Starwood Lurker

I'm told sometime in early September, but the ocean side will be finished before that.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

sbc94523

From sheratonkauai.com:

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SHERATON KAUAI RESORT ANNOUNCES $24 MILLION RENOVATION PROJECT

Poipu Beach, Lihue, Kauai – Sheraton Kauai Resort will soon embark on a $24 million renovation project, which will include the rooms, public areas and restaurants. The new room design for the Sheraton Kauai Resort is the first installation of “Tropical,” one of Sheraton’s five unique lifestyle guestroom packages. The room interior was designed to give guests a warm and comforting environment that connects them to their vacation destination.

Sheraton Kauai Resort’s room renovation will begin in May and is anticipated to be completed by September of this year. To minimize any inconvenience to those staying at the property, the hotel has strategically planned to complete the renovation in phases, one building at a time. Public areas and restaurants will also be included in this project following the complete room renovation.

The initial phase of the renovation project will include all 412 rooms on both the Ocean and Garden wings. Featured in the room will be the highly acclaimed Sheraton Sweet Sleeper bed. All king bedded rooms in the Ocean and Beach wings will feature four poster beds. King bedded rooms in the Garden Wing and all double bedded rooms will have quarter canopies. The room furniture has simple and clean lines and the dark wood of the furniture creates a nice contrast to the warm and comforting yellow and cream hues of the walls, plush gold carpets and curtains. Blue accents are incorporated in the room’s décor to highlight the ocean. A 32-inch LCD flat screen TV sits on a credenza, which conceals a refrigerator and coffee/tea service. The Garden wing rooms will feature more modest updates to the rooms and bathrooms while still keeping the impact of the renovated look.

The bathrooms will have new tiles and granite tops with tan hues reflective of the sands of Poipu Beach. Combination bathtub and showers will feature curved shower rods for a roomier shower experience. Bathroom vanities are designed in a free-standing furniture style reflective of today’s design elements. Standard towel bars are replaced by teak ladders for an island twist. A small box sits on one rung of the ladder as a place for bath amenities and toiletries.

Lanais will boast new rattan furniture with plush cushions, and a textured mat made of natural fibers beckons bare feet and is symbolic of old Hawaii. The new lanais are the perfect place to savor an ocean sunset or delight in the tropical garden views.

Formal plans on the public areas and restaurant are forthcoming and a detailed announcement will follow.

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Addicted to Points

They will need to seriously upgrade the pool and beach areas to get me back. The location is a good one though.

Thanks for the update.

Sam P. Goodman

I was hoping more for complete demolition of the garden wing. Interesting that it will be getting "more modest updates" as it is most in need of some TLC. I'll stick with Princeville.

Ubiquity2k

We're going to be staying at SKR in July. Any suggestions on how to get one of the newly renovated rooms? We stayed at Westin Maui last year and even on the SPG floor we had to change rooms (mildew smell)

clover

I think the only thing you can do is call the hotel and request to be confirmed in one of the renovated rooms (if any are done by then). If you let them know your *wood status (Gold and SVO) I am sure they will do their best to accomodate you. Follow up with an email so you can have it in writing. We've stayed at the SKR several times and they have always treated Gold and Plats well. As long as you never cross the road to the infamous Garden wing you will enjoy the hotel.

Ubiquity2k

After reading clover's comments (thank you, by the way), I called SKR and requested a renovated room. The woman at reservations said that ALL guests staying on points are automatically put in the dreaded garden rooms. I mentioned that we're gold members and she said all she could do was put in a request. I was under the impression that we weren't supposed to be treated like second class citizens for using points.

Is there a suggested route up the food chain to get something done?

Starwood Lurker

The gardenview rooms are the standard award rooms for this property. The only suggestion I would have is maybe calling the Customer Contact Center and asking about a Specialty or Specialty Select award room for a few more Starpoints. Good luck.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

Ubiquity2k

Thanks for your reply! What can I reasonably expect my Gold membership to get me? I'm not really crazy about subjecting my family to what seems to be touted as substandard accommodations in the Garden Tower. (or are the Garden View Rooms and Garden Tower different things?) I just want a room where we can spend time and sleep comfortably and safely.

Do I need to spend the points up front to guarantee a suitable room or can I hope for an upgrade when I get there (Gold) and if not, opt to spend the extra points there and then?

Starwood Lurker

Your Gold membership will get you a Preferred Room upgrade, subject to availability at check-in. One thing to note is that a Preferred Room upgrade may still be in the garden view part of the resort, but only they will know that for sure.

So, if it were me in this position, I would call the Customer Contact Center and take the guesswork out of the equation by using a few more Starpoints for either a Specialty or Specialty Select award room.

Just my two cents.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

Ubiquity2k

I think I'll do that. Would you have the number for the specific "Customer Contact Center" you're mentioning?

Starwood Lurker

888-625-4990.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

clover

If you book a garden view room and there are rooms available in the Ocean Wing I'm sure they will upgrade you to the Deluxe Garden view rooms in the Ocean wing. Those rooms are fine, but they don't have any view of the ocean. However, if the hotel is full, you might be stuck in the Garden wing...which must be avoided at all costs.

I agree with William that it is well worth it to use another 1,000 points or so/night to ensure you get a garden view in the Ocean wing (minimally). Then, if there are Ocean view rooms available you might be upgraded into one of those at check-in. Do NOT accept an "upgrade" into a Partial Ocean view room...those are also in the Garden Wing.

I hope the room renovation will bring some improvement to the Garden wing. At present it's pretty embarrassing to the brand.

Sam P. Goodman

FYI- We stayed there last fall on a United Mileage Plus Discounted rate for a standard room. As Gold, we were "upgraded" to partial ocean view, but were still in the garden wing...just the end of it closest to the ocean. Technically an upgrade, just not a nice room at all (I won't go into it in detail as its downfalls have been well documented). If I were ever to plan another stay in the Poipu area, I would either plunk down the cash or points necessary to guarantee a non-garden wing room or find another hotel. At most hotels, I have no problem being in the standard room. This is definitely an exception.

Da5id

When we were planning a trip here earlier, I believe I was told by reservation staff that for an extra $60 (?) along with my 10K points/ per night I could get a Deluxe Ocean View ...which I would gladly have done since I really like those rooms..the sun sets right off the lanai.

I'd check into that