Just concluded our trip to Maui, and stayed at the Hyatt for 9 nights in Jan-Feb 2012, and I will say, the renovations which everyone is complaining about, are done. Overall, our experience as a family was a positive and if we found a got a good deal, we'd stay here again.
Check in was without a hitch, no wait and was done before it started. We received water and shell necklaces and we were quickly taken to our room with baggage delivery via a very friendly bellboy.
Location, location, location! Talk about amazing, with a walkway along the beach, one way to a beach, the other to Whaler's Village area and beaches...walked this daily/nightly with our kids...GREAT GREAT GREAT, cannot say enough about it.
Rooms are on the nicer side, and I do not know what anyone would complain about. There is even a spacious walk in closet with ironing board, robes, etc. There are 2 fridges, one is a bar, the other is for your own stuff, which we always fill with Costco goodies before arrival. Word to the wise, have the tray of yummies removed immediately, or you will be charged because it is 'weighed' and any movement can cause charges to you. Beds are platform beds, so pretty low to the ground, which didn't bother us at all. The pillows were great and we all slept VERY well during our stay.
The grounds of the hotel are really neat with all the wildlife (my kids adored R2-D2, Luna, Roger, Shrek) and has a very Asian vibe, as most Hawaiian hotels do. And the upkeep was pretty spot on.
The pools (although could use a little tlc) are nice, and VERY busy and the setup is a bit awkward. This hotel isn't a romance hotel by any means, so keep that in mind! There are a lot of kids and with kids comes chaos, especially when mom and dad have checked out to be in 'vaca' mode. And at the pool is no different. You will get splashed at unexpected times, you will hear laughing and goofing off and you will see kids... The kiddie area is really a great area for kids under 5. Above that, they'll get bored fast. Also, there is only 1 hot tub, located right NEXT to the kiddie area...don't know who's idea that was... They offer free pool classes and snuba (scuba/snorkel) demos daily which are neat little perks. They let my 9 yr old son do it multiple times; we didn't buy the trip as it is pretty pricey...but he did enjoy it a lot in the pool.
There is staff everywhere at this hotel, always cleaning, picking up, etc, so I was pretty surprised to see some slack in the cleanliness. I kinda felt like their thoughts at the hotel was to clean what's seen but leave the unseen uncleaned. For instance, in our room, there looked to be maybe soda spray by our bed/lamp that was not caused by us, and was not removed/cleaned the whole stay. Or, the sand collected in my kids shoes was never vacuumed up from the corner I pushed it into during our entire stay. And the little nooks and crannies that kids find in hotels, those areas were in need of some tlc. This said, the hotel did not lack in clean open spaces that people frequent, just makes me wonder...
Food-wise, only ate at Umalu's 2 times, during lunchtime next to the poolside via poolside service, which is AWESOME, but yes, expensive, get over it! You don't have to order! My family loved the garlic fries, biggest basket of fries I've ever seen! And I absolutely adored the Chop Chop Salad. It's the best salad I've EVER eaten in my entire life.
Parking...it's been said, I don't have much more to say. Yes, you have to pay. Yes, the parking is limited. Yes, they are tiny spaces. This is ALWAYS the case in Hawaii...ALWAYS.
f you're going to enjoy anything on the island, try The Pacific Whale Foundation's activities. They are top notch, respecting the ocean, and everything goes to help the ocean life. We enjoyed our whale excursion a lot and will remember it forever. Amazing.
Had a great great great time AGAIN, cannot wait to go back soon.