Sheraton Maui, Ka'anapali, Hawaii [Master Thread]
 

Hi all... I'm posting this in the *Wood forum instead of the trip reports forum since it's all about my experience at the Maui Sheraton. I'm writing this from the hotel room as I wrap up the last night of my stay.

Overall my impression of the hotel is a fairly good one. I'd give it a 7 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being best). It's pretty centrally located in the Ka'anapali area, and isn't too far from great restaurants, beach actvities and other attractions (i.e. golf), and the hotel is pretty quiet. They've done a few things that I'd like for them to change - but who am I?

I arrived at the hotel after a half-hour drive (or so) from the airport in Kahului (airport code OGG). It's very easy to find. But when I arrived my room wasn't ready. This is something I think the hotels and airlines need to figure out, since most flights into OGG from LA, San Fran, Chicago or other major airports come in between 10am and 2pm. Checkin isn't until 3. I arrived around noon, and was told I should hang out. Since my bathing suit was in the suitcase and I didn't want to drag out everything, I decided to grab some lunch. The desk staff made up for it by buying me a drink - a nice gesture. They also took down my cellphone number and said they’d give me a call when the room was free.

Thinking I had 3 hours to kill, I went down to the pool-bar and had a sandwich and checked the place out. Before I could finish lunch, my phone rang and my room was ready. YES!

I got to the front desk and she informed me as a *wood Gold guest, I’d been upgraded to an ocean-view room. Perfect. I collected my keys, my bags from the bellman and found my way to the room.

The room is pretty standard. It has a King bed, a smallish TV (no local NBC affiliate or HBO, for some reason), the commode is too close to the toilet paper roll, meaning you have to sit at an angle, if you know what I mean. Also, the shower is setup so that the bathroom door will not completely open to 90-degrees. It only opens about 60-degrees or so. On the bright side, it has a refrigerator and free internet access (part of the $17/day “resort fee”, so not really free). My ocean-view is a partial ocean-view, if I go onto the balcony and cringe my neck to the left. I can see ocean, so they didn’t lie, I guess.

Anyway…. The pool areas are packed with kids and adults alike, and there is direct access to the beach from the pool area. That means there’s sand and more sand in the bottom of the pool from kids coming and going back and forth. There’s plenty of waitresses serving drinks and snacks, and I really didn’t have any trouble finding a chair to lay on. Towels are distributed in a central location and you can get as many as you like, so long as you fill out a form scaring you into returning them or else you get a $25 fee. The pool attendant told me to scribble some stuff on there. Nobody was going to charge me anything. Nice.

The restaurants in the hotel were a bit disappointing. Not a lot of variety. There’s one that claims it has the best salad bar on Maui. I think my local sizzler has a better salad bar, so if this claim is true, there’s tons of opportunity for a salad bar investor here in Maui!

I only ate one meal at the hotel restaurant. Instead, I opted for heading a short walk down to the Whaler’s Village, where the restaurant selection and nightlife were a little more appealing. The Westin Maui is right next to the Whaler’s Village, and after visiting that property for dinner (signing privileges there for Sheraton guests), I should have stayed there instead. The pool was better, the pool chairs looked more comfortable and plentiful, and the bar scene was easier to enjoy. I had several tapas at the Westin pool bar one night and flirted with a few nice ladies – one who just LOVED to drop the F bomb. Interesting.

I ordered room service tonight, ordering a club sandwich. The sandwich was ordered on wheat, and came on white. It says on the menu it comes with avocado, but there was no avocado on the sandwich. Also, I ordered mayo on the side and they brought extra ketchup – no mayo!!??!! Then the guy tried to argue with me over whether a service charge that they put on there was indeed a tip or not. I said it was, he disagreed. I told him he got my sandwich wrong, no mayo and they didn’t give me an option of turning down the service charge, so it was all the tip he was going to get. I’m still waiting for a callback from the manager about this. I wasn’t going to make a big deal about the sandwich, but I did want the mayo. I didn’t expect to get a hard time about what was a tip and what wasn’t.

