Starwood Preferred Guest - Westin Maui Report




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schoflyer
Apr 8, 03, 6:36 pm
First report so apologies in advance!
Status: Two Preferred Plus Guests

FWIW we flew UA on F award tix to burn the mileage and have switched all points earning to Starwood via Amex and stays.

Arrived OGG and hit the Costco by the airport to pick up some booze. Very convenient, right in the way. Made the drive to Kaanapali and arrived at the Westin around 5:00 pm.

We were booked under my wife's name because she travels more for biz than I do, I told her she should ask about an upgrade and late checkout.

Halfway through her check-in process, I broke away form chasing my 3 year old daughter around the lobby and reminded my wife that Turbonet was a must. This botched the sweet deal she was in the midst of working. They were going to upgrade us from a mountain/golf view to garden/pool which as far as I could tell provided plenty of ocean scenery in a room touted as 30% larger.

Just when I was about to give in to speed and take it, I was offered an oceanfront room on a smoking floor so we decided to check it out. Hallway was smoky, but the room was fine. Score! BTW 4:00pm checkout. Props to the Starwood staff!

Quick dip in the kid-infested pool and then to dinner at the poolside restaurant. Good food, typical hotel prices. Grin and bare it! Same can be said for the breakfast buffet.

Next morning, heading to down the elevator for some of the buffet and my daughter’s hand is resting on the elevator door as it slides open and eats HER hand for breakfast! By the time we evaluate and figure we should get some ice on the rapidly swelling fingers, some staffer walks by, says that security is on its way with some ice and we should wait at the desk. One minute later Clifton (Clinton?) the Director of Security shows, with his medical kit and ice pack. He suggests seeing the doc from the med group that supports the local hotels. I tell him that my insurance will only cover emergency rooms and he says not to worry and that Westin will cover it X-Rays and all! Immediate shuttle to Hyatt where the doc’s office is via the hotel car. When we mentioned that our screaming child hadn’t eaten which wasn’t helping the situation, Clifton said breakfast resort credits would be waiting for us on our return to the hotel. No broken bones and huge huge props to Starwood!!!

The rest of the stay was basically par for the course. The Westin Maui is not the “Luxury” resort. It is a quality resort with loads of family fun. The “adult” upper pool looked very appealing. The beach at Kaanapali did not appear to be too kid (2-5yr) friendly. Pretty sharp decent from the boardwalk down to the water. (We road-tripped to Polo beach at the Fairmont in Wailea where we were able to use complimentary lounges and rent an umbrella.) Easy walk to Luau options. (We choose Marriott purely based on price. My daughter could not tell the difference.) A few offsite restaurants next door in the mall are convenient.
Housekeeping could have been better as the room was not made up until 4:30 on day 1 and no washcloths on day 2. The waterfall in the lobby is really loud and provides a tone of “White Noise” 27X7X365 (a little annoying however, maybe it was serving a huge purpose that one does not notice unless it is shut off). UAPREM 50% promotion not available for our stay 4-3 thru 4-7. Used SPG35 which came to $273 for the oceanfront King.

Cheers,

Scho


mpclaw
Apr 9, 03, 12:20 am
If you can put up with it, taking the time-share "tour" will put 7500 SPG points in your pocket.

thesilb
Apr 9, 03, 1:03 am
Schoflyer, just have to say hello to another new Marin County FlyerTalker. Regards from Corte Madera! I enjoyed reading your report. Hope your daughter is okay now.


VPescado
Apr 9, 03, 8:53 am
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by schoflyer:
One minute later Clifton (Clinton?) the Director of Security shows, with his medical kit and ice pack. He suggests seeing the doc from the med group that supports the local hotels. I tell him that my insurance will only cover emergency rooms and he says not to worry and that Westin will cover it X-Rays and all! Immediate shuttle to Hyatt where the doc’s office is via the hotel car. When we mentioned that our screaming child hadn’t eaten which wasn’t helping the situation, Clifton said breakfast resort credits would be waiting for us on our return to the hotel. No broken bones and huge huge props to Starwood!!!
</font>

Although it sounds like Clifton has very good customer service skills, I think it is a bit naive to assume that everything was done out of generosity.

It was absolutely in the hotel's best interest to get your daughter's injury documented (with x-rays) by a doctor on their payroll before you bumped into a (less than ethical) personal injury attorney that talked you into visiting a (less than ethical) doctor on his payroll. Sad but true.

schoflyer
Apr 10, 03, 3:16 pm
I was ready to take the points for the presentation, but they required my spouse to attend as well. I threw out he 3 year old line and how I wanted to attend and they didn't bite on my checking it out solo.

TTT103
Apr 10, 03, 6:27 pm
I hope your daughter is all better. It sounds like you had your hands full with her (running around the lobby and the elevator incident). Fortunately, she's only 3. Just wait until she hits 13.



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