Fizzer

I don't believe that to be true but as an SPG Plat you would be entitled to an alternative amenity , determined by the hotel, to compensate you for the fact that the resort fee covers internet service which is already a Platinum benefit. The amenity varies. I have no idea about the Westin Maui but on a recent stay at the Westin MS Waikiki it was 250 pts/night.

thebutlerdidit

Don't mention it!! Category 5 again for the Westin Maui is terrific news!

thebutlerdidit

We got two free full buffet breakfasts as the Plat amenity for our last stay here, along with the use of the spa showers and whirlpool, etc.

spellbound2

We stayed here last month and had a 1 bedroom suite with great views of the whales. I think it was in the beach tower. The Plat breakfast buffet was amazing and all the staff were very friendly. We'll definitely be going again soon.

Land-of-Miles

I arrived yesterday with my wife for our weddng anniversary. We paid for an ocean view suite, no upgrade, fair enough but we are on the fourth floor rather than a high floor as requested and "no change is possible". The flowers I requested for my wife also haven't been delivered over 24 hours later.

If I hadn't only had an hour until our dinner at Lahaina grill last night I would have checked out immediately and moved to a decent property elsewhere even though it would have been almost double the cost. I am hugely disappointed as this wasn't just a normal stay. Getting practically the worst suite in the category I have booked has happened once too often now for me at Westin properties. I will no longer choose them over other options, sadly I am screwed in terms of available options unless I want to change rooms, the day before I leave. I will not put myself in this position again so will not book another important stay at a Starwood resort unless I have email confirmation in advance of the specific room.

For anyone who hasn't been this is an enormous and impersonal property where the staff frankly care not a jot for guests, my advice is to avoid at all costs. I dearly wish I had chosen a different resort.

guywhocan

Just got a $798 offer code from Westin Vacations / AA Advantage:
- 5 nights @Westin Maui Kaanapali Resort & Spa+ 6 days Avis car + 5,000 AA miles

I can't go until one month after the offer expires. They would not accommodate my schedule by extending the offer. They said I may get similar future offers.

Any suggestions?

no1cub17

Wow - awfully quiet thread for this property! Managed to snag a garden view room with points over new years - not sure if we'll use it but if we do it's a hell of a redemption. Hopefully it's worth it!

lskohn

We had booked garden view room as a 5th night free 5-night points stay at this property, Jan 10-15 (last week), but got upgraded to higher-floor resort view in Beach Tower (with a lot of ocean view). Lovely room, but mid-way through the stay "as part of overall maintenance" they replaced the sofabed (full-size mattress) with CHAIR-bed (twin-size mattress) - someone counting on putting 4 people in the room (2 adults, 2 kids presumably) now will have to ask for a rollabed/cot for the room.
Also on Thursday night there was an excruciatingly loud dj/cheesy canned music for a private party - closing balcony door made no difference. After 30-45 minutes I called and was told it would end at 10 pm, but we must not have been the only ones who complained, because the decibels dropped precipitously about 5 minutes later, and stopped at 10:05 pm. Security should have jumped on that before anyone complained.
No water in the fitness area one morning - "maintenance" again, but there was no effort to provide bottled water as an alternative.
Final nit: The new restaurant by the beachwalk is a definite step down from the one that was there last year and before.
Overall - physically lovely property, but fraying at the edges.

underwood

All:
I have two rooms booked on points for the 1st week in June. My parents and my sister's family will be booking separate (paid) rooms for the same dates, and they had questions regarding whether they should book Ocean-view or Deluxe Ocean-View rooms.

I've done some reading through the thread, but most of the responses are pre-Ocean Tower renovation, so I wanted to re-ask a frequently asked question again to confirm whether the sentiment is still the same...

At this point, which Tower is considered the nicer of the two?

From what I have read, Beach Tower is newer but the Ocean Tower rooms were more recently remodeled.

RFLP

We just returned from this hotel-this has been our favorite hotel on Kaanapali Beach-staying there since 1992! Unfortunately, this one is getting worse with time. The Ocean Tower rooms are all renovated, 340sqft v 400 for the Beach Tower. If you can get an updated room at the Beach Tower, that would be better.
The ground is old, tired, the showy flowers have been replaced by weeds and fern. The trees have grown without control, now they come and whack huge branches making it ugly. The concierges here are only for selling time shares-don't expect any help.
The old restaurant Tropica was good, the Relish is so so. Hula Grill and leilani's are better.

ejong

I've stayed at this property numerous times since the late 80's, most recently in summer 2015. I have only stayed in the Beach Tower rooms. We have stayed in oceanfront suites and in regular rooms facing the pool. Our only truly bad experience was a so-called junior suite that faced Leilani's restaurant/Whaler's Village. Lots of noise and a strange layout.