Overall, the room isn’t all that bad. I’ve read previous items on Flyertalk about the hotel being overrun with kids. There’s lots of them, but they’re pretty manageable. And I’m shocked at how quiet the hotel is in general. I never even heard the doors closing of my neighbors. If you have points to blow on a free vacation, like I did, the Sheraton Maui may be a good selection. My next trip will be to the Westin though! ;-)

We stayed at both the Sheraton and Westin on Maui last Spring. This was our 2nd visit to Maui and we spent 5 nights on Kauai before heading to Maui. I had enough Starpoints for 2 nights and used them at the Sheraton and paid cash for 1 night at the Westin(I really wanted to check out their pool!). We are a family of 4 with 2 teens. First we checked in at the Sheraton. I had warned my family that I had only booked one free room and we would probably be stuck in the back of the hotel. I was very surprised to learn that they upgraded us to an ocean view Ohana suite. Not only that, but we were treated very well by the staff. Yes, there were kids around, but the place is so big and the "feel" is so relaxed that you really don't mind. The beach and snorkeling are fantastic. I did not want to leave..... Then we checked into the Westin where we definitely did not get an upgrade. That would have been OK obviously - but the room felt very run-down and the whole place just was not on the same level as the Sheraton. Yes, the pool was fun - but not enough to make up for the overall lack of quality at the Westin. Bottomline...I would pay money to stay at the Sheraton again - I would not even pay points to stay at the Westin.

This really should be consolidated with one of the many existing Maui Sheraton/Maui Westin threads.

Some observations:

(1) Not all mainland flights arrive 10-2pm. There are quite a few that leave the West Coast in the afternoon and early evening, plus others that connect through Oahu. So I would imagine they get arrivals all day long. Balance that against SPG elites who request late checkout (which is not always available at resorts, but often granted, at least to 2pm) and you can see why rooms may not be available before 3pm for everyone.

(2) If you read the existing threads, you will see that many (myself included) recommend specifically requesting Building 6, where all rooms have direct ocean views. This building is also quiter than the other ones closer to the lobby, though it is more of a hike from the pool.

(3) The pool area was not very crowded during our stay, but I would imagine the occupancy levels and clientele are different in November and June. The consensus (again from other threads- and I concur) is that the Westin has a better pool area and the Sheraton has a better beach. YMMV.

(4) Food at the hotel is overpriced, as is true for most of the resorts in Kaanapali and even many of the restaurants in Whalers. Better value can be found in Lahaina, or even better down in Kihei.

(5) Overall I would give the property an 8/10 - subtracting 2 points for some noise issues at the pool (running leaf blowers throughout the prime afternoon hours is unacceptable :mad: ) but otherwise very satisfied with our stay. The workout room is pretty mediocre for a resort, moreso when you consider the mandatory resort fee.

Additional Note: If you are planning to stay for 5+ nights and want to save some coin, try to get on the SVO list for the current offer of $749 for 5 nights plus an Avis car and a $100 dining cert. That works out to $100 per night plus tax, which is a steal even compared with other promo rates.

We loved this hotel, just left June 25th and had a great stay. We arrived
about 5:00pm and it did not start off too well. We were informed I had
been upgraded to a partial ocean view. We are a family of three and the room had one king bed. I asked for a roll away and they said there would
be a $75.00 charge per night for that. I am Gold and said I thought an upgrade should include enough bedding but the receptionist wouldn't budge.
I then asked for an upgrade to a better room with points- sorry she said,
nothing avaliable. We had had a long day so I took the mountain view , no
upgrade room. The room was small and looked out on the side of the mesh
tennis courts, the bathroom was very motel 6.
Next morning, I went back to the reception desk and asked about an upgrade,
different lady, most helpful offer me several choices, we took a family suite
ocean front for an exta $150.00 a night (she offer points but it was not a good deal) and loved it. Great view, the hotel staff
were friendly, snorkeling right off the beach with turtles and all kinds of fish.
Beautiful grounds and pool. Easy walk to the shops and dinning. We will be
back. We stayed in room 1110 and it was a great room except it was a
handicaped room , I wonder if all the ground floor family suites are?
Can't wait to go back!! ^

My family of 3 stayed there last August and just loved it. When I reserved I requested a roll away and was told that there is a fee but they would waive it for me. When I spoke to another agent to confirm reservation she said that they don't usually waive the fee and that they would not ever do it again. Anyway no problem at the hotel with the roll away or fee. We were in bldg 4 which is quite a walk but fantastic location, great view and very nice spg room with large bath with double doors. We loved the beach and location. Restaurants marginal but lots in the area within walking distance. Would definately stay here again but have bought a timeshare at the Marriott down the beach so will be there from now on!

