iahphx

Yeah, but is THAT really likely? Standard reward rooms "sold out" 6 months in advance become available 2 months in advance? In Hawaii? What, every decided to spend the winter in the Caribbean instead?

I think it far more likely that somebody decided to add inventory to the "standard" award category. Now why that "bucket" shift occurred I have no idea, but it would be nice to think that the hotel decided to be more reasonable in defining what a "standard" room is.

Starwood Lurker

Infinitely more likely than the scenario below, frankly.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

emuyshondt

I've never had too much trouble getting award reservations at the Sheraton Maui. They do often sell out, but I believe them when they say they are since this is a very popular property. I do make my reservations way out in advance when I can.

However the scenario of cancellations and reservations becoming available when there were none before is likely since I think many people do make reservations in advance and cancel them as their travel plans change. I know I've done that many times. I reserve a year out to combine with my timeshare reservations. Just a few weeks ago I shuffled my travel plans and gave up some days I had reserved because I didn't need them anymore.

iahphx

Oh, I'm sure people cancel, but are you going to tell me there were MORE reservations on the books at the Sheraton Maui 6 months in advance than 2 months in advance? I think the only way that's possible is if they somehow were holding a huge block of rooms for a supplier (do hotels even do that these days?), and they were returned.

I think far more likely is that rooms were dumped into the "standard" bucket because higher room categories weren't selling or, perhaps, somebody noticed that the terms of the SPG program were being skirted. Heck, maybe they reallocated rooms because they'll soon be getting a higher reimbursement from Starwood.

In the airline industry, you frequently hear about "cancellations" freeing up reward seats or cheaper fares, but 98% of the time that's nonsense. The airlines simply add more seats to the cheaper buckets when they're not selling them for higher prices.

onlyforleisure

I will try to keep this post short since i just sent the longer version to spg.com. I took a family vacation to hawaii and I booked three rooms for two nights at the sheraton maui. I spoke several times with the front desk manager and said i was considering a few different hotels and wanted to know if they would give me a nice upgrade as a gold member. They said they would do there best well we checked in and they gave me limited ocena view (blocked by the lobby and restauarnt) but the rooms were very dumpy and outdated. The hallway carpet was all stained the room carpet and furnishings were easily twenty years old the tv was an old 19 inch with the front plastic fold down piece broken off and the bathrooms were old white tile with cracks and mildew and a flat sink counter that showed all the plumbing (reminded me of college) i was ready to check out but my family was tired and decided we can rough it for the two nights. We got a great rate but it was still over 250 plus the charge $18 a night extra for resort charge which is the newspaper and internet, except you can not decline. Then when i called to request late checkout the said i couldnt because the hallway was being replaced that almost set me off but the finally decided to give me another room for the few hours. Overall even speaking to the staff they mostly conveyed that this is not a great place to stay. The location is beautiful and the pool and beach are very nice but if your expecting a place were you get a beautiful room and a beautiful resort be careful. Fyi i stayed in building three and we had three rooms and none was better then what i described.

BlissWorld

I have a few things to say.

You are a gold. Gold upgrades are rare and properties are not obligated to upgrade you. You spoke to the manager and the manager did not promise you anything specific. I am a Platinum and have stayed at this property and was only upgraded to an ocean view room. Maui resorts are very popular and they sell out all the time. For the $250 rate you got, it's a steal.

I am not sure what you were expecting. It's Hawaii and a Sheraton. Were you expecting a hip W hotel? (then perhaps you should have stayed at W Honolulu) I think the rooms are just fine. They are typical Sheraton rooms with comfortable Sheraton sweet sleepers beds, private lanai with chairs, and a clean and roomy bathroom. IMHO the hotel is perfectly fine. It's what you would expect from a typical Sheraton. The beach by Sheraton is beautiful and amazing. I stay at the Sheraton sometimes just for the beach.

