The Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas, Lahaina

If you are looking for a vacation that involves in- room dinning or daily maid service this isn’t it. My wife and I bought a week at this location at a charity auction and assumed because it was a Westin property the service would be similar to other Westin experiences I have had. There was no sense of urgency or anyone onsite that seemed to be authorized to deal with a problem. It was nice to have a big room with full kitchen and in room wash n dryer (that knocked like pots and pans on a chuck wagon), but I don’t go on vacation to do stuff I have to do at home. It was also disappointing to get a “deluxe ocean view villa” that requires you to hang off your balcony to see the ocean. For a few hundred dollars more I could have stayed at the Ritz Carlton had a slightly smaller room, at a better beach, with exceptional service. On a positive note my three year old son loved the kids pool. However, his work load (or lack of) was not the reason we embarked on a vacation in the first place.

We own a 2bedroom every year. Annual fee is out of sight 2K a year! When we bought the plan for our 2nd phase showed views of the ocean from every room. Westin got greedy and changed the plans, and now we have a reduction of 50% of ocean peek from most of the rooms in phase 2. They added a "new building at the ocean view area. Seems like they should have asked the people who bought in during the pre- construction what they thought! I know the economy is down but we paid 44k for this piece of paradise, and if we are lucky some one might offer us 5k! As I noted in the first part of the review, the high annual fee of 2k also drops the value of Westin Resorts Maui, no one wants to buy a timeshare with those annual fees!

I am a timeshare owner at Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort villas in Maui. I own one week every other year. While the propery itself is good, the timeshare ownership has terribly low value. My maintenance cost is just under $1800 which went up 35% in 4 years but the starwood points have not increased at all in the same time frame, which means, I am now getting less value than what the program is worth for any property outside the few villas in the program. I paid $20K upfront and now when I try to sell, nobody is willing to pay more than $10K for it. Westin sales people told me during my last visit that the current value is over $30K, but they will not sell it for me. If I try to sell on my own, no one is willing to buy it for that price. I worked with a realtor in Maui but he could not find any buyer to even come close to break even my price. If I try to book my stay at any other Starwood resort, the availability is really challenging even if I call 4-5 months in advance. In short, the program is not flexible, it is too pricey with low overall value. It is only good for someone who wants to stay at the Maui property every year. So, don't let the sales guys make you believe that it is a great investment just like any Maui real estate property, and that you get any flexibility to use the program worldwide. You'd be better off without getting stuck with this property. Use the cash instead for a nice vacation.

We were in the Villas North Overall we really liked this place. We were four adults and four kids in two different units. Likes: Ocean view, fifth floor. Quiet rooms. I never heard footsteps above us, though I know people were there. Same with our next door neighbors. Pool temperature and sharing. We did not have any pool trouble described in the other reviews. Temperature was fine, and we went to the other Villas and used that pool (waterslide) multiple times, no hassles. We got very good service at the pool restaurant. Shuttle service (free) was utilized daily and was on time, and clean. Torches. Kids got to feed the Koi each morning. Great snorkeling beach. Place seemed really new and clean. Pirate ship pool for the littlest one. Would've been better without: Construction noise next door. (No notice ahead of time.) Stinky drainage pond. (No notice.) Attitude over towel cards (one worker only.) In our midweek cleaning, we got one roll of TP...seemed a bit stingy. Though our trip was excellent, each time I walked through the lobby, there was an unhappy customer with staff, either complaining or irate, or just really irritated looking. It was very awkward to see that every day. I definitely noticed it, and pointed it out to my wife, who had independently been thinking the very same thing. I don't know if there are reservation kinks, or whatever, that Westin needs to work out, but it was awkward to us as guests to consitently see these exchanges in the lobby. Both elevators in our building broke on same day, but got fixed pretty quickly. Based on our trip, I'd definitely recommend this place. Great location, pool, food, etc. It all went well for us so I really cannot complain. I would let our friends and family know how it went and about the resort nuances we found. We paid with points, and got our value out of it for sure. I am curious about the unhappy customers we saw, though! Why so many? Sorry to hear some of the bad reviews, as we really did like the Villas North, and will be back again for hopefully a similar stay. That's all, hope this helps out.

Check-in not til 4pm...disorganized. Room furniture tattered, couch smelled. Room overlooked a noisy kitchen dining area, no view. Pool so cold no one could get in it. Not heated even though was stated in brochure. Not worth the money. Nice location.

They advertise "Stay and Play at 3 resorts meaning the Westin hotel and Sheraton Maui. However when we tried to use the pool at the Westin hotel, we were refused. The manager at the Westin hotel said they change their policy when the occupancy rate goes above 95% and so we couldn't use the pool. The manager at the Villas, said that the "stay and Play" only referred to restaurants. So I then asked her for a table for 6 to play volleyball because that's what "Play" meant to me and not eating. They were very rude and I know others had the same issue we were having. They had my money and basically told us we couldn't use th ehotel's pool. Unfortunately we tried and my kids were turned down to go on the slide because they did not have wristbands. The management seems to change policies according to the pleasing. They even told us over the phone when making the reservation that we could use the other pools.

We were lucky enough to be here during the first week the spa opened. The spa is beautiful without being intimidating or over the top. My husband and I booked a couples massage that I have to say was one of the best massages either one of us have ever had. I enjoyed the spa so much that I went back for 2 more treatments, a body wrap and a facial. I highly recomend a visit whether you are a gust here or at another nearby resort. The staff is very helpful and very kind with true aloha spirit.

Beautiful surroundings, luxurious accomodations, a great snorkeling beach right in front of the hotel and very friendly service. Private location yet close to many restaurants and activities.

My husband and I own timeshare at the Westin Maui, and this is our first visit to the Villas. The resort is very nice, GREAT location, pools are fantastic. However, until today (this is our 3rd day here), I couldnt put my finger on why Im not really crazy about it. One - it lacks warmth and any attention to detail. This resort is so non-descript, it could be placed anywhere. It lacks any Hawaiian flavor. Tropical maybe, but not Hawaiian. Two, you enter your villa from an outside entrance that is enclosed on the other side by glass-(enclosed entrance). When the wind blows, which is all the time, it howls outside your door day and night. Sounds creepy. Plus when we get here, they want us to attend an hour presentation about Starwood ownership..which we already own, but Im sure thay want to pitch upgrades.

Very well run resort. Staff was very helpfull and responsive. New shuttle service to Walers and downtown Lahina was a big help. Shuttles ran often which gave us lots of options.