olimaspecto

I just stayed here for the second time and once again had a great time. For the most part, the staff is very helpful, and when I was gold, upgraded me to a Deluxe Garden view (renovated) and Ocean View Room in the Ocean Wing (available only the second night) for free.

jumpdogjump

Honeymooned there Oct. of last year. As a lowly gold, upgraded to luxury(corner room with amazing views) from deluxe OV. Definitely talk to the Mgr., have them note it on your reservation that you are honeymooning. Oh, and rent a convertible (I usually hate em, but the drives are wonderful!) ^

Have fun!

DCF

The question ought to be "just how likely is it that my stay at Princeville will be ruined by rain?"

And the answer, unfortunately, is "very likely".

As for Sumisu, you ought to ring the reservations manager and arrange to upgrade to an ocean or deluxe garden view room on the ocean side of the road, and pay the $150 per night (or whatever it is) supplement for that upgrade.

aku

Level-set: It rains most days year-round on the north shore, but usually not more than an hour a day.

It rains less in the summer, and Hanalei Bay is very calm then, so that is probably your best choice if you're looking for sunshine--but to be honest, you probably won't go to the north shore for the sun. It's pluses are fewer people, a great attitude in Hanalei town and beyond, and close access to incredible natural beauty.

If you're the kind of person that thinks rain "ruins" your vacation, I'd try another location.

beachfan

If you go to the north shore between memorial day and early october, the chances of a full day of rain are fairly low. There is often 2 or 3 spells of 10 minutes of rain, maybe a little longer. We always have beach umbrellas. and like when it rains, it clears the beach of the tourists :>).

If you want to be extra confident, August and early September are the driest, and early September thins out a bit from the big crowds.}

I've been to Kauii about 15 times, and always stay on the north shore.

cswusd

Has anyone checked out the garden wing after it was supposedly renovated (it should be complete by now according to the hotel's announcement)?

How is it? We are planning to stay in November and want to know if the renovation addressed the host of complaints raised by guests.

linsj

Also see this thread:
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=560229

ajnaro

In three stays at the Princeville Hotel as an SPG Platinum member I have been graciously upgraded to a junior suite each time before arrival with none of the usual negotiation with the front desk. I say ‘graciously’ because the people here really are very friendly and kind. Nonetheless, this time round I asked if anything better than a junior suite might be available and was told that although other types of standard suites were available for my dates, cash payment would be required. It seems that SPG Platinum members are upgraded no further than the junior suite level at this hotel even if the accommodation would otherwise go unused. Has anyone else had this experience?

stevens397

I too had that experience at the Princeville but I was too green a Platinum at the time to say anything. My guess is that most of those Platinums aren't paying anyway so they made this rule and they stick to it. That said, it was a pretty nice Junior Suite!

tjk1976

Speaking in general and not about the Princeville in particular, that type of answer from desk staff always gets me going and invariably prompts a phone call to the GM who, 99% of the time, concedes and gives me the upgrade I asked for.

This topic has been discussed to death but, as I am quick to point out to uncooperative hotel staff, the wording on the back of my SPG Card is clear, "Upgrade to the best available room including select standard suites."

Starwood Lurker

Yes, and the select standard suites at Princeville are the junior suites. Any other suite type is considered to be specialty and out of the complimentary upgrade pool for Platinum elite members.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

tjk1976

Fair enough, but (fortunately) good GMs will make an appropriate judgement calls based on their desire to make Plat members happy.

Starwood Lurker

Absolutely. We always like it when they go above and beyond, but some will and some won't for whatever reason.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

ajnaro

When the possibility of upgrades to suites first came into effect, I, like most other travelers, assumed that the phrase ‘standard suite’ was meant to designate what we might informally call a normal suite, i.e., an accommodation consisting of a bedroom and a separate area along the lines of a living room or a sitting room. Most of us understood the exclusion of ‘specialty suites’ to refer to presidential suites, honeymoon suites, convention suites, and other types of accommodation that were meant to meet specialized needs and purposes. This seemed to constitute a most generous offer on Starwood’s part at the time and attracted many consumers of hotel stays to switch their business from other chains and use Starwood as their preferred provider.

As time went on, the language of the offer did not change, but its interpretation did. First, any room came to be called a ‘suite’ even if it did not have a separate sitting area. I was recently in a Starwood accommodation called an ‘executive suite’ that was in fact just a normal room with a long entrance corridor. There wasn’t a sofa or an arm chair in the whole room. Second, hotels were allowed to use the terms ‘standard’ and ‘specialty’ arbitrarily, so as to include or exclude whatever accommodation they like. These two changes in the semantics of the English language, as used by Starwood, took many consumers by surprise. A friend of mine, who happens to be a lawyer as well as an SPG Platinum member, said he thought there was a good case for a class action suit based on consumer fraud laws. For my part, I think that it’s more a matter of preferences. Those who are disappointed by Starwood can change their custom to some other chain or simply take the best available accommodation on each occasion.

sbtinme

I couldn't have written that any better myself. I fully concur with the sentiment above as I've thought it myself time and again. I remain fully loyal to SPG because their hotels and promotions work well for me and my needs.

I do think a standard suite should be exactly that -- a one bedroom suite with the possible exclusions of designer suites, hospitality suites, and the aforementioned honeymoon suites. The latter would all usually be one bedroom suites, but understandably very special rooms that would reasonably be pulled from the regular upgrade inventories.

I rarely complain about SPG, but I do see too much wiggle room in room category definitions from time to time. I might guess that an oceanfront one bedroom suite at the Princeville would be categorized as a specialty suite even though it might just be 516 ft sq or some such.