Wonderful annual visit to Westin Ka'anapali Date Of Visit - Apr 03, 2010 Date Of Review - Apr 23, 2010 Aloha, This was our eighth visit to this beautiful Maui resort, so I will try to highlight any changes or issues that we experienced during our annual visit. Our first week was our owner week, and our second week was an II exchange using another Starwood week. The villas in Building 2 appear to have been refurbished during the last year or so. The carpets, draperies, and some of the furniture, plus TVs, were either new or re-upholstered. The sofabed couch was new. The decor was more island/tropical than previously, and we welcomed the change. The villas are still in excellent condition. During our first week in our two-bedroom ocean view villa, we called maintenance to fix a closet that was off its track, and they arrived promptly. There was one cracked tumbler and some missing kitchen items, but they were quickly sent up to our room. The kitchen area where the phone sits, which is next to the Internet wired connection, paper, and pen, was very dusty, which means that housekeeping does not pick up those items to dust under them very often. The coffee pot was showing its obvious age with a detached plastic top over the water reservoir. Also, the coffee pot was dirty with dried up coffee and had not been cleaned. The blender did not work so well, so we just used the blender that was in the studio side. One of the dryers did not dry the clothes very well. A brand new ladle was showing signs of rust. Otherwise, everything was in good working order. During our second week, we moved to another lovely ocean view villa in the same building. Valet came up and packed up all of our perishables and stored them until we could check in to our new villa. Everything frozen remained frozen, etc. We were happy about that. In this second villa, we were missing a spatula and cookie sheet. A light bulb burned out in the studio, The sliding glass doors and windows looking out were very dirty and it was hard to see clearly out of them. I asked for the windows to be cleaned, and they sent up housekeeping and they just wiped the sliders down with a green towel. There were still streaks and smudges on the sliders, but it was a slight improvement. I was tempted to buy Windex on our next trip to town, but decided it was not what I wanted to do while on vacation. The refrigerator sat very close to a kitchen drawer, so whenever I opened the drawer, it would hit or scrape against the side of the refrigerator. Not a big deal, so I never called to report it. Blenders both worked well. Coffee pot was not broken, but not cleaned at all. Dried up coffee grounds all around. It needed to scrub the coffee bean reservoir and soak the pot. We asked for bathrobes, and were immediately sent two, but with no ties. Later in the week, we asked for two more for the kids, plus two extra ties, but did not get the ties. Not a huge deal. Housekeeping and all the staff seemed extremely busy and were genuinely helpful, courteous, and well-meaning. We absolutely love this resort. Towels are great. Shampoo, lotions, etc. are great. Beds are Heavenly. It did not bother us to have one of the shower heads removed, we still enjoyed our Heavenly Showers. Villas are well insulated from noise when the sliders and windows are closed. With them open at night, you do hear a lot of resort noise and folks in the pools or hot tubs. If you are on CA time and want to go to bed early, it may be hard to sleep with the sliders open if it is a busy time and you are facing the resort. We faced South (resort) one week and North (Pirate pool) the second week. Pirate pool was VERY noisy the first night, and then it mellowed out considerably as the week went on. We could sleep with the sliders open every night except the first without being disturbed by noise/talking past 11pm. We enjoyed the North pools and quiet better than the South this time, which is a first for us. We ordered food at the pool and found the service to be fine. The food is basic, nothing special, and the menus have not changed much, if at all, in years. I will admit that I am tired of the menus at either pool bar grills. The hot dog guy, who we love, appears to be gone, yet his carts are still stored in the parking garage. We missed seeing him this year. Perhaps he was too much competition for the restaurants. North charges $9 for a hot dog. I seem to remember paying the hot dog guy $5 at one point. We attended the Easter Egg Scramble, which was a disappointment for my 8-year-old, but the activities director was nice and offered a Candy Bouquet activity at not charge later in the day. My son enjoyed that activity. We fed the Koi fish twice, I think, at the scheduled feeding times. We found a lot of frogs at night and giant snails. Weather was all over the map. Very windy, then quite calm and hot. Good snorkeling the first week, not good the second week, when it rained, then was cool and windy. Beach is lovely, reef is heavily damaged, but if you swim out far enough, it gets better. We did not see our turtles this year, the first time in 8 years. Hot tub rules have changed since last year, when they instigated a no kids rule. Now your kids under 16 can sit in the hot tubs with direct adult supervision. This rule is enforced, which is great. Oh, one night we were swimming at North and they were playing a movie (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) on a big screen on the lawn area in front of the North property. I did not see how well attended it was, but it was loud and we could hear it from the pool. I walked through the North restaurant one afternoon and there was a Bingo game going on. It think there were eight guests playing. Not sure if that is the average turnout or low. The North restaurant opens Thursday-Sunday nights only. It smells very good. We were going to eat there, but opted for off-property eats like Kimo's, Hula Grill, Cool Cats Cafe, and Aloha Mixed Plate. We are looking forward to going back next year. Denise L - owner 1

