah, blah… everything you’d expect was there. No surprises, no problems.

Let’s get to the star of the show: the shower!

Shower

Oh, my! Even after staying at 8 beach front hotels in the past year, this was easily the most impressive shower we’ve seen so far.

Not only was the shower very large (10 feet long and nearly 4 feet wide), but 2 sides were floor to ceiling glass windows. You could literally see the beach while you’re in this huge shower!

In addition to a rain shower head and a handheld shower head, there was also a wooden shower rack with towels and pump bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash.

The shampoo, conditioner & body wash were all the high end Hawaiian brand Malie. Pronounced mah-lee-ay, Malie is an organic, non-toxic, locally sourced line of skin and beauty products headquartered on the island of Kauai.

At retail, that’s about $100 of Malie products in the shower. We loved them. They smelled great and worked well.

Even though this wasn’t the largest bathroom we’ve enjoyed on our travels, this is the best Hyatt bathroom we’ve had.

View from our Room

While our room was not as close to the beach as I’d prefer, we had a beautiful view of the Andaz grounds, the ocean and Lanai Island in the distance.

Andaz Maui Villas

In addition to traditional hotel rooms and suites, there are 30 Andaz Maui Villas which are residential style accommodations with 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom and 4 bedroom configurations of various sizes.

Three Oceanfront Villa Buildings

The Andaz Maui Villas are in 3 different buildings between the hotel and beach. That means that many will have unobstructed view of Mokapu Beach and are much closer to the beach than our room was. The 3 villa buildings are:

• Makai Villas
• ‘Ilikai Villas
• Hema Villas

The Ilikai Villas are the newest and all feature 3 bedrooms with alot of space. These villas are 1900-4000 square feet and that does not include outdoor space like patios and balconies.

If you think about our hotel room was $2,000 per night, it’s not hard to believe that the Andaz Maui Villas cost $3,000 per night or more.

Restaurants & Bars

Since the management team ruined my plan to get to Morimoto’s and the Feast at Mokapu, we only got to try 4 of the 6 Andaz Maui restaurants & bars. They were all great.

Ka’ana Kitchen

One of my favorite perks of being a top tier Hyatt Globalist is the free breakfast benefit. And the free breakfast buffet at Ka’ana Kitchen was the best Hyatt breakfast ever.

In fact, this was the best hotel buffet that we’ve ever experienced.

The decor of Ka’ana Kitchen was elegant without being overly formal. As with the rest of the Andaz Maui, Ka’ana Kitchen made great use of stone and beautiful wood to give that 5 star luxury feel without detracting from the beach paradise feel.

I love a juice bar. Ka’ana Kitchen offered 7 fresh squeezed juices and they were some of the best we’ve had. The POG juice (Passion fruit, Orange, & Guava) was exceptional. I don’t care for green juice but Zuzu said it was great.

The main buffet was not particularly large but, wow, did they ever go for quality over quantity! There was usually 1 America style egg and meat option, smoked salmon, rice & noodles, plus a couple other options on the main buffet.

Literally everything we tried was great.

There’s also a grill for made to order items such as omlettes, eggs, waffles and pancakes.

There was also a large buffet of delicious fresh fruit, meat, cheese, and the best pastry bar that we’ve ever had.

We made friends with Pastry Chef Jenny on our first day. She was always so happy to answer our questions and made sure we got the “best of the best” of her pastries.

Bumbye Beach Bar

There were 2 outdoor bars near the pools. Bumbye Beach Bar was close to the beach and was the most casual bar. It had much more of an upscale beach bar vibe vs a fancy hotel bar vibe.

In addition to cocktails, wine & beer, Bumbye Beach Bar also had a nice menu of bar food, with a beach theme of course.

But this bar was at the family friendly pool so it didn’t really seem like the place for a wild & crazy beach drinking party.

Lehua Lounge

If you want to experience a luxury hotel bar with spectacular views of the beach, Lehua Lounge is your spot.

Overlooking one of the Andaz Maui’s pools, this is the most high end beach bar that we’ve ever experienced.

Looking out over the 6 pools and Mokapu Beach, Lehua Lounge has ample seating with umbrellas shading each table. There are also several firepits that are just beautiful in the evenings.

