Timeshare offer: 5 nights for $748 total @ Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort, Maui
 

I got a call today from Sheraton resorts and they are offering me 5 nights at the Westin Maui Resort for $748 total. This also includes a $180 rental car certificate and $100 in resort credit. I do have to pay the $20 per day resort fee. I asked if I had to attend a time share presentation and she said that I would be asked if I wanted to attend one when I arrived but I could choose not to if I wasn't interested. I'm a bit skeptical that there is not some catch. Has anyone had a similar deal at the Westin Maui and were you required to attend a time share presentation in order to get the deal? This package is worth over $1,600 so it is a great deal but I'm just wondering how I will be treated when I arrive and if there is a catch? Also, I've already stayed at this property on points does that preclude me from getting the deal?
Thanks much.
D.

This is a timeshare presentation for the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas which is different than the Westin Maui resort. Aside from the Westin Maui Resort and Spa, there are 2 existing Villa properties on North Beach and another in the planning stage (this is separate from the Kaanapali Beach high rise hotels).

We took advantage of one of these offers a few years ago and had absolutely no intention of buying. We actually did buy and have not had a moment's regret since. We've been back to the property 4 times, traded our week and visited another resort and now plan on going back again with a big group in Feb.

That aside, it is a beautiful resort and this offer affords a lovely vacation. Also, these are condos not hotel rooms but it is a full service resort. I don't know where they are offering to put you up (which property) however. That would be a question to ask.

Our experience was not a high pressure sale (we left and did not respond to the purchase offer for many days). Whether you decide to hear the presentation or not, the sales department does not run the resort. The hotel staff has no idea about the conditions of your visit and they have many, many other guests in your very situation. I can only assume that you will be treated like every other guest whether you are an owner or not.

I do not believe this is the same offer as the timeshare presentation for the Villas. We did the one at the Villas this past August for $650 which included all taxes/fees for 5 nights in an (upgraded) ocean view room, free Pontiac G-6for 1 week (just payed $46 taxes), and $100 resort credit, for a 90 minute presentation which wasn't hard to say no to.

However, we booked this through an Amex promo, and when we called they also said we could have this $750 deal with no timeshare presentation to stay at the Westin Resort, but we figured since we'd have to pay the $20 fee per day and it was $100 more plus we wanted to try out the Villas which had bigger rooms, so we went ahead and did the Villas one.

It's a timeshare sales pitch, but it's also an excellent deal. Basically, you're getting about $1500 worth of hotel for half the price, just for sitting through a 2 hour sales pitch.

Bet they don't see that happen often... ;)

There have been other lengthy threads about this. Lots of us here have done it. There is no catch. My wife and I did it last December and didn't take the timeshare presentation and we weren't really pressured to do it. There was some additional incentive offered if we wanted to attend the presentation. As a Plat we were upgraded to a partial oceanview room although as I recall some others complained that they didn't get upgraded.

We took advantage of one of these deals 5 years ago and also ended up buying. We've been very happy with the resort. If you ever consider buying developer, and there's really no reason to buy developer, check into buying resale. You will save lots of money.

But back to the offer...it's a great deal!

P.S. to discoboy..i grew up in livermore!

Any of you who purchased....
 

...i would greatly appreciate a referral. Please let me know if you will and i will pm you with my details.
Much thanx!
homer.

I think the only "catch" might be that it probably won't be eligible for Starpoints and stay credit; however, you would probably still get credit for any eligible incidentals you may have. But, the $100 resort credit might even take that away.

I would refer you to the person calling to find out if this is true or not.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

I've done this before. It's a good deal but I've difficulty booking the dates I want.

The main thread on this topic is...
Impressive Princeville offer, seems totally legit, is it?

Mods, this would be a good addition to the SPG Forum FAQ Sticky.

In my experience, the hotel refused to honor upgrade privileges for my SPG Plat status though they recognized all their other hotel-specific Gold/Plat privileges (turndown service, etc.). I wrote about this in the above thread's post #448. Also see Starwood Lurker's reply in post 449.

No promise for an upgrade even if available. No SPG stay/night credit. No Starpoints. Fully prepaid. Nonrefundable. Limited availability. Limited flexibility for changes (but available for a fee). Paid upgrades offered for a large fee.

I verified that my desired dates were available before I agreed to purchase. But that was months before the trip and was a risk that I don't normally like to take. We added two additional nights via a BRG. Car rental arrangement was good but really didn't save a whole lot since basic rental cars aren't always that expensive anyway. The rental certificate is valid for up to 7 days, though, so that is a nice bonus that isn't stated in the offer. As noted by an earlier poster, you have to pay taxes on the rental car at time of pickup.

We did NOT do the timeshare tour, but they certainly tried to get us to do so. We had plans already for most days, so I ultimately let them schedule us for a tour on the next to the last morning of our stay to get them off our backs. But I later cancelled our reservation for that tour as I told them I probably would. We went diving that day instead -- a more proper use of our vacation time, IMO.

Upon request at the resort, I got bonus Starpoints instead of the resort credit. (This is discussed by many in the other thread.)

If you would prefer the Sheraton Maui, a studio Villa, or a hotel on Kauai, you can ask them what similar promos are available for those hotels. You might also wish to consider checking for C&P availability at these hotels or for a studio villa at the Ka'anapali Villas. (Also discussed in the other thread, I think, and in the Westin/Sheraton Maui hotels thread.)

Would I do it again? Probably, but only if my dates were very firm or if I were able to line up peak dates that might be challenging for some other type of discount.

Too good to be true? No, it's true, and it's good.

If you're thinking of following msk6261's lead, do your research first. Their timeshares are too expensive, IMO, though.

I'd be interested if anyone could recommend me for the deal at the Westin Maui, not the Westin Kaanapali villas.

Mahalo

I would also like an invite!Please PM

hello,

I am in ;)...what should I do to get an invitation?
pls feel free to PM me.

regards,
flo

And, me, please. Please PM me if you can invite me.