anteater

It’s hit or miss depending on occupancy. If the room is not needed the next day they have been flexible.

iazflyer

Does anyone have recent feedback on the hotel? It seems to be getting poor reviews on another travel site.

emcampbe

So booked a room (with points advance...at the moment) for fall.

Currently booked in an Ocean Tower, Aina View (not even sure what that specifically means) room. There was also an option for $150 more total (5 night stay) to upgrade to a Premium Garden view room - though didn't specify which tower. My understanding is the Ocean Tower is a good place to be, but not sure if the Premium Garden view would be better.

Any thoughts on if it might be worth the upgrade? Or which towers the Premium Garden view might be in?

EmpressRouge

I stayed for 2 nights in mid-May on points that was booked earlier in the year during a promo. While nothing was horrible, the resort definitely felt like a zoo, but I think that was true of all of Ka'anapali/Lahaina because of the crowds. The location and views are great -- right next to Whalers Village and right on the beach. The room was nicely updated but small. However the atmosphere was nothing short of chaotic. The line to get towels everything morning, and then people staking out pool chairs. The line for Starbucks was really long, and I think it took them a good 20 minutes to send someone to help with our bags during checkout (not sure if this is normal or they were short-staffed). I think what bothered me most was the nickel-and-diming: you pay a resort fee, but you have rent beach chairs (we rented from a shop from earlier in the trip), and they sell these towel clips so you can claim your pool chair with your towel and hog it for the rest of the day.

mh3265a

I just completed a 4 night stay at this property for a wedding we attended. We checked-in on 8 July and checked out on 12 July.

OVERALL -
I would NOT recommend staying at this hotel. I am a Titanium and Lifetime Platinum so I have stayed at a wide range of properties but this was by far the worst experience we've ever had. I will break this down later.

CHECK-IN -
We recognized that Maui, and Hawaii in general, was experiencing very large amounts of visitors because of the desire to travel post-COVID. So we prepared for longer than normal lines at the airport and hotel. Luckily we were pre-cleared by United in Chicago so getting out of the airport was easy (felt bad for those who couldn't/didn't pre-clear). Getting our rental car was relatively fast as well. However, upon arriving at the Westin Maui we waited in a line that had maybe a dozen folks but took over an hour and half. There was no elite check-in at all. Rough guess was that each group/person was taking 10+ minutes for check-in which is crazy. We noticed lots of folks that seemed unhappy both with the wait and whatever rooms they received.

Check-in is where things went very wrong for us as well. We finally reached a check-in agent who lacked any real "aloha spirit". We provided her our IDs and our Hawaii QR codes showing COVID approvals. She indicated what type of room I had originally booked and said I was upgraded. I told her that the room she indicated was the room I had originally booked and that I had applied SNAs and told I was upgraded to a suite. She said no the room I had was the upgrade. I then showed her the original email and the email showing an upgrade but insisted that I was upgraded. I asked her to talk to management so she left and went back to find management. She came back and said they could put us in the new Hokupa'a Tower room but would not have access to the Lanai or bar. We asked why and she indicated because they were busy and had too many people we couldn't get access. She also then doubled down on the fact that I was already upgraded but they were trying to accommodate. I then again showed her that I was in my originally booked room and asked if we could pay a small fee for the Lanai and she came back with $200 a day for access. At that point, we had been talking for about 15 minutes I was done and asked that they keep me in my room and return my SNAs. She said she'd have to talk to management again about returning the SNAs. I figured I'd live to fight another day and get the SNAs back somehow.

The thing that killed me is they didn't believe the emails that proved my point and insisted I was upgraded. I don't know if their system is different from what I saw but they showed NO empathy and no true care for elites. The experience I had is similar to what some travel bloggers have experienced in Greece. It felt as almost outright contempt for me. I don't think I was being unreasonable but expecting that they would honor the upgrade they indicated that I had received!

I tweeted about the experience to Marriott Bonvoy who promptly asked me to PM the details. They said they had, "reached out to the hotel management team and requested follow-up regarding this matter." Well that follow-up never occurred.

ELITE BREAKFAST BENEFIT -
As per our benefits we choose to accept the elite breakfast benefit at the hotel. In retrospect I should have asked more details about what the breakfast truly consisted of but it was just coffee, OJ, a muffin and yogurt each morning. It was a grab and go situation at Waicoco. It's OK but nothing amazing. Every day there was at least a 15 - 30 minute line to grab the breakfast. That is consistent with the 30+ minute wait for Starbucks every day. The benefit is consistent with a continental breakfast but nothing special at all.

