Hvanv0405

The Westin Maui Resort & Spa
2365 Ka'anapali Parkway
Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii 96761
Toll-Free: 1-866-500-8313
Phone: (808) 667-2525
Fax: (808) 661-5764
E-mail: [email protected]

found here http://www.westinmaui.com/cu.htm

which you can also use to contact them through.

AdrianVanzulli

Thanks, I guess I shouldn't always stick to spg.com and go to the hotel's site sometimes.

Cheers,

Adrian

kendallg

This might not be the right forum to ask this since you all likely have status, but I'll give it a shot: was considering using points and cash ($360 for four nights in a couple weeks; the first night of five night stay is free weekend award) but it's just a terrace room.
I have zero illusions of getting or asking for an upgrade but simply wondered if they generally treat these kind of reservations like, say, a Priceline or Hotwire stay and give 'em a broom closet in a bad location. I ask because the rates for deluxe ocean view et al are such a deal right now I wonder if it's worth it to go the (relatively) free route. Thanks for any insights.....

tommy777

He he... I hope the e-mail doesn't go to the "concierge" desk at Westin Maui.. They don't know anything except selling time share

AdrianVanzulli

Funny you say that, a few days ago I received an unsolicited email from a "personal concierge" (first red flag) offering their services and letting me know of a great "welcome gift" (second red flag) awaiting my arrival.

Uh huh.

The actual concierge desk forwarded my email to reservations, so for future reference for anybody that address is [email protected]

Cheers,

Adrian

Seattlenerd

The gift is usually a beach tote, hat, or calendar. Nothing exciting. But you can accept it without agreeing to a sales pitch later.

The welcome email is typical. The concierge actually has had some good recommendations for us in the past, once we arrive.

broadwayblue

I thought the concierge was somewhat helpful. Yes they did sell the time share (which we took for $300 in hotel vouchers) but they did recommend a few decent places.

Mahalo

I've read here where the villas may have nicer rooms but it appears to me that the hotel has a nicer pool. I am traveling with 2 young boys and the villas' kitchen appeals to my wife. I can split my stay at both hotels. Are they right next to each other whereby one could use the facilities at both hotels?

Which one would you recommend?

jnswinnipeg

They are not close enough to just wander between the two, but there is a free shuttle. They do not allow guests from one to use the pool at the other.

I have stayed at both and unless you have to have the pool at the hotel, I would stay at the Villas. The rooms, especially the north villas are great as are the BBQ areas. I have no problems with the pools at the villas, but they are not as tropical as at the hotel.

In my opinion, go for the villas!

gleff

family, kids, stay at the villas..

wintermom

Just back from the Villa's . Loved the stay, my DD thought the pool and
slide at the original was more fun than the North Villas (where we stayed).
But its easy to use either pool, short walk between the two. We always stayed at the Sheraton before but the Villas are my new favorite!

Mahalo

It looks as if the Villas has made quite an impression on a number of FTers here. Is it specifically the room that impresses?

I must say that the pool area at the hotel looks quite expansive yet I can't get a feel for the pool at the villas. The kids love swimming.

I may use the health club and the health club at the hotel looks more welcoming from the pictures. As a Platinum, I usually can use the health club w/o fee but at the villas, do I have to pay a fee?

I am now leaning towards splitting my stay, part of the time at the hotel and part of the time at the villas.

Boraxo

Actually most of those patronizing the Westin hotel were large families with children in all ranges.

If you are looking for a child free atmosphere the Sheraton would be your best bet, or even better one of the adult-only establishments in Cancun and elsewhere.

chipshot4me

Having just returned from the Westin Maui, I have also seen and experienced a steady decline in the quality of service in general, and towards Platinum members. I base my opinion on both direct experience and anectdotal experience as shared by three other platinum members to whom I spoke with at the property. Let me explain..

