The Shops At Wailea

Beware of the parking scam! I paid $ 12 to eat at Tommy Bahama’s. Cost is $ 3 every 30 minutes and wasn’t clearly posted when we drove in. Diamond parking is taking advantage of shoppers and The Shops at Wailea are also to blame for using them.

Last year there was no charge for parking. We returned this year and found gates and parking fees. I do not pay to shop! What could the management of a high end mall be thinking when they attempt to charge for parking?

We were appalled when we drove all the way from Lahaina area like we have for the last 14 years to the shops. As I can certainly afford the parking fee it irritated me enough to exit within 3 minutes of entry.
We drove to Queens mall and spent $ 250 there instead. Never again to the shops there. Maybe when the stores pull out they will get the message.

I have made at least 17 trips to Maui in the last 14 years, and, during each of those trips, I have stopped in at The Shops at Wailea. I have made purchases at Dolphin Gallery, Martin and MacArthur, Tori Richard, Tiffany, and many more. I have also made a habit of dining at several of the restaurants. I was SHOCKED to arrive at the shops in January 2016 to find a very high-​priced pay parking system in place. It feels uninviting, inconvenient, and offensive.
Uninviting: Every major resort in the area offers free valet service. They welcome tourists, enticing us to eat at their restaurants, drink at their bars, and shop in their shops. Why would a high-​end shopping center, in contrast, create such an uninviting atmosphere by putting a big steel arm in place at the entrance?
Inconvenient: I have to remember to ask for a validation when I buy something, and I then sat in a line of cars with drivers trying to feed their parking stub and validation stubs into the exit machine.
Offensive: Really? For the privilege of buying over-​priced goods, I also need to make sure I don’t stay longer than my validation allows? God forbid I shop around and want to ponder, then come back another day to make my purchases. I also learned from some of the employees that while some of their corporate managers are covering the cost of the parking for them, others are not. In some cases, that means someone living on an expensive island earning minimum wage is paying for the privilege of working there.
This is a shopping center with high-​end shops. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the rents there are very high and that the revenue of the successful shops is more than enough to cover that rent and employee salaries. That someone decided they needed to make even more money by sticking it to the customers and employees by charging for parking is obscene. There is nothing I need in these shops. The luxuries I purchase there are not necessities. I can do without in the face of offense, inconvenience, and an uninviting atmosphere. I hope with enough protest someone will see the error of their ways and eliminate this atrocity.

It’s ok, but I expect this mall to be razed for more Wailea luxury condos or another lux hotel addition within a couple of years.
The paid parking policy has done nothing but KILL the previous levels of mall traffic, which were already negligible.
The «Shops» themselves are not all that elite and from personal experience and the other reviews, it seems like the Lapperts store is the only major draw.
I worked for a NYSE traded mall developer/​property management firm for a decade and this is typical mall life cycle… in the dying years a weak property is sold off to private equity, who will suck everything out of it for max ROI.
In this case, the potential rate of return from the value of the land may FAR outweigh the value of future cash flows from current leases.
Who in their right mind would lease space here?

I cannot believe that they now make you pay for parking! You get 1 hour free (it should really be 3 hours IMO) and then you can get the other 2 hours if you spend $ 25…
So you know what I do? I buy something at the ABC store that’s over $ 25, hold on to the receipt, and then just return it to the ABC store that’s closer to my hotel. Dishonest yes but I don’t care. I just like going here for a nice ice cream cone that costs almost $ 10 and walking around.

Drove in Friday night and the parking lot gate arm was up. We thought, oh great they must be doing free parking in the spirit of Christmas. After getting out of the car, we turned around and noticed other cars were entering and taking tickets and the arm was functioning just fine. Probably less than 7 minutes later, we are in a shop and tell our story to a kind woman who knew the parking rules.
She walked us to a kiosk, spoke to the tinny voice of a remote attendant who basically said we followed too close to the car in front of us and it would be a 40 $ charge. This is our first time ever there and we are going out to dinner… After a bit of cajoling and the shopkeeper stating that he was essentially calling us liars, the wizard of oz took our name, said to get a blue validation card and buzz when we leave.
We did all of the above and we got an attitude again from the man with the levers behind the curtain, finally the Wiz let us out after stern admonitions minus a dram of aloha. We live about six uphill blocks away. I won’t go back there, too much hassle. Thanks to the kind lady who took time to assist us!

