wrp96

Reports this morning are that the Sheraton Maui has been evacuated and they are working now on evacuating the other hotels.

fishy21

yes. We were told today we needed to leave by Thursday morning. We decided to leave now.

there was no power the last 2 days, and lost cell reception yesterday. we were cutoff and had no idea how bad things were.

everything at the hotel was shut down (pool, restaurant, spa) and nothing was open. They provided free box food from their restaurant.

fishy21

They did their best to keep us accommodated. They provided food… updated news every few hours…. Lots of staff on site. they even had charging stations via a generator for a few hours before it broke down (ran out of gas?)

their backup generator kept most of the hall lights on as well as the elevators.

wrp96

Thank you for the updates. Sorry to see your vacation ended this way but glad you are okay.

DallasEsq

I've actually had a trip booked here for Labor Day weekend. I expect hotel operations to be more or less normal by then but I'm wondering if going there that soon after this tragedy would be considered disrespectful to the locals who might need the resources (food, water, etc.) more than a vacationer like me.

Eastbay1K

If the hotel is open and welcoming guests, the locals will probably welcome the income. The only resource you might be taking is a hotel room for people who have lost their homes, and the hotel would have already provided such lodging to them by this time, or not participating in such program which may or may not be in place.

HNLbasedFlyer

I don't see any scenario that anything in West Maui will be operating Labor Day weekend.....

DallasEsq

Good to know, I'll keep my eye on things. I was a bit optimistic about the chances of a quick reopening since I read Hyatt Regency only cancelled bookings through 8/12.

Boraxo

Right now they are in disaster mode and the last thing they need are tourists to add to the load. Once they move to remediation mode, it will not be disrespectful to visit and provide needed income. Typically the hotels will let you know when they are ready for visitors again. At this point the timing is difficult to predict and maybe dependent on the location, how long outages last, use of hotels for displaced persons and workers, etc.

My understanding is that RC was spared the worst, but the roads that lead up there are a mess, and undoubtably many staff are impacted. There will also be basic logistics of bringing in food, etc.

Europeanexplorer

A quick note to anyone who has reservations in the first week of October: while these reservations may not have been cancelled, I understand that the hotel is not scheduled to open until 8 October. I have a 1-3 October reservation that is intact and I was only alerted to the fact that the hotel may still be closed by the recent announcement that West Maui will reopen on 8 October.

Ironically, the only comparable Marriott Bonvoy property that is open is the Wailea Beach Resort, which is now twice the price of my booking at the Ritz-Carlton. I've asked for a price match, but will have to shift to one of the other islands if I don't get this. USD1,150 per night for the Wailea Beach Resort is quite something!

tbeard

Greetings, We will be staying here for a week at the end of Jan. We have A Deluxe Ocean View, king, Partial Ocean View room. I am a Bonvoy member but no status. I have several questions after reading all the reviews. Seems like parking is expensive....should we just shuttle there and rent a car on site when we need it? I assume they have a car rental there. I read somewhere if you have the Ritz Carlton credit card you can use the Club Room? Should I get this card and if so how do I go about using the club room? (if it matters I am attending a conference here and got the conference rate). Any suggestions on getting a quiet room? I have trouble sleeping if it is loud. Any other tips? I usually stay at Hilton properties so not that familiar with the Ritz. Thanks

Eujeanie

Not sure how it can be an OV and POV at the same time, but whatever.

The pool can get loud with kids, so ask to not overlook the pool. We had an extremely quiet room overlooking the pine tree studded grounds. And a glimpse of the ocean in the distance. The Ritz is actually set pretty far back from the water than many resorts on Maui. Those darn sprinklers can get noisy, however.

I'm not sure, but I believe the Ritz Carlton credit card is closed to new applications. However, if you're attending a conference, won't most of your meals be taken care of? Not sure why you'd need the Club Lounge.

