I just got off the phone with the reservationist who said they they charge for beach casabellas. There are no lounge chairs, the casabellas are 40.00. Is this true??Is this place worth it? I like great service while I am on vacation. My step son 17 and son 14 are coming with me. Any other suggestions??Please help!!

I think it will be heaven for your 14/17 yr olds if they like pools!

They had free reclining beach chairs everywhere, but the cabanas(?) cost alot $)more. Would return in a heartbeat.

Thanks John, I think she made a mistake. If the kid's are in heaven, then I'll be in heave. I can relax at the adult pool. Any suggestions for snorkeling, riding the waves??Is the beach good there?

As if the pool was not enough, and believe you me it is, one of my favorite swimming beaches-Wailea Beach, sits afront the Grand Wailea, and there are also chairs available here.

For snorkeling would recommend going one beach north to Ulua Beach for excellent snorkeling, usually there are divers here also. Make a left at the showers/changing rooms/paved turnaround to enter Ulua Beach. Suggest you also check out Crazy4Hawaii's recent trip report of a stay at the G.W. as well.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34508307

We went to the Grand Wailea a few years back and felt like we had died and gone to Heaven. John's comments are right on.

One thought on snorkelling. I found that out a ways...maybe 200 - 300 yards off shore from the hotel offered fantastic snorkeling. Ulua Beach got a bit crowded for my tastes. I tried a couple of other recommended sites on the Southern shore. While these sites had some interesting lava tubes, out from the hotel beach was hard to beat.

Thank you! With these boys,they LOVE to swim, I am now sure I made the right decision.

We stayed at the Kea Lani, but walked through the grounds of the Grand Wailea and checked out their beach. Although we liked the Kea Lani a little more, the Grand Wailea was definitely a close runner-up. Their pools look like a lot of fun. It is true that you have to pay a daily fee for the covered chairs (casabellas) at these resorts, but the other lounge chairs are free and plentiful. The service at the Kea Lani was incredible and I'm sure the Grand Wailea is just as great. We spent at least two days just hanging out at the beach/pool, ordering drinks and feeling decadent. Snorkeling on the left (south) side of Wailea Beach is supposed to be pretty good & I plan to try it next time. Don't miss the Wailea beachside path, especially at sunset.

I've stayed at the Grand Wailea three times. The first two times it was heaven, the third time the service was awful, extremely awful. To give you an idea, I wanted to get a sandwhich pool side, it took well over 1/2 hour to find a waitress so I could order, it took another 45 minutes to get the sandwich and once I recieved it and took off the lid of the plate I saw that she delivered someone else's lunch to me. I couldn't find the waitress anywhere, I had to actual walk back into the kitchen to get my order. Room's weren't being made up. There were plenty of other examples but you get my drift. Most the other guests were grumbling that week and had stories to top my stories.

Grant it, the other two times it was great but after that third time I haven't returned because the service was so bad. Not that you'll experience what I did on that third time - besides it was several years ago, hopefully that was just a bad week for them.

The pools and grounds are wonderful and although the service was bad, the food was good. The spa is also one of the best I've ever been to.

A few ideas to save money. Bring your own coffee. They charge $10-$12 to use their little coffee packet they leave in the room. Also, ask if you can have a mini refridge. I've never done this because I wasn't in the know at the time but I have a good friend who has done this in the past. This comes in handy when you have kids (or for beer).

I think the service problems at the Grand Wailea relate to several issues, including the fact that in its ~12 year history it's gone through 3 different owners/management, and that it's so large (almost 800 rooms) that it's extremely difficult to provide top service to all 1500-2000 guests.
GW is a lot like a luxury casino-hotel in Las Vegas. It's long on glitz, has loads of bells and whistles, but it's not ever going to be tops in service.
For kids, the GW is THE place to stay, though.

I cannot believe they charged you for the coffee packet! What cheek! FWIW, the service at the Kea Lani was superb (although the maids didn't usually show up until late afternoon) and both a mini-fridge and microwave are standard with every room. Now, we did end up using the coffee packets (which were at least free) after the first morning because the coffee downstairs at the Cafe Ciao Deli was $8 for two plain old coffees -- and we're not talking lattes. We were also very happy with the Kea Lani's rooms and baths, which are all huge suites with xtra roomy lanais.

micheles -
You made the right decision. I made the mistake of continuing to read reviews AFTER I had booked GW and was almost pleasantly surprised to see how wonderful it is! I have been to Las Vegas and Walt Disney World both numerous times and find no similarities. Elegant not "glitzy"...