We recently stayed at the AC Wailea over New Years. I had read reviews of the place so knew what I was getting into. We have stayed in the Wailea area many times but the resorts were incredibly expensive over New Years so opted to stay here for the first time. Here are some things I think you should know.
Staff was very nice, always saying hello, welcoming. We never ever had an issue with housekeeping, they came around the same time (we were out). There is no bellman, no valet. I didn't bringing our stuff to our room (they have a luggage dolly) but if you had a lot of stuff or weren't physically capable, that would be an issue.
While the staff was generally welcoming, there seemed a sort of impersonal air that maybe comes with a Marriott. We've stayed at hotels over NYE that gave out hats and noisemakers on NYE. Those kinds of touches help make your stay.
We opted to head to the beach vs frequent the pool. Would have loved if the hotel had beach chairs you could bring with you (we've seen this at other hotels) but they don't offer this. We rented chairs which was fine and just kept them in our trunk. Both Wailea and Uulu beach are just a few minutes drive from the hotel and we never had a problem with parking. While the hotel says it's an easy walk, when you are lugging a bunch of beach stuff, we found it easier to drive. One gripe is the towels they provide. They are hilariously small - smaller than our bath towels! Would be great if they upgraded to a bigger size. As a result, we ended up bringing at least 5 towels with us to the beach each visit.
Our room was fine. Yes there are only two drawers but we made it work - it was fine. Our room was available early which was nice. The room faced the street but we didn't hear the noise. We also still had a view of the ocean (4th floor) and amazingly enough, we had a great view of the NYE fireworks from our lanai. But the bed, sofa were comfy. Bathroom could have had more hooks for towels (and more towels) but worked for the two of us.
Overall, this is NOT a resort hotel, this isn't a full service hotel. You don't get a lei upon arrival. But we knew that going in, we've been to the area, we didn't spend a lot of time at the hotel. Can't remark on the bar or food since we didn't use it. We were going to use the gym but noticed a lot were in there sans mask so we opted out.
We did appreciate the live music. We also liked that the hotel is actually quite small. Walking from the room to the car was super quick - unlike the bigger resorts, you're often waiting on a valet to bring your car to you. Location to the shops was easy too and parking was free so we often went there for food or shopping.
At the end of the day, while I do love a beachfront hotel with the option of a beach chair, this was an adequate choice and I'd consider it again if everything else was too pricey.
