The Grand Wailea Resort & Spa is a 40-acre Waldorf-Astoria luxury resort located on the beach in Wailea, Maui, Hawaii, and also home to 2 of the twelve Fishpipes in the world.
Video Grand Wailea Resort
History
The hotel was built by Japanese developer Takeshi Sekiguchi, who also put together a large art collection for the hotel. It opened in 1991 as the Grand Hyatt Wailea. The hotel was built at an estimated cost of $650 million, which proved to be more than the economy could sustain, and Sekiguchi lost control of the property, which was sold for $263 million in 1998. The property has been sold several times since then and it is now operated by Hilton Worldwide. It was the first hotel to join Hilton's Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts in 2006 after the Manhattan hotel became a brand. It is the second largest hotel on the island of Maui and is one of Hawaii's most well known resorts. It is also the site of the first water elevator and the first rotating barrel pipe ride.
Maps Grand Wailea Resort
Accommodations
Villas
The resort has one, two, and three bedroom villas which are across the street from the hotel. The villas, named Ho'olei at Grand Wailea,are two-stories, have a full-sized kitchen, outdoor barbecue, and one-car garages. All the villas have their lanais (decks) facing West.
Rooms
Napua Tower
There are 100 rooms in the Napua Tower. The rooms in the tower are upgraded, and guests receive complimentary concierge services. Rooms range from 640-5,500 square feet. The tower is home to some of the nicest of the hotel's suites, including the Two Grand Suites which are equal in size and the largest suite category available (approx nightly cost $10,600).
Membership
Members of the hotel are given discounted rooms rates for themselves and their guests and receive member-only promotions.
Facilities and services
Pools
Wailea Canyon Activity Pool The Canyon Activity Pool is a 2,000-foot-long, 25,700 total square foot, 770,000-gallon pool. It consists of nine pools on six separate levels which are connected by a river. There are four small intertwining slides, two big waterslides, a whitewater rapids slide, a rope swing, a sand beach pool, three Jacuzzis, six waterfalls, a water elevator and an infant pool. The water elevator is the world's first. The pool also has a swim-up bar.
Hibiscus Pool The Hibiscus Pool is 4,850 square feet. There is an image of a hibiscus flower on the bottom of the pool which is made from 630,000 pieces of Mexican glass mosaic tile. The pool itself is made from 2.2 million tiles. It has two Jacuzzis.
Scuba Dive Training Pool The hotel has on-staff scuba instructors and a scuba dive training pool. It is the only custom-designed scuba pool in Hawaii. Beginning scuba divers practice in the dive pool as well as parts of the activity pool before going out into the ocean.
Fishpipe The Fishpipe is a rotating barrel pipe. It is a type of water ride that simulates a waterslide and allows up to three people to ride at once. The pipe has a top speed of 11 mph and is the first rotating barrel ride in the world. The barrels are made up of over 150 square meters of transparent plastic material, more than 1200 anchor points, 600 brightly colored nylon cords, and 50 meters of polyester webbing.
Spa Grande
Spa Grande is the largest spa in Hawaii, with 50,000 square feet. There are 40 treatment rooms. The spa has cascading waterfall showers, a Roman tub, saunas, a Japanese furo and five specialty bath and Swiss jet showers. The Grand Salon is a hair and nail salon also located at Spa Grande.
Nightclub
The hotel closed its nightclub in 2006 and it is currently used to host special events. Plans are to convert the closed nightclub into a cultural space.
Restorations and expansions
In 2008 the hotel underwent a $50 million restoration project. The project renovated the Botero Bar, the Arrival and Departure Lounge, added new furniture, and placed flatscreen televisions in each room. The spa was also upgraded with new carpet and furniture. In 2012, the hotel was set to have a five-year $250 million expansion. The expansion will involve additional rooms, new restaurants, new in-room technology, and a new pool. New renovations began in October 2014.
Dining
The resort has four restaurants, four bars, and Sunset Cabana dining as well as room service.
Restaurants
- Humuhumunukunukuapua'a
- Bistro Molokini
- Grand Dining Room Maui
- Café Kula
Bars
- Bistro Bar
- Botero Bar
- Grotto Bar
- Volcano Bar
Awards
- AAA Four Diamond Award (14 times)
- Top rated Specialty Accommodations in Wailea on TripAdvisor, Certificate of Excellence winner and 5 rating (2013)
- "Top 10 Spas in the United States" by Condé Nast Traveler and Travel & Leisure magazines
- Top Hotel Spa in Hawaii Travel+Leisure's "World's Best Awards" (2012)
DESTINATION o Maui - World's Best Island in the World, Conde Nast Traveler's Readers Choice Awards, 15th time in 2011 o Wailea - America's Top 10 Healthiest Beach and Lake Getaways, Health magazine, 2009
PROPERTY o AAA Four Diamond Award, 1998 - 2011 (13 years consecutive) o Top 10 Family Hotels in North America, Travel + Leisure's "Word's Best Awards," 2011 o Gold List, Conde Nast Traveler, 1999 -2010 o Best Resort, Maui News, Best of Maui Readers Choice, 2009, 2010 o Top 100 Resorts, Condè Nast Traveler, 2010 o World's Top 500 Hotel, Travel + Leisure, 2007-2010 o Top 25 Hotels in Hawaii, Travel + Leisure, 2001 - 2010 o America's Best Hotel for Families, Travel + Leisure, 2001 - 2010 o Readers' Choice Platinum List "Top 10 Hawaii Hotels," American Airlines Celebrated Living, 2004 - 2010 o Readers' Choice Platinum List "Top 10 Family Resorts," American Airlines Celebrated Living, 2004 - 2010 o Readers' Choice, Top 10 Family Resorts, Gayot, 2010 o # 4 of 100 Premier resorts, Gold Medal winner, Golf Magazine, 2010
SPA GRANDE o 4 Star Forbes Mobil, 2004 - 2010 o Top Hotel Spa in Hawaii, Travel + Leisure's "Word's Best Awards," 2008, 2011 o Readers' Choice Platinum List "Top 10 U.S. Spas," American Airlines Celebrated Living, 2004 - 2011 o Best Spa, Maui News, Best of Maui Readers Choice, 2009 - 2010 o Readers' Choice, Spa Magazine Silver Sage "Favorite Resort Spa in Hawaii & South Pacific," 2009
DINING - HUMUHUMUNUKUNUKUAPUA'A o Best Resort Restaurant, Maui News, Best of Maui Readers Choice, 2010 o Best Table for Two, World's Best Awards, Islands magazine, 2009
POOLS o Grand Wailea, "Word's Best Resort Pools," ABC broadcasting, 2010 o Grand Wailea, "World's 'Coolest' Pools," Travel+Leisure, 2009
MEETING o Pinnacle Award, Meetings & Conventions, Successful Meetings, 2010 o Paragon Award, Corporate Meetings & Incentives, 2005-2010 o Elite Certified, Elite Meetings, 2005-2010 o Gold Tee Award, Meetings & Conventions, 2010 o Best of the West, Meetings West, 2005-2010 o Smart Meetings Platinum Choice Award, Smart Meetings, 2010
In popular culture
Many celebrities have been known to stay at the Hotel including Steve Carell, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin Bacon, Magic Johnson, Paris Hilton, and Oprah Winfrey.
Films
- Just Go With It (2011) was filmed at the hotel
References
External links
- Official Hilton Grand Wailea Resort website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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