Recently spent three nights here. Strangely, just before the devaluation the hotel had a surprisingly large number of nights with 40k redemptions available (including a number of 3-4 night weekends in April/May). So I finally used up my 75 night elite choice certs from the past three years. Excellent value compared to the $900+ sticker price.

Received an upgrade to a Premier Ocean View room at the far end of the 9th floor, nice view, rooms still in good upkeep compared to our last stay 4 years ago (when there was still construction going on, with an excavator parked in the lobby). Hotel rather busy, pre-arrival email warned of no upgrade and no early check-in. The latter turned out to be true, and it was handled somewhat awkwardly -- the room became available at 3:55pm, and when we arrived noon-ish, the front desk staff seemed unwilling to store our luggage ("you can leave it in your car"). To my surprise, on our departure day, a 2pm late checkout was granted.

The breakfast arrangement is bizarre. Having lived in Europe the last couple years and mostly traveled in Asia before that, I had almost forgotten how odd breakfast was handled at Hawaiian Bonvoys. At the Westin, we were given a choice of either having a continental breakfast at the restaurant, or picking it up at the grab-and-go place. At the restaurant, a grotesque amount of pastries, fruits, oatmeal and yoghurt were brought to our table. We ate no more than half of what we were given, and felt bad about the waste. Getting an egg or a waffle would have necessitated buying up to the buffet for $25 (although buying up isn't quite the correct term, because per the menu, $25 isn't the difference between continental and full buffet). On the second day, I went to the grab-and-go place, thought breakfast in bed would be more appreciated by the SO than the restaurant breakfast. Well, it's the thought that counts, which is a good thing, because I was told, if you want to pick up stuff for two people, two people need to show up. What's given to one person is adequate, at least in terms of sugary pastries, to feed two, but I really wish I hadn't been charged an extra ~$6 for the second hot drink. On day 3, we went to the grab-and-go place together, and were basically told, take whatever you want from the continental selection.

Monney grabs abound. I don't mind paying $20 for a poolside drink, but $37+ resort fee plus $30 parking is rather substantial. Of course the resort fee scam is now widespread; we also redeemed a few nights at Courtyard Kona, where the resort fee is now $22+ and parking is $25.

It was lovely to be back on the Big Island, and IMO the Westin has on of the best hotel beaches (if not the best) in all of Hawaii. Despite the disappointing breakfast arrangement and ridiculous fees, the hotel remains an excellent redemption value -- the award calendar has a number of 50k nights, and at that level, it's hard to pass up.