Which is the best hotel in Maui? Four Seasons Maui Vs. Wailea Beach Resort Marriott? Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea tends to be the most expensive. The Marriott is one of the cheaper hotels in the area. Is it worth spending more on Four Seasons?
The good news is that we have stayed at both of these hotels, and I have outlined the pros and cons of each hotel below. I have also included the club floor and lounge section of Four Seasons. When you take into account food costs and drink costs across the resort, it may work out better value to book a club room, depending on which room view you want to pay for. Wailea Beach Resort Marriott does not have a club lounge.
If you don’t have time to read my article in detail, the Four Seasons Maui is the best hotel, far better than the Wailea Beach Resort Marriott, in our opinion. It is more glamorous and more beautifully decorated. It even smells better due to the deliciously scented extravagant flower arrangements dotted all over the hotel. The rooms are larger with a larger lanai, and they are closer to the beach and pools. The bar is brilliant, and the restaurants are amazing.
For me, the only feature that the Marriott has over the Four Seasons is their rather fun pirate island-style pool with multiple slides for the kids. The Four Seasons wins in almost every aspect, plus Four Seasons doesn’t charge a resort fee.
You may still choose to stay at the beach Marriott based on price or because you have Marriott Bonvoy points to spend. if you do, you must walk up that idyllic beachside pathway and spend at least one evening in the bar and restaurant at the Four Seasons.
Four Seasons Maui Vs. Wailea Beach Resort Marriott: The Best Beach
Four Seasons Maui at Wailea and Wailea Beach Resort Marriott are located at the opposite ends of the same glorious beach (with the Waldorf in between them). The grounds of the Four Seasons lead directly down to an expansive patch of managed beach, complete with Four Seasons beach loungers. The walk from your room to the beach isn’t far, and the patch of beach is picture-perfect. So, while the beach is the same for the two hotels, the accessibility and setup at the Four Seasons are much better.
The Wailea Beach Resort Marriott’s beach is right on the other side of this bay. The ocean in front of the Wailea Beach Resort Marriott is rocky, so if you book an oceanfront room, you will have fabulous views, but if you walk towards the water, you will reach craggy black rocks rather than a beach. This is because the Wailea Beach Resort Marriott is built on a rocky headland, and the beach it shares with the Four Seasons is to the left of the resort when facing out to sea rather than in front of the resort.
Why does the position of the beach matter? Because the Wailea Beach Resort Marriott is an enormous resort built up a steep hill. If you book one of the base rooms by the check-in desk, you are a fairly long walk from the beach, so much so that you may prefer to use the pools over the beach as you might not be bothered to walk the distance to the beach in the heat every time you want a dip.
Four Seasons Maui Vs. Wailea Beach Resort Marriott: Best For Style
Four Seasons Maui at Wailea offers the epitome of luxury and elegance. It’s a fun resort and is popular with A-List Hollywood celebrities. It’s the best hotel as an overall package. This does not mean it can’t be beaten in some aspects, but overall, if your budget will stretch, this is the resort to pick.
The rooms at Four Seasons are larger than those at the Wailea Beach Resort Marriott, and the setting is more ultra-luxurious. The balconies on the rooms at Wailea Beach Resort Marriott are more standard hotel balconies, whereas the balconies at the Four Seasons are generous terraces to enjoy.
The grounds are stunning at Four Seasons and highly styled, whereas the gardens of the Wailea Beach Resort Marriott are spread out and feel random, with lengthy paths and walks between your room, the pools, and the beach.
The overall feel of Four Seasons Maui reminds me of a beautifully decorated and perfectly formed creamy wedding cake with a frothy fountain in the center, all framed by palm trees. Admittedly, comparing a hotel to a wedding cake is random, but the multi-layer frontage with alfresco terraces, the pinky creamy hues of the building, and the level of Four Seasons perfection remind my warped mind of a wedding cake!
Four Seasons Maui Vs. Wailea Beach Resort Marriott: Resort Fee
Unlike the nickel-and-diming resorts across these islands, Four Seasons Maui does not charge a resort fee. It is the only hotel on Maui do not charge a resort fee, and yet it still offers a bunch of complimentary extras, such as the use of cabanas, resort car service (to golf, tennis, shopping, and dining in the Wailea area), free sunscreen, introductory fitness classes, free of snorkel equipment for the first hour, free introductory daily scuba lessons, and Hawaiian outrigger canoe paddling excursions.
Wailea Beach Resort charges a resort fee like most of the hotels in Hawaii.
