Relaxing weekend at Hotel Wailea Maui

Ah, Maui!

Although it’s only 70 miles away and a 30 minute plane ride, I’ve only been to Maui a few times. When Aqua started managing Hotel Wailea (formerly known as Diamond Wailea Resort) in January, I was excited to check it out but I wasn’t able to make the trip until a few weekends ago. The short flight was uneventful, as was the 25 minute drive from Kahului (Maui’s main airport) to the Wailea area.

It’s no secret I work for Aqua; if I didn’t have anything nice to say I just wouldn’t say anything at all! But here are a few reasons why I loved Hotel Wailea:

Location

Hotel Wailea is about a half mile from the beach. Let me explain why that is a good thing.

First, the hotel offers a free shuttle (actually a gem car) to and from the busier part of Wailea, so you can choose to either be in the thick of things near the beachfront resorts or you can opt to have a quiet evening on the lanai of your room.

Relaxing on the lanai

Second, Hotel Wailea has a special area on the beach where you will find umbrellas, towels and, most importantly, a gorgeous yet sparsely populated stretch of sand. When you stay at a beachfront property it seems like a great idea to take a short walk from your room to the beach – until you realize 200 other people had the same idea. The Beach Club, as it’s called, is considerably less crowded than the other beaches in Wailea, and it definitely has a feel of exclusivity: it’s just you, a handful of other Hotel Wailea guests, and a few local residents who know about this gem of a beach. As all Hawaii beaches are public there is no such thing as a totally private beach, but this is the next best thing.

Hotel Wailea Beach Club at Sunset

Like most resorts in Hawaii, not all of the rooms at Hotel Wailea have ocean views. Some resorts play fast and loose with their definition of a view (”Oh, it’s a partial ocean view: you can see the ocean if you go out onto your lanai and stand on your toes and look around the corner!”) but Hotel Wailea is set up so that the buildings are pretty far apart and in places the hill is fairly steep, so you have a stadium seating effect with great views of the ocean, Molokini and Lanai. I’m not usually into paying more for a view, but it would totally be worth it here.

Ocean View

Capische? Restaurant

Capische?, an intimate, romantic award-winning Italian restaurant is located at Hotel Wailea, and oh, it was amazing. It just happened to be Restaurant Week Wailea during our stay, so we were able to take advantage of a 3-course meal for only $39 per person. I had a fresh, flavorful Caesar salad, followed by Ono with sundried tomato relish and greens, and the dessert was creme brulee. My dining companion and I agreed it was the best meal we’d had in a long time. Even if you’re not staying at Hotel Wailea, it’s worth a visit to experience the unique setting and excellent food at Capische?.

Capische in the daytime

Hotel Wailea itself

The hotel was easy to find and we were instantly struck by how quiet the resort is. It’s located on a hill above Wailea, and after a quick check-in we were shown to our room and we were instantly struck by the magnificent views. Our Luxury Suite was spacious (Hotel Wailea is an all-suite property), clean, and had a coffeemaker, minifridge and microwave. The bathroom was large, and basically divided into three rooms: one for the sink, one for the toilet, and one for a shower and separate soaking tub. I’d never really seen anything like it, to be honest, but I grew to appreciate it as it was sort of like having more than one bathroom as one person could be showering awhile another was getting ready in the sink area.

Hotel Wailea Luxury Suite

The resort is small and intimate (only 72 rooms). After getting lost (repeatedly) at Grand Wailea and Fairmont Kealani, we appreciated the simple layout at Hotel Wailea.

Did I mention it was quiet? I live in the heart of Honolulu and have become accustomed to a certain amount of street noise. It was a relief to sit on the lanai and only hear the birds chirping and palm leaves rustling in the wind. It was so quiet that the first night I slept 11 hours and the second night I slept 10 hours! So yeah, the bed was comfortable, too!

Other notes about Hotel Wailea

Hotel Wailea guests have signing privileges at Grand Wailea, a 2 minute ride by car/electric cart. We had sunset cocktails at Humu’s, and were able to charge everything to our room.

The service was very good – everyone was efficient and friendly.

The Continental breakfast is good; just enough to get you started for the day.

I didn’t take advantage of the spa – maybe on the next visit!

Hotel Wailea has some exciting changes coming (including lots of luxurious upgrades), so check back for updates!

Maui Miscellaneous

The Shops at Wailea were okay, but I’m also used to the selection of the gigantic Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu. It’s worth a stop, especially for the galleries carrying works by local artists and for Lappert’s Ice Cream.

One day we had lunch at 808 Deli in Kihei. Delicious panini/sandwiches at reasonable prices! We got our lunches to-go and ate them at a nearby beach park.

We had another great dinner at Duo in the Four Seasons. It’s a steak and seafood place (Duo, get it?) and they bring you cotton candy with the check.

One of the highlights of our trip to Maui was the Kula Lavender Farm on the slopes of Haleakala. Um, can I live there?

Wear your sunscreen! I pulled a rookie move and didn’t apply sunscreen while inspecting a road-side tide pool in Makena. In 25 minutes I got a mean sunburn on my shoulders and back. Really, I know better.

There’s lots to do on Maui but my main objective was relaxation so I didn’t really do that much. And that’s fine – that just means I have to go back! Whatever you do, everyone has fun on Maui, especially clowns!

Clown car and Haleakala