On our last day, we ordered Ahi Tuna and a Lobster Grilled Cheese sandwich from the Lehua Lounge menu.

Really enjoyed the $25 ahi tunu but, and I know this will be hard to believe, the $38 lobster grilled cheese sandwich might have been the best thing I ate in Hawaii.

It was that OMG Good!

If we didn’t have a $100 hotel credit that we needed to spend on our last day, we probably would not have splurged $38 on a grilled cheese. But I am SO glad that we did!

Mokapu Market & Gift Shop

If you need a beer, a swimming suit, ice cream and a ukulele, you can find it all at the Mokapu Market & Gift Shop.

Just steps from the Hyatt Andaz Maui lobby, there’s everything that you’d expect in a gift shop at the best Hyatt in Hawaii.

In addition to t-shirts, hats, sunglasses, sunscreen & snacks, you can also buy ice cream and small bites like flatbread at Mokapu Market.

There’s also a surprisingly large selection of beer and wine here.

Morimoto Maui

As an Iron Chef fan and a sushi lover, I was excited to try Morimoto’s restaurant at the Andaz Maui.

Reviews of Morimoto’s were mostly good (great food & service, high prices) but I was double excited when I read that outdoor seating has a fantastic (& FREE) view of the Andaz Luau.

As I said earlier, the plan was to eat dinner at Morimoto’s on Thursday evening around 6pm. If we got seats with the right view, we could watch the Hawaii sunset and be just 100 feet from the luau festivities at the same time.

Since 6 Hyatt people (including the Andaz General Manager) ignored my 3 emails, we missed the chance to experience this.

This is the one stain on a fantastic vacation. Despite this Hyatt management failure, the rest was so good that the Andaz Maui ranks as the best Hyatt in Hawaii.

The Feast at Mokapu Luau

Taking place on a grassy area near the beach, the Feast at Mokapu Luau is visible from many rooms at the Andaz Maui.

The Andaz luau is held on most Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

Reviews consistently rank the Feast at Mokapu as one of the best luaus on Maui. It’s also the most expensive.

Tickets for this luau are $280 – $340 for adults and $140 – $180 for children on the luau’s website. According to the review I read, most people think the Feast at Mokapu Luau is worth it.

Check out The Dream Mapper’s pictures of the Feast at Mokapu and why they thought this was the best luau on Maui.

By the way, while there were no weddings at Andaz Maui during our stay, this is the same beautiful setting where they setup weddings on the beach.

Hotel Amenities

Awili Spa & Salon

Every luxury hotel should have a high end salon and spa. The Andaz Maui at Wailea hits the spot with the Awili Spa & Salon.

Located on the 3rd floor (2 floors below the lobby), Awili Spa & Salon describes themselves as “a premium spa resort that offers a unique apothecary experience.“

Spa Treatments include:

• Hot Stone Massage: $200 for 60 minutues
• Full Body Massage: $200 for 60 minutes
• Thai Massage: $305 for 90 minutes
• Scalp, Face & Feet Treatment: $200 for 60 minutes

For the ultimate Maui spa experience, splurge on the “Unite Journey” at the Andaz Maui spa.

Perfect for couples, it’s a 4 1/2 hour, $775 per person indulgence that includes a wrap, massage, pedicure and a private cabana lunch with champagne.

You can see the full Awili Spa menu of services here.

In addition to the spa services, there’s a full service salon. Get your hair done with products from Davines and Opalex.

See the full salon menu of services here.

Pools

Although Zuzu & I are beach people, the six pools at the Andaz were amazing!

Click here to read my detailed review of the Andaz Maui Pools.

Stunning is the best way to describe the 4 pools that cascade down the side of the hill towards the ocean

You need to read my comprehensive review of the Andaz Maui pools but here are a few things that you should know.

• 6 Total Pools
• Lots of stairs from the top pool down to the beach
• Top pool at Lehua Lounge almost always empty
• Lots of pool seating
• Cabanas for rent ($150-500/day)
• Bars at most pools for food & drink
• Plenty of towels & free sunscreen
• Family friendly, zero entry pool at the bottom (busiest)
• Adult only pool near the spa & gym
• Swim up rooms next to the adult pool

Best pool for adults was the Nohea Pool. It was the 3rd of the 4 pools cascading down towards the beach. It had the most seating and had the only hot tub which was built into the pool.

