The Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas

This place is spotless and absolutely awesome. All of the benefits of a luxury hotel, but you have a condo with a kitchen. Most nights on the grass they have some type of live performance of local hula dancers or musicians. The snorkeling is unbelievable right outside the hotel. Better than Black Rock. My kids (6,8,12,14) absolutely love it. You can also swim on this beach, if you just go 50 yards up the beach where there is no coral. You get the best of both worlds in that regard. I have been to 4 Seasons Wailea, Grand Wailea, Hilton Waikoloa, Kauai Hyatt, Kaanapali Hyatt and most of the other nice properties in Hawaii and I would rather stay here anytime. For a family, you can absolutely not beat it. The staff is friendly. The property is very open, unlike the new villas North next door at the sister property. Westin Villas North (next door) is very densely built and you feel closed in. This property does not feel that way. When you read a review on this site where someone says they stayed in the new building and did not like it, realize they are actually reviewing the Westin North, and not this property. There is a different page on Red Week for that property. The "new" building is the North property, which is a couple of years newer. The pool at the South property hardly seems crowded. I just returned 2 weeks ago in the busy season and had no problem getting seats in the shade under umbrellas most every day around the pool.

We have owned at the resort since it first opened and it is NO LONGER what it once was unfortunately. We own 2 2-bedroom lock-offs, one in the North (Ocean front) and one in the south. We always do the lock-offs so we can stay for 4 weeks. The last time we stayed, in January and February, it felt as if we had all of the problems of being at home but without the comforts there. We had flooding airconditioners that caused the carpets to be sopping wet and had to deal with blowers to dry them out and then the padding pulled out, broken locking mechanisms on the sliders, screens on the sliders that kept falling off the tracks and worst of all, lumpy mattresses in almost each of the rooms that positively needed replacing.

At both resorts you must make your reservations a year in advance if you care about your room location or view. It is based on the time you make your call. People trading in get the dregs. Since they are always either sold out by owners or owners trading their units, there are usually no rooms available if you have a problem with your room. We had a significant problem with each room in both the north and the south. We complained multiple times to the upper level management but very little was done. We were very dissatisfied with the response and feel that management has very little real control over the situation since the cleaning service has been outsourced and clearly does not answer to the hotel and is certainly unmotivated to provide good service. You would expect that when they see something damaged or broken that it would be reported and repaired, but it does not seem to happen. Mid-week clean ups might as well not happen. Our linens were not even changed. A direct complaint to the general manager was not even acknowledged by an email since he always seemed to be unavailable.

I am quite sorry that we have purchased here. We purchased at a very elevated price at both the north and the south. We love coming to the resort because of it's location and you can sit on the beach and watch the whales breach but Westin needs to get it's act together soon. For a relatively new facility, a lot is going wrong. The "Westin bed" doesn't exist here - hard, lumpy with scratchy sheets. Shame on them.

We love the resort and the location. Actually we love the older resort more than the North for various reasons. We would never sell our units because we have a lot of friends that always come at about the same time that we do. I think that is why it makes me angry at the poor management of the resort. For the incredibly high maintenance fees (possibly one of the highest in the industry), they should be doing a better job. Also, the fees have gone up a great deal over the years while a lot of the services have gone down. The management always points the finger at property assessments and taxes, but I believe that the serious lack of motivation of the staff is a significant problem at this resort. No one seems happy nor seems to have an attitude of what can I do to make your vacation just a little bit better.... If you leave your towels on a beach chair for too long, they will be removed with all of your things. If you drink wine or beer down by the grilling area you can be told to remove it. I even saw a security guard on his Segway take photos of men drinking beer from bottles - not allowed I guess. It was both the taking of the pictures as well as the Segways that bothered me - just too over the top! No warnings, just the photos by security...

Owner since the resort opened. I think our first stay was only two months after opening. We return annually, often splitting our 2BR unit lockoff weeks up so we can visit about every six months. Conditions and maintenance have always been first rate. As a couple we can work with the studio and its basic kitchen, but the one bedroom really allows you to spread out and feel like you're in a second home. Bathrooms in either unit are spacious, with separate large shower and soaking/Jacuzzi tub.

Full sized kitchen in the 1BR unit means we seldom even eat out. (The Maui Fish Market is a mile away.) Snorkeling is first rate right outside the property, and the shuttle to the Sheraton/Whaler's Village means the snorkeling at Black Rock is just a short ride away. With the "big" shuttle to Lahaina, you can almost stay the week without even needing a rental car.

Pool is nice sized, with two whirlpools; and there always seem to be enough lounges available even when we've been there on 100% occupancy weeks. The beachfront walkway is now built from the park that borders the property up to the Hanua Kai Resort, so that's a great mile or so stroll up and back in the evening.

truly exceptional. beautiful property maintained in excellent condition. several activities available on site including yoga, cooking, kids club, wine tasting, etc. short drive to Lahaina as well as other snorkeling, hiking, island activities. The sunsets are magnificent as you walk along the beach only a few steps from your home. Can't recommend it enough.

Christmas 2010. Very good resort, nice location, good beach, good pools (not Atlantis, but good). Sports bar had great food, on-site italian restaurant was bland. Beds are comfortable, units spacious. Mid-week housekeeping was "change sheets/towels only," no cleaning whatsoever. Staff is great.