The Hyatt Regency Resort in Maui – Kid Heaven!

Hyatt Regency Lobby in Maui

Maui Wedding Vacation in Lahaina – Day 5

It’s Thursday August 12th, and we are on Day 5 of our Hawaiian vacation at the Maui Royal Lahaina Resort. Our 10 month old son Christian woke up crying this morning at around 3:15am.  We were really hoping that he would sleep through the night, but the time change and new environment were proving to be more disruptive than we expected.   Besides the three hour time change between Los Angeles and Hawaii, it didn’t help his confusion when he would fall asleep in his stroller and then wake up a few hours later back in our hotel room crib.  Babies need stability in their lives and they feel safe when there is a predictable routine on which they can depend.  Two nights ago he fell asleep at around 5pm Hawaiian time, and while it was nice to be able to spend the rest of the evening with our friends uninterrupted, we knew it meant he would be waking up very early the next morning, and we were right.  That’s why we tried our best last night to keep him up a little longer.  He fell asleep at roughly 8pm.

Although we had a rough start early this morning and all lacked sleep, we did catch up with a much needed nap before heading out for the day.  I spent some of the early morning catching up on some work while my wife brought us some breakfast bagels and fed Christian his cereal.  It was about 11am when we finally left our hotel room at the Royal Lahaina. All of our friends including Gabriel and his Fiancée had booked a Snorkel/Dive trip through Tom Barefoot’s Tours and would be gone most of the day.  I had been on the Molokini snorkeling boat tour many years before, and although it was a fun time, we felt Christian was too young to appreciate such an excursion.  In addition, the prospect of babysitting on a boat while everyone else was in the water diving or snorkeling was not appealing.

African Black-footed penguins at the Hyatt Regency

Just before noon, our family went to the lobby of our hotel and flagged down a cab.  I always wanted to see the Maui Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa because of all the wonderful things people had told me over the years.  The cab ride was only about 7 minutes from our hotel.  We could easily have made the trek by foot along the beach walkway, but we were hungry and didn’t want to waste any time getting there.  After the taxi dropped us off at the lobby entrance, we snapped Christian’s baby car seat in place on the Snap-and-go.  Even as we approached the lobby entrance we could tell that this hotel was in a class well above the others we had visited.   The lobby reminded me of the Desert Springs JW Marriott with the wide open atrium area surrounded by the hotel structure rising high above us.  The place was surrounded by a variety of unique and colorful plants and flowers.  

Maui Hyatt Regency sandy play area and pool

We were fascinated by the exotic birds on display in various locations within the lobby area.   Among them was the “Luna Po’omelemela”, which is the double yellow headed Amazon parrot, considered one of the biggest talkers in South America.  We saw an African Grey Parrot also known to be very intelligent and a big talker.  It was hilarious to hear it whistling at us as we walked by!   Another very exotic and beautiful bird was the African Crowned Crane with a slender golden crown of yellow feathers.  We saw many other types of birds including flamingos, white swans and black swans swimming in various ponds filled with Koi fish.  Perhaps the most exotic and surprising birds to see in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency were the 5 African Black-footed Penguins hobbling around their specially designed habitat.  That’s definitely not something you see every day!

Hyatt Regency Pool and suspension bridge

After spending what seemed like an eternity gawking at all the hotel lobby sights, we decided to submit to our hunger pains and seek out a place to eat.  We found a long winding stroller friendly ramp that we followed down towards the pool area. The Hyatt Regency pool looked like a water park especially designed for kids of all ages, including myself!  As we made our way down the ramp I could see a myriad of different shallow pools spread out everywhere.  There was a bridge suspended by rope over one of the larger pools.  It looked like something out of an Indiana Jones movie.  I also noticed that the main waterslide emptied out into that same pool.  Beyond the suspension bridge you could see a 10 foot waterfall emptying out into the far end of the pool.  Everywhere you looked there were tributaries of water meandering through different parts of the resort.  As we descended the walkway we also noticed a large sandy lagoon area with shallow water where children were playing, and right in the middle was a landing area where several spouts of water were shooting out of the ground like a playful orchestra of geysers.