Just below Nohea is the Bumbye Pool (Cascading Pool #4).

Family Friendly, Zero Entry Pool

This pool was nearest the beach and was a zero entry pool (aka walk in pool) with no steps. If you’ve got small kids, this is your best choice as you can easily keep an eye your keikis in this shallow lagoon pool.

The Bumbye Lagoon Pool stayed busy but it never seemed too crazy when we passed on our way to & from the breach.

Near the Andaz Hawaii Spa & the fitness center, there was an adults only pool with an infinity edge.

Since the adults only pool didn’t have a nice view of the beach, we never hung out in this pool.

Attached to the adults only pool is a swim out pool for a handful of rooms.

Pretty much every pool had a station with pool towels, sunscreen and water.

Cabana Rentals

For the best pool experience, rent a day bed or cabana. Even for the best Hyatt in Hawaii, the prices seem a little steep: $150-$500 per day. Cabana rentals are available online at Poolside.com.

If you want the best view of the ocean, there were 3 cabanas to rent at the end of the Nohea pool deck (pool #3) with awesome, unobstructed views of the oceanfront.

Classified as a Medium Daybed Cabana, these had room for 2 people. When we were in the off peak season, these cabanas rented for $200 per day. In the peak season, they were $400 to rent per day.

One thing to note, the family friendly cabanas and day beds at the Bumbye Lagoon Pool are only available to book 2 days in advance. And they’re in high demand since this is the walk in, zero entry pool with no steps where you’ll find most of the children swimming and playing.

Find more tips like this in my full review of the Andaz Maui Pools.

Hot Tub

The only pool with a built in hot tub is the Nohea Pool.

During our 3 night stay, we never saw more than 4 people in the hot tub. It was a really big hot tub which looked like it could squeeze in about 12 people so we got in several times. Never felt crowded, even during covid times.

I could go on for days about the Andaz Maui pools so I wrote a full guide to the pools & cabanas.

Click here to read my detailed review of the Andaz Maui Pools.

Art Gallery

On the same 5th floor as the hotel lobby, the Andaz Maui had an art gallery with some beautiful Hawaiian themed paintings.

We didn’t check the prices but thank goodness that Zuzu didn’t fall in love with that hammerhead shark sculpture.

I’m pretty sure a live shark and a new saltwater pool at our house would be cheaper.

Shops

Also on the main 5th floor with the Hyatt Andaz Hawaii lobby were two shops & boutiques.

While one of them looked like a pop up shop, the other had fixtures that looked a little more permanent. Zuzu & I really wanted a nice Maui shirt or dress but we didn’t find anything that we liked enough to justify the high prices.

Speaking of souvenir Maui tshirts, we both found ones we loved at the Maui airport. And they were half the price of the tshirts at the Andaz Maui at Wailea.

Fitness Center

On the resort’s 2nd floor, there’s a well equipped gym that’s available 24/7. It’s near the Awili Spa and the adults only pool.

Sorry, no pictures from the Andaz gym. We were recovering from our busy 10 day Hawaii itinerary & did not need (or want) the exercise.

Internet Access

Wifi at the Andaz Maui was one of the fastest hotel connections that I’ve seen. Download speed in my room was a smoking hot 78M & 96M for uploads.

This was literally 7 times faster than the wifi connection at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki which only had an 11MB connection. Yet another reason why I think the Andaz Maui is the best Hyatt in Hawaii.

I didn’t try the wifi all the way to the beach but I had a good connection any time that I tried it on the entire Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort property.

Meeting Space

Off the lobby and past the gift shop, there were a number of meeting rooms at the Andaz Maui.

While not very large, the meeting rooms looked like a small group of up to 100 people could enjoy the best conference center on Maui here.

Pet Friendly

It’s fine to bring your dog to the Andaz Maui. There are a limited number of pet friendly rooms at the resort so call and let them know at least 3 days ahead of your arrival.

You’re allowed to bring one dog up to 50 pounds or 2 dogs under a combined weight of 75 pounds.

Resort Fee & Amenities

Unless you book the Andaz Maui at Wailea with Hyatt points (like we did), or you’re a World of Hyatt Globalist (like we are), you’ll be paying a resort fee of $48+tax. Resort fee was $56.36 each night while we were there.

