Honestly, I chose to stay at the Hyatt Regency Maui because of my ability to redeem points, because they were moving up a category, and to review something new-to-me. However, it wasn’t the most sensible place for us to stay given what we had planned, doubly so because of how things remain post-fire.
In March 2023, the Hyatt Regency Maui moved from World of Hyatt Category 6 to 7. Because of this, as soon as I found out, I booked a reservation. Miraculously, I found two nights available for Labor Day weekend and jumped on it. Of course, as we all know what happened the month before our scheduled stay, which caused me to immediately call Hyatt and see if I could move my reservation.
As I’ve covered before, Hyatt graciously gifted me 10,000 points to cover the difference in award pricing. Unfortunately, they couldn’t do anything about my Club Lounge Access certificates, but that’s ok. The main thing is that they maintained my out-of-pocket award pricing, and was able to secure me a stay during Memorial Day Weekend.
Why the Hyatt Regency Maui?
As I covered earlier, I booked the Hyatt Regency Maui because of the price adjustment and to try something new-to-me. Realistically, though, I should have booked something in Kahului or Kihei-Wailea. Unfortunately, the only Hyatt out that side is the difficult-to-book on awards and wildly expensive Andaz Maui. Sure, I could’ve booked with Marriott instead, but I really didn’t feel like burning well over 100,000 points for a Courtyard, AC Hotel, or Residence Inn. So, the Hyatt Regency maui it was.
Hyatt Regency Maui Arrival Experience
After our lovely lunch at Wabisabi Hawaii in Pā’ia, we headed straight to the hotel. We ended up arriving around 2:15 pm, opting to valet our car, as the self-parking lot is FAR away. Note: there’s a sign that says Hyatt Regency Maui, but the building that immediately follows it is the Hyatt timeshare. The Hyatt Regency’s porte-cochere is actually a bit further in.
At any rate, as we arrived, we were quickly greeted by the valet staff. They offered to assist us with our bags, but we declined, unloaded ourselves, and made our way to the lobby. There, we were quickly greeted by an associate at the elite desk. I was thanked for being a Hyatt Explorist, was offered an upgrade to a partial ocean view room, and was informed that our room was ready. After processing our documentation, the associate waived my valet parking fees, issued our room keys, given information about the resort, and pointed in the direction of our elevator bank.
Hyatt Regency Maui Room 1905
For our two-night stay, we were assigned a room in the main tower on the 19th floor. What’s interesting about this property, though, is that the 19th floor of the main tower isn’t actually the 19th floor. I didn’t really notice it until we got stuck in a long-ish elevator ride when it finally clicked that the buttons go from the lobby to floor 7. Thinking back, it didn’t seem like there was that much space between the lobby and the 7th floor, which you can see for yourself below.
Anyway, from the elevators, we headed to the right and found our room, 1905, nearly at the end of the shorter side of the building before it turned to the side opposite the elevators. It’s worth noting, on our way up, we ran into several employees on the housekeeping staff, and each was warm and friendly. However, there were also two wine glasses on the ground outside of our room for the two of the three days we were at the Hyatt Regency Maui.
The standard rooms at the Hyatt Regency Maui are, if I’m honest, part of the reason why I chose this hotel. At 451 sq/ft, they’re among the largest standard rooms you’ll find in Hawai’i, and they’ve been redone relatively recently. The rooms here are certainly larger than those found at the nearby Westin Maui and of the luxe Andaz Maui. And that largeness is evident from the moment you step in. Here, you’ll find an open closet with drawers and a standard-size safe. That, of course, it open the the bathroom, which features a dual vanity.
Opposite the vanity was the toilet and walk-in shower, which is separated by a frosted glass wall and door.
As you can see in the above photo, toiletries come in the form of wall-mounted refillable pump bottles. In this case, they’re branded Marilyn Monroe Spa (though it seems that’s changing) and has a Coco Mango scent. I didn’t use any, so I can’t say if they smell like the ones at the Grand Wailea.
Just past the bathroom area is a small nook featuring a bar area of sorts, which has a mini-fridge, a Keurig with pods, an ice bucket, and a hot water kettle. Now, I have a gripe with that ice bucket, as the interior is incredibly narrow. I could barely fit the paper coffee cups into it to scoop ice out to put into my Yeti bottle. Of course, because of the shape of the bucket – a cylindrical metal inner vessel surrounded by a wood box – which made pouring ice into my Yeti even more difficult. It really would’ve helped if they at least provided a scoop, but there wasn’t one.
Past the bar area is the rest of the room, which is comprised of a sizable living area featuring a king bed, a large sectional with a coffee table, a desk with chair, cabinets, and a large screen tv.
The bed is framed by a nightstand on each side and a lighted headboard. On one nightstand is a radio/alarm clock, and a phone resided on the other. Ample a/c power outlets and USB power ports are also available on both sides.
As you can see in the above photos, the tv is situated directly across from the sectional, which is a smart move that very few properties of any caliber get right. Speaking of the sectional, it was a really comfortable space to be. We spent all our time in the room while not sleeping sitting here.
