The following review is for the newly opened Hyatt Residence Club Ka'anapali Beach in Maui. It shares amenities with the Hyatt Regency Maui hotel next door. Guests at the residence club can use the facilities next door at the hotel, including pools, fitness classes and room charging ability. The same review is available on my travel blog including all of the pictures at: http://www.thefamilytravelguy.com/2015/10/review-hyatt-residence-club-maui-kaanapali.html
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The Hyatt Ka'anapali Beach Resort is the newest resort on Maui's famed Ka'anapali Beach, opening in December 2014. The new property is a Hyatt Residence Club location and the flagship resort within that system. The resort is a vacation ownership property (timeshare) featuring one, two and three-bedroom villas with expansive lanais, spectacular ocean views, full gourmet kitchens and luxurious master baths.
Resort Overview:
The resort is located next to the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa, which I previously reviewed here. The property has a smaller footprint when compared to other resorts along Ka'anapali beach, but that is likely due to it being next to the Hyatt Regency and being able to share all of the amenities of the Hyatt hotel next door, which includes use of the pools and being able to charge to your room.
The only parking option at the Hyatt Residence Club is through valet, which is provided free of charge for owners. After dropping off your car, you'll immediately be in front of the open-air resort lobby, which looks out onto the pool area and ocean.
The attention to detail and fine craftsmanship of this resort can be seen in the furnishings in the lobby and the two mosaics on either side of the lobby showcasing the Hawaiian mythology of Maui, a culture hero and ancient chief.
There is a concierge desk and an activities desk on the right side of the lobby and as you make your way towards the elevators you'll see two small desks where you can book your complimentary photo session through Forever Maui Photography.
There is a gym available onsite, the Ikaika Fitness Center, and an Arrival/Departure Lounge for guests that arrive early or have flights later in the evening.
Pool area:
The Wailele Lagoon is the main pool area offering a series of connected pools, waterfalls, slide and a sandy zero-entry pool for kids with fountains. There are also two jacuzzis in the middle of the lagoon pool. Lounge chairs and umbrellas are offered all around the pool area. There is also an adults only infinity pool, the Maluhia pool, seen on the far right of the picture below. The towel hut is located near the kids pool area and also next to a BBQ area, where guests can cook up their own food if they'd like. The beach area directly in front of the resort is not large, but is ok for lounging out on and for swimming in. Beach cabanas and lounge chairs with covers are available for a charge.
On-Site Dining:
Lahaina Provision Company: Located just past the lobby and on the way to the BBQ area. It is a small marketplace grocery store offering snacks, drinks and food items like pizza, salads and sandwiches. Also has a nice selection of wine and drinks available.
Pua Huaka'i Tiki Bar: Located poolside and offers drinks and also a menu offering small bites and burgers available for ordering food if you'd like.
Hyatt Regency Maui Dining Options include: Japengo, Son'z Steakhouse, Umalu and more, which I previoulsy reviewed and you can read about here
Safeway: There is a Safeway grocery store on the way to Lahaina town where you could grab groceries. Since all of the units here offer a huge refrigerator, this would be a good option, as you can save some money by not having to eat out for every meal or could even use the BBQ grills onsite.
On-Site Activities:
There are lots of great activities and things to-do and see on Maui including: visiting Haleakala National Park, golf, surf lessons, road to Hana, parasailing, sunset dinner cruises, luaus, zip-lining, and fishing.
I plan on going into detail on some of these activities in a future post and instead want to focus on activities offered on site at the Hyatt Residence Club. Upon arrival, you'll be given a newsletter detailing all of the daily activities on tap for that week and all of the fitness classes available with times.
There is also a whiteboard setup near the elevators reminding you of the activities offered that day. Having this out in the open where we'd see it every day was awesome and a great reminder for us.
Since you also have access to all of the amenities next door at the Hyatt Regency Maui, some of the things offered there include:
Drums of the Pacific Luau
Tour of the Stars Astronomy Program
Beach Activity Center: Kayaks, Paddle Boards, Surfing, Scuba and Snorkel
Kaanapali Golf Courses
Keiki Kids Club & Camp Hyatt for kids ages 5-12
Hula lessons and lei making class
Tennis and basketball courts available
You can also check the Hyatt Regency Maui website for a list of activities featured that month: Example: Hyatt Maui September 2015 Activity Guide
Overview of the Units / Villas:
All units are ocean view, except for 9 one-bedroom units with a mountain view. There are a total of 131 units with the breakdown as follows:
19 one-bedroom units available, 10 ocean view, 9 mountain view
100 two-bedroom units
12 three-bedroom units
For our recent stay here, we stayed in a 2-bedroom unit. The floorplan of the unit is shown below.
The first thing to notice is that this is not a hotel room and is more like a condominium or apartment, showcasing resort residence living at its finest.
All of the units feature a full bedroom, kitchen, living room, washer/dryer and huge outdoor lanais. This place is perfect for family vacations or large groups as you have more room than a typcial hotel room and it is also great as you can save money on food costs instead of eating out for every meal. A comparable room next door at the Hyatt Regency would be a hotel suite, which still wouldn't have a kitchen, an in-room washer/dryer or the expansive outdoor lanai area as featured at the Hyatt Residence Club.
The Kitchen has everything you'd possibly expect in a kitchen and features high-end Bosch appliances. The living area is a good size and also has a dining table perfect for home cooked meals.
The outdoor lanai offers a seamless indoor/outdoor living area with a retractable wall of glass from the living room area and a second set of doors off of the master bedroom. Each unit also features a washer and dryer
Summary:
The Hyatt Kaa'anapali Beach Resort is a top-notch resort and we enjoyed our time here. I plan on detailing the Hyatt Residence Club Program in a future post and don't want to get into the merits of whether a timeshare is a good fit for you here, but I have previously discussed timeshare ownership in a previous post you can read about here.
Like I discussed in my previous post about timeshares, vacation ownership programs aren't for everyone and in lots of cases the arguments against them can outweigh the benefits one could have from them. But if you've done your research and believe you can benefit from timeshare ownership, there can be a lot to love about them.
The Hyatt Residence Club's newest location on Ka'anapali Beach is a prime example of what vacation ownership can offer. The one thing I will say about the price, is that it should be comparable to a lifetime of vacations and if you do the math, you might conclude they aren't so bad, depending on the location and the company offering it. Timeshares should never be viewed as investments, as purchase prices and yearly fees can add up fast, but they should be viewed more as a vacation lifestyle.
If you're interested in learning more about the Hyatt Residence Club and staying at the newest resort in Maui, I would check their website as they have previously offered reduced stays here as long as you attend a sales presentation. There currently isn't an offer available online, as most of the time the offers are targeted, but it wouldn't hurt calling and checking for any offers available, as long as you meet the minimum qualifications to attend.