These shops were walking distance from our hotel (The Grand Wailea). Great shopping strip with higher end stores. The atmosphere is nice to walk around.

The Shops at Wailea are a family favourite for their food, shopping, entertainment and (until this visit) accessibility. On the first three items they rate 5 stars for sure.
We just arrived late last night so for our first dinner out we made our way to the Shops only to find the two giant parking lots now require payment — and there is no other option nearby. The first hour is free and with a $ 25 purchase merchants will give you a parking voucher. Even so, this will curtail the number of random shopping visits we make this year compared to our previous annual visits. What a shame. One shop owner indicated the complex ownership changed hands and in an effort to enhance the bottom line the selling owner locked in the new owner to a multi year parking contract. Again, if so such a shame.

Nice little outdoor mall to do a little shopping while in Wailea. We were here in mid November and they were just starting to put up their holiday decorations. A small assortment of high end shops such as LV and Gucci mixed in with small independent souvenir type shops.
Lots of options for food and desserts. Your first hour of parking is free. Anything beyond is a nominal charge.

We used to visit at least weekly for our 6 months visit here but the paid parking has taken the leisure dining and stroll shopping away. My wife was always good for a 100 bill at least at various shops plus lunch or dinner. We will go to the mall or other places until they lower the toll gates

The fam bam and I came to The Shops at Wailea because it holds the one and only true Lappert’s Ice Cream location in all of Maui. We arrived at 7:15pm on a Thursday and was shocked to find that parking was $ 3 per every 30 minutes… Even so late at night! Luckily you get a few hours of free parking when you get your ticket validated which we were able to do at Lappert’s.
I was also shocked to see how dead the shopping center was. We were hard pressed to find many other people walking around. I actually thought everything was closed or getting ready to close for the night, but in reality they close at 9:00pm and that there was just no one there!
There are a good mix of stores in the shopping center. The luxury brands include Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, Tiffany & Co, Bottega Veneta, etc. The fashion brands include Banana Republic, Billabong, Gap, Rip Curl, Tommy Bahama, etc. There are a few restaurants including Cheeseburger Island, Ruth Chris, Tommy Bahama Restaurant, etc. and places to grab snacks like Lappert’s, Honolulu Cookie Co, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Whalers General Store. There are also stores on the less expensive side like ABC, Crazy Shirts, Sandal Tree, The Walking Store and the T-​Shirt Factory as well as a handful of art galleries. Something for everyone!
The parking lot is large so we didn’t have any trouble finding a spot right in front. The whole shopping center is open air, which is nice in Maui because the weather is perfect year round.
I would definitely stop by the shopping center again and look around some more, but think that parking at the center should be free. I think it takes a lot of people away from shopping there, and seems a little greedy of the property owners to charge for parking as well.

This mall sucks, looks nice when you drive by but once inside it’s a whole other story. This mall has identity issues, it started out wanting to be high end with Louis Vuitton and Gucci but I guess ran out of high end tenants b/​c they have a convenient store and other low end stores like Billabong. Many stores are vacant and there is no good shopping to be had here. Don’t waste any of your vacation time here.

