WestLA-FF

Sam - Did you stay at the Westin Princeville Villas (timeshare units) or the St. Regis Princeville?

Sam P. Goodman

I was at the Westin, which is nice, but of course nothing compared to the St. Regis. Sorry I wasn't clearer...I was just giving my impressions of the public areas and Kauai Grill. As Westin guests, we were able to utilize the beach chairs at the St. Regis and we got a 15% discount at the St. Regis restaurants.

clover

Wife and I stayed at this hotel 7/10-16. I've always loved the Prince golf course here, but had never stayed at the hotel. When our kids were younger, we preferred the Sheraton Kauai Resort because of the better weather and fantastic beach.

Some thoughts, in no particular order:

- I reserved an Ocean view room on points (21,500) and we were upgraded to a Prince Jr. Suite on 8th floor with incredible view and lanai. That said, even though the Jr. suite showed as available all week, including the morning of our arrival, the hotel claimed it would have to move us several times during the week if it upgraded us to that room.

We were initially "upgraded" to Premium Ocean View (better views/locations?).Before our 4:30 pm LAX departure, I finally spoke with the Manager On Duty and had a very nice and constructive conversation with him about the inconsistency. By the time we landed in LIH, he had left me a voice mail confirming the Jr. Suite upgrade. Still, what good are Plat amenities, if we have to go through this nonsense to get the suite upgrade?

- Room was beautifully renovated, though apparently the bathrooms were untouched other than new fixtures. Our room had a spa tub that was of mid-80s vintage. That would be fine but it was a shallow tub rather than the more useful, comfortable deep soaking tub. Not a biggie, but wondered what the cost would have been to replace at least these spa tubs during renovation.

- Makana Terrace restaurant: Fine for breakfast (though not exceptional food) with that gorgeous view to start your day. We had one dinner there and it was barely passable. Dry fish, small portions, expensive and slow to be served. We heard from various staffers during the week that there have been frequent complaints about Makana and even Kauai Grille.

- Kauai Grille: Jean-Georges branded and very upscale. Expensive. We found the food to be artistically prepared, but our dishes were overly salty. Decor is West L.A./Santa Monica chic. We were there the night before Brosnan dined there. Not what I come to Hawaii for at all. Pass.

- Golf: Prince was awesome as usual and the renovated Makai course just reopened. The renovation of Makai was well done and improves the experience there. However, Prince was $140 and Makai was $135 (for SPG and hotel guests). It is ridiculous that Makai is only $5 cheaper. Play Prince...and bring lots of balls.

- Beach: Hotel was only about 60% full and we had no problem getting chairs, umbrellas, etc. Waiters serve drinks and food (which wasn't bad). Our only issue was mentioned earlier, without water shoes (and maybe with them) it was a bit dicey to move around in the water unless you got deep enough to swim or snorkel.

- Staff: Overall the staff was very pleasant if sometimes a bit clueless. The butler service delivering coffee every morning was nice, though we also sometimes just used the coffee maker in the room.

- Weather: We had great weather for our week and generally enjoyed the resort. We found that a number of restaurants in the area had closed and it was a bit difficult to find good dinners. We liked the Hanalei Dolphin (we were there the day after Johnny Depp I guess). However, the hotel, imo, needs to seriously improve the quality of the dinners at Makana and we would not eat at Kauai Grille if we could help it.

My overall grade is B+. Breathtaking views; beautifully renovated (other than tubs!) but need to get their act together with respect to food. It is currently below par for a hotel of this stature (and price).

blort

My favorite spot for dinner was Bar Acuda in Hanalei --

http://www.restaurantbaracuda.com/

WestLA-FF

Thanks for the clarification. We will be spending a few nights at the Westin, and it's good to know that we can use the SR's beach and get the discount at the restaurants. That's probably a better deal than what the guests ofthe SR itself get. Also great to hear that the Westin has some recent updates and improvements.

chrisinacton

Does anyone know how many "standard" rooms are available? I have an upcoming week-end reservation, and I'm trying to pay using my "free nights" that I recently earned.

I had to book an ocean resort room for 21.5k points. Unfortunately, I can't use my free nights for this room category.

conroy

I thought there was a cat restriction on the fwn promo...

chrisinacton

Correct, no category 7 hotels are eligible.

WestLA-FF

Also, only stardard category rooms are available for FWN. Premium rooms, suites, etc. can not be booked with FWN, even with point add-ons.

WestLA-FF

Clover - thanks for the thorough review.
How did you know prior to departure that the hotel wanted to move you several times, in order for you to get the upgrade?

Sam P. Goodman

Excellent! We ate there twice during our most recent stay and really enjoy it. We're also big fans of Kilauea Fish Market and Kilauea Bakery/Pau Hana Pizza for more casual fare (both are obviously down the road in Kilauea). I could go on and on...

clover

I was checking on line a day or 2 before leaving to see whether suites were available for my stay. When I saw that they were I called the hotel to ask about upgrade. Once the day before departure & then the morning of departure from LAX. That was the lame excuse they were giving me. Our plane was a 4:25 pm out of LAX. I then called the plat converge who was not much help so I called the hotel manager directly. He went online with me on the phone and agreed that the suites were available. If I hadn't made that call I would never have gotten the upgrade, imo.

point bonita lighthouse

Will be making a reservation shortly. We also would also appreciate any strong opinions on the best rooms that plats can be upgraded to on the property. Are there ideal weather months in Princeville when the crowds also start to dwindle?

jwhite4

I've always done my Hawaii trips Sept-Oct timeframe. Admittedly the main reason was better selection of FF seats, and timeshare exchanges. However, what causes that can also benefits others: you're after Summer (family) vacation time, but before holiday travel time. You get great weather (not that it's every really that bad there), but have the main advantage of it basically being an off-peak travel time.

Jeff

point bonita lighthouse

Thanks Jeff