African Crowned Crane at Maui Hyatt Regency

When we arrived at the ground level, we found what we were looking for.  It was the Grotto Bar/Grille.  What a discovery!  This was a fully stocked bar situated inside a sunken cave that was surrounded by pool water.  There was a waterfall on the far left which fully enclosed that side of the cave.  People were swimming through the waterfall to get in and out of this underground cave, and the pool stretched all the way to the far right end of the cave where an opening led to a larger pool outside.  It felt to me like we were inside the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride at Disneyland!  Christian was fascinated with the scene and kept reaching for the water as if he wanted to jump in.  We found a very cozy table for the three of us just outside the mouth of the cave and ordered a very tasty all American meal.  I had the California Burger which came with avocado, bacon, lettuce, tomato and onions.  My wife ordered the BLTA (bacon lettuce tomato and avocado). 

After a very satisfying meal, it occurred to me that we may be able to get some kind of day pass to hang out at this pool for the day.  The Maui Hyatt Regency Hotel’s pool area was by far the most appealing place we had seen on the island, and I was prepared to dish out a pretty penny for the daytime experience.  Unfortunately my idea of a pretty penny was $100, maybe $150 tops.  The lady I spoke with at the Hyatt front desk told me it would be $280 for a day pass.  She said the next day the price was $249 which was a little cheaper.   I really wanted to spend the rest of the day at this magnificent resort and I actually considered forking over their fee!  In the end we chose not to spend the cash and walked away with great disappointment.  Next time we visit Maui we will just have to remember to book our rooms at the Hyatt Regency.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out at the Maui Sheraton.  We were very luck to arrive right when a family of 4 was packing up their belongings and vacating. They were in the best spot at the pool under an umbrella.  Many of the wedding guests returned from their snorkeling trip shortly afterwards.  Although they said it was a fun time, there were complaints that the $100 cost was too high.  Food and drinks were not included, and it cost an extra $70 for those people who wanted to scuba dive.

Christian was starting to get fussy so we took him out of the pool and found that he had a big load in his swimmy diaper.  The diaper actually contained the mess, but it was still a challenge to clean up.  He was still very fussy, so we packed up and walked back to our hotel after first discussing dinner plans with our friends.  It was around 5pm when we arrived at the Royal Lahaina hotel.  My wife fed and bathed Christian while I caught up on some of my work, and around 7:15pm we put Christian into his stroller and walked over to the lobby where Gabriel was planning to pick us up for dinner.  We took our time strolling around the grounds of the hotel until our precious boy fell asleep.  Gabriel showed up about 1 or 2 minutes later.  The timing was impeccable.

Rope suspension bridge at Maui Hyatt Regency

We had a magnificent meal at Roys in Lahaina on Honoapiilani Highway just 6 or 7 minutes from our hotel.   Christian slept the entire time, leaving us free to enjoy and savor every bite. The appetizers were excellent.  We ordered the spring rolls, dragon sushi roll, and the lobster pot stickers.  For the main course I ordered the beef ribs and my wife ordered the Opah fish.  Both meals were tasty and delicious.  For desert we all shared Roy’s famous chocolate soufflé which takes about 20 minutes to bake.  I don’t normally have a sweet tooth, but even I couldn’t resist this sinfully rich delight.

Read About Each Day of our Maui Vacation in Order:

Travel Day from Los Angeles to Lahaina Maui
Exploring Our New Home at the Maui Royal Lahaina
From the Royal Lahaina to the Marriott Vacation Club in Maui
Starting the Day Golfing at the Maui Kia Kaanapali Course
The Hyatt Regency Resort in Maui – Kid Heaven!
Another Glorious Day on our Maui Vacation
Ocean Lawn Wedding at the Maui Sheraton Resort

About the Author: Stan is the proud father of three young children. He and his wife love to travel frequently to places near and far with their extended family.