Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort — an iconic beachside sprawling resort nestled on 40 acres of lush, tropical gardens fronting Maui’s Wailea Beach — will reopen its doors on November 15, 2020. Staying true to the Grand Wailea traditions and spirit while ensuring a safe and comfortable environment for guests and staff, travelers will now have the opportunity to create new memories at the celebrated resort. The reopening also marks the debut of The Grand Life, a sweeping variety of programming that focuses on well-being and incorporates personalized health and safety measures. The Grand Life will also include a reimagined twist to the exceptional experiences the resort is highly-acclaimed for, such as its award-winning spa, immersive activities, and interactive and educational experiences for kids. Detailed information on the guest arrival experience, including health & safety protocols and resort activities can be found here.
“The core of our culture is built around happiness, wellbeing, and respect for the land. We have missed being able to provide our warm hospitality to travelers and look forward to welcoming our guests back,” said Managing Director, JP Oliver. “We are committed to fostering a connection between our travelers and Hawaii through our array of unforgettable Grand Wailea guest offerings.
Elements of The Grand Life include
Wellness Ambassador:
Grand Wailea is committed to making guests’ travel plans as safe and seamless as possible. Grand Wailea will provide a ‘Wellness Ambassador’ on property to assist prior, during, and following a guest’s arrival. There will be a wellness check area with a thermal face scanner, complimentary masks, hand sanitizer, posted CDC recommendations for social distancing, and Maui county regulations. The Wellness Ambassador will be a resource to help guide all guests through Maui’s changing health and safety protocols. Creating a stress-free trip that focuses on well-being and relaxation, each traveler will leave the property having created new memories and feeling more refreshed than ever before.
Spa Grande:
Grand Wailea is home to the largest spa in all of Hawaii – Spa Grande – a 50,000 square foot wellness space with countless accolades for its innovative programming. Uniting Thalassotherapy and Ancient Eastern and Hawaiian Philosophies, Spa Grande features an extensive range of Hawaiian and globally inspired therapies. The signature treatments, which ensure the health and safety of guests among all other treatments, include the Hawaiian Healing Escape, a half-day transformative and indulgent experience that uses traditional Hawaiian healing practices and massage therapies combined with herbal plant medicine grown in the lush rainforests of Hawaii. Additionally, the Ho’omalie healing treatment blends rhythmic lomilomi and pohaku (warm stone) massage, and the Hawaiian Superfood Crystal Facial is a potent collagen-producing facial that deeply infuses the skin with pristine nutrients. With travelers looking to rest and relax while staying safe, Spa Grande will reopen with a socially distant approach and follow all health & safety protocols. The Spa Grande experience will feature other special touches including a welcome hand-cleansing ritual and an immune-boosting elixir served at the end of all treatments. Open-air treatment options in a poolside cabana will also be available, as well as in-room treatments for those who would prefer not to use the spa facilities. In-room spa & wellness kits will be available for those who are looking to continue their Spa Grande experience in the privacy of their own rooms, including Knesko and Patchology face masks, bath ritual kits, sleep enhancing kit, and personalized skin care sets from Eminence and SkinCeuticals, and more.
Launching in early 2021, the spa’s new Live Grande Wellness program will allow guests to discover their path to a vibrant fulfilling life through thoughtful wellness experiences that allow for exploration on needs and desires to spiritually heal inside and out. The program will feature à la carte wellness experiences, events & workshops with visiting practitioners, one to three-day retreats and more. Highlights of the services include energy treatments such as reiki and chakra balancing, to healing arts like reflexology and cupping, nutrition sessions on intuitive eating, metaphysical sessions including birth and wedding charts and natal readings, and mindfulness sessions including personalized meditation and guided visualization. Details of the program will be announced before the end of the year.
For guests looking to stay fit during their visit, the resort has implemented ‘gym pods,’ a dedicated private space away for individuals or families traveling together, with special equipment including Peloton bikes, interactive Mirror screens, rowing machines, free weights, and yoga mats. For travelers looking to take their workouts outside, open-air areas throughout the resort grounds will be available for personal training sessions and socially-distanced outdoor fitness classes.
Make Your Zoom Background Your Real Background:
Guests looking to work remotely will be treated to a seamless ‘work from home’ set-up. Upon request, guests will have access to their own “office” – a room or area at the hotel with a workstation including a monitor, conferencing equipment and any supplies they may need. For young guests engaged in virtual schooling, Grand Wailea will offer IT support, desks upon request, school supplies, and an on-demand tutor, to ensure that little guests are set up for success with their schooling.
Grand Passport:
After almost eight-months in front of screens, whether television or iPad for entertainment, or a computer screen for virtual learning, Grand Wailea is encouraging its school-aged guests to partake in non-screen educational experiences through its new self-guided Grand Passport program. Focusing on both immersion into Hawaiian culture, including the islands’ storied Polynesian ancestry and abundance of flora & fauna, as well as sustainable practices to combat guests’ carbon footprint, self-guided tours of the artwork featured throughout the resort with work from Botero, Leger, and Chihuly, and even surfing and snorkeling lessons, the Grand Passport program will offer a memorable educational lesson that is sure to last forever.
Upon check-in, children will receive a Grand Passport, which maps and lists out all educational activities to visit around the property. After each activity, a “stamp” on their passport will officially indicate they have successfully completed the ‘Hawaiian lesson.’ Following a young person’s stay, Grand Wailea will continue to send (via e-mail) immersive reading material on Hawaiian culture and print outs for coloring to continue the interest, education and conversation.
The resort has undergone key changes in accordance with government and local authority guidance as well as Hilton CleanStay with Lysol protection, which includes, among many other motions, operating at a minimum capacity and with limited facilities; COVID-19 testing; thermal screen temperature checks; light therapy to enhance the immune system; antigen testing; social distancing of at least six feet in effect in all areas; offering keyless entry for guests in every room; as well as limited bell and valet services to minimize human interaction to further appease their health & safety concerns of traveling during this time. A full list of related revisions is available here.
As of October 15, 2020, visitors age five and older are allowed to bypass Hawaii’s mandated 14-day quarantine with proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Children five and under are exempt from quarantine rules and therefore, do not require proof of a negative test/ For Hawaii-bound travelers, more information on testing here.