Aaaahhhh, THE SHOPS (in my very best Thurston Howell 3^rd snooty voice!!!)
This was the only place I could go, free of charge, to act like I belonged to the higher class! Loads of free parking before and a different type of crowd. I enjoyed walking around this place, even though I couldn’t afford anything there, but now!!!
Since they’ve started charging for parking, this place has dropped to the bottom of my shopping center list. Still a nice and different place to go, but kind of inconvenient now because of the paid parking and of having to remember to validate your parking ticket when you’ve purchased a minimum amount of stuff. I’m still not clear if you have to purchase a minimum amount of stuff from one merchant or you can combine your purchases and have the parking validated that way. I understand the merchants have to pay for the validations, so I don’t think they are very generous when it comes to validation.
The one plus is the new Island Gourmet Market located in the new building in the North side parking lot. This place has a full sized deli and a coffee shop inside! But I’ll get to that on their own review!
I understand the paid parking was installed to entice investors into purchasing the property. If that’s true and this was just a plan to show this place is making revenue, the owner has to review their business plans! With the installation of these parking gates, a lot of the local clientele have made it a point to not visit this place as they used to. I for one have decreased my visits there, where I actually did spend money, to forego the headaches and pressure of having to rush while I shop, just to avoid a monetary fine! Even just enjoying a good coffee and conversation is not worth the stress of watching the clock to ensure you don’t bypass the hourly parking rates!
The other thing I’ve noticed are the Parking Agents posted near each entry/​exit point and sometimes near the parking payment boxes. Wouldn’t you think the money they’re using to pay these employees probably surpass what they collect in parking revenue? Especially when you have to factor in Worker’s comp and insurance? If one of these parking agents got injured on the job, that could completely wipe out the entire parking revenue, and then some!!!
But, who am I to say?! I’m just a local dude who now has to find another place to exhibit my alter-​ego! GILLIGAN!!!

There’s a good range of shops here. Some local and some large fashion brands here. Some of my favorite brands to shop here are Cariloha, ABC stores, Honolulu Cookies and Banana Republic.
We didn’t have to pay for parking here. If you come here during the week i think it’s free.
Also, be sure to visit the galleries here they have an amazing collection of art and photographs.

I was debating whether I should give a 1 or 2 star. I decided to be nice and to give 2 stars only because their ABC store was fairly big and clean, and the Lappert’s ice cream had yummy and unique flavors all made in Hawaii. They even allow you to sample the various flavors, which got me.
Other than a nice ice cream cone and outdoor fresh air, there really isn’t anything unique about this place. I’m from LA, and these stores are what I could find at home. Plus, the mall is awfully small, and they charge $ 6/​hour for parking. There was nobody else there, and the mall seemed pretty deserted on a typical afternoon. Unless you want to spend $$$$ on high-​end stores you can find at any fancy mall, I wouldn’t recommend this place.
Pro’s:
— Outdoor
— big ABC store
— Lappert’s ice cream
Con’s:
— parking lot charges $ 6/​hr
— expensive typical brand-​name stores
— deserted
— small

Paid Parking should not have happened. Sad.

A lot of fancy stores, which is fine.
Came here twice, and it was dead both times. Nothing really great to see here. Come if you need something to do, and want to get some walking in. Can not get much shopping done here. No real good clothing stores or department stores. Just tourist type stores, food, and upscale jewlry/​accesroies.

If I hadn’t heard so many things about the Shops at Wailea, I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to visit. For starters, it doesn’t have that great of a selection as I had hoped. There are many vacant places where stores and restaurants were but currently unoccupied. Also, besides Louis Vuitton, Gucci (Prada is coming soon) and BCBG MaxAzria, there aren’t any other stores to my liking. Sure they have a Banana Republic and Gap, but the selection and stock in these stores seemed extremely limited compared to the ones at home or other vacation destinations I have visited.
The only perks are that it is open air and they have a Lappert’s ice cream. Unless you’re staying nearby, you’re better off spending more time at the beach or pool than coming here.

I’m not much of a shopper but I do like this open air mall. It’s comprised of two levels and is open from 9:30 am to 9 pm, daily.
They have everything from clothes (BCBG, Cache and Tommy Bahama), shoes (Sandal Tree), beach wear (Billabong and Honolua Surf Co.), food (Tommy Bahama Restaurant, Lappert’s Ice Cream and Coffee, Coffee Bean and Tea Company), high end shopping (Gucci, Tiffany & Co, and Louis Vuitton) to convenience stores (ABC store and Whalers General Store).
Overall there are probably 30+ shops to visit.
There is plenty of parking all around the mall so you don’t have to worry to much about not finding a place to park.
Tip: Bathrooms are downstairs.