I booked four nights of stay at the Marriott Wailea resort by using more than 100K of Marriott points. My wife and I were extremely disappointed at this “category 7” Marriott property (the highest category in Marriott family). We made the decision to checkout the next day only three hours after we checked in.

Here is a summary our my experiences;

The valet parking attendant who helped us upon arrival was lazy and unfriendly. The self parking is very easy and close to the hotel main entrance. So really there is no need to valet is anyway. When I checked into the Westin Maui, there are friendly staffs at the door to greet and provide followers and ice water. None of that at the Marriott. Bottom line: you don’t feel you have arrived at a nice resort.

I was bit early for check in – 2pm. They told me that don’t have the room I booked until 4pm which is the official written check in time. Instead they offered me the upgrade rooms. Surprisingly, all those rooms are all available. Bottom line: I felt that I was dealing with snake oil sales women. Very very annoying.

The front desk person told me the all the bellmen were busy, and it is an easy walk to our room. What she forgot to tell me was that there are no elevators at those hotel room buildings! We ended up get lost and have to drag the heavy suitcases up and down the stairs!

The snack and drink bar by the kids pool area was closed. And the towel service station staff was not where to be found. I have to ask the security guy to get it for me. I later found out that the hotel cut down the services due to low occupancy.

The kid’s pool area was dirty, and not well maintained.

The much talked about adult pool itself is nice looking. However, it is surrounded by the old hotel rooms, and not so nice landscape.

Marriott did spend $70 million to upgrade the hotel. But it is not enough to cover up the aging of this property. The hallway of the hotel is dirty, and old, as if you are walking inside a cheap hotel.

The room itself is good, but I don’t like the tile flooring which gives you a very cold feeling.

In summary, this hotel is old, and under maintained. It is ok if they call that a deluxe hotel. But no where it is close to a resort. The marriott resort in Kauai is also a category 7 hotel, but it is ten time nicer!

We stayed here in 2003. I have visited Hawaii on several occasions and have stayed a variety of hotels/resorts. This is a solid value for the money. To be on Maui, in Wailea, I think this is the best value in that area. There are some very swanky places around it that are spectacular but you will pay for that.

The Marriott has beautiful grounds, with winding pathways and that open air hawaiian feel. Walking in and out and between buildings not even realizing when you go inside because of the openness. The hotel is right on Wailea and easy access to its gorgeous quiet beach as well as a boardwalk that goes along that beach across a couple of different properties.

There is a great poolside bar...a must in my paradise vacation checklist. They have good food and great service even coming around poolside to take your order and bring you your food/drinks. it was a very nice touch. Plus it is in walking distance to the Wailea shops! And a 10 minute drive into Kihei which is such a fun little place to hang out with some fun shops and a great breakfast place!!

They did have a kid pool area and I would say it is very family friendly. The rooms were decent rooms, it's a Marriot, not incredibly spectacular but with the views and the paradise around you, it's easy to overlook and we just weren't in the room a lot. They were clean and well kept so certainly not a concern there and I am slightly fastidious with that type of thing...

Overall we would stay here again, it is a good value for Wailea and Wailea is a bit quieter than the more busier and touristy parts of the island.

Clean, decent sized rooms, good location. Nice pool.

During my honeymoon, the Marriott decided to completely replant the vegetation in the circular drive in the front of the hotel. They had no problem booking us in a room just above said "re-planting." Quite a ruckus for 7am. Backup warning beepers sound remarkably like an alarm clock when you're that close. After the 2nd day of this (we're talking fully grown palm re-planting scale), I politely inquired on when the construction would be finished and was told they would be done that day. The next morning, my bride paid the front desk a visit (after waking again to chainsaws / workers yelling / etc,) and was given a similar reply. No recompense was offered whatsoever, other than a passing apology.

Also, just kind of a ripoff for the money they charge for a pretty average hotel imo. Had to walk out of the in house restaurant when I saw $3.50 for a cup of coffee. It's a CUP OF COFFEE. Not a cappulattefrappicano.... a plain cup of joe.

Had much better bang for the buck (and a full condo) down in Kihei at the Aloha Pualani. Doubt I'll be visiting any other Marriott any time soon.

Don't get me wrong, it's a gorgeous hotel/location and would be great.... for half the price (and we even had a nice discount) and twice the customer service.

My husband & I just returned from a 9 day stay at this hotel. We had a fabulous experience and would highly recommend staying here. The service was outstanding. Arman checked us in & worked with us until we found a room that had the view we were looking for. (we viewed 3 different rooms) We used Marriott points for our stay & he did offer us a free upgrade to a "partial ocean view" room, but it also overlooked the hotel roof. So we asked for a "full ocean front" room & he said it was a $100./night upgrade charge. After seeing the room & view, we went for it! It was sure nice leaving our balcony door open at night & hearing the ocean waves. Worth every penny!!! Not sure if we were ripped off, but Arman seemed pretty upfront & cool. All of the hotel employees were friendly & helpful. Especially Rachel & Terrence at the concierge desk. They were awesome! The grounds were beautiful & the infinity pool rocks!!! Drink service at the pool was fantastic too. We have no complaints at all. We ate dinner at the newly opened Malla restaurant at the hotel. This was great for dinner & had a wonderful ocean view. Also try Cafe Kehei for breakfast. (in Kehei, about 5 minutes North) Loved Sansei for sushi and Cafe O'Lei for dinner. Also MUST try "The Grill" maybe also called "Makena Grill" it's a food stand/grill along side the beach road in Makena. Locally owned by a lady that cooks on the grill & serves up tasty terraki chicken/fish and coconut rice. YUMMY & a good deal at $9.99 for a plate of food. We stopped there after snorkleing at the underwater preserve up the street. Fantastic snorkeling. Also took the Blue Hawaiian Helicopter ride. That was great!! We used Trilogy for a snorkeling trip to Molokini (the crater) I don't think the snorkeling was that great at the crater. Save your money & snorkel off the beaches. We saw better fish directly off the beach. Plus the water was SO cold off the crater. Highly recommend kayaking & sailing off the Wailea Beach. (right next to the hotel) There is a rental desk on the boardwalk in front of the Grand Wailea Hotel. These guys were the best & we had so much fun doing these activities. I think the rental desk was called "Maui Outfitters" or something along those lines. You can't miss them! This is a really special place! We can't wait to go back again!!!