January 4th -January 14th, 2022
This review is to give details of the timeshare that you will want to know before either booking or staying at the HGVC Maui Bay Villas.
Status
There is only Building 8 open currently. Building 6 will be only one set of rooms ocean facing that will overlook the pool. Building 9 will be next to 8 and will also be facing north/south with the ability to see some parts of the ocean, but more of Haleakala Mountain. Booking here will be tough as there are just not that many rooms (about 38) one- and two-bedroom units.
Building Style
Think more of a hotel style – where you need a keycard to access inside the building 24 hours a day, providing better security to the buildings. There is no access to your room unless you have a bottom floor with a slider. There is an elevator and stairs.
One-Bedroom Unit
We stayed in Building 8 (the only building right now) (3rd floor) designated as a “Plus” room – and had a really good view of the ocean (once you look past the parking lot and trees) and was able to watch the sunset into the ocean. Building 8 is angled more for a south and north view – not a west/east view to the ocean.
First impressions walking in, is a good allocation of the bedroom, living room and kitchen. It’s modern with all new furniture and kitchen appliances. There is one lanai that is good sized with a table and 4 chairs. The views are all towards the south in our case, with views of the ocean and the mountain. There is also a view of the parking lot and road below.
Master Bedroom
Very nice King bed with a very large TV. There is a dresser, closet, and large bathroom. There are power outlets next to each bed for nighttime charging. There is an iron and ironing board in the closet, along with a safe. Once nice feature is a push-button to lower or raise the blackout curtains that I haven’t seen at other properties.
Master Bathroom
Includes a very modern walk-in shower with a rain showerhead. Water pressure was weak no matter time of day. This was disappointing as it trickled more out of the rain shower head. It also had a wand that had more pressure if you wanted to wash the lower part of your body. Two vanity/two sink is nice. There is a pull-out close-up mirror. There is no free-standing tub in the one-bedroom units, but there are in two-bedroom units. The toilet is heated and automated with bidet features. There is a hair-dryer. They use Terra Pure bathroom products (shampoo, body soap, conditioner).
Washer/Dryer
Pretty normal stacked Washer and Dryer. You can always ask for more detergent if needed.
Living Room
Pull-out couch (double) and two chairs. The TV is nice and big and has a good variety of TV channels (100+), plus apps on the TV such as Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, etc. You will find no DVD player here. However, you can sync your Android or iOS device to the TV if you want to stream your own shows. Also, you cannot access the HDMI connector which is behind the TV – so don’t plan on hooking up anything that way.
Kitchen
This is probably what you are most interested in and that is, what is included in the kitchen? The kitchen was well designed. It’s very modern with a lot of storage space in a small area. Includes Samsung refrigerator and freezer, Microwave, electric stove, and dishwasher.
The dining table seats 4 people. However, they centered it under a hanging light. Note, there is no way to use powered devices here – including laptops. We had to move the table to the wall to so that power cords weren’t running across the floor. But you must avoid hitting the hanging ceiling light.
• Coffee Maker – Hamilton Beach Brew Station. This is not a Keurig. It is a coffee machine that you put the coffee grounds in, and it brews the coffee internally. You then pour the coffee by holding the coffee cup to dispense the coffee. You will need to bring your own filters for it, or you can just ask for more coffee (Hilton supplies caffeinated and decaf packs).
• Toaster
• 4 each of: wine glasses, plastic cups, small glasses, large glasses, coffee cups, plates, small plates, large bowls, small bowls, serving set (spoons, forks, etc.), and tea/sake glasses.
• Tramoninta knife block, including knives and scissor
• Small and medium sauce pans
• Large cooking pot
• Two cooking pans – one normal metal, one non-stick
• Electric water pot
• 8-cup rice cooker / steamer
• Glass serving bowls
• Colander and Plastic Jug
• Various spatulas, ladles, can opener, measure spoons, ice cream scoop, rice ladle, wine opener, hand peeler, tongs
What’s Included
• Use of all the hotel facilities
• Free Parking
• Gym – Very well done here. You will find weights up to 100lbs, weight machine, step blocks, yoga mats, row machine, ellipticals, and treadmills (with videos you can walk or run to). Pretty much anything you need is here. Right now, you will need to show vaccination status to access the gym.
• Morning snacks – right now, they were offering daily coffee or juice and some pastry. This may not last when the food service is opened.
• BBQ Stations – Outside Building 8, there are two gas grills – which will be shared with Building 9 when finished. They do have a timer on them that you must turn on first on the left or right side of the BBQ. Then, wait a bit for it to charge the gas in the grill. Then, you must turn the knob just slightly – you should hear gas coming out, then turn more to ignite it. This is going to be an on-going problem for their staff as it was frustrating to wait a bit for the gas to energize and you think it isn’t working.