I began with booking a one night revenue stay (Thursday - Deluxe Ocean View) and used my recently earned weekend award nights for Friday thru Sunday. Prior to arrival, I was most impressed by receiving correspondence from the concierge (Jennifer) who asked "if there is anything you need upon your arrival" and "are you are celebrating anything special while you are here?". I did email her that we were celebrating my daughter's 14th birthday and whether she could help us obtain a suite upgrade, if available. While I know this request is totally dependent upon availability, I did ask for her to follow-up with me - no answer.

Upon arrival, the lines at check-in were 12 people deep and only 2 people working the front desk. While I appreciate the offer of cold water while we wait, I would have much preferred to see an SPG check-in desk (I've made this request numerous times - seems self-evident to me..). As expected, no upgrades available and the Deluxe Ocean view I booked also included the sights and sounds of an active loading dock. As part of my platinum amenity, there are numerous facility discounts available - none of which offer much value, so I question as to how the list of discounts were developed. Be aware - as a guest, you have the option of making charges at both SPG properties (Westin & Sheraton) but don't confuse that with the ability to use their facilities (e.g pool). Strickly Verboten!!

As for the room, I did get the doubles that I requested although the AC worked intermittently. I called twice for help and never did receive a callback from maintenance.

The pool - I didn't know a pool area could be so compacted as the Westin! I'd heard they were >90% occupancy and the parking lot reflected it - even the valet was full as they were double/triple parking in the large lot. After 10am, it was impossible to find an open chair next to ANY pool. The staff does not take an active role in managing access/usage, which adds to the frustration. So...off to the beach we go. Black Rock was fabulous as usual!

As a platinum member, I can say I did not feel welcome. This was my second stay there this year (May 09 for my 27th anniversary..) and I thought perhaps the service quality (or lack of..) was a result of a low occupancy rate and therefore a cutback in staff. In May, it was sloooow and with a quality not up to Westin standards. Last week (7/31 - 8/3), while the occupancy was huge (and good for the local economy..), the service quality was exceptionally poor.

The last "Westin" stay (=exceptional service quality) was two years ago and after my most recent stay, I'll take my business down the beach to the Hyatt.

Sorry if this sounds/reads incendiary but I've come to expect more from Starwood and GET IT in places other than Maui. If this is a Starwood -managed property, they need remedial training or a staff change. If this is a Starwood-owned property, I just don't get it. For those who've had an excellent experience - congrats to you and I hope you made some special memories. For me, it's just gone quickly downhill..

BTW - I did offer the same feedback on the departure survey and handed it to the front desk staff, in hopes someone would be interested/concerned enough to contact me for more details/specifics. Again based upon my other Starwood experiences, I would have expected to have my phone or email innundated with requests for specifics - no response..

AdrianVanzulli

(Sadly, I'd have to agree with chipshot4me, overall a disappointing stay. Coincidentally, we were there around the same time as well.)

Stay: July 29 - August 4, 2009

Room: Terrace Room - Garden Room

Upgrades (?): Room (from a Terrace Room - but next to an elevator), Late Checkout (but not without a fight through some lies)

Comments: We had some friends who were getting married in Maui, and it happened to be right after my birthday, so we (wife, 6 month old daughter and I) to turn it into one big vacation. Unfortunately, this property is now on my "never return" list.

Everything was great until we got there. The concierge desk (NOT the Timeshare "personal" concierge) was extremely helpful and provided us with menus of restaurants and put us in touch with activities beforehand. They were a pleasure to deal with. Unfortunately, the "personal" concierge even went as far as to contact me on my cell phone to let me know of the great package they had for me if I would only come downstairs to see her. If you want to email me, leave me a note in the room (which they did, twice), or leave a message on my room phone, that is all fine by me. It is just something about receiving a call on your phone that is a little irksome. But I digress...