But you get alot for the resort fee at the Andaz Maui including:

• Daily Outrigger Canoe Excursions (GREAT! You gotta do this!)
• Unlimited use of snorkel equipment
• Use of fitness center
• Yoga and Pilates classes
• Bicycle and helmet rentals
• Guided Kayak Tours
• Ukulele lessons
• Hula lessons
• Coconut Husking
• Photo session with Pacific Dream photography
• Stand up paddle board lessons
• Mixology class with 2 drinks (twice a week)
• GoPro Rental

Mokapu Beach

The beach was great! While there are no private beaches in Hawaii, Mokapu Beach at the Andaz Maui sure felt like a private beach.

You’ll find rocky points on both ends of the beach but, in between these rocks, the beach was as close to perfect as you can get.

There were no rocks along the beach or in the water directly in front of the beach. And there’s a gentle slope into the ocean that makes this area perfect for swimming, wading and paddle boarding.

Beach Access

There are public access points on either side of the Andaz Maui property. But since Wailea is such a high end area, there just weren’t many people at the beach besides the Hyatt resort guests.

Beach Amenities

Included in the Andaz Maui daily $56 resort fee (waived if you’re a Globalist or staying for free on points) are some great beach amenities like free beach chairs with umbrellas, snorkeling, paddle boarding & whale watching!

The beach staff will setup your chairs & umbrella plus they’ll provide towels. They don’t provide food & beverage service so grab snack or a drink at nearby Bumbye Bar before hitting the beach.

Whale Watching by Canoe

Make sure to book one of the 30 minute guided outrigger canoe paddle tours with the front desk or the activity desk. We didn’t get close but we did see 3 whales swimming together a few hundred yards away from us.

The 30 minutes went by way too quickly. I would have loved to have gone out again but it didn’t fit into our 3 day Maui itinerary.

After our whale watching, we donned the free snorkel gear and dove in to explore what was under the water.

Free Snorkeling at Mokapu Beach

Mokapu beach was just the right combination of calm water with gently rolling waves. It made for some very easy swimming & snorkeling.

While experts might have been bored, we’re snorkeling novices so we really enjoyed the gentle water, a decent amount of rock formations and a couple hundred fish that posed for my brand new GoPro.

The biggest thill came when Zuzu had just started to swim away from me to reach the shore.

We were in about 5-6 feet of water and we noticed several paddleboarders pointing into the water. “There’s a big turtle right there!” they told us from about 100 feet away.

Turtle Close Encounter

I scrambled to get under the water and hoped that I hit the right button on my new GoPro. Sure enough, this guy swims right at me and passed within just a few feet of me!

Parking

There is no self parking at the Andaz Maui. Valet parking is $45 per night for resort guests, unless you’re a World of Hyatt Globalist like we are.

As with all the (non-management) Hyatt staff, the valet team was fantastic. We never had a wait beyond a few minutes when we dropped off and picked up our rental car.

The valet team even told us a little about Hawaiian culture and the steel sculpture that was right next to the valet station.

Demi God Maui Sculpture at Andaz

Originally installed in the late 1970’s, this 9 foot sculpture depicts the demigod Maui raising the islands with his massive fishing hook. The sculpture was to be destroyed as part of demolition of the Renaissance Wailea Beach Resort (previously the Stouffer Wailea) to make way for the new Hyatt Andaz Maui.

Fortunately, the cultural advisor for the brand-new hotel saved the statue and had it restored to its original magnificence.

Things to Do on Maui

Whether you want to relax or find adventures in Hawaii, there are plenty of things to do on Maui. We did some of both.

Road to Hana

On the opposite side of Maui is the sleepy town of Hana. The Road to Hana is famous for its 59 one lane bridges and hundreds of curves. But it’s most famous for the stunning beauty on the undeveloped side of Maui.

On our February vacation to Hawaii filled with sooooo many amazing experiences and memories, the Road to Hana was the top standout for the best thing that we did in Hawaii.

Read our comprehensive Road to Hana Guide to see why it was so incredible!

Luau: Feast at Lele

Since the Andaz management team ruined my plan to see the Feast at Mokapu luau for free, we splurged and were delighted with the Feast at Lele.

Located a 45 minute drive away in Lahaina, the Feast at Lele was the best luau in Hawaii that we’ve experienced.