Sheraton Maui - Consolidated Room/Suite Information
 

I'm headed to the Sheraton Maui in a few weeks. I've compiled the info below to try and sort out what type of room/suite upgrade and location I should shoot for. I pulled the information from related threads and the hotel's site.

Any recent first-hand advice on the type of upgrade I can hope for/expect as a plat on an award stay? The pool is not a priority for us -- we'd rather sit on the beach or lounge in our room, checking out the views. Hoping to avoid noise, crowds and kids as much as possible.

It sounds like buildings 5 and 6 would be the best bets, so I guess I'll beg for one of the Deluxe Ocean Front suites, although I don't have high hopes of getting it. What should be my second choice? Anything (other than the garden view) I should avoid?

Thanks for the help, and I hope these lists help others.
-Ursa

Suite Options
Suite Name.............Quantity....Building
Ohana......................20.............1
Junior.......................10.............2
Ocean.......................5..............3&4
Deluxe Ocean Front.....8..............2,5&6
Ali'i...........................1..............Unk nown

Room Options
Room Name...........Quantitiy....Building.....Features
Ocean Front...........76..............3&4.............Vi ews:Ocean, Black Rock
Ocean View............112.............3...............Vi ews: Kaanapali Shoreline, pool
Mountain View.........36..............3...............Views :Mountains, golf course
Garden View............50..............3..............."a uthentic Hawaiian furnishings"
Deluxe Ocean Front..104............5&6.............Microwave ovens
Deluxe Ocean..........84..............2...............Non e listed

Building Information
Building 1 (Hale O Ka 'Ohana) Rooms 1101-1210 - No information
Building 2 (Hale Lahaina) Rooms 2101-2521 - No information
Building 3 (Hale O Ke Anuenue) Rooms 3101-3634 - Short walk to the pool, limited privacy, lots of stuff (lawn, swimming pool, restaurant) between you and the ocean
Building 4 (Hale O Ka Nalu) Rooms 4103-4611 - Limited privacy, lots of stuff between you and the ocean
Building 5 (Hale O Na Hoku) Rooms 5101-5111 - No information
Building 6 (Hale O Ka Moana) Rooms 6101-6526 - Faces Black Rock. Quieter, 5-8 min. uphill walk from pool

First off, the Sheraton Maui is a beautiful resort and I loved every minute of being there. I think no matter what room you have, you will have an amazing stay at the resort. And don't forget to visit Mama's Fish House while on Maui for by far the best fish dining experience on the island.

As for room upgrades, I found the hotel staff very accomodating. I am SPG Gold and actually booked my stay through Costco, so prepaid (at a much lower rate than Starwoods' advertised rates) and was not earning SPG points. The room I booked and paid for was a Mountainview Room. When I arrived at the hotel, I gave my SPG Gold card to the front desk and was upgraded to an Ocean Front room. Not a deluxe or suite, but we thoroughly enjoyed the Ocean Front and the great breeze on the balcony. I can imagine that if you are Platinum, you will be upgraded to a much better room. Unless the hotel is completely sold out, I think your chances of being upgraded are extremely good. The hotel is really top notch in service and taking care of their guests.

Enjoy your stay!

Any other comments/comparisons/recent experiences between the Sheraton and the Westin? Although one must take TripAdvisor reviews with a large grain of salt, the recent reviews there of the Westin are quite negative, but fairly positive for the Sheraton. Also, any thoughts re: upgrade possibilities for an SPG Gold on a late March award stay?

I'm a Gold and stayed there on my honeymoon in October. We were upgraded to a partial ocean view on the 6th floor. It was actually a pretty great view from our lanai. I was expecting to be disappointed by "partial ocean view", but in fact it was quite the opposite.

Sheraton Maui awards -- any way to avoid the surcharge?
 

