Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa

Description:

• This classic, open-air, 1970s-style hotel in a tropical garden by the sea gives you a sense of what Maui was like before the big resort boom. It was the first resort built in Wailea (in 1976), and it remains the most Hawaiian of them all. Airy and comfortable, with touches of Hawaiian art throughout and a terrific aquarium that stretches forever behind the front desk, it just feels right. What's truly special about this hotel is how it fits into its environment without overwhelming it. Eight buildings, all low-rise except for an eight-story tower, are spread along 22 gracious acres of lawns and gardens spiked by coco palms, with lots of open space and a half-mile of oceanfront property on a point between Wailea and Ulua beaches. The vast, parklike expanses are a luxury on this now-crowded coast.

  The small Mandara Spa offers a long list of treatments, from relaxing massages to aromatherapy wraps to rejuvenating facials in a very Zen atmosphere.

  Facilities: 2 restaurants; 2 bars; outdoor pools (including 1 for kids only); use of Wailea Golf Club's 3 18-hole championship golf courses; use of Wailea Tennis Center's 11 courts (3 lit for night play) and pro shop; fitness center; full-service Mandara Spa w/steam rooms and whirlpools; watersports equipment rentals; recreation center; concierge; activities desk; business center; shopping arcade; salon; room service; in-room and outdoor massages; babysitting; same-day laundry service and dry cleaning.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Travel + Leisure Family

•  Family 50 2008

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2010