An exciting new South Maui development recently made the news, and it’s the Andaz Maui at Wailea. This 15-acre luxury resort is scheduled to open this summer. They’ve been working on it for about a year, with a $90 million price tag, but the property was vacant for the five previous years after the Renaissance Wailea Beach Resort closed in 2007.

So if you’re wondering what kind of resort the Andaz will be, it is expected to provide luxury services to its guests, along with uncomplicated service, and an extremely knowledgeable staff that can help answer any questions the guests might have about their stay, and what to do on the island.

The resort boasts 297 rooms and suites, including seven 3-5 bedroom villas. It has a 15,000 square foot full-service spa with a private adult-only pool, apothecary retail and a fitness facility. There are over 15,000 square feet of meeting and event space, along with two restaurants. One is the Morimoto Maui, which is world renown Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s second restaurant in Hawaii.

The resort is a joint venture between the property’s owner, Starwood Capital Group, and Hyatt Hotels Corp. According to the General Manager of the Andaz, Michael Stephens, this establishment was tailored to represent the character of Hawaii and provide guests with a rich understanding of the local neighborhood.

Also involved with the Andaz are a few other Hawaii-based properties, including SL Busch & Associates, Swinerton Builders, and WCIT Architecture, along with the New York-based Rockwell Group.

If you’re wondering how this resort has any influence over South Maui real estate, think of it as an example of corporate confidence in the economy, and of Maui’s visitor industry in particular, which has shown many encouraging gains in the past few years. We hope these positive trends continue, and that the Andaz will be a credit to the Wailea Resort. Mahalo for reading this week!