Hello everyone,

My fiance (soon to be wife) and I are going on our honeymoon to Maui in June and are planning on staying at the Hyatt Regency. The other option (albeit more expensive) was the Grand Wailea. We're leaning toward the Hyatt because of its close proximity to shopping/activites. We have several questions and would appreciate any input as we have never been to Hawaii before.

1) Which, the Hyatt or the Grand W, is more "romantic" and "island-feel"? (if that question makes sense)

2) We've read that the pool at the Hyatt might be really crowded, but is that much better at the Grand W? We're going in June.

3) If we stay at the Hyatt, we'd get the "regency club" ocean view. Its supposed to be on its own "exclusive" floor with a continental breakfast and cocktails in the evenings. But we don't get the full buffet breakfast. Has anyone stayed at these "regency club" rooms?

4) If cost wasn't an issue, which is better for a honeymoon, the Hyatt or the Grand Wailea?


I'm meeting with the travel agent again soon so any advice would be helpful.

Thank you all so much.

Personally, I like the Wailea Area much better than were the Hyatt is for a honeymoon. We visited the Kaanapali area one day on our Honeymoon and I felt like I was in Ft Lauderdale. Touristy shops everywhere, traffic .......

That being said, of the 3 top Wailea Hotels (GW, 4S and Kea Lani) the Grand Wailea was my least favorie for a Honeymoon couple. GW was huge (we walked around the grounds and lobby) and in June (from the 100s Hours of research I did), it is very popular with families. We stayed at the 4S and that was very intimate. We loved it there. We also were very impressed with the Kea Lani, almost as big as the GW, but less over-the-top feel I got from the GW.

You can't really go wrong there.

Hope this helps. I've been where you are and it's such a hard decision.

I am planning my honeymoon for May, and chose the Grand Wailea. I never considered the Hyatt because I wanted to be in Wailea, which although a bit more isolated, is nicer and more romantic. At least that's what I hear. Have you checked the GW's prices? I got a rate of $291/nt for May in a terrace level room. Anyway, we chose the GW based on a recommendation of a co-worker that honeymooned there and also because of the pools (and the great rate!). Everyone says that it can be overrun with families with children, but since we're going before school lets out, I'm not too concerned about it. If I were going in June, I might be worried about it, and therefore might choose the Four Seasons.

Having stayed at both and returning to GW in 10 days--I have to say the two do not compare. If those two are your only choices, it is an easy answer-Grand Wailea. If you are going at the beg. of June before school lets out, it should be fine. The Hyatt is a kiddie haven, too. I don't know why everyone says that Wailea is more secluded--you've got everything you need in the Kihei-Wailea-Makena corridor and it is way nicer than Kaanapali. So you drive to Lahaina once or twice--not a big deal. Congratulations on the wedding and enjoy!

How long are you going for? You may want to try both areas. My husband and I were there for 10 days for our honeymoon and spent the first half at the Four Seasons - relaxing and being pampered and spent the second half in Kaanapali - when we were ready for a little more action - shopping - and from that base point spent a day in Lahina and another at the Kapalu Beach. It was a nice mix of both.

Thank you all for your advice and help. Due to budget constraints (i.e. met with the wedding florist today and blew our budget! <gulp> , GW (and 4 seasons) are well out of our budget. I've decided that we can perhaps spend a night in Hana to attain that secluded feeling. Plus, we went through Northwest World Vacations (so I can use my frequest flier miles to upgrade to first class seats...its a long flight from Michigan to Maui) and their "package" was too expensive for GW. I figure we can always go back for an anniversary in the future. Also, chances are we won't be in the hotel that much since we'll have a car the whole time with so many beaches/snorkling sites to visit. Thank you all for your help and I will keep this in mind for any future trips to Hawaii. I will let you know how our experience at the Hyatt was (7 nights in Maui, 3 nights in Oahu). I'm sure it will be great...I'm going to have wonderful company so I think we'd be happy even in a rundown shack!

Don't know what your budget is, but you might want to check out the Ho'Oilo House, a B&B near Lahaina. If you're looking for a special place to stay on a lower budget, it might fit the bill. Never stayed there, just read a trip review about it on this forum. hooilohouse.com

Check the occupancy of the hotels, especially GW during your stay. If it is anywhere close to 100%, the pools, restaurants and grounds will be jam packed and pretty miserable. Hopefully you will get there before the summer crunch.

Just returned from Maui on our 23rd wedding anniversary trip.

We stayed at the Maui Prince on Maluaka Beach just south of Wailea. We had a car and drove all over the island. Here's what we thought about various locations on the island:

Maui Prince, lovely, quiet location, you need a car to stay here.

Wailea area, lovely location, hotels have nice grounds. A car would be nice but not essential unless you want to get up to Lahaina for shows, want to explore the island, etc.

Kihei area, lots of restaurants, but definitely lacks cuteness, isn't picturesque enough for a honeymoon.

Kaanapali, if you stay here you need a car so you escape from here!!! Big hotels right next to each other all in an ugly row, lawns sprouting lounge chairs with no privacy, some hotels have narrow strip of sandy beach, over-built, hot and crowded, no parking. That's our very subjective view of Kaanapali. If we had to stay in Kaanapali we'd choose the northern location of the Sheraton near black rock.

Hana, oh my, have we died and gone to heaven? Lovely, secluded, green, lots of lovely places to discover, if you stay in Hana and get up in the morning you can even find yourself alone on a beach as we did one morning. Loved our sea ranch cottage at the Hotel Hana Maui but it's expensive and a definite but very memorable splurge. One problem with Hana is there aren't enough restaurants.

Happy honeymoon!

"One problem with Hana is there aren't enough restaurants."

Well, if they start building restaurants it will no longer be "Hana"--it will be just another tourist town.

here_today_gone2Maui, you're right, we wouldn't want Hana to get all built up. But at least 1 more restaurant would be nice. There's really no competition so they don't have to serve good food. Luckily the main dining room at Hotel hana Maui has a good dinner. We had bad luck at Tutu's snack shop on the beach at Hana bay and were served old, overcooked fish, very yucky, the only bad fish we had on the whole island. They were out of the daily special. We had no breakfast the day we left hana for the airport because Hotel Hana Maui breakfast opens at 7:30 and we had to leave before then!!!

And thank you so much for the recommendation of Paia Fish Market Restaurant, where we had an excellent and cheap ono sandwich for $7! Great place!

Hi seige!
We stayed at the Maui Hyatt this past August and loved it. We got a rate of $200/night on Hotwire, and had a beautiful room. The beds were so comfortable, and the room was spacious and well-furnished. All the employees were very nice, and we loved the big pool. Some nights we went into Lahaina for dinner, others we just walked down the beach bath to Whaler's Village. We drove to snorkeling at Black Rock, Honolua Bay, and Kapalua Beach most mornings. We liked being close to lots of things to do. If you search my screen name, you might be able to find my trip report. Have a great trip!

Thank you beachgirl86 and everyone else. Your help has been appreciated. My plans are now all set and I will write a trip summary sometime in June when I get back.

Just one more thing to hopefully help make you feel even better about your choice--We have stayed at both the Hyatt (June 2004) and the GW (June 2003). I honestly think we enjoyed the Hyatt more.

I do prefer the Wailea area to Kaanapali, and I do admit the GW is ritzier than the Hyatt. However, I found the staff to be nicer at the Hyatt, and we really enjoyed the tropical feel of the resort. The GW doesn't feel as "Hawaiian" to me.

In short, we had a very, very nice time at the Hyatt. It's a restive and relaxing place, even when it's crowded. I'd go back in a heartbeat!