The beautiful setting is the same beach where the royal family of Maui would feast and entertain their guests.

The Shops at Wailea

Located right next to the Andaz, the Shops at Wailea have all the high end, luxury shopping that you could want.

There’s also live entertainment and several restaurant options here.

Globalist Benefits

The Hyatt loyalty program, World of Hyatt, has worked like a luxury multiplier on our fantastic travel adventures. Hyatt rewards their top level Globalists with many special benefits but some properties do a better job than others at delivering on their promises. Here’s how the Hyatt Andaz Maui honored our Globalist status.

Elite Check-in

Most Hyatt’s have a dedicated check-in line for World of Hyatt members. The Andaz Maui did not have a line for World of Hyatt members. But we never saw a line at the Front Desk so it didn’t matter.

Globalist Recognition

At the front desk, Nico thanked me for being a Hyatt Globalist.

Room Upgrade

As a Globalist, the front desk gave us a free upgrade from the Resort View Room that we booked with points to a Partial Ocean View Room. This free upgrade was worth $229 per night for a total savings of $687.

Late Checkout

We were offered a late checkout time of 4pm.

Resort Fees

The Hyatt Andaz Maui charges a $56.36 Resort Fee each night. Globalists have the resort fee waived. That’s a savings of $169 on this stay for hitting Globalist status.

Bottled Water

Our room had a small refrigerator which was restocked with bottled water every day.

Earning Hyatt Points

If you join the World of Hyatt program (& you really should), you earn 5 Hyatt points per $1 spent at the Hyatt Andaz hotel in Maui. Globalists get an extra 30% bonus so that’s 6.5 points per $1. But our total bill was $0 since we stayed at the Andaz Maui on points.

Faster Internet

I didn’t test out the standard wifi but when I logged in with the email address that Hyatt has for me, the wifi download speed was great at 78 MB.

Club Access

Unlike the Hyatt Regency Waikiki, there is no Regency Club at the Andaz Maui.

Free Breakfast

Every morning, we had a fantastic Globalist breakfast at Ka’ana Kitchen.

The bill for breakfast for 2 was around $120 each day but was zero for us. That’s a savings of $360 for our 3 night stay.

And this was the best Hyatt Globalist breakfast we’ve ever had at any Hyatt property.

Free Parking

Our rental car got free valet parking. That saved us $45 per night for a total savings of $135 on this Maui vacation.

Total Globalist Savings

I really think that World of Hyatt is the best hotel loyalty program if you want to travel for free like we do.

Despite the fact that we didn’t get upgraded to a suite at the Andaz Maui, our Globalist benefits saved us at least $1,351 on this luxury vacation to Maui.

Andaz Maui Wailea Review: 4 of 5

Even though I think the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort is the best Hyatt in Hawaii, I can’t award 5 stars in this review due to the repeated failures by the hotel’s management team.

So many other things about the Hyatt Andaz Maui were wonderful, the missed opportunities caused by the management’s failures were simply overwhelmed with great experience after great experience.

Once we arrived, we had an incredible time at this fantastic luxury hotel in Hawaii.

The Bottom Line: Would We Visit Again?

Although it started on a sour note, this was our best hotel stay since we started traveling for free on points and miles.

The location, staff, food and amenities at the Andaz Maui at Wailea – a concept by Hyatt made this the best Hyatt beach resort we’ve ever visited.

We’d love to return on our next trip to Maui.

How to Stay for Free at the Andaz Maui

If we had to pay cash for this stay, the total would have been $6,390 for 3 nights with breakfast.

Instead of spending over $6k, we stayed for FREE! And you can, too!

If you want to learn the exact process that we used to get this luxury stay for free, read our Guide to Free Luxury Hotel Stays by clicking here.

Questions About Andaz Maui

More from our 1st Hawaii Trip

Read more about our 10 Day Hawaii Trip-of-a-Lifetime and how we only spent a total of $2,355 for flights, food, hotels, rental cars and entertainment:

• Hawaii 10 Night Trip in February
• 5 Nights at the Hyatt Waikiki
• Polynesian Cultural Center Review
• Pearl Harbor Visit
• Road to Hana
• Volcano House Lodge Review
• Andaz Maui Pools
• Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach Review