EXCLUSIVE: FEMA officials are staying at $1,000-a-night luxury hotels in Maui amid recovery efforts in Lahaina
Clumsy US government bureaucrats sent to the Maui disaster area are being housed in $1,000-a-night luxury hotels on the Hawaiian island, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials have been criticized by locals for their slow response to the devastating wildfires that have claimed at least 114 lives and left thousands homeless after their homes were flattened.
But that hasn’t stopped the beleaguered agency from squandering taxpayer money to house more than 1,000 of its staff at four bank-breaking Wailea resorts following the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. causing an estimated $5 billion in damage. injury.
Popular with the rich and famous, the resort towns are about a 45-minute drive from the fire-ravaged city of Lahaina.
Exclusive photos from DailyMail.com show FEMA officials drinking at Grand Wailea hotel cocktail bar on Friday, Aug. 18 amid recovery efforts in Lahaina
Federal employees sent to the Maui disaster area have been housed at four different luxury resorts in Maui, DailyMail.com has learned. Pictured: FEMA officials man a registration desk at the Grand Wailea hotel on Saturday, August 19
The posh five-star hotel is a far cry from the shelters and temporary housing where displaced wildfire victims live after losing their homes to the blaze.
FEMA teams have checked into three five-star hotels, the Fairmont Kea Lani, Four Seasons and the Grand Wailea Astoria, where former guests include members of the Hollywood elite.
Their rooms carry price tags well beyond the reach of most hard-working Americans.
Federal government rates for this week for all three resorts start at an eye-watering $1,000, company sources told DailyMail.com.
The Fairmont Kea Lani, Hawaiian for “heavenly white,” claims on its website that it is Hawaii’s “only all-suite hotel” that once welcomed ex-Bond star Pierce Brosnan and offers “gourmet dining” to the very wealthy.
The 780 rooms feature one or two bedrooms, measuring a minimum of 80 square meters, and have private balconies for visitors to enjoy sunset views of what the hotel calls “an oceanfront paradise.”
Meanwhile, the Four Seasons, another top resort that once hosted Kanye West, occupies nearly 15 acres and has a white fountain pool, verdant trees, and 6,000-square-foot rooms.
FEMA officials also stay at the Fairmont Kea Lani, another five-star resort in Wailea. Pictured: FEMA employees at a registration desk in the hotel
The chic Fairmont resort offers beautiful ocean views and three different pools
Rooms at the Fairmont hotel start at $870 per night. It’s billed as Hawaii’s ‘only all-suite hotel’ to once welcome ex-Bond star Pierce Brosnan
The Grand Wailea, where Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, and Nicole Kidman filmed their romantic comedy Just Go With It, has 776 rooms that start at 60 square feet.
Nestled on 40 acres of tropical gardens, the hotel is located directly on one of Maui’s most beautiful beaches, Wailea Beach.
And there are FEMA 100 officials staying at the four-star Marriott Wailea Beach Resort for $531 a night, a company insider said, but where rooms currently offered to the general public start at $749.
Among them are search teams facing the gruesome and challenging task of searching for the bodies of the dead and recovering their remains.
But FEMA’s choice of accommodation for its officials could raise eyebrows, as there are dozens of cheaper hotels in the west of the island.
Kaleo, a local government employee who asked for his last name to be kept secret for fear he could lose his job, said the revelations about their use of luxury hotels were “selfish.”
Officials are also housed at the Marriott Wailea Beach Resort in Maui (pictured)
The Four Seasons at Wailea, another top resort that once hosted Kanye West, spans nearly 15 acres and features a white fountain pool, verdant trees, and 6,000-square-foot rooms
Meanwhile, thousands of Lahaina survivors have been left homeless and hundreds of victims are still missing due to slow recovery efforts. Pictured: Women embrace after digging through the rubble of a destroyed home in Lahaina
“Shouldn’t they stay closer to the location, rather than on the other side of the island?” he asked.
There is also anger over the “one-off” payment of $700 to help survivors obtain essential items such as clothing, food or transportation.
False claims circulated online last week that the Biden administration had capped all federal payments to those who survived the deadly fires at that amount.
The White House has signed off on $7 million in emergency funds, meaning FEMA can raise cash to house those who have lost their homes in temporary accommodations such as hotels or apartments.
But locals are also outraged by allegations that FEMA has stopped volunteers from delivering aid to the disaster area.
Volunteers provide food and supplies deliveries Saturday to elderly residents affected by a deadly wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii
Displaced families collect food from a distribution location in a neighborhood of Lahaina, Hawaii
Luz Vargas, mother of Kenyero Fuentes, is embraced as Kenyero’s family and friends celebrate his 15th birthday at Honokowai Beach Park, Lahaina. The boy was found dead in his home, which had been destroyed by the fire
They blamed the U.S. government’s red tape, which means only FEMA-approved supplies can be distributed to those in need.
And Maui’s top emergency official, Hernan Andaya, suddenly resigned on Thursday citing health concerns, just a day after defending his decision not to sound the island’s alarm system.
Andaya said he didn’t activate Maui’s 80-alarm, all-hazard outdoor siren system because he feared residents would mistake the alarm for a tsunami warning.
DailyMail.com asked FEMA why these hotels were chosen and if additional discounts were offered.
The U.S. government’s emergency response agency did not respond to a request for comment.