wilma

have now filed a dispute with my credit card.

martzipan

Just came back from a stay using the $599 timeshare presentation offer. In general, everything went smoothly, there were no extra charges for anything such as parking (the agent on the phone at the time of booking the dates told me it would be $20 per day).

Notable is that the $185 rental car discount covers just the base rates, not the taxes, which at the airport location ended up quite high.

The presentation part was not bad. I knew upfront timeshares are not my cup of tea, and the sales rep said on multiple occasions that they know it’s not for everyone. We met with 3 people over the course of a little over 1.5 hours: the main sales rep that spent the most time chatting us up, some kind of financial guy that focused on numbers (although he was mostly skimming through them, and if I was actually interested, I’d have to ask a lot more clarifying questions, which I didn’t do so as not to waste my time any more than necessary).

The final one was a lady who was doing a sort of “exit survey”, which was largely another attempt to sell us something - specifically an offer to return to do another presentation in exchange for another reduced rate stay. They offered 5 nights either at Poipu or Princeville in the next 24 months, plus 100k Bonvoy points for $1400. She said if we decided to go for it, we could come back and ask for it at a later time. I got a feeling they have these various offers all the time, they change over time but not on a daily basis.

More useful, she told us about a couple of interesting things to do that we didn’t know about and that turned to be some of the highlights on our stay in the Poipu area. Props for that. For example, the hike along the bluffs from Shipwreck beach past the Grand Hyatt - fairly easy and super scenic. A lot less busy and more rewarding than the hikes we did in Waimea Canyon.

The resort overall is kind of meh, and the “villas” we saw were also meh. Both the rooms and villas are kind of small to comfortably hang out in, especially if you travel with family. Not much usable private outdoor space. I much prefer the roomier private rentals from say, Vacasa. We got good deals booking with Wyndham points in Princeville for the rest of our trip. I definitely would not pay rack rates for the Sheraton.

ewh9

We just spent two nights at this hotel with Ambassador status. I liked this hotel (even though we were coming off 5 nights at the Mauna Kea) and would return.
-We booked the cheapest room option and were upgraded to a deluxe oceanfront room on the third floor of the beachside building. It was an adequately sized room, the bed was comfortable, and the ocean view was great.
-Other than the upgrade, the elite benefits were minimal. The option to upgrade to an entree like loco moco (from the elite continental breakfast) for a $6 surcharge is a solid value.
-We ate one dinner at RumFire, which I thought was far superior to its counterpart at the Sheraton Waikiki. There are many other dining options nearby, but I wanted to try this other RumFire to compare.
-I liked the location, as there was a lot to do/see nearby, such as a beach where sea turtles come to rest in the evening. We did not rent a car and were able to get around with Ubers and a local shuttle that runs in the evening.
-We did a surf lesson one morning (90 minutes for about $100, booked at the pool/beach activities desk), which was well worth it to me as there were only 4 people in the class, and the instructor was able to give each of us individual attention. The waves seemed ideal for a first-time surfer such as myself.
-The concierge was very helpful in booking us a last-minute ATV tour.
-This is certainly not a "luxury resort," but we received great service from all staff members we encountered.

168

For stays on the timeshare side via Interval Int'l in a studio unit, anyone know if there is a daily resort fee on this too?

168

Was finally able to speak with a front desk agent that was able to look this up. staying as timeshare owner do not have to pay resort fee and still get free self park, wifi and hotel amenities. There is a weekly $127 occupancy/transient tax that we will have to pay for a studio unit.

Commie

Just got back from a 5 night reward stay at this Sheraton. We used 298K pts for the 5 nights between Dec 23-28. As a LTT, didn't receive an upgrade as they said they were fully booked. We got our King bed in one of the buildings near the beach/pool. Self parking was $25, and as a Titanium, we got to use Valet without charge.
The Bonvoy breakfast at Lava had 3-4 choices for entree, and was more than enough for breakfast.
Had dinner at Rum Fire on our first night there, and we got a great table watching the sunset. Food was decent, typical hotel fare.

All in all, it was a great stay, wife and I both enjoyed the hotel. It wasn't luxurious by any means, but it was on the beach, service was polite, and wasn't overly crowded. Plenty of loungers around the pool and beach. We didn't have to play the whole towel to reserve a lounger at 7am routine. Usually we get there around 10-11am, and there were still plenty of loungers available.

While on the south side of Kauai, we ate at Rum Fire, Tables at Poipu, Oasis on the Beach, Cafe Portofino, and The Beach House. This hotel was in a convenient location to drive to all the attractions in this region.

runfromthefire

Commie Thanks for your update . . just confirming if you stayed at the Sheraton Kauai Resort Villas or the Sheraton Kauai Resort?

Just trying to confirm if the elite benefits are the same for the timeshare side of the property.
Thanks!

Commie

I booked and stayed at the Sheraton Kauai Resort in one of the buildings by the beach. But check-in was in the lobby across the street, I think that side is suppose to be the villa? The check-in counters at the lobby of the buildings on the beach have closed.
So not sure if the Bonvoy benefits are the same for the timeshare vs hotel side. I didn't get a feel that there were any difference between the two during my 5 night stay there.
Forgot to mention, also got a box of chocolate at check-in.