I feel it helps to know who is writing a review, so others can judge if they are looking for the same things: we are in our late 40s, like luxury, good food, clean facilities and top service. If we are paying a top price, we expect the best.
We spent 7 nights (April 13-20) at the GW with 2 thirteen yr old girls, staying in adjoining Napua Tower Club rooms (We had to pay $25 per night to guarantee connecting rooms. They tried to charge us PER ROOM for this, ie $50 per night, but took it off when I complained). The girls had 2 queen beds, we had a king. These rooms are very large, well equipped, clean, with fabulous bathrooms (see my pics). We could see the ocean only from our balcony, which really didn't bother us that much as we are from Sydney and surrounded by ocean but it may matter if you are coming from somewhere else.
The service in the Club areas was very good. (We noticed that guests in other rooms had to carry their own luggage, for example)
Breakfast was included in the Club lounge - it finishes at 10.30am which was about 1/2 hr too early, I thought (teenagers like to sleep in!). Also they start clearing away at 10.20, which was annoying. It is not a full breakfast, but we found plenty there - fresh fruit, a wide selection of cereals, breads, one hot dish, pastries, juices.
We also made use of the Club lounge every evening for cocktails and canapes (on from 5-6.30pm). Great spicy bloody marys and my DH loved his vodka martinis! Hot snacks (chicken skewers or spring rolls) were not good, but fresh veggies and dips were just fine.
We made use of the excellent gym - large with the latest equipment, plenty of towels and water.
The spa was superb (except the rooms were too bright for my liking) - very clean hydro baths and spa pools, really worth having at least one treatment there (we had two each, including one duo massage). The therapists were good, which is not often the case in hotel spas.
The food was either average or very bad (in the Japanese restaurant). The only decent meal we had on Maui was at Spagos at the 4 Seasons next door. Huma Huma, the GW signature restaurant, was fine - nothing terrible but not really notable either. The bistro was a bistro - sandwiches, french fries, lousy burgers. I don't understand why Americans put strange orange cheese on everything, but that's another discussion!
Our teenagers had a FANTASTIC time and we were SO THANKFUL for the adult pool. When one man had his 3 year old in there, we complained right away - it took a while for staff to get him out (what was worse, HE was staff on a day off!), but we kept complaining and finally he got out. The kids pool areas, with slides and rope swings, a "river" and hot tub is really great - for kids! Our girls loved it and were old enough to hang out there on their own - and that is the ONLY way I could survive this place. Having to be around the family pool area would have been awful for us.
We were also extremely lucky, it seems.....
For the first 5 days I would guesstimate that the hotel was about 1/2 full - plenty of green lawn, chairs by the ocean and adult pool, no waiting for restaurants and the gym was empty. Then, on the day before we left, a convention arrived.
It was appalling and the whole character of the place changed immediately.
Suddenly the elevators took much longer to arrive, we had to wait longer for our food to be served, it was harder to find pool chairs... on and on, you get the picture.
This was sheer luck (though I would never go to a resort like this during high seasons like spring break, Xmas, Easter etc) and we are most thankful.
Also, I really resent the $25 per day per room "resort" fee - what is THAT about? I knew about it, but I still don't get it. And yes, you have to pay for shade - umbrellas or cabanas. That's just another blatent rip-off.
Bottom line? A great place if it's not too full and wonderful for teens. (I do not understand why honeymooners would choose a resort this size. Problem with 4 Seasons, however, is that there is no adult pool - go to Tahiti or one of the smaller isles!)
Hope this, and the pics, help (it would really be helpful, I feel, if people would only post pics of rooms and bathrooms. Views not really help me decide on a hotel, unless of course the view is so awful it needs warning about!!)
We had a great holiday cause the kids had so much fun and we got lucky with the crowds.