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Which is the best hotel in Maui? Four Seasons Maui Vs. Andaz Maui? Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea tends to be the most expensive. Andaz tends to be the cheapest. Is it worth spending more on Four Seasons?
Below, I have outlined the pros and cons of each hotel. 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. Andaz Maui does not have a club lounge.
Four Seasons Maui Vs. Andaz Maui
Four Seasons Maui at Wailea and Andaz Wailea are arguably the best luxury resorts on Maui, so you won’t go wrong with whichever one you decide to pick, particularly because Wailea, where both resorts are situated, is the driest part of the island.
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 Andaz, the setting more ultra-luxurious, the grounds are stunning and larger than those at the Andaz, the pools are fabulous, and the spot Four Seasons has on the beach is idyllic.
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!
There are also a lot of free services at Four Seasons, including complimentary poolside snacks, free Kona coffee each morning in the lobby and at the gym, and a complimentary resort car and driver to take you around in Wailea. More importantly, there is no resort fee at Four Seasons Wailea.
Other aspects where the Four Seasons has the edge include the incredible service and the love given to families, although there is an adult-only pool to escape to if you feel the need.
By comparison, Andaz Maui feels trendy, modern, and hip. Your teenage children might prefer it, and so might your wallet.
The Andaz has four infinity pools, two restaurants, a full-service spa, and a beachfront on Waikapu Beach. It is a great resort, and the price might just tempt you to book the Andaz over the Four Seasons.
While the rooms at Four Seasons Maui are larger, there isn’t a villa option at Four Seasons. The Andaz offers spacious villas with a private plunge pool or hot tub and sweeping Pacific Ocean views. Some of these are on the oceanfront and sit right by the beach. Families or groups will love these villas.
Equally, because the Andaz has a more adult feel, this is the hotel I would pick for groups enjoying a hen or stag trip or maybe a workgroup. At the Andaz, you can indulge in cocktails without too many families being present. The andaz has a more trendy feel. Conversely, Four Seasons is, without a doubt (in my opinion), a better option for families with children. Your children will be treated like princes and princesses at Four Seasons!
Review: Four Seasons Maui
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 to the tinkling of piano keys.
The open-air marble foyer of Four Seasons Maui is stunning and adorned with sweet-smelling flowers. You can literally smell the luxury, and when you are given “the tour” around this beautiful resort where the cream hues and intricate marble pillars form a backdrop to the magnificent ocean views, you can’t fail to be impressed.
The rooms are situated in a U-shaped, low-rise building, all with 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.
Review: Andaz Maui
The Andaz Maui has 15 acres of beachfront beauty and describes itself as a “lifestyle experience.” Here you can dip your toes in the sand, explore Hawaii’s vast wonders, or lounge poolside with your favorite drink. Gentle ocean breezes and the pristine shores of Mokapu Beach provide the perfect backdrop.
Each one of the hotel’s 320 guest rooms, suites, and 30 residential-style villas blends the non-traditional Andaz style with the feel of a luxury resort community. Modern touches include private lanais for admiring magnificent Hawaii sunsets, bathrooms with ocean and garden view showers, and luxurious body products that invigorate both body and mind.
Rooms: Four Seasons Maui Vs. Andaz Maui
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. The Four Seasons’ advantage over the Andaz is the size of these rooms, which start at 600 ft² (56 m²), plus a lanai. At the Andaz, the base rooms start at 380-420 ft². They are considerably smaller.
The cheapest room at the Four Seasons Maui is a great room. You will just be facing the wrong way, so you won’t hear the crashing of the waves as you fall asleep. The cheapest room at Andaz also comes without decent views, but usually, ocean-view rooms are cheaper at the Andaz than Ocean Views at the Four Seasons, so if you are keen to have an ocean view, you might want to pick the Andaz.
The Pools: Four Seasons Maui Vs. Andaz Maui
The Four Seasons Maui has a wonderful garden that stretches down to the beach. This garden is larger than the garden at the Andaz. The entire resort is beautiful. The hotel is built in a U shape around numerous pools and fountains, framed by a 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?) as well as the free snorkeling equipment (although I always feel rather uncomfortable sharing the mouthpiece with previous snorkelers!). 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. 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 Andaz, the pools are layered on terraces down to the sea. There are three ocean-facing, cascading infinity pools, a lagoon pool, and an adult tranquility pool for guests 18 and over.
Bar: Four Seasons Maui Vs. Andaz Maui
And now to the sunset bar, or “lobby lounge” which I so dearly love as the sun goes down. Your seat 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. My husband points out that the bar itself is little more than an enlarged corridor on the way to Spago, which isn’t untrue, but it remains one of my favorites.
That said, this bar is sophisticated and sedate. If you want to enjoy a more trendy bar, Andaz may also be a good choice for you.
The Club Floor: Four Seasons Maui Vs. Andaz Maui
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 Andaz 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.
Resort Fee: Four Seasons Maui Vs. Andaz Maui
Most resorts in Hawaii charge a resort fee, even if you are paying on points. Book the Marriott in Wailea, and you get your room rate for “free” (on points), but you are still charged an additional resort fee, which makes a point booking here quite a bad deal.
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 that does 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.
Andaz Maui does charge a resort fee.
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