My Complete Review of Marriott Maui Ocean Club
Estimated Read Time: 10 Minutes
After many reschedules of this trip originally being our Wedding Vacation, which I will save that story for another time, we finally were able to visit the Beautiful Island of Maui for a second time since being there for me and my wife’s engagement. We flew nonstop 15 hours to Honolulu on Hawaiian Airlines from JFK and then had a short 20 minute flight into Maui. We had decided on the Marriott Maui Ocean Club as I have seen so many amazing pictures and we also wanted to be right on the Ocean. We were super excited to finally have our long awaited second visit to Maui, Hawaii after waiting two years since the Covid Restrictions. The property was beautiful inside and out! As soon as we arrived I quickly noticed the friendly staff as well as the smell of amazing food.
Let’s break down each area of this AMAZING Trip to give you a detailed review of my experience while I was at Marriott Maui Ocean Club for 5 days!
Arriving in Maui OGG Airport: Once landing in Honolulu HNL Airport, we headed to the Hawaiian Airlines Aiport Lounge for some quick free drinks and snacks since we were allowed free access with our Priority Pass Travel Card. The lounge was no frills, but was great for a quick pick me up! We had to take a really small plane into Maui OGG Airport where the space was very limited on this flight. Although a very quick 20 minutes flight, we were glad we didn’t have any carry on luggage as most people were struggling trying to fit their hand luggages in the overhead bin. Besides that, we were super happy and excited to arrive in Maui in 20 minutes. Once we arrived in Maui airport, we collected our luggages and headed outside of the airport to meet our Turo host as we rented a car from Turo since it was the most economic choice.
Hawaiian Airlines: This was our first time flying with Hawaiian Airlines and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised! I did purchase about 10 $5 Starbucks Gift cards a week before to hand out to all the airline workers including the check in agent, gate agent, and flight attendants. This small gesture almost always provides us with better service, smiles, and sometimes goodies. This time we were offered complimentary water bottles, snack boxes, and headphones! I will say our luggage was overweight by 1lb and I think that Starbucks gift card worked some magic for us! I will say I thoroughly enjoyed my flight with Hawaiian Airlines as the seats were comfy, the food was good and plentiful, and the service was really good! I actually booked another Flight with them for our Hawaii trip happening next year! (Look out for that future blog post!)
Check in: We finally arrived in Marriott Maui Ocean Club and left the rental car with Valet at the front. We were greeted by the front desk staff with a smile and an Aloha! I handed the lovely gentleman a $5 Starbucks gift card and thanked him for working Today and he was so happy! Check in was a smooth process and he informed me I have been upgraded to the recently renovated side with an Oceanview balcony! I thanked him and told him how appreciate I was for that! I was left wondering if that was also magic from the Starbucks Gift card!
Food: We were super tired from the long trip so we decided to try the onsite restaurant called Longhi’s. I personally felt that the food and drinks were a bit overpriced and not the greatest. Our meal for 3 adults and a baby was over $200 without any gratuities added. I did enjoy the ocean views and sounds at this restaurant. We agreed we wouldn’t eat here for the rest of our trip. The next day we drove to town and tried the Paia Fish Market Restaurant. The food there was worth the 30 minute table wait! We had the shrimp quesadilla, Mahi Mahi taco, Mahi Mahi burger, and the fried calamari. For a second lunch, we tried a few food trucks next to the Costco parking lot which were really good! After dinner we stopped at Kamala’s farm where I bought the most delicious Banana Bread as well as some yummy Food Truck Pizza to take for Dinner. The third day on our trip we tried the Plantation House restaurant which you need reservations ahead of time and the views in this place inside and out are incredible! Be ready for many photo opportunities! We were lucky to have an ocean view table and the food here was really delicious! On the fourth day, we ate at Mama’s Fish House which is where we got engaged! I have been trying to get reservations to this place for Months with no luck but I found out there is a secret hack to get in without a reservation: showing up the day you want to eat there around 10:45am and walking all the way down to the restaurant entrance and wait for a worker and kindly ask with a smile for a table. We were granted with a table for lunch time and we were so grateful! We did attempt to drive to Aunty Sandy’s for some after lunch Banana Bread but we arrived a little too late just after 3pm they had already ran out of Banana Bread. We also tried Waicoco Restaurant for Breakfast which was next to our resort on the beach and it was nice having an ocean view while enjoying some yummy food!
Beach: The beach at Marriott Maui Ocean Club was really nice! It was clean and spacious but if you wanted a beach chair or cabana, you did have to pay an extra charge. We didn’t spend much time at the beach as there were so many other things that were occupying our time during out trip but we also didn’t feel like we missed much.
Beach Massage: Spa by the Sea is an absolute MUST! Getting a massage while looking out at the ocean and hearing the waves splash against the beach had to be one of my favorite things about this trip! It was a little green tent on the green grass right before the beach and appointments were necessary. Worth every penny!
Pool: The pool at the Marriott Maui Ocean Club was one of my favorites. They had many pools and jacuzzis to choose from. Wether you wanted peace and quiet, or music and free shaved ice by the main pool, you were able to take your pick! The waterfalls and the cave were also a nice touch!
Luau: We did the Luau next door at the Hyatt as it was the most convenient being we didn’t have to drive anywhere. It was very expensive and it was nice but not as nice as the Luau we went to when we first went to Maui at the other Marriott property called Old Lahaina Luau. Next time we will get a taxi and do the Old Lahaina Luau again instead than the Luau at the Hyatt.
Vacation Club: We were invited to attend a timeshare presentation to learn about the benefits of joining their travel club which I didn’t sign up for as I didn’t think that the price of the membership included things to make the cost justifiable. They did offer us to stay at any other Marriott Vacation Club property such as the one in Oahu for 5 nights for $999 which we declined but thinking about it now I do think it was a good deal as prices at these properties range anywhere from $950-$1500 a night.
Check Out: Check out was super easy and a breeze and the valet pulled up our car with no issues and there weren’t any surprise charges on our bill.
Leaving from Maui OGG Airport: Unfortunately since we had checked bags, we had to wait an hour in a couple lines to be able to check our bags in and people who only brought a carry on were able to walk directly to security. Besides that, we had no issues with delays or cancellations.
Overall Experience: I will say I really enjoyed my stay at this resort and would absolutely stay again. I would try to book a bus tour to Hana well in advanced and book the Luau at the other Marriott. All in all, I had a great time and this vacation was very relaxing and enjoyable.
Did you Enjoy this Review? Check out my Review on TRS Coral Costa Mujeres Mexio Adults Only All Inclusive Resort Here:
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