We stayed at the Wailea Marriott for a week while on our honeymoon in April of 2008. The location of the hotel was spectacular and close to the shops at Wailea. From our hotel room, we could see whales breaching on a very regular basis. Fantastic view for sunset's each evening. Very quiet and peaceful. There is a 3 mile walk you can do which runs along the shoreline passing a slew of other hotels, this was great exercise!

If you have young kids (under 10) they will love the waterpark area. It has a waterslide, a mock beach, sprinklers in the shape of palm trees, etc. The adult pool is also very peaceful. You can rent cabana's for $100.00 per day (personally, I think it is a waste of money... you are there for the sun right!).

Although the location was beautiful, and the rooms were a nice size, I was not overly thrilled with the staff. Very few people said hello and they did not seem to go out of their way to make you feel welcome (with the exception of the valet staff). When we checked in, we mentioned that were on our honeymoon. Nothing was ever said or done. My husband is a preferred customer with Marriott, so I was pretty surprised by this lack of response.

I also was very disappointed in the housekeeping. I had accidently spilled baby powder on the floor of out hotel room when we first arrived (no carpet in the rooms - all tiled flooring) , it wasn't cleaned up for 3 days. Our floors were never washed and the sweeping was not very thorough (i.e. missed corners and under the tables). There were also a few days when our bathtub was not cleaned or the bathroom counters were not wiped. Now, I am sure of this... because it couldn't be missed, I don't know how housekeeping did! I didn't complain to the hotel, as my husband didn't think it was a huge deal (his response.. it is a chain, what do you expect) and given that it was our honeymoon, I didn't want to deal with the headache of complaining. We had left a substancial tip the second day, hoping that things would improve; however, it didn't. I think my experience was unique, as other's at the pool said their housekeeping was great.

The Marriott has also recently put in the memory foam beds...if you have a bad back, I don't recommend staying there. I don't mind a soft bed; however, I found it too soft...feels like you are sinking. I woke up everytime I went to roll over. After a few days you get used to it. I noticed a few other people around the pool complaining about the beds too.

We had breakfast at the hotel only twice, as we have left early for our daily adventures. The food was quite good and not overly pricey. We had dinner a few nights at the Shops of Wailea (Tommy Bahama and Ruth Chris Steakhouse - were our top picks). We also had dinner one night at Roy's Restaurant (just a short 10 minute drive into Kihei) - this was very good.

Hillo Hattie was a great spot to shop for souveniers, that was until we went to Lahaina (much better selection for the hawaiian shirts, etc).

If you are looking at snorkling adventures, I would highly recommend Trilogy (by far the best company out there). Old Lahania Luau was also fabulous (far better than the one done by the Marriott), I would highly recommend this luau, but book as soon as possible as the best seats go quickly. Maui Downhill was great for biking down Halelaukala (it isn't a 61 kms bike ride downhill, you only ride down about 30 kms - no pedaling required)...smooth ride. Dress warmly, it was really cold on the top of the crater at 5:00 a.m. (I am not kidding...it was zero celsius).

If you are going to Hana, eat at Charley's for breakfast...it is on the road to Hana in Paia (interesting fact... it is owned by Willie Nelson, who is a regular visitor). Go to the bathroom before you go (unless you are okay with outhouses or road side pitstops. Not much eating selections in Hana. Buy the CD about the road to Hana (driving tour) well worth the $20.00. We also stopped by the Garden of Eden at mile marker 10. It was really interesting seeing all the different types of plants, trees, flowers, etc. Great spot for a picnic lunch.

We actually had booked a condo in Kihei, and upon arriving were really unhappy. The condo had a smell in the closet that was so strong we couldn't stand it. That and the pictures on the internet were a bit deceiving. So.... I got on priceline to try to get into the Marriot and got a great deal!! We were so happy to return. It is one of the nicest areas to stay. The beachwalk is fantastic. The pools have been redone and they now have an all adult endless pool that looks right out on the ocean. Great for whale watching and relaxing!! I would go back in a heart beat and hope we will be lucky enough to be able to do so.

Used Marriott Reward for a 10 night stay. We had always stayed in Kaanapali previously but that property is completly timeshare now. The Wailea property is as nice as the Kaanapali property.
Just yesterday, I booked a 12 day trip for next year.
We only ate Breakfast and lunch in the hotel. Breakfast was the normal Marriott Buffet and occasional lunch was light foods around the pool.
Being adjacent to the Shops at Wailea gives many options for food. Also went to the Four Seasons for dinner twice.
The only drawback at the hotel is they need a Coffee shop in the am. A Starbucks would be perfect.
After waiting about 2-3 hours for our room, the front desk offered another option. I sent my wife to check it out, she's the room critic. She came back and said it was OK. We were given a suite. A standard bedroom and a living room with dining facilities a huge plasma TV, etc. My wife is now in charge of room selection.

I will tell you a secret about Marriott. They offer a government rate that normally does not require you to be travelling on orders. We are currently stationed in Pearl Harbor, and wanted to go check out another island. I went to the Marriott website (we are huge Marriott fans). We were able to get a rate of $159/night. So always check that government rate, it saved us over $200/night. Of course there was tax and that evil resort fee, but every hotel in Hawaii has that resort fee. Our biggest financial complaint was the $12.95 for the high speed internet. But at least we weren't spending $400+ night on the hotel! :-)

Anyway, this hotel is gorgeous! Our room was large enough for the four of us (2 adults and 2 kids). We were upgraded to a partial ocean view and stayed on the ground floor of Hale 5. We could see the adult only Serenity pool and the ocean beyond from our lanai. But really, we weren't there to sit and enjoy the view. We much preferred walking the 20 steps out to the kids pool with the water playground and two water slides (and the ocean view from there). The floor is a cold tile, but I didn't have to worry about water and/or spills on the floor, and the hotel provides slippers for you if your feet get that cold. :-) Each room has a mini fridge, so we stopped at Wal-Mart and got some milk and cereal as it was easier to feed the 4 of us that way instead of waiting for everyone to get up and get out the door for breakfast. The strangest thing I found was that there was no iron or ironing board in the room.

Yes, the hotel is not beachfront, it sits on a rocky portion of the ocean but the beach is a very easy and short walk. I don't think the walk was any farther than the beach front location of the Marriott Surf Club in Aruba and the walkway along the water is very nice.

The on-site restaurant was very good and it was also nice to be able to walk to other nearby restaurants and have a cocktail with dinner and not worry about driving home. We really enjoyed our stay. The staff was wonderfully helpful and friendly. We were all sad to leave!