I won’t be shy about saying it but I love being spoiled when on vacation, even when traveling with my family. On our recent visit to Maui we stopped briefly at the Grand Wailea Resort for a little family bliss.
As expected with any Waldorf Astoria Resort, the Grand Wailea was a picture of vacation perfection from the moment you turned down the vegetation-lined driveway. The open and airy lobby was full of opulent charm with fountains and larger than life statues greeting us as we made our way to the reception desk.
Each member of my family was welcomed with traditional lei, flowers for the girls and kukui nut for the boys. Although our room wasn’t ready yet, the hotel staff was able to offer us a courtesy room for an hour so the family could change to enjoy the resort’s facilities.
The Pools
Of course the pool area was our first stop. My kids have been obsessing over the photos and videos of the hotel’s many pools for days before our arrival. We made our way to the pool deck passing tall columns and spacious verandas. We walked beside the dolphin fountain, crossing through the adult-only area with its poolside spa tents.
The family pool area is deceptively large thanks to some amazing landscaping. Instead of one large pool we found many small freeform pools connected by steps, bridges and even little waterslides. I especially loved the shallow beach pool with its sandy bottom. The kids loved the waterslides, water elevator and Tarzan rope swing.
The Room
They were so enamoured with the pools that when our room became available no one wanted to come with me to check-in. This worked out fine because it gave me a chance to do a quick room walkthrough to share with you in this video:
After our amazing day by the pool, it was time to eat. If I were on the ball I would have booked a table at the resort’s famed Humuhumunukunukuapuaa. I don’t even want to attempt pronouncing that. We passed by the thatched huts that sat overtop of a lagoon, listening to the evening’s entertainment tune-up. Perhaps next time we’re in Maui we’ll make that a priority.
The Grand Wailea does offer a number of additional dining spots for families like the Café Kula though I felt this was a little too casual for my taste. It’s more of a “grab-n-go” spot for perhaps a quick breakfast. Instead we settled on the Bistro Molokini overlooking the pool area and out into the ocean. You should note that all restaurants (excluding the Café) require reservations, something we were misinformed when we checked-in resulting in an extended wait for dinner. The front staff were pleasant and worked hard to seat us as quickly as they could.
Our waiter was very friendly and the menu looked promising but unfortunately the meal was a little underwhelming in both presentation and taste, especially for a Waldorf Astoria Resort. Then dessert arrived to save the day. As we were in Hawaii I was drawn to the Maui Gold Pineapple Tarte Tatin and boy was I pleased. The pastry was flaky, not soggy, and the mix of pineapple and coconut curry ice cream was divine. This definitely saved the evening.
Like any family vacation there’s no sleeping in. My kids wanted one last splash in the pool and my oldest daughter (our Junior Style Blogger) and I had a trip to the Spa Grande planned. I fell in love with their hydrotherapy pools, which I wrote about earlier and our Junior Style Blogger experienced her first massage. It’s nice to discover a spa that offers treatments for tweens and teens beyond just getting their nails done. You can read more about her experience and some tips on her blog.
Of course this is just a small snippet of what the Grand Wailea Resort has to offer vacationing families. Although our Hawaiian trip had us opting for a condo during most of our stay, I would recommend booking a night or two at one of Maui’s fabulous resorts like the Grand Wailea for a little pampering and fun, mom included.
Although the folks at the Grand Wailea hosted us in order to write this post, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Grand Wailea is one of our all-time favorite family vacation resorts. The pool is as good as it gets for kids!
This looks like a great place to stay. I love the laid back atmosphere of Hawaii. The video is great and gives one a better idea of what the Grand Wailea Resort is like. I will definitely keep this place in mind when I go back to Maui.
Thanks Michael. Maybe you can shove us all in your bag when you go back? We’re big Maui lovers too 🙂