If you were expecting paradise with phenomenal rooms, then perhaps you should book the Four Seasons Wailea next time and you will not be disappointed. Of course, you will not find a $250 rate at the Four Seasons.

Also, resorts are not obligated to give you late check outs. They were extremely nice to give you another room for a few hours. They were not obligated to, even by SPG program rules. As far as the resort fees, Sheraton is not the only property that imposes such charge, almost every single resort charges those fees.

mario33

My experience at this property (as Platinum) was wonderful.

Furnitures may be dated but the rooms are clean. And Front Office staff are very accomodating. Well exceeded my expectations !

ldsant

Could you elaborate on what you sent to spg?? All members of *wood do not receive upgrades until check-in unless they have paid for it. Resort fees are listed and are well known for all resorts (not just Hawaii).

What were your expectations of this property? What exactly went wrong that you would write to Starwood about?

onlyforleisure

i spend the firsy week of my vacation in oahu before coming to maui, i stayed at the marriott in ko olina and spent two nights in the ala moana in waikiki. The ko olina property is beautiful as were the rooms, the ala moana was nice and my expectations were low being an independent hotel. The sheraton was sub par in terms of rooms i personally felt like it is not what you expect from a so called 4 star resort. The carpets are old and stained, the furniture is all old, the tv is way outdated and the bathroom as i described is disgusting. I am not telling away to cancel their reservations but just a warning that you may be disappointed by the rooms as I was. For future visits I would definatly try the marriott ocean club or westin villas before gambling with this hotel. The point of late checkout wasnt the issue since if they told me no i would have understood the idea was that they put me in a hall that obviously needed to be updated very soon. That hotel doesnt update unless the have to so the fact that my area was being redone the day i was checking showed that it was not the most appealing section of the hotel.

Sam P. Goodman

Interesting. I stayed there a few years ago and my room appeared to have been recently renovated. Nothing over the top, but new carpet, bedding, etc. In fact, they were in the process of working on several other rooms while we were there. Apparently, they didn't do all the rooms or they've not been treated well since I was there. We were in an ocean view for 5 nights and loved it...

tadive

I stayed there in September and loved it. We were in a room up on the bluff and it was wonderful. I agree with the poster who said he/she would stay there just for the beach. It's the best beach in Ka'anapali.

The night before we checked in to the Sheraton, we were at the Hyatt Regency Maui. I'd say the Sheraton was considerably nicer.

wintermom

We loved this hotel, in fact going back in June. However I do agree the basic
rooms are very basic. I am gold and we were upgraded to a partial ocean
view but declined it because we need two beds (had our daughter with us)
and they only could offer us a King - to get a rollaway was some really high
amout $45.00 I think, anyway we kept our standard room the first night.
We asked about a better upgrade for cash and the girl said nothing was avaliable. The room was very small and dark and looked out over the parking area. Next morning we found a helpful front desk person who for $100.00 a night upgraded us to a family suite. We loved it and have booked it again for this summer. Bottom line, this is a beautiful resort with fantastic grounds
and beach but you need to book a nice room, the standard rooms here
are pretty grim.- of course I find that to be true in many a resort hotel.

HomerJ

...had a lanai that we walked out on the grass and on to the beach...we had full OV...I was very happy with my stay there and thought we got a better u/g than when we stayed at the westin just down the beach a few years earlier...my stay was nothing but positive...sorry your wasnt.

emuyshondt

Last summer I got an upgrade to an ocean view suite, also in building 3. It was a very nice room and didn't have any of the issues mentioned. The Sheraton continues to be my favorite hotel on Ka'anapali - relatively quiet even when 100% full, away from Whaler's Village but yet still within walking distance, nice snorkeling on one side of Black Rock with a relatively quiet beach on the other side. The lobby/grounds/public areas don't feel nearly as crowded as say the Westin or Marriott.

jakemtl

We had a great time at the Sheraton Maui. I am also Gold and was upgraded to an ocean view room. The rooms could be a little spiffier but mine was more than fine.