You'll find many posts over the last few years about the deterioration of the Kapalua Bay Resort. I've stayed there since it opened and as recently as last month and the rooms need refurb, the service levels need improvement, etc, etc. No way this property made Starwood "Luxury Collection" standards the last few years. It used to, but not recently, IMHO.

I also don't think this was a result of "parental neglect" on the part of Starwood. More likely the owners not wanting to invest more capital for whatever reason. In fact the buzz from the bellstaff there last month was that Starwood gave the owners some ultimatum about capital improvements and the owners balked. I know bellstaff are hardly the best source for reliable info, but that was the scuttlebutt going around.

As a bit of history for you folks, when this hotel opened it was the creme of the crop as far as quality and service goes. It maintained that worldwide reputation for many, many years until the Ritz opened nearby and took away a lot of the high rate payers. In order to fill rooms, the Kapaula had to lower rates substantially and that lowered the the type of clientèle, the service levels and also the amount of reinvestment capital, I suspect. At that point it really should have been rebranded a Westin or a Sheraton. It was one of those landmark properties that was now living primarily on it's past great reputation and not it's true current less-than-stellar standards.

Anyway, it's a great location and has great potential to get back up close to it's opening standards with a little investment. Even with all it's recent lackluster performance, I'm going to miss it as a Starwood option (primarily for award stays in the more serene Kapalua area).