My wife and I spent 4 weeks in Hawaii in February 2008. We went from Four Seasons Manele Bay Lanai to the the Hapuna Beach Prince on the Big Island to the Hyatt Regency Maui and then to the Grand Hyatt Kauai. We spent 7 nights at the Hyatt Regency Maui. It was our 7th visit to Maui and Hawaii. This was our third stay at the Hyatt Regency Maui.
We rented a convertible from Avis. Maui is a great place to have a convertible, since most of the driving is at speeds where you can have the top down and the weather is usually sunny.
We reserved a Regency Club Deluxe Ocean View room. This gives you a room on the top two floors of the main building, with a full ocean view. In addition you are high enough that the noise from the pool doesn't bother you. The room is fairly large, but a fairly small bathroom and with a very king sized comfortable bed. Our room had a hide-a-bed also. It was ready to be replaced, as the the sofa sagged noticeably.
The Regency Club has a nice continental breakfast, with wonderful fresh fruit, muffins, etc. It also has soft drinks, coffee and bottled water available throughout the day and hors d'oeurves and drinks in the early evening.
We booked the AAA rate and got a 25% discount. We booked a few months ahead and I rechecked the rates every week or so and ended up getting the rate reduced a couple of times. As I kept watching the rates, they went back up and eventually were more than my original reservation. It pays to spend some time watching the rates.
One thing we don't like about the room is the "minibar" stock of candy bars, etc. that sit on a chest in the bathroom area. It takes up a big share of the horizontal flat space in the bathroom area and they tell you to not even touch anything or you'll be charged for it. With the rates they charge for the rooms, I don't see why they need to try to get even a few more bucks from these items.
The room has a nice balcony, which is a lovely place to sit and watch the ocean, watch for whales and get some sun. It gives you a great view of sunset. It's also a nice place to sit in the evening and enjoy the wonderful weather. Depending on which room you have, you may be able to slightly hear music from the lounge on the ground floor.
The hotel has a very nice pool, with a children's area that is fairly well separated from the main pool area. There are a lot of chairs around the pool, but they are quite close together.
They also have cabanas you can rent for the day, that give much better shade and a bit more privacy. They have added a number of new cabanas from our previous visits, on a grassy area near (but not on) the beach. That did reduce the number of chairs available however. The original cabanas are actually on the beach, but the beach area is so sloped that the chairs are hard to lay on without eventually sliding down the seat.
The beach in front of the hotel is ok, but not great. I believe some may have washed away in recent years. But it is a short walk down the sidewalk to broader, nicer beach areas.
The Hyatt has a great spa. Some of the treatment rooms have an ocean view, and they have a great open air relaxation room where you can unwind after a massage and look out at the ocean. If you have some type of spa treatment, you can use any of the spa facilities for the day. On our previous visit we had a late flight back to the mainland and booked a massage at about 4 pm. It gave us some place to go after we had to checkout and was a great way to relax before the long overnight flight home.
We had brunch at the Swan Court a couple of mornings. It has a very nice selection and is a beautiful place, overlooking a large pool. We also had dinner in the same restaurant on Valentine's Day. It's called Sonz in the evening. It was a very nice dinner, with excellent food, and much better service than you might often get on a busy Valentine's Day.
We've always enjoyed staying at Kaanapali Beach because of the sidewalk that runs near the beach from the Hyatt all the way to Black Rock. It's a great place to go for a walk, and gives you a nice choice of restaurants to choose from without having to get into your car. Since the Hyatt is at the south end of the beach, it has less traffic on the sidewalk. But it's also a longer walk to some of the restaurants. It's probably a 15 minute walk to Whaler's Village if you walk briskly. We don't mind, since we enjoy the exercise. Leilani's Restaurant at Whaler's Village is on of our favorites, with good food and great sunset views.
Before we started staying at the Hyatt, my wife and I have stayed at the Westin. We prefer the Hyatt, since the rooms are larger than the Westin. We've enjoyed all 3 of our stays at the Hyatt and will definitely pick it again when we go back.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
absolutely!
I recommend this hotel for:
An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
Young singles, Pet owners
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Beach / Sun, Shopping, Spa