Louis Vuitton Maui Wailea — Attraction in Maui

Thursday, August 3rd, roughly around noon. Horrible customer service. I walked into the store simply wanting my passport stamped. I walked in while 3 associates were standing at the cash register chit-chatting. I felt it instantly, one looked at me up and down, no smile, nothing. Just staring at me. I smiled said hello, but still just a stare. So I asked my question. Would you be able to stamp my passport? She still stared as though she didn’t understand me. I know there are a lot of foreign visitors with accents. Not me. Born and raised in Hawaii but living on the mainland for the past 30 years. So I explained. My husband purchased a passport cover for me and (because I travel for a living) LV will stamp your passport. She replied, “yes we do but it will take a few days. You can drop it off and it will take 2-3 days”. I said, Awwh darn I’m only here for an overnight. I said I could come back in a few hours. A male employee chimes in and said, “yea normally we do it right on the spot in a couple minutes but they have no time to do it now”. I didn’t say anything but thought “there’s 3 of you just standing here chitchatting”. He knew exactly what I was thinking and said, look around, I’m 3-4 people short today and have no time. I said, okay no worries and I left. In my experience, purchasing LV’s from many different cities (Honolulu, Roseville CA, San Jose CA, NYC, Atlanta GA, Las Vegas NV, Amsterdam), I have never experienced such ugliness. Being from Hawaii, it was embarrassing. But, I know what it was, I was headed to the beach, wearing beach clothes, hair pulled up in a messing bag carry a beach bag. No one wanted to waste 10 minutes on someone that “couldn’t afford an LV and miss out on a commission that could potentially walk in that door after me. I wanted to say look at my account but realized not all my purchases show up. Never take for granted that because a purse/bag/belt etc doesn’t show up on a customers account, doesn’t mean they don’t own it. It could simply mean that someone else was sent to the store to purchase the bag for me. For example, 2 years ago in July, LV in Honolulu at the Hilton Hawaiian Village had the LV monogram giant by the pool Neverfull and it was personalized with the word Hawaii and came with a plumeria bag tag. A co-worker was there and an associate took the time to help me over FaceTime. It didn’t take long, maybe 20-30 minutes. But, she actually took the time to help me. She was so kind, I added the wallet to my collection as well. But, you’ll never find that purchase on my account because my coworker handled it because they couldn’t accept my payment over the phone. But, that’s customer service at its best! These associates in Wailea need a lot more training on customer service!!! Such an embarrassment, to Hawaii and...

All of my Louis Vuitton purchases have been from the Ala Moana Center location as it's more fun to purchase them while on vacation! This time, however, I wanted to see a bag I've been researching online in-person. I popped in prior to having dinner at nearby Lineage. My current bag is a Tumi messenger bag that's about 10 years old. It held up wonderfully sans for one of the zipper pulls that fell off and replaced by a paperclip (hey, it's shiny and matches the chrome accents, LOL) and part of the plastic piping that lines the opening flap is cracked from usage.

ATMOSPHERE: Located in the Shops At Wailea, it's Maui's second location (the first is at Whaler's Village in Ka'anapali). Compared to the boutique on the west side, this one is a bit fancier due to being newer but it's nothing compared to the beautiful 2-level Ala Moana Center location nor the flagship behemoth in Paris on the Champs-Élysées. There aren't any vintage trunks on display, which only adds to the appeal of your purchase. But on the upside, it's not as busy either so you do get very attentive service.

THE GOODS: Avenue Sling Bag (Damier Graphite Canvas) - $1,700.00 LV does sell a messenger bag but it's so small that it looks like a women's bag, bleh. The Avenue Sling is a modern take on the traditional backpack. A lot smaller than I wanted (can't even fit my iPad in it) but looks so sharp. I decided to think it over dinner but came back to purchase it a few minutes later. Unfortunately the display model was the only one in stock (and the only one in the state) so I declined. My name is on a callback list if one ever shows up.

SERVICE: Yumiko was terrific. Friendly and professional; definitely going back to see her when the time comes.

FUN FACTS: The Damier Canvas (checkerboard in French) is the only pattern sold today that was designed by Louis Vuitton himself (along with his son Georges) in 1888, that covered his beautiful trunks. Every pattern after that, including the most recognized Monogram Canvas, was designed by his descendants.

A vintage trunk in Monogram Canvas can be seen up close at the Ala Moana Center store. Look closely and you'll see why it was called "canvas" as the deteriorating coating of intertwined LV initials and geometric shapes gives way to exposed cotton fibers underneath. Extremely cool!

While some products are made of real leather, today's "canvas" pieces are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which is lightweight, supple and waterproof. Yes, plastic!

Purchasing a Louis Vuitton piece in Hawaii will afford you about a 10% discount for some reason. The Avenue Sling retails for $1,900 online and the rest of the planet. I recently purchased a Slender Wallet in Damier Graphite for $430, while the online price was $479.

OVERALL: Frivolous fun with a...

In October 2022 I had an amazing experience at the Louis Vuitton in Wailea, Maui Hawaii. Was on vacation and celebrating our birthdays in beautiful Maui! I bought my first LV hand bag and I'm so incredibly happy that I bought it here in Wailea! I wasn't sure what to expect, being this was also my very first time even stepping foot into a Louis Vuitton store! I was nervous but immediately greeted by Sales Agent Sara K. She was so gracious, sweet and incredibly helpful and patient with me. Sara was knowledgeable, professional and answered all of my questions. I was visibly overwhelmed with joy, excitement and nervousness. I mean I started sweating and had the weirdest anxiety! 😅 I felt so embarrassed but Sara offered me water and made sure I was comfortable.

The store was their temporary place until their permanent store opens next year. But the temporary store was big, open and stunning!!! They had well stocked merchandise and most importantly had my Neverfull MM in Ballerine! They were out of a few fragrances that was interested in, but it's okay I received several other samples.

We visited this store on Monday and returned for another go on a Thursday to shop around and spend sometime enjoying the day. This time we were helped by Gian. He was also very gracious and even after telling him I wasn't buying this time but shopping and gathering prices on a few items on my wishlist, Gian was amazing with pulling all the products I was interested in so I can evaluate and savor the moment! 😆 absolutely incredible experience! I was reluctant to even ask because I want to respect their time and not have them lose out on any potential customers actually buying. I really appreciate the entire staff. They made my first experience a memorable one. I'll definitely be back! Highly recommended this store!

I later found out from a friend They provide complimentary champagne! So I'll remember that for my next...