Marriott Rewards (including Ritz-Carlton) - A question on Hawaii Marriott's in November

Okay so the wife and I are taking the 3 kids to Hawaii for Thanksgiving. Initially we were going to stay at the Ritz as they had a nice rate on a club level suite with some other perks but after reading the winter time reviews on the Ritz, we decided to pick another spot. Since the JW shows no availability for our days of travel I booked us into a suite at the Wailea Beach Resort to make sure we had something.

It's our first trip to Hawaii and I wanted to know what folks thoughts were the best locations for a trip in November. We'd like to get some beach time in, some snorkeling if possible and a few days to get out and enjoy some hiking.

I may wind up calling about Plat Guarantee at JW but I know that means paying the rack rate and I'm not sure that I want a standard room there.

Any thoughts and advice ? I appreciate any assistance you might be able to give us.

Are you referring to the JW Ko Olina? They are undergoing renovations this fall - I saw a discussion on it a few days ago on another thread. I also found this on Costco's website:

Renovation: Beginning 9/17/12 through early November 2012, the resort will undergo a restoration project, including painting and sealing the exterior. During this time, the resort will be closed to overnight guests, although select hotel, restaurant and spa operations will continue to operate.

We stayed 5 nights at the Ritz for Thanksgiving 2011 and had a wonderful time.
We also stayed in September 2010 in a residential suite.
I'm not sure if you are concerned about weather, but both trips seemed to be (the same) great weather.

If you can manage a residential suite at the Ritz you would be crazy to pass that up.

Spectra - Really so the wind wasn't too bad and the beach was usable? I just read about 5 or 6 reviews about the Ritz in Oct-Dec stays and everyone said the weather made the beach and sometimes the pool unusable. It was raining the whole time. Another review said the stay at the Ritz felt like Thanksgiving back home with temps in the 50-60's. The resort looked fabulous and I was going to book a residential suite with a garden view that had a really nice package included. But now I'm just really leery b/c of the weather.

KBH-Well that explains why they show no availability. I wonder if it will be back open in time for Thanksgiving. I would hate to book it only to find renovations went longer than they thought and it was unavailable.

I'm wondering if maybe we should split up our time on the island with a couple days at the Wailea and a couple days at the Ritz.

The JW Ihilani reopens on Wednesday, November 21 the day before Thanksgiving. So yes, the JW Ihilani will be open for Thanksgiving. You could book one property for the first half of the week and book the JW for Wednesday Nov. 21 until your departure which I assume is on Sunday Nov. 25. I hope that helps.

FYI, just in case it was not clear, the platinum override will not help in obtaining rooms prior to Nov. 21 as the hotel will be closed for renovations.

We were at Wailea Thanskgiving week 2010 and the weather was gorgeous. we drove up to the Ritz to check it out one day and it was drizzly up there.

We just stayed this spring in Maui with our three kids. We spent half the week at the Maui Ocean Club. Great rooms for families and a nice pool. We were going to do the Marriott Wailea for the rest of our stay but decided to jump over to the Grand Wailea. The pool was amazing and the kids loved every minute of it.

Spectra - Really so the wind wasn't too bad and the beach was usable? I just read about 5 or 6 reviews about the Ritz in Oct-Dec stays and everyone said the weather made the beach and sometimes the pool unusable. It was raining the whole time. Another review said the stay at the Ritz felt like Thanksgiving back home with temps in the 50-60's. The resort looked fabulous and I was going to book a residential suite with a garden view that had a really nice package included. But now I'm just really leery b/c of the weather.

KBH-Well that explains why they show no availability. I wonder if it will be back open in time for Thanksgiving. I would hate to book it only to find renovations went longer than they thought and it was unavailable.

I'm wondering if maybe we should split up our time on the island with a couple days at the Wailea and a couple days at the Ritz.
Not 100% familiar with this property but unless it is at a high elevation it is nowhere near 50 and 60 degree temps.

The average low in the area in November is in the mid 60's and highs in the upper 70's.

What reviews are you reading?

If you have the Marriott Visa... still have time to get it! You might be interested in this Maui deal... purchase four nights with points... get three nights free.

We have taken advantage of this and will be there over Thanksgiving.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-rewards/1344994-cardmember-exclusive-3-free-nights-maui.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxury-hotels/1329819-ritz-wailea-beach-marriott-maui.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxury-hotels/1074239-ritz-carlton-kapalua.html

When I read these reviews I wonder what hotel these people stayed at cause it doesn't sound anything like a Ritz.