Restaurants/Food/Drinks
• As of this writing, there is no food or drinks offered on the property.
• The pool bar is finished. However, we were told they do not expect to have their liquor license until this summer. For now, you can bring your own alcohol drinks to the pool area, providing there is no glass. I don’t know if they will be serving hot food, but based on the furniture / tables, I would say yes.
• They are also wrapping up the beach-side restaurant and bar. Today, they delivered the outdoor furniture. This is going to be so nice when it’s ready – you will be able to have a drink beach-side and watch the sunset.
• There is also a room that is called the Grab-n-Go. Here, if like Kings Land, will have sandwiches, drinks, sweets for sale.
• As far as off-site restaurants, I would strongly recommend you visit Isana Sushi Bar which is walking distance from the property. When we arrived, we walked over there at 3PM for happy hour and was able to have a drink and some food. It’s good for both and went back a few times during our stay. There are also many other good restaurants in Kihei – about 5-minute drive from the property. You will be able to find most types of food in the area.
• Grocery stores are nearby. Most go to Safeway, but also checkout Foodland as they have a lot of fresh food ready to eat (sushi, spam musubi, etc.).
Pool Area
• There are two pool areas – the main pool on the property and a smaller pool on the ocean! As of this writing, the Ocean pool is just being finished up next to the beach-side restaurant. Not sure when it will be opened but looks soon to me.
• Pools are fresh water. I do wish they were salt based as they would be a bit warmer. They were a bit chilly (but it is January too), but you get used to it in a few minutes.
• Pool Access – you will need to get a wristband to use the pools. The area is gated so you need a keycard to access it.
• Pool Towels – you will need to get a wristband to use the pools. There is no charge for this.
• Outdoor spas – the pool area has two of them – good sized and work well. There will also be one on the beach when it’s opened.
• Pool Cabanas – There are a total of 8 cabanas that are free to use and on a first come, first-serve basis. They include a very large TV, safe, and a small refrigerator. This is the first I’ve seen at any of the HGVC properties we have visited and it’s a very nice feature. You can bring your own drinks and keep them cool all day. Each cabana can easily sit 4-6 people. The cabanas by the pool are really three sections, each one sharing two different cabanas with a total of 6 TVs. Again, you need to get a pool wristband and ask for the TV remote there.
• Pool Slide – There are two – one in the kids pool area (you really don’t want to try this as an adult as you will land in about 1 ft of water. The larger pool slide is all in a tunnel – fun, but I prefer the slides at Kings Land on the Big Island.
• Pool Waterfalls – in the adult section, there is a place you can rinse under the waterfall. There is also another area where the pool pours into another lower pool over some rocks.
• Pool Basketball / Volleyball – At the pool desk, you can ask for a basketball or volleyball.
• Umbrellas – there are plenty of umbrellas now – as they just finished installing them today to move your lounge chair under.
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Beach Area
• One of the biggest advantages of this HGVC property is that there is a beach right across the street. From your room, you can be walking on the beach in 5 minutes. This morning, we walked from our room to the beach, went north as far as you could, walked all the way back to the southern most area you can walk, and then back to the room. That was about 7000 steps.
• They recently had a massive rainstorm for several weeks here (the same one that dumped record amount of snow in California). All the dirt was deposited along the road in front of the property where they were having to pump out the mud from the storm drains. Well, that same type of red mud ends up in the ocean from the run-off. So, you will find that the beach, at least in the winter, is brown in color. Would not recommend swimming in it, but you can walk along the beach and have your feet there. We will see if summer is any better, but this stretch of beach is known for this brown water. Once you get about 5 miles south, the water clears up.
• We ventured to “Big Beach” – one of the last beaches south of Kihei. Very nice beach with easy access. We also visited Wailea beach – more people and smaller beach.
• You can rent chairs, umbrella, etc. from Boss Frogs – they had the best deal of $7/day each or weekly prices too.
Bell Desk
• The bell desk can take your luggage if your room is not ready. When it is ready, you can ask them to bring it to your room. Make sure you tip them!
• They also have a scale there should you want to make sure you are not over your weight limit when you check-out for the airport.
Daily Activities
• Right now, there are no activities and no kid services. In time and as the property grows, I would imagine there will be daily activities (like Yoga, etc.)
• There is an activity room with Foosball and looked like some puzzles, but we didn’t go in there.
Other
• I did ask if there was any day pass to the other Hilton Hotels. There is NOT. Years ago, the Grand Wailea did offer day passes, but not anymore. After talking with staff, I don’t think they ever will either. After seeing the Grand Wailea pools, I don’t think there is much loss, especially with the pool area at this property and on the beach. You really won’t miss this benefit like they do on the Big Island at Hilton Waikoloa.
