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Andaz Hotels / Wailea Hotels / Maui Hotels / Hotel Hype / → All Tags

Andaz Wailea Blesses The Ground They're About to Andazzle

Where: Mokapu Beach [map], Maui, HI, United States, 96753

Fa la la la, we've got some concrete proof that the Andaz Hotel brand is coming to paradise aka Wailea, Maui, thanks to this traditional Hawaiian Blessing ceremony photo op from Wednesday. And there's another little surprise in our hotel news stocking as the Andaz Wailea Resort and Residences will open in the Spring of 2013, not 2014 as we first heard.

The hotel will have 255-rooms, 35 suites and 19 villas located along Mokapu Beach which is a little bit further north from the Grand Wailea-Four Seasons-Marriott hotel cluster that most people frequent in Wailea.

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Hotel Spas / Maui Hotels / Hotel Massages / → All Tags

Get a 20-Handed 'Hula Wave' at the Grand Wailea

Where: 3850 Wailea Alanui Dr [map], Wailea, HI, United States, 96753

We thought the unsettling news about NASA's rogue satellite might be cause for a quick spa getaway to Maui—you know, to ease your mind. After all, if you're going to be pummeled by a 6.5 ton defunct spacecraft, you might as well be enjoying your last few moments in style. Even if your pampering session becomes a twenty-man operation.

It turns out that the Spa Grande at Grand Wailea Resort is experimenting with a "20 Hands Duo Massage," meaning (you guessed it) a two-and-a-half hour massage treatment for couples by ten people, twenty hands, and 100 fingers. We're not sure if this should be considered relaxing or merciless, but we're curious nonetheless.

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Hotels Doing Good / Waldorf-Astoria Hotels / Maui Hotels / Hawaii Hotels / → All Tags

This Hotel GM Shaved His Head for Charity, What Has Yours Done?

Where: 3850 Wailea Alanui Drive [map], Wailea, Maui, HI, United States, 96753

While some people raise money with bikini car washes, like Octomom and some fame-hungry celebrity mistresses, Grand Wailea's Managing Director Matt Bailey really gave something of himself for charity—his hair.

To inspire the Maui resort workers to donate money to the annual Visitor Industry Charity Walk, which aids Hawaii nonprofits, he vowed in the beginning of the year to shave his hair if they hit a fund-raising goal of $32,000. Not only did they raise the money, they exceeded it, with donations totaling $50,000—the most raised in the state.

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Hotel Emergencies / Hawaii Hotels / Twitter / Maui Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags

Hawaii Hotels Evacuate for Tsunami But All Seems Ok So Far

UPDATE: Scroll down for more updates from Hawaii hotels

After last night's devastating earthquake in Japan was followed by a terrifying tsunami, hotels in Hawaii were on full alert as the tsunami continued its path across the Pacific Ocean. Several hotels began implementing "vertical evacuation", urging guests to move to higher floors.

HotelChatter's own contributor Chanize is currently at the Grand Wailea Maui where she twittered that the hotel had evacuated guests from their rooms, no doubt giving sleeping vacationers a terrifying jolt during a supposedly chill island stay.

Fairmont Hotels also Facebooked that their guests were "safely evacuated" starting at midnight.

Fortunately when the tsunami did hit Hawaii about an hour ago, early reports said there has been no damage and only a slight rise in water levels. Still, hotel guests will have to stay up a little longer.

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Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Hotels / Sexy Hotels / Island Hotels / Waldorf-Astoria Hotels / Maui Hotels / Hawaii Hotels / Hotel News / Irina Shayk / → All Tags

Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition Models Shacked Up at Maui's Grand Wailea

Where: 3850 Wailea Alanui Drive [map], Maui, HI, United States, 96753

The Grand Wailea Resort in Maui is having quite the turbulent February. First, it filed bankruptcy and was bought by new owners, despite its almost $2 billion in debts, and then it was featured in the movie Just Go With It. There's even a contest open now to win a good vacation stay at the resort as a tie-in with the movie.

Finally, the Grand Wailea is again the center of attention, as today it was announced that it was the temporary Hawaii home of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue's bevy of models, stylists and photographers when they stayed in Maui to shoot the 2011 issue, hitting newsstands today. We've visited the Grand Wailea before and found it a bit too family-oriented for our luxury tropical relaxation tastes, but all those models and famous photogs could've shifted the balance for at least a weekend.

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Sexy Hotels / Hotel Sex / Maui Hotels / Hawaii Hotels / Beach Hotels / → All Tags

Year-Round Sexy Hotels: Hotel Hana-Maui

Where: 5031 Hana Highway [map], Hana, Hawaii, United States

Nothing says "I heart you boo" more than a romantic getaway, but sexytime isn't just for Valentine's Day. So if you don't have time to catch one of the V-Day packages we're profiling this week, we're also presenting you with some year-round sexy options. Whether you're into raunch, roses, or Rosé, every day this week, we’ll pick a different property that we think will knock your socks—and who knows what else—off.

The Hotel Hana-Maui is the prize after a long, sometimes hair-raising two-hour drive along the twisty, turny Hana Highway to the island’s east coast. Many visitors arrive shaken from the one-lane bridges and narrow roads, but nearly all agree it's worth the temporary trauma. HHM is the type of place two overworked Type A’s could learn to love with its radio, TV, and clock-free rooms (though it might take a minute to adjust to the super-laid back scene and turn off the BlackBerry).

