Grand Wailea #2 (lots of pictures)

Without a doubt, the lobby and common areas of the Grand Wailea are beautiful. 

The lounge in the lobby.

Indoor/outdoor lobby with lots of water and art.

The lobby is all interconnected walkways around fountains and pools (reflecting, not swimming.)

 We walked a LOOOOOONNNNGGGG way to the pool area. In order to sit on the pool deck area, you must have a wristband. You get the wristbands from the activity centre in the middle of the the pool complex, which involves going up and down, over bridges and under caverns. The pool complex is extremely elaborate- much more themed and extravagant than most Disney resorts I have visited. We lined up for our wristbands and getting one require a computer check and a phone call. We all needed to give our names and they were matched with the code on the wristband and entered into the computer. I get that they are trying to protect against pool usage by non-guests, but this was some high security stuff! At the activity centre, they had some craft tables that looked a little worse for wear (I think it was tie dye t-shirts one day- for $25) and they also sold shave ice ($7.00!). We decided to have lunch at the poolside cafe. Our server was actually quite amazing- she had been there for 17 years, and seemed to totally love her job. She was good at her job, too, because we were all talked into refillable plastic pineapples to hold our cocktails and smoothies ($22, refills of boozy drink- $15).  The food at this restaurant is served in plastic and is all pre-made. I had sushi, it was fine. For four lunch dishes (one sushi and 3 sandwiches) and four refillable cocktail glasses (2 non-alcoholic) plus two cocktail refills, the bill was $220.00. Yeehaw! Thank goodness those cocktails were boozy. 

After our lunch, we sat on some loungers around the pool while the kids swam. The loungers are packed very tightly around the pool- touching, with no space at all in between. We had to climb up from the bottom to sit on them. We waited, and waited, as the lunch buzz wore off and the clock ticked. I went and checked on our room again at 3:00, explaining again that we had (very expensive) luau tickets on the property and wanted to change before it began. I was reminded by another robot (oops, I mean front desk clerk!) that check in is not guaranteed until 4:30. I expressed my disappointment and went back to our seat around the pool. Finally, around four, our cell phone rang and we were told we could come get our room keys.  

Dinner at Ko, Fairmont Kea Lani

Mostly pictures....we had a very nice dinner here. There is a lovely Hawaiian guitarist and the restaurant opens up to a gorgeous view of the adult pool. It is expensive- out dinner for four was $275.00. 

The girls had virgin cocktails in real pineapples. They were $15.00. This was a highlight for them, so well worth the $. 

Guitar guy. He played "Somewhere over the Rainbow/Wonderful World" by request by us. It was goosebumpy good.

Bread, crackers, edamame hummus, Korean BBQ sauce and Honey Butter.

Deep fried ahi sushi. Tasted good, but pieces were huge!

Calamari.

Tempura vegetables.

 Our server was professional and very sweet. Overall, we had a good experience. The food was good, but not great. It was definitely hotel food. 

And on to the Grand Wailea.

We had a beautiful six days at the Fairmont. I will intersperse the rest of this blog with posts about that. But you came here because you are considering and trying to decide between a few Maui hotels. So I will get on with it!

It took us way too long to pack up out Fairmont room. We slept in that day and had a relaxing morning. Check out is not until noon. 

Once we got our bags packed and said a sad goodbye to the room (my daughter actually cried- she's a little emotional!) we went to get our car, which valet had stocked with two bottles of water. 

I knew that check in at the Grand Wailea was not until 3:00. It was 12:30. We left the Kea Lani and arrived at the Grand Wailea exactly one minute later (ha!). We pulled over and I went in to see about checking in early. 

Grand Wailea beach. 

I had booked this room through a Preferred Partner website called WhatAHotel. This was one of the best deals I had found- the room rate was the same as the Grand Wailea's own site, but WhatAHotel offered an upgrade (based on availability), a $25 resort credit and breakfast for two daily. 

The reservation at the Grand Wailea was for two nights. We really wanted to check out the pools. Our daughter had seen the Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston movie Just Go With It, which features the hotel. As I mentioned way back in the beginning, I love hotels, so there was no way I was going to Maui and seeing only one hotel.

The lobby of the GW is also very big, but very different from the Kea Lani. There is no sweeping view, no open air facing the ocean. Parts of the lobby are open to the sky, but I immediately noticed the lack of a view. 

I expected that we would not be permitted to check in early, but I tried to be extra charming and nice and see if I could check in just a little bit early. We planned to go for lunch at the hotel, then were hoping that a room would be ready at around 2:00 ish. We had tickets for the Grand Luau on the property for that night, and I expressed our desire to have a few minutes to change/lay down before rushing to the luau at 4:00. The front desk clerk was ice. No smile, no interest, no nothing! And certainly no effort to check us in early. She "preregistered" us, which allowed us to charge food and drinks, and also to be allowed on the pool deck. She took my number and said that they would call when our room became available, which would be after three but there was no guarantee for a room until 4:30. Wow, that is late! I was hopeful. We placed our bags with bell services and our car with mandatory valet ($30 plus tax) and headed to the pool restaurant.   

Kea Lani- Thoughts in the first few days

So far, I was very happy with the Kea Lani. 

Here are the pros and cons after the first few days:

Pros:

The room was spacious and well-appointed. 
Housekeeping made up the pull out without us even asking after the first day.
The bathroom is plenty big for four people. 
The grounds are stunningly beautiful and exceptionally well maintained.
The staff is warm and friendly.
The store/deli is handy.
The oddly placed exit stairwell leads to a quick path to the pool and beach. 
There are dispensers of green tea iced tea and ice water in the lobby. 
There are flowers everywhere.
The beach is pretty, with soft golden sand. 
Other guests are mostly families or couples, and everyone is in super relaxation mode- mellow. 
Bed is very comfortable. 