POOL-BEACH -
As others have indicated here you need to pay for the chairs and umbrellas etc on the beach. I forget the daily charge but two chairs and one umbrella for one day amounted to $88 (taxes included). Kinda crazy if you ask me. The pool was always packed and you couldn't reserve chairs and just leave you had to stick around. You do get several towel cards that you need to track. You can refresh towels anytime but need to remember to collect your tower cards or you could be charged. The pool area was nice particularly if you had kids. The beach was also nice but the swell and drop-off could be a bit much for novice swimmers.

FOOD -
Despite being a huge resort there really weren't a ton of food and beverage options. Waicoco is the main restaurant on property but it's hours are limited. We only got the grab and go breakfast and did not eat dinner as their prices were higher than other options in the area. There is a more basic food option near the pool area where you could also redeem your 2 free drinks. We had some small bites there which were OK and on par with other hotel food options. There is also an adult bar near the adult pool but that's it. We choose to eat at restaurants at the Whaler's Village and in Wailea. Much better options in those areas.

HOTEL CONDITION -
This was our first (and last) stay at the Westin Maui but you can tell the hotel was renovated in the last few years. That said some of the workmanship was poor. You could see rips and poor quality work throughout. It looked nice but it is already starting to show some wear and tear. We did not visit the new "premier" Hokupa'a tower so cant comment on it's status but believe that is the newest renovation. The Ocean tower where we stayed was older and renovated in the last few years.

CUSTOMER SERVICE - OVERALL IMPRESSION -
Like I said the hostility and pure lack of caring for their visitors, particularly their elite members, was notable. They seemed annoyed anytime you asked questions or dared to question that validity of their comments. There systems are also antiquated. One morning our name didn't show-up on Waicoco's list of elite members so they charged us for the continental breakfast. It's interesting to note this happened the morning after my tweet. What's worse is they didn't get rid of the charge before checkout despite my asking!!!! Another example of hostility is when we called to ask why we didn't have bottles of water in the room. When we called they acted as if we should know that they give every room reusable water bottles. Maybe some signage in the rooms would help?!?!

I know the surge of travelers is challenging a number of hotels in Hawaii but there really is NO excuse for the hostility and lack of true customer service. This is just another reminder how the standards of Marriott continue to drop, especially at former Starwood properties that had very very very different values prior to the merger. I will NEVER stay here in the future and will look to the Hyatt or other places that had (and have) much better customer service.

seawolf

Sorry to hear about that experience. I was considering Hyatt or Westin. Glad I went with Hyatt. Granted it was the week prior to Independence Day, had no line at check-in (despite no WoH dedicate line) or lounge. Lounge breakfast had scrambled eggs/breakfast meat in addition to muffins/danish/fresh fruit.

mh3265a

smart going with Hyatt. The Westin sucks for elites (frankly anyone)!

anteater

On my last stay I was upgraded to a Tower Luxury Suite (second nicest category, just below the Presidential Suite) from a base room.

Granted, service failures happen, but it’s no need to write off a property. Perhaps try following up with the FDM / AGM / GM.

🤙🏻

mh3265a

Well that's what I should have been upgraded too but they pulled it back for whatever reason. I have followed up with the GM and NO RESPONSE! They are completely unresponsive. They do not care about elites. If you look at my posts I rarely post about bad experiences but this was particular bad and I would write off a property with such a low quality of customer service. I know others have experienced it too and hoping they will share here on Flyertalk! People need to think twice about booking with this hotel. Plenty of other options on the island (and area).

emcampbe

Appreciate the report. We are booked in mid-November, and still debating whether it is better to stay here or Sheraton (I've heard better things about Hyatt Regency....but $ prices are high and they don't have any points availability). Does Sheraton nickel & dime the same way, or is it a bit better there from that perspective? Main reason we chose Westin over Sheraton is because with the kids especially, the pool situation seems better..

Wondering fi the chaotic atmosphere/lines will be a bit more calm when we go in mid-November. I feel like it should be at least a bit less crowded, pre-Thanksgiving and when most folks are back in school, etc, but this year, who knows? Anybody have predictions on this?

anteater

If you want help with this feel free to PM me. 👌🏻

elrico

We had a very similar experience in July....six nights at the Westin Maui with my family and I'll never stay there again.