The hotel, on a bluff fronting the Pacific, is considered a Hawaiian classic since its 1946 beginnings. It has survived near-ruin from previous neglect, and picked up again after a much-needed renovation. Now the apartment-sized plantation-style cottages and suites have bamboo flooring, patios (some with their own hot tub!), and a traditional island kit of spirit-warding plants,kapa cloth-draped teak furniture and fresh baked banana bread to make you feel at home.

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Hotel Jobs / Four Seasons Hotels / Maui Hotels / Hotel Spa / Hotel Scents / → All Tags

More Cool Hotel Jobs: Perfume Melangeur at Four Seasons Manele Bay

Where: 1 Manele Bay Rd. [map], Lanai City, HI, United States, 96763

HotelChatter contributor Eric Rosen will be telling us about some of the coolest hotel jobs out there. He reached out across the globe to talk to the dynamic folks who do everything from wrangling elephants (and guests!) to designing the latest high-tech gadgetry for your next guest room. So check back every day to see who he’s talking to next.

Last week we told you about the Director of Astronomy at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa. Today we take you to the Four Seasons Resort Lana’i Manele Bay.

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Hotel Jobs / Hyatt Hotels / Maui Hotels / Hotel Services / → All Tags

More Cool Hotel Jobs: Hyatt Regency Maui's Director of Astronomy

Where: 200 Nohea Kai Dr [map], Kaanapali, HI, United States, 96761

All this week, HotelChatter contributor Eric Rosen will be telling us about some of the coolest hotel jobs out there. He reached out across the globe to talk to the dynamic folks who do everything from wrangling elephants (and guests!) to designing the latest high-tech gadgetry for your next guest room. So check back every day to see who he’s talking to next.

We spend most of our time hunched over a keyboard, so we were pretty uplifted to learn about a man whose job it is leading stargazing forays at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa.

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Insane Hotel Packages / Tennis Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / Hotel Fitness / Maui Hotels / → All Tags

Learn From the Pros at The Four Seasons Maui's Fantasy Tennis Camp

Where: 3900 Wailea Alanui [map], Wailea, Maui , HI, United States, 96753

Need an excuse for a vacation some place warm but don't want to feel like a slacker? If you've got a spare few grand, why not hit up the Wailea Fantasy Tennis Camp at the Four Seasons Maui?

The four-day tennis bootcamp will give guests/students the chance to train with pros including Tom Gullikson, Lindsay Davenport, Michael Russell and Corina Morariu--and then forget everything they learned at the end-of-camp Awards Luau.

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Hotel of The Week / Four Season Hotels / Britney Spears / Hotel Pools / Hawaii Hotels / Maui Hotels / Wellness Retreats / Hotel Packages / → All Tags

Four Seasons Maui Gets Dissed by Brit, Offers Spa and Tennis Programs

Where: 3900 Wailea Alanui [map], Wailea, HI, United States, 96753

In our new "Hotel of the Week" feature, we look at a property that everyone is talking about and give you the lowdown of what's going on at the hot spot hotel.

This week, we're seeing a lot of buzz on the hotel page for Four Seasons Maui, so we decided to take a look at what’s happening at the property.

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Cute Hotel Animals / Hyatt Hotels / Maui Hotels / Hotel Animals / → All Tags

The Hyatt Regency Maui Hatches New 'Happy Feet'

Where: 200 Nohea Kai Drive [map], Lahaina, HI, United States, 96761-1985

Mondays are hard. So to help kickstart the week, we're going to call today Mai Tai Monday. OK, we're not really drinking before noon, but we are going a bit ga-ga for the baby penguins who hatched recently at the Hyatt Regency Maui. We're not sure if this is Mai or Tai in the photo with his mama, but he sure is cute.

Mai and Tai are African Black-Footed Penguins, and part of the hotel's thriving wildlife habitat. We know, we didn't think penguins were warm-weather creatures either, but this particular species dig the balmy temps of Maui, and we can't say we blame them. We'd take swaying palm trees over frigid ice floes any day.

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Hotel Awards / Conde Nast Traveler / Four Seasons Hotels / Airport Hotels / Maui Hotels / → All Tags

Condé Nast Traveler Readers Choice Awards Favor Killer Views, Weird Bathrooms

The stunning coastal views from Hotel Du Palais

They say the customer is always right, and we generally agree. PR pushes and clever marketing can often make a hotel sound better than it is, but leave it to a consumer to give you the inside track with merciless honesty. This is precisely why Readers Choice lists are more trusted than other carefully cultivated round-ups.

Last week, Condé Nast Traveler's unveiled its 22nd Annual Readers Choice Awards, a respectable overview of the best cities, islands, resorts, airlines, and other travel-related miscellany. It's the location-specific hotel and resort "Top Three" lists that caught our eye first, of course, but there were some questionable standouts as well.

Some of the top picks were self-evident, like Biarritz' Hotel Du Palais, honored by readers as the Top European Resort and called out by our discerning HotelChatter family for its stellar beach and pool views. Here on the mainland, meanwhile, Pebble Beach's Inn at Spanish Bay was named one of the Best U.S. Resorts. Having taken in the coastal surroundings along Monterey Peninsula's famed 17-Mile Drive last year, we can vouch for the Inn's luxury credentials.

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