Maui. There has been a lot of hype about the Maui Bay Villas, a Hilton Grand Vacation Club, for years. I've been waiting for it to open since we purchased our timeshare. So, when I found out there was limited booking starting, I was very excited. 

I travel to Hawaii about twice a year. I live in Iowa, and if I lived closer to the West Coast, I am sure I would go even more. I am what I call an "island hopper." When I go to Hawaii, I usually visit at least two islands per trip, sometimes three. Although we planned a big family reunion this year, as Elite Premier Owners, we were supplying the accommodations. I thought staying on one island for the reunion was more manageable and booking multiple rooms on the Big Island is super easy. 

   

Everyone wanted to take a week off, but I had more time and decided to do my island-hopping thing. I wanted to visit Maui and use some free night certificates. Then I remembered Maui Bay Villas was booking, and we had just entered our booking window, so I thought I'd look at the Club website. 

Surprisingly I opened up the site, and available days were butting up to our Big Island vacation. Actually, there were four days. I felt so lucky and knew I needed to snag this reservation up with only one building open for booking. So, I booked the room. 

Not surprising was how easy it was to find another couple able to go to the reunion early and meet us in Maui. 

Making it to Maui Bay Villas at Long Last

May finally came around, and the four of us arrived on Maui. I was very excited to see a new resort and couldn't wait to see the pools. We were blown away by the resort. It was so nice and quiet, and the pools were amazing. Only one building was open, which is 31 Suites available for booking.

Every morning there was a complimentary breakfast snack in the lobby, which consisted of muffins, or breakfast sandwiches, and juice. The breakfast was a nice touch. But my Elite Premier "welcome to the resort" gift was the biggest hit. 

If you want a big party place, Maui Bay Villas is not the property for you. However, all the pools were open, despite only having one building available. We loved this; it was like having our own private resort.  

 

We booked a 2-Bedroom Suite, and everything was brand new. It was so incredible staying in a brand-new resort where everything was new, even the hallways and elevators. 

Then we had to decide whether to spend our time in Maui Bay Villa's pools, see Maui or a combination of both. We chose a variety of pool days and tourist stuff. First, we decided to do a pool day. The resort's restaurants weren't open yet, but we could bring food and drinks to the pool. 

Even though I've never experienced this, the cabanas were complimentary on a first-come, first-serve basis. Well, we took a look at the cabanas when we got there — complete with a large couch, footstool, safe, small refrigerator, fan and a large TV. 

Pools, Peace and Cabanas

We quickly decided that we needed to get a cabana. So, the next day we got up early and took the water fitness class. There was only one other person besides us, and I had convinced the guys to join us since we figured it would be a small group. That was a lot of fun for everyone. Then, we walked around and picked out our cabana. 

One of the guys said, 'OK, I am ready for the day; I'll sit in here.' It was very early, but he seemed to really want that cabana. Later we found out that he wasn't just being nice and saving the cabana for us. There was a stock car race that day, which is what he had planned on doing. The rest of us spent the day going from pool to pool and exploring all the little spots. 

   

There were couches and chairs available throughout the pool area, and we just let them know which of the firepits we wanted to be lit at night. There weren't more than 10 people in the pools at any given time, and the cabanas were empty except for ours and one other. 

Each night we went and spent time in the many hot tubs. The only problem was picking which empty one we should use. I realize this resort will never be this empty again, but I'll never shy away from early bookings in new resorts just opening.  

The ocean is across the street from Maui Bay Villas, and since Hilton Grand Vacations owns the beach, it's private access. There's also a separate adult-only pool on the ocean and a very nice restaurant that I can't wait to open. 

Island Adventures

   

Away from the resort, there's so much to do on the island, and it's hard to decide what to do.  You'll want a rental car while staying at Maui Bay Villas, but parking is complimentary. We drove the road to Hana, an excellent driving tour and a must-do, especially if you have never done this. We're also big fans of driving up the Haleakala volcano. 

Insider tip: Road to Hana and Haleakala are national parks, so if you pay for one, you'll get in free at the other one if you do it within three days.

We can't wait to go back to Maui. I guess I'll have to find somewhere else to spend my free night certificates now that Hilton Grand Vacations has opened such a wonderful resort. 

Read "3-Day Getaway: Maui" for more Maui vacation inspiration.