Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa

Description:

• Spa aficionados, take note: Hawaii's largest (50,000 sq. ft.) and most elaborate spa is located here, with every kind of body treatment you can imagine. Treatments include use of the numerous baths, hot tubs, mineral pools, saunas, steam rooms, and other relaxation amenities in the his-and-hers spa area.

  Built at the pinnacle of Hawaii's brief fling with fantasy megaresorts, the Grand Wailea is extremely popular with families, incentive groups, and conventions; it's the grand prize in Hawaii vacation contests and the dream of many honeymooners. It has a Japanese restaurant decorated with real rocks hewn from the slopes of Mount Fuji; 10,000 tropical plants in the lobby; an intricate pool system with slides, waterfalls, rapids, and a water-powered elevator to take you up to the top; a restaurant in a man-made tide pool; a floating New England-style wedding chapel; and nothing but oceanview, amenity-filled guest rooms. It's all crowned with a $30-million collection of original art, much of it created expressly for the hotel by Hawaii artists and sculptors. Though minimalists may be put off, there's no denying that the Grand Wailea is plush, professional, and pampering, with all the diversions you could imagine. Oh, and did I mention the fantastic beach out front?

  Note: All rooms and suites are now nonsmoking. The former smoking rooms have undergone a thorough cleaning and have been deodorized. Smoking is limited to the private lanais outside the rooms.

  Facilities: 6 restaurants; 7 bars (including a nightclub w/laser-light shows); 2,000-ft.-long Activity Pool, featuring a swim/ride through mountains and grottoes; use of Wailea Golf Club's 3 18-hole championship golf courses, as well as the nearby Makena and Elleair golf courses; use of Wailea Tennis Center's 11 courts (3 lit for night play) and pro shop; complete fitness center; Hawaii's largest spa; Jacuzzi; watersports equipment rentals; diving and windsurfing lessons; children's program; game room; concierge; activities desk; car-rental desk; business center; shopping arcade; salon; room service; in-room and spa massage; babysitting; same-day laundry service and dry cleaning; concierge-level rooms.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010