Cons:

The walk to the room is FAR. 
The room overlooks a parking lot.
There is lots of noise- mowers, trimmers, golf carts. Only medium annoying, though. 
The food onsite is expensive, even in the deli. 
Drinks are expensive- $15 for a mai tai, lava flow, or other tropical cocktail. They have daily drink specials for $10, different each day. Also, happy hour is 40% off beer, wine and well drinks- no fancy cocktails included. 

I was pretty happy thus far.  Tomorrow is our outrigger canoe and cabana day.

 

Kea Lani #6 The Beach

Okay....back to day one. 

The beach at the Kea Lani is beautiful. I have very little experience with beaches, but I was shocked at how soft the sand was. There are beach staff that immediately set up chairs for you. They never ask your room number or anything. We didn't book an umbrella, but you could for free. The umbrellas are only allowed in the back rows, chairs can be anywhere. We forgot to put on sunblock (it had been kind of overcast) and we regretted that later. Not used to the intensity of the sun! 

 
There are signs saying that no alcohol is allowed on the beach, but we walked up to the pool bar and they happily made this tray of drinks for us to take to the beach, complete with cup o' bar snacks. Love it! 

We played in the waves a bit, then asked at the beach kiosk about renting a little wave board...but they were $9.00 an hour, or $40 a day. I bought two at Long's Drugs in Lahaina the next day for $17.00 each. They were cheap but worked. 

We had some appetizers in the lounge for dinner, then walked down to see our first Maui sunset. It was fantastic! So beautiful.

We played on the hammocks on the property for awhile. This guy comes around to light all the torches (which are all over the place and are really beautiful). 

I was tired early...the time change was hard on me. I went to bed early and vowed to sleep past seven.

Sidebar- Nakalele Blowhole-Pictures!

Skipping ahead to day two.....

Since it was overcast that day, we decided to take a drive. I was dying to try Ululani's Shave Ice, so we headed to Lahaina. The shave ice was really delicious! I had it on four more occasions on this trip. The people who work at the two locations that I visited were so nice and friendly (actually, almost everyone we met was...I thought it was just a cliche that Hawaiians said "Aloha" but they actually do! All the time! It's wonderful!) 

 

We drove quite a distance- all the way to the Nakalele blowhole. I had read about on TripAdvisor forums, so I was aware of the danger- but the little crosses and warning signs kind of freaked us out, and we observed from a very generous distance! There were others, though, that were right down near the hole- yikes! The waves were pounding, so there was quite a bit of "blow"!

The blowhole was a cool detour; glad we saw it. 

The sun was starting to shine, so headed back, stopping at Safeway in Kihei on the way back. Whoa, sticker shock! That was an eye opener! We bought a few breakfast-y things for the room, and it was $130.00. I guess, when everything has to travel by boat or plane....Maui Gold pineapples were only .99, though! 

I took this photo in the Fairmont deli/shop. 

$6.95! For a loaf of bread! Wow!

Headed back to the hotel for some beach time....

Kea Lani #5 Breakfast

Our first morning, after seeing the view off the lanai in the light for the first time (it was quite solidly overcast), we headed down to breakfast at the buffet breakfast restaurant. I had originally booked a breakfast package directly with the hotel. After I had booked it, however, the hotel had a fifth night free promotion, so I changed packages (and saved over $600.00). We thought we would have the breakfast, though, if it was worth it- I had heard great reviews. 

It was busy in the restaurant, even though it was barely 8:00 am. I guess everyone is time-shifted, too.  We were sat with menus. I asked for one kids menu, as one of the 13 year olds in our party is the lightest, pickiest eater ever! The other one eats like an adult, so I have no issue paying for an adult portion. However, it pains me that the other one has aged out of kids menus. Three of us decided to get the buffet, and my partner decided to try Loco Moco, in keeping with a pledge to eat as local as possible. The buffet was $34/person. I was immediately disappointed by the buffet selection- the fruit consisted of canned peaches and mandarins, some pale cantaloupe, green bananas and sour, unripe pineapple. Hey! Wait a minute! I am in Hawaii- where are the fresh fruits!? The rest of the items- baked goods (very nice), cereal, eggs benedict, omelette station- were okay. Nothing I haven't had a hotel in Toronto in February. I was just expecting something else, I think...maybe an orchid here and there? The restaurant is half inside, half out. We sat in a kind of weird spot in a courtyard- our fault, my daughter wanted to sit by the waterfall- but it was probably a bad choice a it was kind of tucked away and maybe even a little dismal...although the people sitting outside by the adult pool were fighting off bold sparrows that tried to eat off their plates. 

Plate one from buffet. 

Loco moco- rice, soy sauce flavoured gravy, a hamburger patty and two fried eggs. 

Overall, a sort of so-so breakfast. I was glad that we weren't committed to it every morning. In fact, it was the only time we ate there in six days. The bill came, and it was $135.00. Ouch! Our server didn't even ask about the kids menu on the table...just billed the kids both as adults. So here is how I feel about that: both my partner and I have a long history in the Hospitality business. One of us owns a restaurant, and the other is a Hospitality high school teacher. I really think that servers should be trained to observe! Especially at a buffet service. If our server, who didn't actually seem that interested, were observant, they would note the kids menu on the table, and the half bagel with one bite out of it on the plate, and note mentally that the kids rate ($16.00) would be more than fair. I get that the hotel probably sees way too many cheapskates trying to pass off their ravenous teenagers as kids...but come on. A little observation and attention goes a LONG way. That's all! I didn't feel like bickering over the bill on this first morning of a long planned holiday, so I paid it and vowed that we wouldn't make that mistake again.