greyhelm81

Just spent 6 nights here. Had booked a 3 bedroom villa. As a gold member was upgraded to ocean view and given two free drinks. Everyone gets a lei or beads at checkin. I didn't have a problem with no beach access, even with toddlers in tow, since we drove to all the beaches we wanted to visit and parking wasn't a problem this time of year. The pool was awesome and great for little ones. As a guest you'll need to wear a bracelet that changes every week. Towel shack was nice to exchange after taking towels to the beach. Close walking access to the best shopping plaza in the area. Walk to the sheraton beach about 5-15 minutes depending on which part of the resort you're at. Just a few minutes drive to lawai and poipu beaches. Poipu beach had plenty of parking for the off season. Holoholo grill on site wasn't bad for breakfast, and was convenient, no problem charging to the room. Like others have said the housekeeping isnt so great and villas only get a full cleaning, which means sheets changed, every three days. If you have a long stay I highly recommend splitting it between poipu and the North side as it's just a different experience. We actually got rained on more in poipu than hanalei, go figure. You must see the napali coast. Snorkeled at poipu, lawai, ke'e, lydgate, tunnels, and baby beach. It was all average, snorkeling on maui is better.
Best snorkeling was offshore as part of our napali boat tour. Note most of these these napali snorkel tours don't actually let you snorkel off napali. We snorkeled off the coast near waimea, which was nice, but a but misleading. My wife booked tours through the expedia concierge on site, their availability and options were pretty limited. I'd recommend booking on your own ahead of time.
I thought the staff were great and response was quick anytime we asked for anything. Overall a very nice property, but didn't quite have that unique visual design that most autograph collection properties have.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the update. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

gocolts

Booked two suites on points as there isn't an option to get a one bedroom on points. Would like a separate room for the kids! Wondering if I should take a chance and book one suite and hope for an upgrade? Am going Feb 23-March 6, 2018....

Anybody know the breakdown of suites vrs 1 bedrooms vrs 2 bedrooms?

Whowouldanewman

Thanks to everyone who reviewed this property. We have a stay coming up here the middle of April and I’m pretty excited.

I booked a 2-bedroom resort view villa with points+cash. We went with the resort view based on feedback from this thread, it sounds like ocean view can be hit-or-miss and upgrades are possible anyway. We will be sharing the room with my in-laws, plus we have 2 kids so the 2-bedroom was necessary.

The room was booked on my MR account. I am a gold member. However, my father in-law is a LTP. Any suggestions on how best to add him to the reservation so we can take advantage of having both a LTP and a gold member on the same reservation? Should I just call and add him and his MR#? Also, we would like to setup the possibility of being upgraded from the 2-bedroom to a 3-bedroom so that each group of people have their own room (in-laws, wife & I, kids) and we don’t have to put the kids in the living area to sleep. I’ve heard that contacting the GM and letting him/her know you are coming can be helpful, but I’m pretty new to this MR stuff so I’ve never done it. Would it make sense to email him/her to tell them we are coming and also ask them if they can add my father in-law to the room, plus mention we would love an upgrade if one was available upon arrival? Any other advice on obtaining upgrades at this property?

Lastly, does anyone have suggestions on which buildings are preferred? With the kids we will probably be spending most of our time in the pool so proximity to the pool would probably be most important to us. If we were upgraded to a larger room I will take any building, but if we have building choices along the way it would be nice to know.

Thanks everyone in advance for any advice!

hockeyinsider

Just call the desk and say you need to add your "partner" to the reservation.

escapefromphl

Directly inquire ahead of time about buying an upgrade to 3 bedroom villa if that what you really want. Do not expect them to give you a complimentary upgrade based on status or anything else. You might get lucky but more likely you will just get a 2 bedroom unit.

robnix

Spent a week here over Christmas. Got an upgrade from a Studio Resort view to 1 BR Resort view (Plat). Nice enough resort in a good location, not as nice as some other Autograph locations we've stayed at.

However - we will not stay here again. Be careful at the pool. There are spots that get very slick when wet. Our son slipped and fell, and had to get stitches to close the gash he recieved. No, he wasn't running, I was walking with him when it happened. The next day I showed the pool staff where it happened, and just how easy it was to slip on that spot. My wife and I both had our feet slip in other areas as well. We had zero follow up from management afterwards and were ignored in the lobby for an hour when I asked to speak to the GM. One of the staff told us that they knew about the issue, but were waiting until January to address it. Some indoor/outdoor carpets on known slick spots would have helped immensely.

MahiMahi524

Stayed 4 nights here with a paid 2BR resort-view reservation as a gold during the winter. Was told they do not upgrade past 2BR (was hoping for a 3BR) and no better views available, no late checkout available because it is a resort, and no enhanced internet is available. Basically, no gold benefits. They give everyone a lei and 2 free drinks on arrival.

Other than that, it is a great property as long as you are OK not being directly on the beach. In our resort view 2BR, we could see a sliver of ocean in the distance above the palm trees if we squinted a little. The full kitchen was very useful to avoid paying exorbitant prices for food/drinks. As mentioned, the housekeeping policies leave a bit to be desired, especially the $45 linen change fee. I guess it is not included as part of the $32 resort fee. We were surprised the hotel restaurant bar prices seemed reasonable ($12/cocktail) but understood why when the drinks arrived in mini cups. Overall a very nice property, just don't expect much in terms of elite status treatment.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the update. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

Whowouldanewman

Thanks for the response. We are already paying for the upgrade from the studio to a 2-bedroom villa because it is the right mix between size and cost. Getting the 3-bedroom would make things easier, but by no means "expecting it" or needing it. Just looking for advice from people that have maybe had luck with this in the past.

Whowouldanewman

Thanks - good to know!

gumercindo

Looking to book a Deluxe Villa via Chase UR portal for 5N for 180k UR in August. We'll be there with 3 kids (11, 9 and 2), and my MIL. Was originally thinking Waipouli Beach Resort (1BR) but seriously considering the Koloa. Thoughts?

sonomawine

We arrive next week for 4 nights and are Gold and have paid for a 2 bedroom Ocean View. Based on the mixed reviews of the Ocean View unites, does anyone have a specific building or unit we should request? Thanks!

chuckworth

Certain buildings only contain certain room types (# of bedrooms). I can't remember exactly which ones contain which. For example, I believe Buildings 10 & 11 have only 1 bedroom units. We stayed in a 3-bedroom ocean view unit in Building 9 and were very happy with the view and proximity to everything at the resort. It had a very nice pool view along with an ocean view in the distance. I would shoot for Building 9 and maybe 8 as a backup. Keep in mind that none of the buildings are ocean front and most are quite a distance away with other private structures, tall vegetation, power lines and a road in between. Higher floors are a must to have any shot at a decent view of the ocean here. Good luck!

Here is the Ocean View from Building 9:

hockeyinsider

That was the deciding factor for me. I chose the new Westin Hapuna Beach on the Big Island. Koloa Landing looked like a good property, had great rates, and I was able to negotiate some excellent concessions for a group (triple Marriott points, for example). However, at the end of the day not being directly on the beach wasn't something my boss would accept. As he said, folks don't want to fly 10-12 hours from the East Coast not to see the ocean, let alone the beach from their room.