WA Grand Wailea review
Where we went: WA Grand Wailea in Maui
When we went: the sleepy time between Thanksgiving and festive. I feel this is key to enjoying this property since it was at half capacity or less.
Who went: myself, my wife, my mom and stepdad.
Rooms: booked one Napua ocean view king room and one Napua ocean view 2 queen room. A few days before arrival I received a phone call from the Napua concierge telling me that they were upgrading the king room to the Napua nani suite while the two queen room would be a connecting room.
Service: 10. The service was very good. I've been to this property 4 times and this was easily the best service that I've had there. The Napua concierge folks were great. They had inquired 3 months before arrival about what we would like to do while in Maui. They had offered to book anything that we needed as well as arrange things at the property. They had great local knowledge of restaurants and activity/tour providers. I had various things booked in advance then we got a bit of a curve ball. My wife broke a toe about 3 hours before Blacklane was to arrive at the house en route to the airport. I contacted the Napua concierge when we landed and changed various reservations to things on the property and it was super easy.
Housekeeping was on point daily. The bellman was quick and very friendly. Valet was excellent. I called ahead of time and my vehicle was waiting for me every time. The staff in the Napua lounge were very nice and attentive. The lounge was clean and stocked at all times. The ability to get cocktails and wine in togo cups was rad. Bar and restaurant staff were very good. Service at the adult pool, grotto bar, as well as cabana service were very friendly and attentive. Table service at the luau was great. Service at Humu Humu was particularly excellent. The pacing of courses was spot on. Spa services were wonderful. Check in was smooth, the attendants were very helpful and the therapists did great work while being super nice. I found the service staff to be very engaging and friendly. I had numerous conversations with members of the Napua concierge staff as well as the lounge attendants. Everyone addressed me by name and inquired on how our stay was going. The pool and cabana attendants/cocktail staff did the same, as did the spa staff. I saw similar interactions with friendliness and professionalism play out time and time again with different guests.
Property: 9
The property is fabulous but they still need to bring back the water elevator and the foundations by the entrance.
Communal space: The lobby is big and inviting. There are cool sculptures surrounded a large lobby bar and lounge. There are benches around to hang out on as well. There are various stores adjacent to the lobby in case you need sandals, a hat, a new watch, or a piece of artwork to take home. The pool complex is huge. The slides, lazy river, and grotto bar are a nice touch. The adult pool is large and a must at a place like this. There are a lot of lounge chairs and rental cabanas around the pools and green space by the beach. Getting chairs wasn't a problem for people at this time of year. In the summer there are not enough and it is madness. The ground and landscape are well kept. There are palm trees, lush plants, shrubs, fountains, sculptures, and water features all over the place. The pathways and bridges are clean and in good shape with nice lighting at night. The hotel is on Wailea beach. There's a good stretch of beach to walk down and hang out in the waves. The beach is clean and nice. ** There's a new policy about beach chairs on the beach that is pretty terrible. They supply some beach chairs but not umbrellas. You have to rent the umbrella or a lounger /umbrella. I prefer to have a chair or cabana by the pool then go out and swim in the ocean from time to time. If I liked to lay in a lounger on the beach this would have been an annoyance.
There are multiple bars and restaurants on the property. They do a luau on the property. There's meeting space as well. If you're in the Napua Tower they have two large lounges. There's a wedding chapel on the grounds. They give scuba lessons in a designated pool.
The spa rocks. The waiting area is large and inviting. There menu of treatments is extensive. There have a men's side, a women's side, and a coed side. The coed space is large with a center pool as well as steam rooms and saunas. I think there was also a juice bar. On the men's and women's sides there is a sauna and steam room as well as a hydrotherapy section which is pretty rad. There's a warm pool as well as various cool down stations. The one that dumps a bucket of water on you is a wake up call. They've got cold plunges too.
The gym is huge and has anything that someone would want. There's different classes as well.
Nightly live music in the lobby lounge was very nice.
Rooms: 9.5
The suite was large (1300 sq feet) and well laid out. The living room had a wet bar and mini fridge. There was a small table and chairs, another chair as well as a sectional couch. The balcony off of the living room was large. It had a table for four and a lounger. The patio chairs had adjustable backs which was nice. All of the furniture was very comfortable. The bedroom was large and comfortable. There was lots of closet and dresser space. It had a Juliet balcony as well as two big arm chairs and ottomans.The bed was very comfortable. The bathroom was spacious. Double vanity, water closet, additional closet, stand alone shower(non rainfall) and a huge tub for two. While typical not a bath person I used the tub twice. Excellent water pressure and temperature range also.