Great Resort in Maui Date Of Visit - Jan 23, 2010 Date Of Review - Jan 29, 2010 I traded into the Westin Resort with my unit I own at Marriott and had looked up recent reviews on this resort before committing to the trade and it seemed to receive nice reviews.I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the resort was really. We have a 2 bedroom which has a common front door with two single doors to each half with a forye in the middle.Each room has a washing machine and dryer which I thought was really nice if you happened to be trading to just one side. The bathrooms each contain a tub and full size shower. Each room had a flat screen TV and granite countertops. The main room had a huge balcony when compared to the balconies I have used at many Marriotts. The rooms all had ceiling fans which were nice since the doors could be opened and not use the A/C and be comfortable. I was surprised to find out that there is no where to put your trash and so I called the front desk which sent a person to pick it up! The one thing I did not like was the fact the coffee maker did not have any filters when checking in. I would have expected a couple days worth until you could pick some up. The resort is located in a very nice area with more resorts being built not far away. We were able to watch the whales from the beach in front of the resort. I did not like that a newspaper was not delievered to the front door each day like at Marriott, so when I did go to buy one, most were yesterday's until later in the day. I am sure this is due to the flight schedule of the airlines bringing items to the island. The local paper was for that day. The resort offered free Wi Fi and high speed in the room with a cable if needed. The resort is located on the other side of the island compared to the airport which is probably about a 30 minute drive, but the drive is very pretty and you can see many things along the way, so that was no problem. I would have no problem trading back into this resort for another trip if it was available again. I hope this helps anyone thinking about using this resort. 2

I read all the great reviews and was not disappointed! Date Of Visit - Jul 10, 2009 Date Of Review - Jan 28, 2010 We spent a week on Oahu before flying over to Maui for a second week. As a Marriott owner staying at the Westin was something that I very much looked forward to. I had high expectations, due to my stays at Westin hotels and from reading reviews. All I can say is "WOW!" We were not disappointed. The owner of the unit had reserved us a high floor ocean view room for us facing east. The view was to die for. The unit itself was top notch and almost as nice as the brand new Marriott unit we had just left at KoOlina. Some places on the floor had tile vs marble in the Marriott, but the furnishings were every bit as good. Though fairly typical, the layout was almost perfect for the location. You could sit on the sofa and look through the angled patio doors right to the ocean. Now, here is where it gets better. The staff at the Westin Ka'anapali were the best we have run across yet at ANY timeshare. The concierge kiosk was always occupied and ready to help. The bellhops and valets greeted each one of us like old friends. I thought I would have to fight them to carry my own grocery bag in, and I didn't get the feeling they were doing it for the money either. There is a grassy area between the resort and the ground cover leading to the beach. My teenage kids (and I) played football and Frisbee there, The grounds were so well kept, they were the best I had seen since Waiohai. The beach in front of the resort is also great. Plenty of snorkeling and swimming to be done on site. These great beaches extended a long ways in each direction. We walked several mornings on the community trail to the Sheraton and back. Since I own an every-other-odd-year timeshare at Marriott’s Waiohai, and because the travel expense is so high just to get to Hawaii and back (not to mention the long fight), we pretty much decided that two weeks should be spent there each time we go. When I got home, I began looking for an odd year to purchase at this Westin resort. Just about the time that the prices began to become affordable for me, Starwood dropped a bomb and the maintenance fees sky-rocketed. :( Bottom line is, I'll be trading back to this resort as soon as I can.. I love it. thinze3 3

This was our first visit as owners and we were very, very pleased. Date Of Visit - Date Of Review - Dec 15, 2009 My husband and I just stayed in the One Bedroom side of our Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villa this Septemeber. We were so very pleased and can't wait to return. In fact, we enjoyed our stay so much that we recommended it to our niece for her Honeymoon. They took our suggestion and we just got the nicest letter about how much they loved it there. We will all be returning whenever we can. The property is so clean and the staff ratio to guest is amazing. We never had to look far to find someone when we had a question. The property sits on one of the most beautiful long beaches you could imagine. The snorkeling and scuba diving is excellent too. We have found the reef infront of the Westin to have the largest and most colorful coral around Maui. To top it off, the access is the best. What stuck with me most, however, is the unbelievable quiet you get when you close your doors there. Our unit was overlooking a pathway with a view of the gardens and the waterfall on the pool. We worried about noise, but once our doors were closed we heard nothing of the outside world. It was perfect. We left the doors open to listen to the live Hawaiian music in the evening and once we wanted rest, closed the doors to peace and quiet. This property is the most relaxing we have visited on Maui. We are thrilled that we bought there. Sincerely, Jennifer Barrile JBarrile - owner 4

