It’s tempting to think that the struggles the Four Seasons Maui faces might stem from Maui’s wildfires, which pushed away tourists. No doubt that hasn’t helped, and high interest rates have made cheap refinancing a problem . But this has actually been a troubled property for a long time.
The Four Seasons Wailea in Maui has been added to the default watchlist on a $234 million CRE loan pic.twitter.com/u8Uo6o1YB7
— MacroEdge (@MacroEdgeRes) April 20, 2024
Michael Dell’s ownership group sought to restructure loans on the property in 2010. The property was refinanced in 2014 and again in 2019.
(HT: @DSvor)
I mean some other group would just buy it distressed and worst case it rebrands as a Marriott right?
The wildfires pushed away some tourism but the government in Maui pushed away more tourism. You reap what you sow. The wildfires were not kept in control when they could have been due to government action. Enough resources were not set up to fight natural disasters, including wildfires, due to government inaction.
Any sense of timing for this process? (i.e. think it’s likely anything will happen to the hotel in the near-term?). Staying in June!
Micheal Dell is worth billions.
Why does he use loans?
I’ll never understand high finance…..
@Jorge
The super wealthy take out loans on business entities cause if the deals go real bad, they file for bankruptcy with no impact to personal wealth
When the locals complain about tourist and boycott on the beach it doesn’t feel very welcoming. We went over Christmas and it was not a great vibe. Sad because we love Maui and miss going to Lahaina. We have been many times.
It is also getting kind of ghetto. Junk cars on the side of the road, etc (before the fire).
We will probably hit the other islands or the Caribbean instead. If we are going to pay a lot of money to go on vacation we should feel welcome.
I worked the soft opening and subsequent events there. An amazing property. Sad to see it not making a go of it.
Love TFS Maui. It’s gotten stupid expensive but it’s a beautiful property. We usually stay at the Fairmont Kea Lani next door as it’s also expensive but a bit less than TFS. We usually split 10 days between Kaanapali and Wailea. My husband prefers the former, I prefer Wailea. We were there in March. Obviously a much different vibe in Kaanapali since the fires. It’s tough for tourists as you want to both be respectful as well as enjoy your stay and until we got to Wailea we had trouble doing that. Worried that locals who are rightfully pissed off would feel we were capitalizing on our grief. We sometimes go to Maui twice a year so we’re going back in December but will head to only to Wailea and bypass Kaanapali until the locals are housed and it’s a bit less stressful for everyone. It’s also easier as you don’t need a car in Wailea. Uber from the airport to the hotel then the big resorts have free shuttles that will take you where you need to go. A couple of Uber trips into Kihei is much cheaper than renting a car. You can also rent a car for like 2 days to pick up at the airport stop at Mamas for lunch before heading to your hotel then there’s an Avis counter at the Fairmont to return the car the next day. That works out well too.
We won’t give up on Maui. We adore it there and know our way around quite well, we’re just going to give West Maui a bit more time to heal is all ❤️
We were there over Christmas 2023 as well and disagree with a previous poster – we didn’t feel any animosity from the locals at all. We split our stay between Kaanapali and Wailea. If you have an expectation that things will be the same as always on Kaanapali after a devastating disaster, then you would be disappointed. It’s ridiculous to expect that after thousands of people were displaced and frankly, a little entitled. Enjoy the beauty of Maui and respect what the locals are going through and don’t expect perfection. Each and everyone we came in contact with was lovely if you come with aloha as well.
Good luck to the Four Seasons Wailea. We had one of our best vacations at that property during the pandemic when we treated ourselves and stayed in one of their beautiful executive suites – the property is stunning and the service second to none.
Four Seasons Maui is #1 in my book. We stayed on the club floor (deluxe). Expensive? Yes! Worth every penny! On e we discovered FSM we are hooked! We always felt special there! People were polite and mostly reserved! Hope it survives for sure! Second best? I don’t know!