The Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort
We took a mini-vacation to Maui last month and stayed at the Grand Wailea for a weekend. It is the best resort for families: kids are everywhere, and staff was so nice to our daughter, which is the best. When you're dealing with the stress of traveling with a kid, any kindness is welcome.
The Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria resort | Maui, Hawai'i (airport: OGG)
Highlights: 9 pools, 2 waterslides, and a lazy river. Yoga on the beach. Kids under 5 eat free at the resort's signature restaurant, Humuhumu.
Hilton Impressario: SmartFlyer is a member of Hilton Impressario, so my clients receive complimentary breakfast for two daily, $100 resort credit, and priority for an upgrade, early check-in, and late checkout when I make their bookings.
We took an early-ish flight from Oahu and landed in Maui just in time for breakfast. First stop: cream horn's at Stillwell's bakery. It's just a tiny little detour and so amazingly worth it.
We were using free nights for the stay, but because our room wasn't going to be ready until normal check-in time, we paid to upgrade to a suite. This turned out to be a huge help because it gave the baby her own room to sleep in-- she has a really hard time sleeping in the same room as us.
We got one of four Honua'ula suites. It isn't their most luxurious but it was super spacious (about 1300 square feet) and it was so worth the extra expense to have a separate space for us to relax in while the baby slept in the other room.
Bedroom
The master bath had two dual shower heads, a separate soaking tub (the best for baby baths!), and a separate water closet (my favorite thing in any hotel). Their amenities come in their signature fragrance - Honey Mango from Spa Grande - and smell so perfectly "Maui-vacation."
Living area separated from the bedroom by French double doors
I loved the pillows on the couch!
Balcony and half bath in the living area side of the suite.
On the first night, we had dinner at the hotel's signature restaurant, Humu Humu — named after the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, Hawaii's state fish.
I don't always expect the most from resort food, but we were both pleasantly surprised at how delicious our entire meal was. I had the pork chop with truffle "shake and bake" -- so good and the baby had noodles with tofu (kids 5 and under eat free with a paid adult).
Crayons and a keiki menu kept Jules entertained, and she enjoyed her noodles. We really appreciated these little touches that helped keep her happy and us sane.
Staff was wonderful throughout our stay, and they were so sweet to send up champagne for us and cookies for the baby to decorate.
From the free morning yoga to the super sweet staff and good food, we had a fantastic family weekend. But be warned - if you don’t like kids, you might like another hotel better. This is a family destination for sure.