Almost perfect Date Of Visit - May 10, 2009 Date Of Review - May 19, 2009 This was our first stay at any Westin resort. I was impressed. The furnishings are lovely, subtly island-themed. The bathrooms are huge and the beds ... well they really are heavenly. I love westin hotels because of the beds — one of the few hotels where I can sleep easily from the first night. It was wonderful to find the beds here as well. So in general, very satisfied. We were in a 2 bedroom in the north. I was in the one bedroom side, my sister in the studio side. It was lots of privacy for each of us and plenty of space for us to visit with one another as well. Our schedules are frequently different, so this worked well. She said that she never heard a peep from my side — even the night I hosted a dinner party for 6. It was the dinner party that led to the one disappointment of the trip. I had dinner for friends. I called the “Service Express” to inquire whether the MicroOven would bake. I was assured that it was a convection microwave and that it would work to bake. Well it didn’t. I had planned lasagna for dinner and ended up taking the lasagna to one of my friend’s ovens. They have real ovens on the south side. Minor problem, overcome thanks to helpful friends. We did lots of scuba diving at Molokini Crater and near Waimea. Snorkeled at Black Rock (worth the trip - its near the resort) and right off the shore of the resort - which was really good snorkeling - but not great. Overall, this resort is fabulous. glypnirsgirl 5

Fabulous Resort/Service Issues Date Of Visit - Mar 07, 2009 Date Of Review - Mar 15, 2009 As can be seen from the many reviews of this timeshare resort, it is very nice. I will not go into the list of amenities or the activities available on Maui as that has been covered over and over. A little background might be helpful. We purchased our unit (2 bedroom lockout ocean front) several years ago. We did so when units first appeared in the resale market and after extensive research. We are experienced travelers and try to stay at 4 star or better hotels when available. I want to make it clear that each time we go to this our "home resort" we reiterate to ourselves that we would purchase it again (e.g. no buyers remorse or regrets). We purchased what we thought would be a resort at the top of the food chain. We were not disappointed, and based on the issues we do have I can't imagine the mess some of the timeshares lower on the food chain must be. This resort was developed and is managed by Starwood (Westin) and they do so pretty well. It is a lovely resort and the staff is always very friendly. Now the "but". It almost hurts to bash my own ownership, but maybe it will help others and the resort. While the staff is, to a person, sincerely pleasant and approachable, they are either clueless to a man, woman, and timeshare salesperson, or woefully lacking empowerment and training on how to actually solve a problem. Every staff member will greet you amicably and listen attentively, they all seem to have the same 4 or 5 patronizing and useless responses (kind of that Stepford Wives thing). We have variously over the years had cleaning issues (pre-arranged with the resort, but housekeeping uses a different computer system and has no clue what you requested) to dirty units (dust thick enough to cut on some surfaces, hand smudges on refrigerators and doors, torn fabric on furniture, mildew in showers), unannounced 3 day closure of the onsite restaurant, failure to even attempt to fulfill a unit request made a year in advance, etc. I am sure that a big part of the problem is visitors. People often do not take responsibility for their or their childrens actions. They wantonly trash the place as though they alone owned it. Another aggravation were the kids programs. We took our son and his family this year. While they give you a monthly calendar of activites for the kiddies when you check in, it is written in microfilm sized print and does not include all activities. And worse, virtually every activity our grandchildren were signed up for was canceled due to lack of participation. Get a CLUE and use a daily activity reader board in the lobby so visitors know what is going on. They are on a schedule to refurbish all units every five years. This helps and is definitely the outside limit in my opinion. If you stay in a unit near the end of the 5 year period, things tend to be as I outlined above. I mark this resort down mainly due to the service. I don't quite understand it, as it would never be tolerated at a Westin hotel. - owner 6