The rooms, other than the oceanfront suite, are not particularly large but they are adequate. Not elegant. You are paying for the view and the site. It's not perfect - overall class of visitors has degraded substantially over the years, daily competition for chairs by the pool, on-site restaurants are only marginally acceptable (although if you can get your breakfast buffet included in your stay it is worth doing), maids' carts heaped with used linens always in the hallways, etc etc.

But it is Maui. Hula Grill just steps away. Convenience of Whaler's Village next door. Terrific walking to the Hyatt in one direction and all the way up to North Ka'anapali in the other direction. Gorgeous sunrises. Spectacular sunsets.

Every time we get there we swear we won't return because of the overinflated room charges and how little they really seem to value our continued loyalty. And yet, we go back. I'd be packing my bag right now if I could.

spellbound2

The hotel was not as crowded this year as other years so that was nice but there were a few conferences and at times things would get a bit busy. The Plat breakfast buffet was still offered so we decided to take that option. It seems a bit less impressive this year than last but it's just a personal quality preference. Whaler's Village is under massive construction so a lot of it is torn up and the heavy surf last month has taken away ALL of the beach at the Sheraton Maui so it's not really easy to leave your things on the shore if you want to snorkel. The Hyatt has tarps over the bluff to prevent further erosion. It's really tragic what the storms have done to Kaanapali this year but it looks like the Alii may have gained some beach. We will go back but it's a bit less welcoming than years past.

controller1

This must just be at the Ka'anapali Parkway area (Hyatt, Westin Maui, Sheraton) of Ka'anapali Beach. We just returned from 11 days at The Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas and we saw no such beach damage to the area of Ka'anapali Beach accessed by Kai Ala Drive.

DnvTrvlr

Couldn't agree more, ejong. Stayed as a SPG Gold at the Westin in March 2015 and was given a room on the 5th floor of the north side of the Beach tower close to the noisy elevator with a decent view of the ocean and Whalers Village. Pool is too cold, parking is terrible, staff not overly friendly. But fantastic location on Kaanapali beach, close to restaurants, short drive to Lahina and Kapalua, free shuttle to other SPG properties, kids love the pools/waterfalls despite the lack of heating, can stay for free with SPG points.

I completed an SPG survey after the stay and was honest about the negatives. Hotel manager offered to make my next stay better, so I am going back in late 2016 for another try with a promised deluxe ocean view on a high floor in the renovated Ocean tower. Hoping the positives will outweigh the negatives once again.

toadman

Just back from a week at Westin Kaanapali. We stayed on a Westin Vacation package, with the 5 nights and avis car rental. We extended our stay by 2 nights using points. This was our first time staying at this property.

It was very busy at check-in. Apparently a high school prom was going on that night. Parking was tight to say the least. I guess it was also the last week for some spring breakers from back East. So lots of young kids/families.

We had a 5th flr. twin bed room right next to the elevator, and facing the parking lot. The hotel was sold out, so no place to move us our first night. They were able to move us to a 4th floor, mtn. view king the rest of our stay. But the resort was basically packed the whole week. If you came back from dinner after 8PM, there was no parking. So just handed keys to the valet, and had them deal with it.

I used the exercise facility all but one morning. Fairly well equipped with treadmills, exercise bicycles, and weight machines. It tended to get crowded later in the early morning. For a hotel this size, it would have been nice to have had a slightly larger exercise room, like the Westin Cancun.

We had a light snack and sat at the bar at Relish for drinks at sunset our first night. Nothing fancy. It's right at the base of the Beach Tower.

We spent our mornings and early afternoons at the Maui beaches, and would come back to the hotel after lunch. Adult pool was usually packed. Almost no pool chairs for two.

The one major annoyance is paying a $30/day resort fee, and then they charge for chairs on the beach. Charge for umbrella's too. I guess it's just part of the deal when you book these resort hotels. Like the airline industry, if you can charge a fee for something, and people pay it, why not see how much you can suck out of your customers.

In any event, we did not do the time share, although they really pushed it very hard. They have a new Westin going up on North side of Sheraton Black Rock. It is under construction next to the Honua Kai resort.

Overall an okay property. Pools are not adequate size when hotel is fully booked. Parking lot is absolutely too small for a resort this size as well. I doubt we will be back. We much preferred the Sheraton when we stayed there a few years back. It seemed less busy. Mostly adults when we had lunch one afternoon.

FWIW - SPG Gold