Across from the sectional on the desk was two reusable PATH water bottles. These bottles come prefilled with water and can be refilled at the water and ice station available on each floor near the elevators. Oh, and these replace the complimentary daily bottle of water that is a benefit for all World of Hyatt elite members.
Also of note is that the Hyatt Regency Maui offers 500 bonus World of Hyatt points for each day you opt out of housekeeping. However, you must place the door tag outside between 5 pm and 11 pm the day before the opt out day.
Hyatt Regency Maui Partial Ocean View Room View
Each room at the Hyatt Regency Maui has an outdoor balcony with two chairs and a table. Contra walls on either side of the balcony provide privacy from your neighbors, but only if you remain back in the balcony looking straight out. In our case, that view straight out was of the rest of Ka’anapali Resort and its golf course.
Stick your head out over the balcony railing and look to the left, our room offered views of the golf course and Mauna Kahālāwai.
To the left, we had views of the resort’s other tower, its garden areas, the sliver of beach that fronts the property, the ‘Au’au Channel, and Lāna’i beyond.
Hyatt Regency Maui Standard Room Comfort
What I didn’t mention earlier is that our room was an adjoining one. Remarkably, we didn’t hear any noise from our neighbors, though a moderate level of corridor noise did make its way into our living area, despite the corridors all being open-air. It wasn’t enough to really bug us, though, which is great, as the HVAC was fairly quiet, while also being very effective. The combination of all these elements and the very comfy bed (along with our fatigue from hiking) meant that we got really great sleep at the Hyatt Regency Maui.
What wasn’t so good at the hotel was the water temperature and pressure in the bathroom. The water pressure issue, I get. After all, Maui has been under drought conditions for YEARS, so water conservation is critical. However, the water temperature barely got hot enough in the shower, but got quite hot at the sink. Odd.
Hyatt Regency Maui Amenities
During our stay, we didn’t really take advantage of the amenities at the hotel – we were barely in the hotel. Moreover, the pool area was under construction, so the grotto bar and its associated water falls were walled up.
Speaking of, the pool areas were very crowded with tons of families. That’s not all too surprising, and is probably amplified by the fact that the beach fronting the resort is badly eroded and the water in the area is pretty rough. As such, I couldn’t find a good place to fly my drone, either, so no drone photos this time around.
Walking around by the kid’s pool, we did stumble upon the property’s chef’s garden. I think it’s cool that they have this, but I question how much produce they actually use from it. Given the sheer size of the resort and the number of restaurants they have, I don’t see how this meager space can supply any meaningful quantity of product.
Speaking of restaurants, the hotel has a few, including a pool side one – ‘ūmalu – serving American cuisine, a Japanese fusion spot called Japengo, and a steakhouse called Son’z, which also doubles as the breakfast restaurant Swan Court in the morning. There’s also a lu’au on-site. We did check out Swan Court for breakfast, but it was pretty disappointing. A lot of the stuff on the buffet was packaged foods, while their “omelet” is really more like super-sized frittata folded in half with cheese in the center. Even the shrimp tempura was the same stuff you can buy frozen at Costco. Service, though, was outstanding.
As for the other restaurants, we were going to try Japengo when our dinner plans fell through on the first night – restaurant had to close abruptly due to a family emergency – but you literally can’t get into any of their dinner spots without reservations made way in advance. And they’re all ridiculously expensive.
But I digress – getting back to the chef’s garden, past that area is a little pond area covered in feathers. Apparently, this area is home to the resort’s breeding pair of swans. The others are kept in the much larger pond by Swan Court/Son’z.
The resort also features several parrots held in cages throughout the open-air lobby, though they’re taken elsewhere during bad weather and at night. You can also find a family of penguins in the little enclosure off of the lobby.
Hyatt Regency Maui Service
As I mentioned throughout this post thus far, service at the resort is great! People here are genuinely friendly and work hard. However, their employment challenges are considerable, especially at the valet stand. When we were departing for dinner on our first night, we ended up waiting around 10 to 15 minutes for our car. This is despite the valet employees hustling HARD. They were short staffed, and the cashier was constantly asking their manager to come assist, though they were tied up with another matter while we were there. The distance from the porte-cochere to the valet lot didn’t help, either.
I don’t say all of this to ridicule the resort – everyone was trying as hard as they could. Rather, I say this so that anyone considering a stay knows what to expect. It’s important to have patience, and I’m happy to say that all the guests I saw (which was just a small fraction of them) were patient and tipped well.
Hyatt Regency Maui, Final Thoughts
Overall, I’d say that I had a great stay at the Hyatt Regency Maui. The one complaint I think I’d have is that elevator wait times could get a bit long and the shower water temperature was a bit iffy. That said, I can’t fault the resort for anything. Yeah, food is always going to be expensive in a hotel, and I kind of figured finding someplace to eat in the area was going to be a challenge. But everyone is trying their best and doing it with a smile on their face and genuine warmth in their heart. Plus, the rooms are spacious and comfortable. What more could you want?
For me, though, Ka’anapali just isn’t wear it’s at for me. I love dining around Wailuku and Kahului, while spending time in Haleakala National Park is probably my favorite thing to do. So, staying out in Ka’anapali doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense for my preferences. But If were to stay in West Maui again, I’d totally consider staying here again.