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Emily: The Spa Grande is the nicest spa I have been to after the baths in Budapest, Hungary. The Spa Grande is the largest spa in Hawaii and had a variety of Roman tub, saunas, cascading waterfalls, Swiss jet showers, a Japanese furo and five specialty baths.
The Spa Grande is expensive, but you can save 20% by buying Spa Finder gift certificates from Costco online or in the store. Here’s a link to the treatment menu.
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Emily: Daraius surprised me with a stay at the Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort. I had never stayed in a Waldorf Astoria hotel (part of the Hilton chain), and was looking forward to our visit to see what the fuss was about!
Daraius: The Rough Guide says that “…minimalism is a dirty word” at the Grand Wailea. And, boy, were they correct!
Poolside at The Grand Wailea
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Emily: We used our Hilton points and the free nights from the Hilton Reserve card to book a room at the Grand Wailea.
Unfortunately, Daraius could not get an ocean view room because the hotel was full (it was spring break). We still had a nice terrace room with two queen beds, but I preferred the rooms at the Hyatt Regency in Maui.
Daraius: I normally email the hotel in advance, explain how excited we are to visit the hotel, and politely ask for an upgrade (if available). But I slacked off this time and didn’t contact the hotel until only 1 week from our trip. And instead of emailing, I used Twitter to contact the hotel, since I was curious to see how responsive the Hilton twitter account was.
Grand Wailea Terrace Room
I wasn’t able to confirm an upgrade or to get 1 king bed instead of 2 queen beds before check-in. But the check-in agent spent at least 15 minutes furiously banging away on the computer trying to see if we could get an upgrade or a king bed, but nothing was available since the hotel was sold-out.
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Emily: After two nights in the suite, we had to move to an Ocean Front room (in the center atrium building) because the Ocean Suite was no longer available. This was not such a bad thing because the views were even better from this room and we were very close to the Regency Club Lounge, which was only a few floors above us in the same tower.
View From Our Hyatt Regency Maui Ocean Front Room
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Emily: The great thing about Hawaii is that there is so much to do! The selection of activities is much better than in Bora Bora, and they are much cheaper as well. This post will highlight the activities we did in and around the Hyatt Regency hotel, including:
Activities around the Hyatt Regency Maui
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Emily: Daraius and I had some delicious (and some not-so-delicious) food in Hawaii. Here’s what we sampled in and around the Hyatt Regency, Maui:
Sunset at Merriman’s Restaurant, Maui
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Emily: As you approach the hotel, there are several resorts in the same area. I left like I was in Orlando with all of the high rise resorts! Our hotel was nearer to the end of the resort laden driveway.
Enjoying Hyatt Regency Maui’s Beachfront Location
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Emily: As we drove up to the Hyatt Regency in Maui, I told Daraius that from the outside, we could be driving by any of the resorts in Orlando, Florida!
Daraius: I’ve never been to a resort in Florida, so I replied “Yeah!” I didn’t want to pay the $20 valet parking fee, so I drove to the lobby and unloaded our bags (and Emily!) and parked in the self-parking lot which is $14 per night.
Emily on the Balcony of the Ocean Suite
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Alaska Airlines First Class
Emily: Daraius and I took a Southwest flight to San Jose, and the next morning we flew to Maui on Alaska Air. We spent the night at the Hyatt House in Santa Clara. We arranged for a free shuttle from the hotel (by phone) and waited about 10 minutes for the shuttle to arrive.
We spent $118 for the hotel room because Daraius wanted a Hyatt stay credit. Continue reading
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Over Spring Break in March, Emily and I visited Maui in Hawaii. This was our first time to Hawaii so we were very excited! We spent only $570 dollars for a trip which has a retail cost of $8,731 for some Big Travel with Small Money!
Of course we wouldn’t pay the retail price ourselves, which is why we collect miles and points.
Can’t Wait to Go Back!
I always thought that I’d “save” Hawaii for when I retire because it would be relatively easy to visit and explore later in life. But one of the most common reader questions is “How do I get to Hawaii?”
And almost everyone who has visited Hawaii wants to go back (if that isn’t a ringing endorsement, what is?) so we decided to go! As luck would have it, I fell sick the first 2 or 3 days, but still had a wonderful time. Continue reading
I have earned and redeemed millions of airline miles and hotel points to travel the world for free. Now I'm blogging to help more people do the same! Find out more.