West Maui's Best !!!! Date Of Visit - Jan 18, 2009 Date Of Review - Jan 29, 2009 Maui’s Best Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas (KAA) On January 18, 2009 we arrived to Maui at its best as we checked into this resort! The efficiency and friendliness began with the bellboy service as we drove up to the beautifully landscaped area with waterfalls and continued throughout the check-in! We stayed in a 2-bedroom lockout (Villa # 2610/2608), south-side-ocean view. The master suite had a full size kitchen, table for six, washer & dryer; sofa and chairs, TV, DVD, Bose sound system. The separate bedroom and bath had the Westin Heavenly king-size bed, whirlpool tub, large shower, double sink vanity. There was access to the nice size lanai from both the bedroom and living area. Another couple went with us and was amazed at their lock-out studio side which was equipped with a King size Westin Heavenly bed, large shower and whirlpool tub. They had a sofa and mini kitchen and their own washer and dryer which gave them an intimate private living area to themselves without having to share with the one-bedroom side. It also had a small lanai. Both units were top-of-the-line with granite countertops in the kitchen and baths. The pools were beautiful with waterfalls and there was even a separate pool for children with a pirate ship. The resort on-site amenities include: Data ports and free internet access in each room. Valet parking or free conveniently accessible free parking Restaurant Health Club Game Room Convenience Store Playground Sauna Tennis BBQ Grills Shuttle service to sister resorts, Whaler’s Village Ka’anapali area and also to Lahaina And of course that awesome beach! The Ka’anapali area is in West Maui and an excellent area to stay. I would highly recommend this resort for couples or for families and would definitely request this resort again should I ever exchange my home resort for Maui! Susan Bevell susan.bevell@abibow.com Bevell 7

Date Of Visit - Jun 07, 2008 Date Of Review - Jun 17, 2008 We arrived later (7:30 PM) Saturday and missed the bulk of checkins. Our check-in went smoothly. The prestocked grocery order was in the room along with the cot. So far things were looking very good. The unit was clean and all supplies were in the proper rooms. They now have Bar-B-Q utensils in the units. This is new since the last time we visited in '06. The midweek clean was done with no problems. We found the staff pleasant and helpful. Both restaurants, the workout room and spa, and the general store are all now open in the North property. I did not make it there but family told me the North side's workout room is much nicer than the South's. We decided to try the Westin's new luau this visit. A luau has become our Hawaii tradition. The luau has a table setting vs. the buffett. The menu is set and the food was of better quality than the buffets. Since I do not enjoy sushi or bordering rare meat, I still prefer the buffet. They also have a smaller limit on the number of people. The staff and servers were good. The show was good but better at the Old Lahaina Luau. All in all I would still recommend the OLL especially with the difference in price. Snorkling was good but no sign of the turtles. Snorkling equipment was rented from WKORV for I believe $30/week. We did the sunset cruise on the Kapalua Kai. Great staff and sail. My favorite thing to do on Maui. The wind was stiff the first few days, then slowed to mostly nada for a couple days, then to the most delightful trade winds the last days. We certainly miss those arriving back in Houston. WKORV had a several activities scheduled for Father's Day. DH and the two kids of legal age did the five-course Maui beer pairing. Their response was "it was good". The other two kids and I ate at the Rusty Harpoon in Whaler's Village. I know this place has gotten some terrible reviews, but both times we have received great service and food along with a beautiful sunset. Call me crazy but we enjoyed it more than Kimo's. All in all another wonderful trip to WKORV and we can't wait to get back. I also have more great sunset pictures from our lanai to add to my collection. nell - owner 8