Four Seasons Maui Vs. Wailea Beach Resort Marriott: Best Bar
Four Seasons Maui is one of the best Four Seasons hotels in Hawaii and is situated in the exclusive resort area of Wailea. This has to be one of the most wonderful venues to enjoy fine dining al fresco under tropical palms or to sip on a beer or a glass of wine with wasabi nuts as the sun sets.
The Four Seasons sunset bar, which I so dearly love as the sun goes down, overlooks the grounds, and you can watch the day’s activities being cleared up, and the evening is set up over a relaxing beer and listening to a tinkling piano. Sometimes Hula girls dance here too. It offers one of my favorite views from any bar in the world.
The Wailea Beach Resort Marriott does have a bar, which is OK, but wherever you stay, the bar at the Four Seasons is the place to watch the sun go down.
Four Seasons Maui Vs. Wailea Beach Resort Marriott: Best Rooms
The rooms at Four Seasons Maui are situated in a U-shaped, low-rise building, all with a large Lanai angled towards the sea (except for the mountain view rooms). While you can’t actually see the sea from the garden view rooms, as they are at the base of the U, all rooms are a good size (600 ft²) with the signature Four Seasons bathroom along with the large balcony.
The cheapest rooms at Four Seasons Maui are the rooms with mountain views (which face the car park). These rooms are the same size and quality as the other rooms. It is the view that varies, and you pay more for a better view. We recommend booking a garden view room as these rooms tend to get more sun than the mountain view rooms. The Four Seasons’ rooms are larger and more glamorous than those at the Wailea Beach Resort Marriott.
At Wailea Beach Resort Marriott, the rooms are layered in mainly two-floor buildings arranged in terraces down to the sea. While the views can be excellent at the Wailea Beach Resort Marriott, you do need to book a decent room to get these views. We recommend the rooms right by the waterfront. The base rooms at the Wailea Beach Resort Marriott are pleasant with traditional balconies, but they are set a long way from the sea and the beach.
Four Seasons Maui Vs. Wailea Beach Resort Marriott: Best Pool
The Four Seasons Maui has a wonderful garden that stretches down to the beach. The hotel is built in a U shape around numerous pools and fountains, framed by the beautiful Wailea Bay. The pools are beautiful; some are for kids and adults, and the stunning infinity with a bar is for adults only.
We used the loungers on the beach and around the pools (spritzer anyone? don’t mind if I do) as well as the free snorkeling equipment. I did notice that although the feel around the pool was very casual, the men, in particular, were wearing a lot of Rolex watches. This is the place to be seen!
There are actually three separate pool areas at Four Seasons. The resort’s central pool is called the fountain pool because of a giant picturesque fountain that emerges from the heated waters of the pool. The pool, which has two whirlpools at both ends, is surrounded by plenty of cabanas. This pool area is open 24/7 and is very popular with kids. It opens up to a more tranquil lawn with plenty of loungers that overlook the beach.
The waterfall pool is a free-form lagoon-style pool that is located next to the fountain pool and draws its inspiration from the ponds of Maui. Two parts of the waterfall pool are linked together with a short slide. This pool mainly attracts families with younger children, and parents can relax in one of the cabanas while keeping an eye out for their kids. Food and drinks are also available poolside, both here and around the fountain pool.
The fountain pool and waterfall pool can be very crowded during the school holidays, so for adults, there is a third pool area, the serenity pool. This pool is located one level above the other two pools at the resort’s southernmost edge and has two hot tubes and four bubble loungers on its side. The pool is an infinity pool offering panoramic views of the ocean and beach and plays underwater music.
At the Wailea Beach Resort Marriott, there is a great children’s pool with long, windy slides that deliver you into a tropical paradise-themed pool. The slides at the Wailea Beach Resort Marriott are brilliant for children and arguably offer a better children’s pool experience than the pools at Four Seasons, although your kids may hate the lengthy and steep walk from their room to and from the pools and beach.
Four Seasons Maui: Club Lounge
One particularly attractive feature of the Four Seasons property is that guests who book into a Club room or Club suite enjoy complimentary access to the hotel’s exclusive Club Floor Lounge. The ‘hotel within the hotel,’ Club Floor has its own concierge team solely dedicated to the 26 rooms and suites on the top level. Here, guests enjoy complimentary all-day refreshments, a full-service bar, and other appealing extras. Once you have entered the Club Lounge, everything is free, which can actually bring down the cost of your vacation.
Club floors often offer the best possible deal because, although the initial price is higher, you do not need to pay resort rates for food and drinks, which can save you hundreds of dollars every day.
Crucially, the Marriott does not have a club floor, nor does it have a club lounge, so if you are looking for an exclusive club lounge experience, Four Seasons Maui has got to be your top pick.
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