Marriott's Maui Ocean Club - Lahaina Villas

Excellent for families.

We stayed in a one-bedroom/one-bathroom unit in the Lahaina Villas and LOVED it! Great living room, full kitchen with washer/dryer and great master bedroom!

We were in the Lahaina Tower in Aug. (4 adults and 5 teenagers ) Everyone had a BLAST The views, the closeness to a great pool and the beach ,loads of other kids their age, it was perfect. We bought a lot of groceries in town and did most of our own cooking The out side BBQ was easy to use with out any waiting. We found the pool bars to be very comfortable and sometimes hard to leave. The nearby town was a great little beach town where you could let the kids explore for a couple of hours on their own. Don't miss the magic show in town (Warren and Annabelle) or a chance to take in a luau. We wish it could have been longer than a week. One of the kids now wants to live in Maui and we are from Massachusetts. Don't miss a chance to go if you can swing it. It is like a beautiful Carribean island with great infra structure

We just returned from our week at the Lahaina Villas. This was our first time using the timeshare even though we bought it in 2008. We were absolutely thrilled with it! Everything is very high end -- great beds, linens, kitchen, laundry, bathrooms -- and we loved the shady, grassy area between the pool and the ocean. We own a 2/2 Mountain view unit.

We had originally booked for September but had to change our date to November, and by that time, there were only 2 units available for the rest of the year, so we had to take what we could get. We were offered a non-lock off unit, which I thought might be "the leftovers" but we took it anyway. It could not have been nicer! It didn't have the entry way that the lock off units have, but who cares? We had a view of both the ocean and the mountains. The unit directly above ours is considered "ocean view." We walked from room to room just marveling at this paradise.

We had drinks and appetizers at Longboards twice -- the food was excellent and so were the mai tai's. We went over to the main pool a few times to watch the world series at the bar and slide down the water slide like a bunch of kids. We walked to Black Rock three times for snorkeling (rented the gear from the Marriott beach kiosk on the way). Used the BBQ's several times -- they were also super high end and clean.

We are so happy we bought here and can't wait to go back in 2010.

Just returned from first visit to Hawaii. Stayed for 2 weeks in Maui; first week at Marriott Ocean Club, second week at Westin Ocean Villas. I'll use a comparison as a review and a 1-10 rating.

Location: TIE (8) = 2 miles seperate the two properties and each have advantageous locations

Room: Westin (9) = occupied the single best unit at the Westin (2631/2630=top floor ocean front new building w/ largest balony) GET THIS ROOM if you can; at Marriott (6)stayed in Lanai (older converted hotel) 2 bed/3 bath...OK, but missed a full kitchen; If we had a new room at Marriott, I've a feeling that Westin would have lost out overall.

Grounds: Marriott (10) = Gorgeous park-like setting...stunning/lots of private areas around the pool with high-end umbrellas; Westin (7) was nice but felt like a resort...Westin pool chairs are so close you have NO privacy and there are very few chickies for which you have to hunt or go down at 730AM to attain

Outdoor grills: Marriott (10) = New VERY high end granite surrounded outdoor grills that are numerous and conveniently located-probably cost over $10K for each pair. Westin (7) nice, but more like a built in outdoor home type gas grill as opposed to Marriotts professional grade

Beach: Marriott (7) = The beach directly at Marriott is nice, but further down toward Sheraton it is very nice; Westin (5) = Nice to look at but unusable due coral. [As reference, we've traveled extensively throughout the carribean and typically vacation in Aruba which would score a (10) for beach quality]

Luxury feeling: Westin (8) High end products and service abound-nothing feels cheap except the beach towels; Marriott (7)...felt like a Marriott.

Service (front desk/restaurants/shops/bellman/valet): Westin (9) = VERY professional upscale service; very responsive. Marriott (7) felt like a Marriott.

Housekeeping: Westin/Marriott (4). Both resorts have subpar housekeeping standards. Each have a 1 time per week cleaning; When the sofa bed was opened the previous occupants bedding was still in place and very unkempt; Marriott had mold on the shower curtain and between some shower tiles; Westin had hairballs on shower floor; Westin housekeeping made the bed and left some toiletries...no towels replaced, nothing else done. Very disappointed with housekeeping at both properties and both felt somewhat dirty. Would not purchase from either for this fact alone. Our timeshare in Aruba (CLBR) has housekeeping 6 days per week and on the 7th day (Sunday) towels are replaced...and costs far less (albeit a somewhat older property) than either of these properties but still maintains a far superior beach with great service.

Recap. We had a nice time at both resorts and would probably return, but Maui would not be our first choice for destination.