Hyatt Regency Maui under Covid19 restrictions: Outstanding!

If the cloud of Covid19 has a silver lining, you can find part of it at the Hyatt Regency Maui. Warm nights combine with a mostly empty hotel to provide a superb relief from life in confinement. Everything was so wonderful that I asked the front office manager if I could add two days to my stay at the same rate. He gladly said yes. So many people have been canceling this December. I feel sorry for the hotel staff and for the people who canceled what would have been superb vacations.

Southwest has a $199 or 15k points each way walk-up fare between OAK and Maui. If you plan ahead it’s $99 each way. Those two free bags come in handy for travel to Hawaii.

Getting to Hawaii is a challenge, requiring careful planning of Covid19 tests, anxious waiting for results under a tight deadline, and finally the longest line to exit an airport that you’ve ever seen. (Please stay 6 feet back when waiting in line, if only to set a good example.) I didn’t get out of the parking garage until 2 hours after exiting the plane. Nevertheless 120 others on the plane to Maui surmounted the same challenges. Good for them. And yes, I had an empty middle seat.

I felt safe on a plane where almost everyone had been tested and I feel good about helping to keep Maui’s economy running. Hyatt contributed, with 22% off room rates (Members Save More, ended December 6) and quadruple points earnings (under the Bonus Journeys promotion, ongoing) combining to bring the net cost per night lower than I’ve seen in 20 years. Even the 25 percent rebate on points redemption could not compete with the ultra-low cash rate earning quadruple points. Quadruple points also give you an effective 25 to 30 percent discount on all incidental charges, even if you are paying for the room with Hyatt points. The rental car totaled $20 a day: $10 for the car company and $10 in taxes. Due to low occupancy everywhere, I even found free parking nearby.

The hotel doesn’t feel empty but you definitely have plenty of room for social distance. I never saw more than 10 people in the huge pool. You can choose a lounge chair outside anywhere you want.

The hotel management recognized me as a repeat customer from 2019, albeit a lowly Discoverist, and upgraded my room to full ocean front, a newly renovated room. This was the single most impressive part of my stay. You can lie in bed, watch the ocean horizon, and listen to the breakers. You will need to close the sliding door to quiet the waves enough to let you sleep. Twice a week you can watch the Luau from your balcony. You can watch the sunrise AND the sunset. In between you can watch the boats go by. I think next time I will pay the extra 20 percent for this room rather than gamble on an upgrade.

The only deficiency of the renovation was failure to provide any AC power for the desk area. I went to Ace Hardware to buy an extension cord and 3 prong adapter to solve that problem. The hotel did not have extension cords to lend.

Some features and services are understandably closed due to Covid19. No hot tub. No grotto bar. Partial closure of restaurants. Japengo 3 is open 3 nights per week, Luau twice per week. Many stores in town are closed. All bars on Maui closed starting December 13. None of that created any inconvenience for me. Crucially, the Shave Ice stand is open. Be sure to add ice cream to your order. I also added Mochi.

The water slide is operating, often with nobody using it. You can walk 20 minutes to the Sheraton and rent snorkel gear at their excellent location at the north end of the beach. I saw a sea turtle finding his breakfast on the rock wall. Others saw a ray and a seal. There are many colorful fish species but the coral is in sad shape.

I am happy I made the effort to get to Hawaii during this difficult time. You really should go. Be sure to get 24-hour cancellation privileges on both Hyatt and air reservations. (I used Southwest points for my air travel.) Then prepare to enjoy an almost normal vacation time in a prime location under nearly ideal conditions.

In my case the biggest challenge was convincing my spouse that the idea was not crazy. Two days into the stay I had become a genius. I wish the same for you.

Due to construction December 2020 the main entrance is closed. A temporary front desk has been installed at the convention center and luau entrance on the south side of the hotel. Check-in was friendly and efficient. 

The Hyatt is at the south end of Kaanapali beach, so it gets very little pedestrian traffic from elsewhere on the beach path. You may not appreciate this fully until you walk the path north towards the Sheraton.

The oceanfront rooms in the Lahaina tower are spectacular. Consider splurging. The lowest floor, number 3, gives you a larger balcony. 

This is the largest pool on Kaanapali Beach. It's mostly empty due to trip cancellations.