Booked with points, and we're Titanium elite. Requested to use Suite Night Upgrades. Checked in and received perhaps the worst room on the property....right over valet facing the parking lot..

No upgrade available either using the SNA or for elite status, but offered an upgrade to the Ocean Tower for only $380 more PER NIGHT. We were told that SNA or elite upgrades were only available within the tower you booked, so they had plenty of capacity in the Ocean Tower, but nothing in the main tower. No club access either, but we could purchase daily access for $200 per day.

As noted, Titanium breakfast amentity was pretty lacking...coffee, juice, a 1/4-filled yogurt parfait, and a tiny muffin each for 2 people.

Really a money grab at every opportunity and really ZERO other elite benefit. We did get a call from the concierge to get our welcome bag, which was a Westin shopping bag with a local map, and an attempt to get us to book excursions through the hotel.

Last but not least, we had repeated and persistent issues with their valet service. At least half the time I called down to request our rental car, we went down to the valet area only to find that they just blew it off, even when valet was not busy at all. They really just don't seem to care.

tylerc

Any recent reports?

msp3

Coming over from the Sheraton the night before, it's a huge difference at the Westin. Everything is modern, stunning, and so new. Whereas the Sheraton felt very "old Hawaii" with a very light remodel and a fresh coat of paint, they really tore everything up at the Westin and renovated it all. There are now flamingos (!) in the pond you can see from the open lobby. The adult pool area was especially good, spacious, and quiet. For breakfast, the option given was 2 free items at the grab and go market (which also makes you poke bowls, has nice pizza, etc.) or $15 off at the Waicoco restaurant facing the water, regardless of the number of persons (in my case 2). The bar is unbeatable for watching the sunset. For my nights, prices showed on day of check in of $600 for Sheraton and $700 for Westin, I think it's worth the difference unless you are very attached to old Hawaii and the classic black rock location

Polytonic

Contrasting viewpoint here: I just spent eight nights here, Ocean Tower, Aina View Room. (i.e. the old tower)

The good: the lobby area was gorgeous, very new and fresh feeling. The pool area is delightful, as noted above, with flamingos and parrots, and then the regular/adult pools with plenty of beach chairs. The beachfront bar is great, if a bit pricey, and I loved the Dynamite Ahi appetizer and garlic fries at Waicoco (pricey, but good quality). The beach itself is steps away from the hotel and you can get fresh towels from the towel stand, and they've got waterproof fabric wristbands that double as room keys, so you can leave stuff in your room. I'll get to the room in a moment --

The bad: check in was a mess. There's a loud waterfall in the check-in area which makes it very difficult to hear the agents, especially with the acrylic dividers they've put up. You end up stepping off to the side to hear the agent. There is absolutely zero elite recognition at check-in, but I'm small potatoes (Gold at the time). Just a "thank you for being a Bonvoy member" -- I did ask for late-checkout and was told to ask the morning-of-checkout. I did end up getting a 1pm late checkout at the end, for what it's worth. There are signs on the elevators indicating max occupancy of two persons, but nobody is really following that right now. Can be offputting if you're expecting more in the way of tourists abiding by COVID restrictions.

The ugly: my room in the older tower felt very dated. I'm guessing the room renovations were only to the new Hokupa'a Tower because the bathroom was very worn, with peeling paint on the pocket door, leaky shower head and drippy faucet that didn't drain well. The room had no furniture other than the bed, two nightstands mounted to the wall, the desk, a chair, and the TV next to the chair. No sofa or any kind of place to sit and/or lounge, which is uncharacteristic of every hotel I can recall staying at. Oh, and I suppose there's a balcony with some wicker chairs, but I only had a view of the parking garage, so there wasn't much to see. The ocean-view rooms overlook the adult pool, for whatever that's worth. I don't know if it's just the Hawaii aesthetic though.

In all, a great place to stay if you want easy beach access and don't plan on spending much time in your room, plus the location has easy access to Lahaina. I was there on FNCs/points so was happy to just get a room, but I definitely would not be happy paying cash-rate ($707/night) for the room I got.

Side note: the internet (free wifi for all guests) was screaming fast (100mbps down) and did extend all the way to the edge of the pool area.