MoCheex

Good luck on the trip...it sounds like a wonderful reason to celebrate.

I went to the Westin Maui in April to get engaged and booked a deluxe ocean front room and was upgraded to their Luxury Suite (oceanfront with 3 balconies and 1.5 BA). I simply emailed the manager at the time of booking to tell him about the trip and he confirmed my upgrade 1 week before my trip (I could see it online). When I checked in the woman at the counter said "Welcome Mr. Cheex...I see you have received a really nice upgrade. Enjoy your stay!"

Needless to say the room was spectacular and we will be returning!

elihu1991

if the upgrade is important, i would pay upfront. i stayed there in may and my "upgrade" was pretty weak. the place was packed and i don't believe there was much to had in terms of an upgrade- we had a regualr room with a partial ocean view. nothing special in my opinion.

quinella66

I guess it is all the luck of the draw - we were upgraded (as Plat) in May to a Jr. Suite and were happy with it. I did not call in advance nor request anything special. I am not sure if calling helps nor agitates them. Supposedly the rules say that you can only get an upgrade confirmed on the day of check-in, but apparently there are exceptions.

shar161

I just booked 2 nights at the Westin Maui before we spend a week at our Westin timeshare there . . We're going in April. I believe they are charging me 14,000 starpoints/night for a standard oceanview room, otherwise I'd have to pay $475 for the room. It is the beginning of spring break( one of the only times we can go with our kids). Does anyone know what the rooms are like when paying with starpoints?

DeniseM

I don't know if ocean view standard rooms are any different, but the standard rooms are very, very small - they don't even have a closet. I think they are too small for a family.

You could get a studio at the Westin Villas (timeshare) at the owner's rate of about $375 a night (Incl. tax) and have a lot more room + amenities.

CandymanJim

I just booked (on points) a friend at the Sheraton Maui and was able to upgrade to an "ocean view" room for a couple thousand more points per night. In another thread I was told to have them ask for a specific tower for larger rooms.

Jim

TTT103

Three of us stayed there on points two summers ago in one room. We were upgraded to an oceanview room and found the space to be adequate. We actually didn't spend much time in the room, as we were on the go quite a bit. The rooms are nothing to write home about; however, the overall facility was quite nice.

mbreuer

FYI - there are special owner's rates available at the timeshare property for extra nights before/after using your property. Depending on your circumstances, you may also be able to use staroptions from a different week for the two nights.

shar161

Thanks all. So far we'll stick with our points reservation. Will check out the other options.

thor17

Just returned from an excellent stay at the Westin Maui. All the negative reports of kids running all over the place and being crowded did not apply during my stay. Of course it is October, off-peak season, with all the kiddies back in school. I booked an award ocean view room (2 upgrades) and was upgraded to a deluxe ocean view in the beach tower. I was on the 9th floor and the view was towards Black Rock, overlooking Whaler's Village. I did not find this to be a problem as others have reported it to be (noises from dump trucks early in the morning, etc.) The beach at the Westin is pretty pathetic as most of it has eroded away and is pretty narrow with a steep shelf from the beach down to the water. The cabanas are not really on the beach. They are right off of the sidewalk that connects all the resorts, bordered by some tall hedges (which also block the sun) from the back and some green plants in the front. They are also $50 a day. But you can go down to the Sheraton, which has a much wider, nicer beach and reserve cabanas there for $30 a day, and they ARE on the beach. The water slide at the Westin pool was fun, even for this grown-up child This time of the year is the perfect time to go as nothing is really crowded and the weather was in the high 80s and sunny the whole time. Massgaes at the spa were great and Gold members get a 20% discount. I even got a 4pm late check-out (didn't try to charge me for it, like the Sheraton tried back in May). We did have to change rooms to a terrace room in the ocean tower the day of departure, but who cares, we only needed it to change and shower. After that though, I do understand all the complaints about how small the rooms are. It's probably ok for 2 people, but any more than that would be very crowded. All in all, a very good stay at the Westin. I do prefer the deluxe rooms and the resort in general better than the Sheraton.

Cascadia

I am sad to say I just had my worst *wood stay, and most expensive.

$650 per night in the smallest hotel room outside of Europe, and the service was non existient.

So I moved down to the Fairmont Kea Lani ($400 per night) for a triple upgrade and close to a Four Seasons level of service. Also no time share hassels.

For me to use *wood again in Hawaii the rates will have to go below $200 a night... or why would one stay there... or *wood needs a St Regis quality property.

joeskimo

Agreed, but the water slid was nice.

dick tracy

I did 5 nights over xmas on points with the family. Got an upgrade to a ocean view room(even though it was over the loading docks). The hotel was packed, but the service was pretty good and the kids had fun in the pool and on the beach. Worth the points not the $600 you are talking about. I then went to the Sheraton in Kona on the big island. You did not feel as crowded, the service was not good, the rooms already need to be painted. The hotel is very noisy and the is awful, stay away from the buffet. But did it on points as well, if I was paying the $400 others were paying then I would have been upset.
If you get a chance stay at the Four Seasons Maui. Great service, great food, great hotel.

jakemtl

$650! Certainly not worth it. I think you could have received a much better rate if you did some shopping - maybe then the lack of service wouldn't hurt so much.

couscous

Next time contact me, I could rent you my timeshare at the Westin up the beach for a lot less per day !