Hawaii - Marriott: Maui Ocean Club vs Wailea Beach Resort & Spa ~~honeymoon~~

We're looking to book a Marriott for our honeymoon next month and initially narrowed it down to Kauai & Maui but we're leaning toward Maui. It seems to have a good mix of things to do as well as natural beauty. We'll be staying for about two weeks using rewards points (if possible). We're looking for a more laid back atmosphere as opposed to the big city of Honolulu, we can do city stuff back home.

Here's what i've found so far.

MAUI OCEAN CLUB
Pros:
Super Pool
Beach on-site

Cons:
no points redemption rooms available
possibly lots of kids/families?


WAILEA BEACH RESORT & SPA
Pros:
Infinity pool
points redemption rooms available

Cons:
10-minute walk to the beach
sprawling property

Splitting time between the two is also an option. We could even split our time between Kauai and Maui. Is it easy to island hop?

This is our first trip to Hawaii so we'd love to hear from people who have stayed at these properties. What are your thoughts?

Thanks! :D

Maui Ocean Club is a TimeShare property
Wailea Marriott is a hotel
More families tend to pick timeshares
More Couples tend to pick hotels
Both are sprawling properties
The 10 min walk to beach is exaggerated from Wailea Marriott
On either side ,starting from the middle of the property, you will walk 2-3 mins to your choice of beaches
To the south, Wailea Beach and the north Ulua Beach
Ocean Club sits on Kaanapali Beach
From the middle of that property you will walk 2-3 mins to the beach even though it's technically beach front
It's the common misconception that all beach fronting hotels will be closer to a beach ( ritz )
More elaborate pools? Ocean Club
More sedate pools? Wailea
Restaurants on property? Toss up, longboards vs mala
Summer months ? Wailea by far
Slower months? Ocean club could be bearable

Thanks, Tony. That definitely helps. We're going to go with Wailea. I read a long thread on it in the Marriott subforum and it sounds great.

We're also thinking about spending half our time in Kauai. What's a good Marriott over there?

How do people get from Maui to Kauai, or vise versa?

I would go with Wailea as well..

The climate is a bit nicer down in Wailea.. upper scale, little more quiet

Maui Ocean Club I've toured before as well.. we're talking wall to wall families with towels on chairs everywhere.

Thanks, Tony. That definitely helps. We're going to go with Wailea. I read a long thread on it in the Marriott subforum and it sounds great.

We're also thinking about spending half our time in Kauai. What's a good Marriott over there?

How do people get from Maui to Kauai, or vise versa?

The Marriott Kauai Resort is in Lihue. It is a nice property, although not comperable to some of the luxury resorts (Grand Hyatt, St. Regis), it is still beautiful. (Although I guess the same can be said of the Wailea Marriot when compared to the Four Seasons, Fairmont or Grand Wailea)

As for getting from Maui to Kauai, you'll fly Hawaiian Airlines (http://www.hawaiianair.com). They have a frequent flight schedule between all the islands.

Congratulations on your upcoming honeymoon. You will have an amazing time, and any of these Marriott properties will be wonderful for the occasion.