Heaven on Earth! Date Of Visit - Feb 08, 2007 Date Of Review - Jan 14, 2008 Review Part 1 of 2 Note from review rep: I understand that this review is for the Westin Maui hotel stay that was part of the timeshare promotion. I've tried to verify that information. We went to the Westin Maui Feb 8-13 on the $749 timeshare special (includes $185 Avis rental car credit, and $75 resort credit) to preview the villas. At this price, I figured we couldn't go wrong! The resort was awesome. I spent so much time on this site before we went, so I wanted to share our experience. We were traveling with 2 kids (age 3 and 6) from Los Angeles. ATA was quite tight on space -- my husband is 6'4", and he was absolutely crunched in coach. Book an exit row or upgrade to first ($150) if you can. When we got to the airport, I had ordered a "lei greeting" which my son just loved. This was worth the price. On the way to the Westin, we stopped in at Maui Tacos which was great. When we got to the Westin, we got another lei greeting and also some yummy elixers. The studio was nice. Plasma TV and heavenly beds. Also, there are binoculars in every room, so don't buy those beforehand like we did! We soon realized we had left one of my daughter's bags at the airport (oops), but the Westin arranged to have it sent over from the airport (no charge!). We had dinner at O'no at the main resort. Great kids menu and they had live entertainment, too. Best dish we had was swordfish in garlic butter. Kids eat free in the main resort so that was a big plus. Friday, we booked a Trilogy cruise to Lanai (sunset sail - from 10am to 6pm). This was wonderful. Great for the whole family. Yummy food, great snorkeling...just a lot of fun. One of the highlights of our trip. We saw tons of whales. Highly recommend this. Saturday, my husband went to the workout room in main resort and was pretty disappointed. No locker room. If you want "spa" access, that's an additional $20 a day. The machines have great rooms but the gym had a horrible layout and was not great. Every morning, we had breakfast on our balcony and fed the birds. When we got to HI, my husband went to Safeway and loaded us up on cereal, juice boxes, so we could eat breakfast in the room. That represented a big savings. Sat morning, tried to take the kids to the Westin Kids Club at main resort. It looked fine, and the kids seemed to enjoy it, but after 30 minutes we were called to pick up our daughter because they questioned both her and my son about her age and she told them she was 3. (Cutoff age was 5.) We took the walk of shame back to the kids club to retrieve them. Then we went to the pools at main resort. Very fun for everyone. My son loved the water slides. We bought a delicious fresh pineapple at the snack bar by the main pool. Had lunch at Leilani's on the Beach. Hula Pie was awesome. Took a walk down to Black Rock at the Sheraton. That night, we had booked VIP tickets to the luau at the Hyatt. Drums of the Pacific. If you have kids, I would recommend the VIP tix because you get seated in front, plus get to go through the food line first. They pulled me and the kids up to the stage for "hula lessons" which was cute. Free mai tais which were weak but you can ask them to "spice them up" for you. Sunday, we took a nice drive around West Maui. We used the Maui Revealed book to guide our way and took a really cool drive around these windy, two-way, one-lane roads. We thought the kids wouldn't make it during the Road to Hana (too long), so this was our compromise. Really fun. Had great banana bread at Julia's. We went to a locals place called the Tasty Krust for lunch. It was pretty good and cheap. Went to the Hawaii Nature Center (1/2 off in Hawaii Entertainment Book), which was small but the kids enjoyed it. We were the only people there. Bought a fresh pineapple from a roadside stand on the way back to the hotel, then took a late swim. Got kids meals to go for dinner for the kids at O'nos, then my husband and I got sushi to go from Sensei, down the road in Kapalua. This place was PACKED but their sushi was awesome--esp their special Ahi roll. We ate dinner on the balcony of the hotel room--just pulled the lamp out there for some light. Romantic! CONTINUED... julienjay 9

Heaven on Earth! Date Of Visit - Feb 08, 2007 Date Of Review - Jan 14, 2008 Review Part 2 of 2 Monday, we booked my husband and 6-yr-old son a surfing lesson at Maui Wave Riders in Lahaina. Highly recommend this! They had a great time and my son was up on his board in no time. Our instructor was named Kevin. They also take digital pictures which you can buy at the end ($20 for a CD), and that was really cool. Did a little shopping at Whaler's Village. Went for another swim. Got shaved ice at the snack bar for the kids. Went to Lahaina for dinner and ate at Kobe Steakhouse (2-for-1 in Entertainment Book). Very good! The kids loved seeing their food prepared right at their table. We saw the Banyan Tree. Stopped by Star Market for souveniers--coffee and banana/macadamia nut pancake mix. Checked in for our flight online so my husband could get an exit row. Tuesday, time to go home. We got up very early and checked out by 9am, then took my son fishing down the road at one of the beaches on the way to the airport. (Bought shrimp at Long's Drugstore for bait.) Didn't catch anything but our son had fun. Our flight wasn't til 2:50, but the concierge at the Westin recommended that we check our bags in early and then go for lunch at Mama's Fish House. This is just what we did. Mama's was a highlight of our trip. This place was heavenly. Not cheap but the food is amazing. My only regret is that we didn't have more time here. If I go back, I will do this in the middle of the trip so I'm not rushed. Amazing view. Got a table by the window which gave us a great outlook on the beach and the turquoise blue water. This is also the only authentic tiki bar in Maui which was cool to see. That was the jist of our trip. I guess this is a good time to mention that a few times during our trip, we ordered pay-per-view kids movies for the kids, which was fun for them. Sara (our activities coordinator) was pretty low pressure about doing a timeshare presentation. We would have done it if the kids could have gone in the kids club but since my daughter had been "black-listed" we passed. I thought this was an AMAZING place and I had absolutely no complaints throughout our stay. Beforehand, we purchased an Entertainment Book for Hawaii but only used it twice, so I'd say that really wasn't worth it. (Not many coupons for Maui.) I did however get an A3H card and that saved us over $300 on our Trilogy Cruise. All in all, we paid about $1000 a person for four people and that included EVERYTHING...a great bargain for an unforgettable stay. I would definitely go back given the chance!!! julienjay 10

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