The 2 Queen room was big for a 2 Queen room(715 sq feet). The bathroom was a single vanity with a water closet, stand alone shower(non rainfall) and large tub. The room had a mini fridge and coffee station, a small table with 2 chairs as well as a patio that had a small table and 2 chairs. There was good closet and dresser space. The bed was very comfortable. The air conditioning worked well in both rooms. The sheets and comforter were soft and smooth. The pillows didn't suck which was a big relief for me since I often dislike hotel pillows. The bathroom amenities were nice and smelled good. They were Aesop I believe. We were on the 8th floor so the views from the rooms were spectacular. The lounge was also just down the hall.
Food: 8.5
The Napua lounge provides coffee service from 6-7 am and breakfast from 7-10. They've got a really good multiple drink coffee machine as well as teas and drip coffee. Breakfast is a buffet that consists of many types of fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage, 2 different prepared burritos or bowls(1 is vegetarian). There's an assortment of pastries, bread and bagels with various toppings including smoked salmon. There are cereals, oatmeal, meat and cheeses, different veggies. There's a whole bunch of juices, sodas, flavored water, bottled water, and ice cream. Breakfast is good. It isn't amazing and the lack of an omelette station or carving station is kinda meh. It also doesn't change much from day to day. It is right down the hall and you come and go as you please which is great. You can also bring anything to your room/balcony.
From 11am -2pm they have locally made granola bars and bags of popcorn/chips, ice cream bars, as well as a fully stocked drink fridge. From 4-7pm they have an open bar with a small assortment of dishes. There is a salad station with a few options, a cheese and meats section. Some breads, fruit, and a few canapes, either hot, cold, or both. The before dinner stuff is good, not great or anything, but is a great resource if you have a later dinner or are waiting for someone to get ready. Also, you can take anything from there to your room/balcony.
Service at the pool or in the cabanas comes from the Italian restaurant on site, Olivine. The lunch menu has lots of salad, pizza, and sandwiches. All of it was pretty good as far as pool food at a nice hotel goes. The pizza and burger were standouts. Cocktails were also good. Olivine also does dinner. The apps were fine but nothing special. The pasta was a let down which is kinda tough for an Italian place. The fish and sides were very good, dessert as well.
The lobby bar had good drinks and very good sashimi. Desserts were good too.
The food at the luau isn't buffet style anymore. The sides and salad were good like most luau's though nothing special. The roasted pig was excellent.
Fish at Humu Humu was excellent. Went twice and ordered different stuff. Everything was cooked very well and wasn't overly salty. Apps, sides, desserts, and cocktails were very good here. Overall, this was the best food that I tried there.
Good drinks at the grotto bar. The mai Tai's were bangin'. That's where the blender is if you want lava flows or a pina colada.
I didn't go to the non lounge breakfast buffet.
Activities and extra:
- The location and pool complex are doing a lot of the heavy lifting here. There's a ton of stuff to do on Maui and quite a few on property as well. You can take scuba and snorkel classes on property. They have loaner beach cruisers for the path along the beach. There are various fitness and yoga classes. They have the luau on property which has some ukulele and hula lessons if you don't want to hit the bar. They have kayaks, canoes, and paddle boards if you want to use them. They have pool floaties. You can check out the bio station or have a photographer session if you want. They have a wedding chapel and salon services at the spa. I didn't check into it but they've gotta have a kids club of some sort.
This trip I didn't have the opportunity to play golf or go sailing, ride UTV's, horses, or take a quick helicopter tour but all that stuff is right there plus much more. Being picked up/dropped off can easily be arranged if needed.
With the curve ball the activities went a little different than I had planned. We were on the property a lot but it was a really relaxing, refreshing, and enjoyable trip.
Lastly, I've e got to a give a big thank you and shout out to our fabulous mod u/alex_travels who handles all of my bookings. I always check out of the hotel in person. Here you do it at the Napua concierge desk. They were wonderful all week and hoped that I would have good things to report to my TA. Having stayed multiple times in the past I never got the sense that the success of my stay was of any higher priority than anyone else's stay. This time I did from the very beginning when I checked in with the Napua concierge. I've also had that same sense at many of my other stays since becoming a client. Thank you Alex!!