I'm not thrilled with redeeming Cat. 5 points for this hotel, but the room rates on Maui are now so high ($400+, worse than Europe!) it looks like almost a deal. One annoyance, however, is that they seem to have almost no availability (even six months in advance) for "standard" rooms. So they charge an extra 1500 points per night for upgraded rooms. Mind you, these aren't oceanfront rooms, just ordinary-sounding "golf" or "mountain view."

Seems a little dubious -- especially since as a gold, I think I'd likely wind up in one of those slightly better rooms anyway. I assume the property is allowed to play this game?

FWIW, the Westin Maui seems to have a similar strategy.

you can always take your chances and not pay for the upgraded room and hope for the best in terms of getting upgraded when you get there.

If standard rooms aren't available, it's not a game.

I don't know how the room cats go though.. Sounds like you probably have to book, instead of counting on an upgrade, as they'll be sold out. So the question is what they want for Ocean View rooms. If that's what you're looking for?

(Extra 1500 per night at a Cat 5 - 12K-16K actually seems lower than the usual 2500 BTW)

Well, the issue is not having standard reward rooms available -- perhaps making what would otherwise be a "standard" room in most hotels (like a golf view) a higher level room category and charging an extra 1500 points for it. Truly premium rooms categories (like oceanfront or suites) are considerably more points at this hotel.

I have previously seen SPG award upgrades for oceanview rooms (usually 1500 points), but this is my first encounter with having to pay more for seemingly "ordinary" room categories.

You sure they were priced that low? Seems that whenever I look at a Cat 5, the increments are in blocks of 2500 instead of 1500.

If they indeed made a change like that, it would sure seem to be fishy to me..

This is my first experience with a Cat. 5 upgrade, so you could be correct in that regard. For Cat. 4 upgrades, 1500 points has gotten me significantly better rooms, generally at least junior suites, executive floor or oceanfront.

As I said, I have never seen a charge -- as appears to be the case here -- for NOMINAL room improvements, yet alone where there are no standard rooms available for rental several months in advance.

When I booked an award room last year at this hotel when it was Cat 4, they offered no upgrades for points. The "standard" room was the mountain view room.

The prices for the Starwoods in Maui are so out of line I'm not going to pay money either. Westin and Sheraton are in so-so Kaanapali and price out at $350-$400 per night. In comparo, the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua can be had for $305 and the renovation special at the Wailea Marriot is $245.

I've been underwhelmed by the Sheraton and Westin in Maui and find them dollarwise and pointwise to be an awful deal. Rather than spend 15,000 point per night (as "standard" rooms in rarely available), I'd rather spend $250 - $300 at another property and pass on my Platinum benefits.

Hmmm. I had a great experience with the Westin Maui. I redeemed 48k for five nights and was upgraded to a Suite as a Platinum. Maybe demand is up at the time you are trying to book.

Actually I have never been unable to book a room with points for any award stay I have taken on the first set of requested dates.

That's what we did and it worked like a charm. We got upgraded to a nice ocean view room in Building 6. ^ Of course, it helps if you arrrive in low season (our trip was mid November).

From the title, I assumed this thread was looking for a way to skirt the ridiculous resort fees. :eek: My suggestions:

(1) Find something to complain about, i.e. noise at the pool, and they will be happy to comp them.

(2) Use those handy coupons from the class action settlement.

The point of the OP is that you can't take your chances because no "standard" (i.e. 12,000-point rooms are available).

Note from coupon T&C: "Cannot be applied to SPG award stays."

Bingo. Either I didn't make myself clear or folks are reading too fast. :)

The resort fee is a different -- and more mild -- annoyance at these Hawaiian properties. I guess like most flyertalkers, I'm more bothered by paying extra points than extra money. :cool:

FWIW, I do have some of those class action settlement coupons which I guess I'll whip out. I thought there was some exclusion on free nights. Maybe I'm wrong, or maybe the front desk clerk will read that too fast, also.

I missed your post, cactus. Yup, that's what I remember.

I guess I'll probably never get to use those coupons before I forget I have them. I was going to use one last spring, and I couldn't believe the fine print said they weren't yet effective!

What time of year to you go to the Westin? I am traveling there in early November for the 48K 5 nights and hoping to get as you did.

