Grand Wailea bans
smoking in rooms
WAILUKU >> The Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa in South Maui has joined the list of visitor accommodations in Hawaii that prohibit smoking in all guest rooms.
The hotel made the announcement yesterday on the heels of its renovation of the 780 guest rooms and suites.
"Over the past several years, we have noticed a decline in the number of requested smoking rooms," said Patrick Blangy, director of sales and marketing at the Grand Wailea. "We felt the implementation to all nonsmoking rooms was a natural progression of what the overwhelming majority of our guests request."
Except for restaurants, where a county ban is in effect, smoking at the Grand Wailea is still allowed on a guest's private lanai and in the lobby, Botero Gallery Bar, Tsunami Night Club and all common areas.
The hotel began the smoke-free policy for rooms on Sunday.
In May the Westin Maui Resort & Spa in West Maui announced that its 758 rooms would be smoke-free but that it would allow smoking in most public areas. On Oahu the 110-room Ohana Reef Lanai in Waikiki announced it was going smoke-free last November.
Maui Hotel Association Executive Director Lani Correa said recent decisions to maintain smoke-free rooms seem to follow a trend by some Maui hotels toward promoting health and wellness.
"Many hotels are investing in spas and gyms," Correa said.
Correa said hotels face a considerable amount of cleaning to prepare a room for a nonsmoker after a smoker has occupied the accommodation. "The carpet and drapes begin to smell," she said. "Some of the guests are highly allergic."
Ohana Reef General Manager Lester Shim said a number of guests have made comments that they enjoy staying in a "smoke-free, healthy environment."
Shim said the hotel has been able to cut its maintenance and housekeeping costs by reducing the cleaning and property damage associated with burns and accidental fires.
"There's a lot of benefit all around," he said.
Shim said the Ohana Reef was the first hotel in the state to be smoke-free and that the policy applies in common areas, including the lobby and Buzz's Steak & Lobster restaurant and bar.
