Late Checkout: Experience Pure Luxury at Maui’s Hotel Wailea

When Maui made headlines in the summer of 2023 for the devastating wildfires that tore through the Lahaina district, over 2,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed and hundreds of people were displaced. The natural disaster also dashed the hopes of tourists planning a Hawaiian getaway last summer. But less than a year later, the island and people of Maui are showing their extreme resilience. While Lahina continues to rebuild, resorts, tourist activities, and daily life on the rest of the island are largely back in the swing of things and ready to make up for lost time. 

In fact, now is a great time to visit Maui, as the island depends on tourism to fund its rehabilitation. If you’re looking for a trip that showcases Mother Nature’s best with a side of luxury and world-class dining, you won’t be disappointed staying at Hotel Wailea. This adults-only resort is a full escape from the real world ideal for honeymooners, babymooners, anniversaries, birthdays, or really, any excuse you can think of. 

One with Nature

Hotel Wailea is the only Relais & Châteaux in Hawaii. As with any Relais hotel, you can expect an exceptionally high standard of service, attention to detail, and elegant design from the moment you step on property. The hotel consists of 72 identical suites – the only difference from one room to another is its location and view. 

It’s built on a hill so higher-up rooms have a more expansive view of the ocean and surrounding islands, but even the lowest suites have spacious balconies that offer stunning sunset views. 

The hotel aesthetic is island luxury. Lush leafy trees, including elegant palms and stalk-straight bamboo clusters, fill any white space, creating a remote, secluded tropical escape. Both on-site restaurants use little more than the natural surroundings for decor. Neat but organic plants climb along the dining patio and lovebirds entertain drinkers at the main bar, aptly called the Birdcage. 

While exploring the property on my own, I discovered the hotel’s lush mango grove. It happened to be a windy enough day that the ripest fruits were dropping, so between gusts of wind we could dart out and collect the reddest fruits from the ground. The fruits were tender and supple enough that we could pierce the skin with a fingernail, peel it back, and take a juicy bite right there under the tree. There are few things better than biting into a juicy Hawaiian mango separated from its branch mere seconds before – maybe pairing that bite with a dunk in the temperate Pacific. 

Exploring Wailea 

The hotel is in the Wailea district on the southwest side of the second-largest Hawaiian island. A string of beaches dot the coast, some of which are great for swimming, others for snorkeling, and others are better for surfing. The closest beach is about a 15-minute walk from the hotel. You won’t find high swells in this part of Maui, but Cove Beach (about 15 minutes from the hotel by car) has gentle waves that are great for beginner surfers. 

The hotel partners with local water activity companies to offer excursions like outrigger canoeing paired with sea turtle snorkeling, kiteboarding and surf lessons, and sunset sailing. On the property, there’s an open-air fitness studio with regular yoga and aerial yoga classes and a central pool with a full-service bar. 

The best way to get around Maui is by rental car, though Hotel Wailea offers a complimentary shuttle to local destinations, including various beaches and shopping streets. To see more of the stunning island, drive some or all of the twisty Road to Hana for beautiful cliffside views, wooded hikes, and hidden waterfalls. 

The Suite Life

Guest accommodations at Hotel Wailea are spacious and luxe. Each suite has a kitchenette stocked with soft drinks and snacks, a beachy living room separated from the bedroom, a deep soaking tub, and an ocean-facing furnished balcony.  

The hotel doesn’t have an on-site spa, but who needs it when you can have a therapist bring the spa experience to your room? Guests can enjoy a Hawaiian lomi-lomi massage on a table set up in their living room. Swing open the balcony door swung ajar to feel the ocean breeze – it’s hard to imagine a spa experience beating that. 

Unique Dining Experiences

The hotel has one central restaurant (called The Restaurant at Hotel Wailea), open for breakfast, brunch, and dinner. The breakfast menu is studded with familiar favorites like eggs benedict and avocado toast with several Hawaiian specialties. 

Try Loco Moco for a local treat – it’s a popular breakfast featuring a beef patty over white rice with eggs and a gravy-like sauce. Hotel Wailea’s version includes spinach for #balance. On the lighter side, the chia seed pudding over papaya and acai parfait will put you in a tropical state of mind. But whatever you do, do not skip the ricotta pancakes. Fluffy and thick with just the right amount of tang from ricotta, these are life-changing flapjacks topped with seasonal fruit (in my case, berries, kiwi, and what I have to assume was on-site mango) with a side of luscious coconut whipped cream. 

For dinner, The Restaurant patio is lit with string lights and diners disappear into secluded tables surrounded by leaves and vines. Guests can also dine at The Birdcage. The large, circular room, directly off the hotel lobby, is home to an entire ensemble of adorable love birds who put on a show every night. 

Below the birds, guests sip on carefully crafted cocktails or a bottle from the hotel’s expansive (and growing) wine collection. The Birdcage also offers a Japanese-inspired menu of handrolls, sashimi platters, salads, and burgers. The ambiance in the open-air restaurant is set by the time of day. Come for sunset for a relaxed, romantic vibe.

The hotel offers a few private dining options. For groups or a special date night, book the secluded Treehouse and enjoy a specialty menu served by personal waitstaff. Or live out your The Bear dreams and dine in the restaurant kitchen. In an experience you can probably only have in the land of Aloha, the culinary staff at Hotel Wailea will set counter seats for you in the middle of the gleaming and bustling kitchen under the main restaurant. 

If you’re looking for a truly memorable dinner, The Chef Kitchen experience is it. While we sipped wine pairings with dinner, the kitchen went about its typical hustle and bustle around us. The ticket machine whirred, the expeditor called out table orders and dietary demands, doneness requirements, and requests for sauces on the side, and chefs sped through tasks at their stations. Meanwhile, we were guided through an incredible five-course (three-course menus are also available) tasting menu featuring Hawaii’s current offerings from the land and sea. 

We were especially taken by a gorgeous purple ube risotto and whimsical yuzu and passionfruit dessert, but the best part was watching the chefs transform raw ingredients into stunning finished dishes. This was dinner and a show like I’ve never seen before–and I have to imagine there aren’t too many culinary teams who want their guests tucked in for dinner right under their noses, firing off questions all night long. That’s the sort of welcome you can expect at Hotel Wailea.