The hotel grounds are very nice. Very open, very expansive. Everything is very nicely appointed and well-maintained. There was very little litter to be found anywhere. There are several pools and many lounge chairs, but very little in terms of shade. If you come out to the pool after 7am, you will have no luck in finding shade, and a difficult time finding a chair at all. However, the pool does empty in the afternoons, and starting about 3pm you will have no problems at all. You have to get a wrist-band to get towels, and are told that each unreturned towel will result in a $25 charge. This is essentially unenforceable however, as once they close the towel shack in the early afternoon, you can take and leave towels as you please. The pools are unheated, which I was not expecting. The ocean water actually felt a tad bit warmer. Later in the day (since the hotel blocks the sun from the east until about mid-day) the water will warm up a bit.

We also had room service a few times, most of the food being the same as the 'Ono menu. It was slightly more expensive in some instances, but as SPG Platinum you receive 20% off room service (but not at the restaurant itself) so if you want to eat in the room it will actually be cheaper than going downstairs. There are other discounts Golds and Platinums receive (spa, etc.), but we only used the room service one.

Now on to the stay...unfortunately it did not live up to expectations...I put in our reservation notes and contacted the hotel directly before our stay, letting them know that I was there in part for my birthday and in part for a wedding, travelling with my wife and our six month old daughter, and that I would appreciate any accommodations they would be able to provide us. Unfortunately, that seemed to have meant putting us in a room directly adjacent to an elevator. This does not bode well when you have a six month old infant. I am not one to return and complain, especially after I gave ample opportunity to take care of us right the first time.

Strike one.

Being a destination wedding, I was able to convince one of my friends who would also be out in Maui to stay at the Westin as well. He is a taller person, and pre-paid for a room with a King-sized bed. We he arrived it was about 45 minutes before typical check-in time (2:15 or so), so after the desk agent took all of his information, she asked for his cell phone number so that they could call him since his room was not ready and let him know when it would be. Over 3 hours passed by and there was no phone call. He returned to check-in and was given no explanation. He entered his room to find it was two doubles, not the King like he had already pre-paid. He was unable to switch rooms.

Strike two.

I mention this story about my friend because he will now most likely not give Starwood another chance, and my recommendation did not live up to expectations. The individual who took my friend's phone number and failed to call at check-in also had a rather unfortunate experience with us on our last day as well.

I went down in the morning of our last day to request a late check-out. As always, when I know that I will need a late check-out in advance, I will mention it at check-in as a sign of courtesy. The agent informed me that it wouldn't be a problem and that worst case I would have to change rooms. Our departure flight was later in the evening, and our daughter needed to take a nap. When I asked the individual who dealt with my friend about a possibly late check-out, I was immediately told that the hotel was sold out and that I had to check-out at noon. Unfortunately for her, I also have the SPG application on my iPhone and just minutes earlier verified that there were in fact several rooms available. I let her know of this, to which she asked for my room number and said that my room was blocked for an arriving honeymoon. I then asked if I could change rooms, as per the check-in agent, but was told that I would incur a charge. My response to this was that I would in fact not incur a charge because I was a Platinum SPG member and late check-out, if available, was one of my benefits. Her immediate reply to this was that I was not Platinum. I asked why she would presume such a thing, to which she replied that I was not marked as a Platinum. Again, I knew this was incorrect as I had not only made the reservation as a Platinum (so my reservation did not need to be refreshed), but I also put it in my reservation notes, in the email I sent to the hotel directly (to which I received a confirmation of receipt by a reservation agent), but when I checked in I was given my Platinum amenity. I let her know that she was incorrect, reiterated our need for a 4pm late check-out because our infant daughter needed to take a nap, and to please check again. She excused herself to the back area, came back a few minutes later, and presented me with a key to another room.

Strike Three.

Going in, do I really expect a sweet upgrade? When the hotel is empty, yes I do. I will tell you that we will definitely return to the Sheraton Hacienda in Cabo because of the upgrade and how we were treated. The Westin was fairly full, but a room next to an elevator? That's where I'd imagine you put people who booked via Priceline. I'd recommend staying at the Sheraton (on Black Rock) or the Westin Villas if you want to be near Ka'anapali, so what if their pools don't have a slide?

Cheers,

Adrian