Starwood Preferred Guest - Kapalua Bay Hotel or Sheraton Maui

My family (6 yr old daughter, wife) is going on a Hawaii vacation in midapril next year. Been to all the islands...love the Princeville resort best, Kauai too. But am concerned about the weather. Also, better for older kids, IMO. So, it's off to Maui as a Starwood Points option.

We prefer the laidback, more intimate resorts - love Mauna Lani on BI, hated Westin Maui and Hilton's. But I think with our daughter, the Sheraton would be better.

Any comments on which one to go to? Also, is the weather in Princeville really that bad in April?

Manku

With a daughter, I would choose the Sheraton, hands down. Just much, much more to do as a family along the beach there, including the Whalers Village.

The Mauna Lani is my fav HI property as well. That said, Ive stayed at both the sheraton maui and the kapulua bay. Kapalua bay seems older, but has more character and is more intimate. The beach is ok (and much less rocky than the mauna lani) but you have to pay for the chairs on the beach ( i hate it when resorts do that). If you like Sushi, the kapulua is right next to Sansei( one of my favorite sushi places on any HI island). The sushi is also half price after 10 PM. The sheraton maui went through some renovations a few years ago and the property is pretty nice. I liked the fact that you can walk to the shopping plaza (about a 15 minute walk) for food or shopping. The beach also has some decent snorkeling next to black rock. I think you will like either property, but my preference is the sheraton.

Just came back from a visit at the Sheraton Maui a couple of weeks ago. Very nicely located property, and within easy walking distance of many other properties as well as the Whaler's Village area.

I actually like their beach view better than most of the other hotels in the area. Black Rock gives you the illusion of being more secluded than being in the middle of a long stretch of hotels.

We stayed at the Sheraton last February and liked it a lot. The setting is beautiful and the beach is great. They have some nice swimming pools but the water temperature was too cold. We spent most of our time at the beach. We visited the Kapalua property one day and it was extremely windy there. Not sure if that is the norm.

I would choose the Sheraton.

I had the same decision you had to make in August. I opted for the Sheraton over the Westin or Kapalua bay and was glad I did. The property is beautiful and location is great. Black rock is located right off the beach which makes snorkling convenient. They have breakfast buffets which are also pretty good. We ate one meal at the Kapalua Bay becuase I wanted to check the place out. It too looks like a nice property and dinner was equally good. The only challenge with the Kapalua is that it is farther north which makes it a bit more of a destination resort. It also looked like it was more golf oriented. Everything you will want to visit is south so you'll have to tack some additional time on to visiting Lahaina, Haleakala, and Hana if you opt for the Kapalua. The only problem we had with the Sheraton was with a rude desk clerk. We requested a late check out knowing that it might not be possible becuase of the resort status. Instead of being polite about it, she nearly ripped my head off with insults. I went right to Starwood on this one and they took care of her, along with a call from their general manager. Other than that, I had no problems.

Thanks for all the responses.

I think we'll stay at the Sheraton. My wife's a little apprehensive - she prefers smaller, more intimate hotels. But with our daughter, I think we'll enjoy it more.

Any advice on wings or room choice. We want to be by the pool.

Manku

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by manku:
Thanks for all the responses.

I think we'll stay at the Sheraton. My wife's a little apprehensive - she prefers smaller, more intimate hotels. But with our daughter, I think we'll enjoy it more.

Any advice on wings or room choice. We want to be by the pool.

Manku</font>

I was also concerned about the size of the hotel, but it never felt crowded or overwhelming to us. It's a fairy spread out property and the pool meanders so there is always a place to have to your own.

If you are booking reward travel, they will place you in a mountain/valley/parking lot view room. I called and was upgraded to a ground floor ocean room on the morning of arrival. If I were you I would also call the hotel before you depart the mainland; however, don't attempt to do so days in advance. Call the morning of your departure. You really don't spend that much time in the room so I wouldn't get too excited about room location. I don't recall the building numbers, but the rooms to the left of the main building are much more easier to deal with. The rooms up on the far left hill can be a bit of a walk. This is also where the suites are located.