Very dubious, to put it kindly. :rolleyes: I'm running into the same problem. :mad:

Yet another case of fraudulent marketing by SPG ("Starwood Preferred Guest is the only program without blackout dates or availability restrictions on free nights. If we have a room, you have a room."). :td: :td: I'm looking forward to the day that somebody takes SPG to task on this issue. The definition of a "standard room" or an "upgraded room" ("upgraded rooms, including upgrades based on size, view, services, suites, are available at a higher Starpoint cost") shouldn't change based upon date or demand.

I redeemed 24K points for 2 nights earlier this year. I did it online and when I called to inquire about the room type, I was told that I had the "upgraded mountain view room." Hmmm, I didn't have to pay anything extra to get the mountain view room. Actually, the hotel was sold out completely that week but they ended up upgrading me to a nice ocean view room. The room itself wasn't much to write home about, but the resort was absolutely beautiful.

Sheraton Maui
 

We recently stayed at the Sheraton Maui for 3 nights. Overall, I enjoyed the resort but there were a couple areas that have room for improvement. I normally prefer Wailea in Maui but I got a much better rate in Kaanapali so that clinched the deal. We were on our way back from Japan and just wanted a few days to relax on the beach. FWIW, here are my opinions:

The Good:
1. the staff -- very friendly and gracious, warm & hospitable
2. the beach -- best beach in Ka'anapali, soft sand, gentle slope, convenient to snorkel at Black Rock
3. the grounds -- everything seemed to be in good shape. They were doing some work at part of the pool but it appears to be in its final stages.
4. the upgrade -- I'm only gold; however, I was upgraded from Parking Lot View (ok, "terrace/garden" view) to ocean front up on the top of Black Rock
5. the mango margaritas -- wow, that's all I can say
6. the torch lighting ceremony -- yeah, I know it's touristy but we liked it
7. the location -- perfectly located for convenience to everything around it
8. the room -- plenty of decent lighting, comfortable bed, bathroom in good working order, everything was what we expected in a room.
9. Housekeeping -- if you called for extra towels or pillows or whatever, they responded astoundingly quickly. I would say their response time was one of the best I've encountered at any hotel.

The Not So Good:
1. the beach/pool staff rents to every cruise ship passenger with a credit card. This results in long lines and things like chairs/umbrellas being sold out first thing in the morning. We only rented an umbrella on one day (because the line was irritatingly long every other day) and it took, by my watch, over 40 minutes from standing in line to getting the umbrella. That's ridiculous. I felt like the guys working the hut were working hard but they were just overwhelmed by the number of cruise ship passengers. The property either needs to staff up or have one line for guests and one line for non-guests.

2. Parking -- how can you have a gated lot, accessible only by room key and STILL not have sufficient parking? Repeatedly, people were parked in the grass, in fire lanes, in non-spaces. It was ridiculous. How can they not have adequate parking when the lot is closed to everyone but those with a room. Did they not count the number of rooms before painting the lines on the parking lot?

3. Musty Smell -- there was a definite musty odor in our room that we couldn't get rid of. We tried leaving the door open to let fresh air in but it must have been deeply imbedded in something in the room. It wasn't hideous but it wasn't how you expect a nice hotel to smell.


Overall, I still greatly prefer Wailea due to its beautful beaches and less-crowded feel. However, if I was recommeding Maui to a client and they wanted to stay in Ka'anapali, this property would be my top recommendation. I checked out some other properties while I was there and this one wins.

Airport Transfer
 

For those who are not driving, what are the options available for airport (OGG) transfers ?

Resort website lists limo or shuttle service as options, but not taxis (?). What are your recommendations ?

Thanks.

Interestingly, the "standard rooms" are now available for my nights at the Sheraton Maui, so I redeposited 13,500 points/night award and withdrew points for 12,000 points/night.

Very strange. I wonder if corporate leaned on them to do the right thing. I can't imagine "standard rooms" would suddenly open up in Hawaii if they were previously booked. I'm guessing the inventory was somehow reclassified.

The most likely scenario is that the resort had some cancellations and returned standard rooms to inventory. But then, that would not be as juicy an item as an old-fashioned conspiracy theory. ;)

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

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.

Infinitely more likely than the scenario below, frankly. :)

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

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.

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.

disappointment with sheraton maui
 

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.

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.

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 !

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? :confused:

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.

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...