Ho Olei at Grand Wailea

My review is long overdue but I spent a lot of time looking at reviews of Ho'Olei before booking, so wanted to offer my 2 cents. My biggest hesitation when looking at the property was the price - we paid about $25k for 7 nights during spring break 2023. Granted this is a prime time to go, and they charge accordingly, but expectations are sky high when you're paying this much. Pros: - Plenty of space for our party - my family of 4 (with 2 small children) plus 3 grandparents. 5 adults and 2 kids total. We had a nice 3 bedroom setup. - Beautiful views from the top row villas - Our villa was nicely appointed with relatively modern finishes - Housekeeping was good / fine but I didn't find it to be anything special like you might get at a premium resort hotel. - Access to the GW amenities was very nice to have, but again this is where the value is questionable. My 3 year old loved the slides + kid friendly pools, and the beach/chair service is a plus (though they don't have full food/beverage service on the beach as its technically a public beach). But are the rooms worth more than double to access the GW amenities? Not sure. - The smaller pool and fitness center at the villas itself was nice and quiet, but again not 5 star resort nice. - There is a shuttle that can take you from the villas down to the main hotel, and to other areas within Wailea. A nice to have, but it felt silly taking it down to the main hotel, especially with all our kid/beach gear with us. We took it back up the hill a few times with older grandparents. Cons: - While we had a lovely view from the top row villas, it was a LONG walk to get from our door to the GW pools. And walking downhill there is much easier than walking back uphill. Just didn't feel like we were actually at a resort because we couldn't pop into our room to get things or put the baby down for a nap. We had to really plan out the days, it felt like when we left the villa we were going on an excursion for the day. - No food options / service up at the villas. Which meant walking down the the main GW buildings or driving elsewhere to get food. Net-net it was a nice experience and probably a once in a lifetime trip solely due to the cost (and necessity of bring both sets of grandparents). You're paying for the space, and in some regards paying for access to the GW amenities, which are nice but it doesn't feel like part of your resort. For our next Maui trip we just went with our family of 4 and stayed at the Fairmont - you could probably get 3 1-bedroom suites for less than the cost of Ho'Olei and you're right in the main building area, overlooking the pool with quick access to all the resort amenities. GW might have marginally better amenities in terms of the slides and activities for kids, and the full kitchens in the villas can be nice if you use them, but the resort / hotel offerings are comparable. Just giving my honest review that Ho'Olei is nice but I really struggle with the value you get for the price pai

We rented 24-3 from PMI vacation rentals. This is a very nice 3 bed, 3 1/2 bath unit with nice furnishings. The lanai is huge with a bbq, dining and patio furniture, BUT it is directly above the main road so the noise level is high at times. No ocean view due to trees, but lovely if you can handle the traffic noise. Once inside with doors closed, it’s very peaceful. Please note that if you rent from any source other than the Grand Wailea, you may not be welcome to use the GW pools, gym, towels, etc.. They are happy to take your money at the restaurants and bars, but don’t get close to the pools, as they will sternly tell you to get away. Although you’re staying at “The Ho’olei AT the Grand Wailea” not “The Ho’olei BEHIND the Grand Wailea” the GW does NOT consider you a guest. While we were there, two of the GW pools were closed anyway and we found the pool at the Ho’olei to be beautiful, quiet and perfectly adequate.

We stayed at the Hoolei ,December 2022 ,we have stayed at the Hoolei 6 times prior since 2014 ,this last trip was a real disappointment the villa we had was not cleaned to usual Hoolei standards in the past ,the area rug in living room was so dirty the bottom of our feet were black from walking across the rug gross ! Our ensuite bathroom toilet run for minutes after using it making horrid noises ,the shower in the main ensuite need repairs in the handles ,which my husband did ,and the dryer only worked one 1 setting and you needed to reset that setting for 3 cycles to get a dry load. The shuttle service was down to 2 drivers great guys ,but they were so busy the waits were long at times ,not due to their trying though. The Hoolei pool was not cleaned regularly as we swam with dead bees and leaves and debris,small kids had thrown handfuls of gravel into the bottom of the pool that you stepped on when you were walking in the pool ,from what we enjoyed many times before ,was now a real disappointment,and for 4200.00 a nite ,such a let down ,we will return to Maui ,but we will not be returning to the Hoolei, it’s completely lost it’s sparkle ,it’s getting old and tired looking .