You will hear the good, bad and ugly of this (and any other) resort through the other reviews. Here is a brief one based on our perspective.

Will preface by saying we are owners at another Starwood property (Atlantis, Bahamas) and traded for this property (8 days in a 1 bedroom vs. 7 days in 2- bedroom lockoff in our home resort).

The good:

Well appointed rooms - kitchen, microwave, jacuzzi, double sink bathroom and the heavenly bed and shower!

Location - Right on the beach. Excellent view of ocean and mountains (5th floor) and great view of sunsets from beach.

Convenient shuttles and friendly/helpful drivers.

Convenient store on site with pre-made diners ready to be heated. However for primary shopping, go into town.

Awesome snorkeling right offf the beach - never seen such reefs and varity of fish in any other locations (including Caribbean). Saw several sea turtles around sunset, colorful reefs and fish, even an octopus.

Not so good:

On-site restaurants do not really provide a good value for families in either North or South locations.

Front desk - could be more helpful in assisting with one off requests.

Timeshare presentations - remind me why I schedule these again?

Complimentary portrait - you were going to tell me about this when? Found out last day there in last hour photog was on-site.


Ugly:

The charge for the beach lounges and chairs - what the &@*! is up with that??? At the Atlantis, these are provided free to ALL guests, not just owners. For over $2K annually in maintenance fees, they better invest in more chairs and make them available.

Overall a great stay there, we ate out usually in Lahaina each day. Great snorkeling but suggest reef shoes as coral and rocks are sometimes sharp. Ask about portrait, utilize shuttles if no car rental, shop in town. Would definitely stay here again as a more educated traveler.

Our stay on Maui at the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas was wonderful! Two bedroom, two bath villa - spacious, clean, great views, beautiful lanai, well appointed. Snorkel right off the beach on the reef there. Pool is lovely, beach is great. This is a time share but you can also rent them from different sources. Our teenage kids loved it, so did we. This was our 3rd stay there and each time we love it.

We stayed here with our two kids, ages 6 and 8 in Aug. 2007. We had a studio with kitchenette. Our room was on the first floor and in close walking distance to the pool. It was very quiet, and I rarely heard any noise from outside or upstairs when we were in the room. This was despite the hotel being fairly busy.

It was definitely a big plus how close we were to the beach. It was nice to just take a short stroll down to the water, and be able to play, swim, and snorkel there. The water was nice and fairly calm. Our kids were able to run in and splash without too much worry.

Plan to catch the sunset from the beach. You get the best view right there from the hotel's beach access.

The pools were also really nice at the hotel. They have 3 different pool areas. The one on the north side has kind of like a lagoon/river sort of arrangement, which is very nice. This pool was always less crowded than the main pool on the south side of the resort. This main pool had the big slide by the waterfall, so obviously it would be the most crowded pool. Then there is a smaller pool area for those with toddlers. It has a big pirate ship that shoots out water and has small slides for little ones.

Kids eat free with each adult meal at the hotel's bar and grill, but we were disappointed with the food. It really tasted like it was just reheated frozen food, rather than fresh-made-to-order. We preferred to take the complimentary shuttle into Lahaina and try the restaurants there. One place we enjoyed and found to be reasonably priced was the Aloha Mixed Plate restaurant behind the Cannery Mall. You should definitely make a stop there at least once to have some local food. We also went to the Hula Grill at the Whaler's Village, which had really good burgers.

I also highly recommend taking advantage of the complimentary shuttles into the different parts of Lahaina. No need to stress on driving and parking!

Overall, we had a great stay, and would recommend the Westin Ocean Resort Villas. I am giving 4 stars only because we were disappointed with the dining options at the hotel. Too expensive for sub par food. However, the hotel is extremely clean, well-kept, and the staff is friendly and very helpful.

Enjoy and aloha!

We decided we wanted to take a weeks vacation in Maui at the Westin Resort and Villas.. Upon our arrival the smell of the lobby certainly gave the Maui ocean feel... The valet was quite nice and assisted us with our bags.. Upon checking in the girl behind the front desk said she had a BEAUTIFUL room for us with ocean view and high upgraded... The first thing I noticed when I we were walking to the room was the amount of running wild children. No parents in site.. Running up and down the halls in soaked swim trunks making the hallway have a watered down stench.. The room was attached to another villa which shared a public door although it was locked... From there I noticed that the maid service only occurs once a week.. Our bathroom in our room looked as if it was made in the 1970's.. Our water pressure was terrible and the so called jacuzzi still had sand stains on it from the previous occupants... I was quite annoyed... The next morning I wake up to the pounding sounds of children screaming and crying throughout the hall... I look outside our so-called ocean view room only too see the large pool full of children running wild.. The first thing that came to my mind was there has to be pee all over in that water... My girlfriend and I wanted to catch some rays so we attempted to find a space with ample sun.. This was near impossible... The few cabannas they had were rented for 2 weeks out! So it was up to us to find a spot to lay around all these running and screaming children... We finally find a space where we had to literally lay down right next to someone else.. It was like flying coach on airplane.. We crawled into our spaces over a child who was swining a towel at another child while screaming about it... I thought Maui was suppose to be about relaxing.. I finally just am fed up with it... I would rather spend time in my private room then be around these children.. The next day we found that there was an area just being finished called the "North" side which seemed to be quite fresh and new... No children around... Just adults eating their breakfast... From there I new we needed to switch rooms... I asked the front desk if it would be possible to switch.. Nicely enough they switched us! :-) I thought it was only uphill from here... Until the next day... I went for a workout in the Westin's gym.. Just a quick note on that... The YMCA in Scottsdale looks better than this! After finishing my workout I went back to the room.. As I approached the door my key card didn't work... I was somewhat upset because we had just received our keys the day before and this was suppose to be a totally new room.. Just finished July 27th I was told... I walked to the front desk in the "North" property which has a much nicer lobby than the South... The girl named Jessica behind the front desk greeted me... I told her my room number and that my key wasn't working... She gave me a new key and I was on my way... ALTHOUGH!! She didn't even ask my name!! Anyone could have said my room number and she would have given them a key!! This was quite alarming.. Not what you would expect for a 5 star property... Upon returning to the room I get to the door and the key doesn't work again!!! Now I was upset.. Instead of walking back down again... I called the front desk and "Jessica" whom I spoke with before answered the phone... I told her this key wasnt working either... (Not to mention this whole time I am on crutches with a broken ankle). She asked me to hold... I waited 15 minutes on hold!!! I was very upset at this point...I walked/crutched back down to the front desk with my cell to my ear still waiting on hold... I get to the front desk and she is just standing there doing NOTHING!! All the while I am still on hold...I demanded to speak with a manager.. She came out very friendly and asked Jessica again to give me a new key... Also she asked security to walk with me back to the room so this wouldn't happen again... The security guard indicated to me that the flashing yellow light indicated the key was expired... This was only after one day!!! We walk back to the room and finally I get it... I was VERY upset...

We are regular Maui vacationers.. Typically twice a year... We have stayed at the Four Seasons in Wailea (which is the REAL 5 star property although you'll pay $6000 for a week easily!).. The Ritz Carlton right up the road in Kapaula is another regular place we stay... Currently they are under renovations which made it not possible for us to stay there this time... So we tried the Westin.. I thought since it was just finished not even a month ago everything would be crisp, clean, and ready for use... How wrong I ever was... Stay away from this property unless your bringing the entire brady bunch with you!!

Your's Truly,
Maui all the time!