If you're used to Hiltons on Maui you will find it a big difference from he Grand Wailea.

tbeard

Eujeanie, Thanks for the reply. I am also a bit confused by the "Deluxe Ocean View" and partial ocean view, but that is what is says on our confirmation. Most of my meal will be covered but not my wife. Yes I have stayed at the Grand Wailea several times and as a diamond with Hilton I had access to their version of the club room.

ntamayo

Getting a RC card requires product changing from another Bonvoy card; other threads cover this. That said, booking the club level with the RC Card requires a specific phone-only rate (Z38) and will not be compatible with corporate / event rates.

If you really want club lounge access for your wife during the conference, call/email the hotel directly about adding access for a daily upcharge.

AustinFlyer76

I just finished a stay there. I'm lifetime titanium and active current year with 120 stays too. My best summary for the RC Maui/Kapalua is the resort itself is gorgeous, but you need completely zero expectations that you'll get any benefit from Bonvoy status. No recognition at check-in. Not even the standard "thank you for your status." And this was our 3rd stay at this property too, so i was floored.
Zero upgrade given. I was told there was a residence property that was available for upgrade and it was "$900/night but with my status she could do $750 per night." Still only a partial ocean view room. so just bigger sq ft, at $3500 more for the stay over what i already shelled out with points and cash.
Biggest frustration for me to share the heads-up, when i booked, on the marriott site and my email confirmation, there was nothing that indicated my room i picked with a cash upgrade charge gave the new Lounge as a per person charge. Her check-in process told me our 13yr old daughter was going to cost me another $100/day to get lounge access. I said 'huh'? i booked a room clearly with 2 adults and 1 child and paid for a view upgrade that came with Lounge access. Showed her the email and had to challenge why i disagreed with this. Reminded her of my lifetime titanium status and just thought she would smile and recognize this was silly but allow all 3 of us access. nope. she had to go back into a room to talk to a manager twice! finally the charge was removed/not applied begrudgingly. Yes - i use that word. It was a rather mortifying checkin experience to be challenged so vocally about a charge i was never told i was going to have.

checkout: this is post Sentry golf tourney and post xmas holiday, so kids are back in school. Hotel was a ghost town the last full day and even more scarce on my checkout day. I went to the desk and asked if i could get a late checkout. Was told no. I asked if she could check again with my status please and i got a "i can give you 1 extra hour to 1:00.". no hospitality room offer, nothing.

So IMO, there was just less than zero acknowledgement of anything with Bonvoy status here. truly disappointing. the hotel is a ritz in maui. so as a guest, it's great. as a guest that only gives 120 nights a year to have points for hotels like this, it's frustrating. So much that we are a 11 time visit to Maui and 3 to that Ritz - my wife even said she wouldn't go back to that property.

if you are looking to pay for an upgraded room, my $.02 on the new "firepit rooms" also did not seem worth it. the pictures are amazing and they imply it's a new building area and those are really upgraded rooms now. They aren't. mostly the east side wing ground floor rooms got a new flagstone patio extension with a pergola and a firepit and better flowers/landscaping. So the room is the same, its the outdoor patio that is visually better. But they are ground level, not elevated with ocean views at all. In our 5 days there, i never say one room even use their firepit. I almost grabbed one of these rooms during the website browsing and very glad i didn't pay the crazy upgrade $$.

if it helps - the Marriott Wailea beach is where we stayed first for a week. 4 coupons for Mai Tais, vouchers daily at starbucks or their coffee shop for continental breakfast, room upgrade, chocolates of the day that my daughter loved to get at the front desk. I'm sure there were other benefits i can't even remember. Just such a great stay and felt so appreciated every single day from checkin arrival (ex: knew my name and gave us juice/champagne before even getting in line - vs RC that did nothing of the sort) until checkout.

have a great stay - again, it's still the RC in maui. so it's awesome. But just be aware. enjoy the awesome as a guest. They don't care anything about your status at that property.