Back from Westin Maui - let me know if you have questions

[Deleted]

I'm going to put together a real review with restaurants and such, but if you have questions about the hotel let me know. We had an amazing 10 days and I cried when I turned my keys in. The hotel is beautiful, the staff went above and beyond at every step and I highly recommend it if you're looking for something in that part of Maui.  We had a little issue with our room, and they gave us one of the gazebos that rent for $150 a day while they were taking care of it. 

[heyney]

Perfect timing!

I am looking into a family vacation over the summer, so any help you can give is appreciated. I do have a couple though:

-Who did you book your room through? (hotel site, 3rd party, etc)

-How was the pool? (I have 2 boys)

-What kid friendly activities does the hotel offer? If any

This one is non-hotel related but, did you fly directly into Maui or stop in Oahu first?

Thanks so much!

[Deleted]

Jan 10, 2014 18:28:59 GMT -5 heyney said:

Perfect timing!

I am looking into a family vacation over the summer, so any help you can give is appreciated. I do have a couple though:

-Who did you book your room through? (hotel site, 3rd party, etc)

-How was the pool? (I have 2 boys)

-What kid friendly activities does the hotel offer? If any

This one is non-hotel related but, did you fly directly into Maui or stop in Oahu first?

Thanks so much!

No problem. I'm happy to answer questions.

-I booked the room directly through the hotel because I had a bunch of points to use. 
-The pool was awesome. They have two slides, one for adults and big kids and one for little kids. There is a big pool for everyone with a waterfall and cave. Then there's an adults-only pool as well. You get a towel card for everyone in the room, so you can just get new towels whenever you need them, which I thought was nice. The pools offered a lot of shade, too, if you wanted it.
-They have a kids' club that has a price but our kids were too young to be able to use it. They also offer a variety of onsite crafts each day, but they each had a fee and my kids are pretty little so I didn't know that they'd ever take advantage of any of it. The hotel is right on an amazing beach with soft, silky sand so we could get from our room to the beach in under 10 minutes and back for nap time. 
-We went into the main Maui airport (OGG). There's a smaller airport but it's pretty pricey to fly into. 

The one caveat I'd offer is that they were finishing construction in the tower we were in and I think they're starting it in the other tower, so we explicitly asked in our reservation for a room far from any construction, which they gave us.

That being said, there are also a bunch of condos in that area, which looked nice. But their pool areas weren't nearly as nice and fun looking. 

[raangoli]

We're thinking of booking the Westin Maui but the reviews online are giving me some pause. I am glad to see that you had a great time @melissainabq. I tend to trust someone like you more than tripadvisor; I tend to take those with a grain of salt. The things people complain about are a little ridiculous.


You wouldn't happen to know how much longer they have construction planned for would you? Everything I've found online says through early 2014, but I'm not sure how that translates.

[Deleted]

I don't know how much longer they'll be going on. We did ask for a room far from the construction and ended up with just that so I think they are working with people to accommodate them as best as possible. I agree with some tripadvisor reviews that they get a little nit-picky. Like I mentioned originally, when we did have an issue, they were on top of it and did everything the could to make it better so I wouldn't hesitate to suggest the hotel. It was a great facility and fabulous location.

[raangoli]

Thanks so much! I think we are going to go for it after all. We looked at other properties but most of them seem to be condo rentals and I don't have the energy to research all of that. At least with the hotel we know we will get a standard room.

[Deleted]

Yay - enjoy it! I really loved the property. I think a condo would be nice, but you miss out on some of the stuff that's great about the hotel. The pool is fabulous, the service is amazing and it's nice just being taken care of. If you have kids, they have a kids eat free thing there too.

[Deleted]

Dupe

[boiler717]

I'm interest to hear about restaurants and activities! We leave in 13 days!

[Deleted]

We had a lot more grand plans for food before we left than once we were there. We ate a lot at the places in Whaler's Village since it was next door to the hotel. We really liked the Hula Grill because they had music every night, and the girls got a kick out of eating at a place where they could also play in the sand at the same time. 

The Burger place in the Westin does a free kid's meal with a paid adult meal, and the food was yummy so we ate there several times, too. 

We really enjoyed our drive up the north side of the island almost moreso than the drive to Hana because of the kids. It didn't take the whole day like Hana and it was easier to get out and walk around.

We did a whale watching trip with Pacific Whale Foundation and loved it. You'd be at the tail end of it but if they're still running boats I'd totally try to catch one of theirs. Book online and you save around 10%. We left out of Lahaina.

We spent a lot of time at the beach at the hotel because it was so amazing. In fact, it's the only beach we went to because it was so fabulous. 

Page me if you want to know more. I wish we were getting ready to go. It was the best trip I've taken since I was a kid.

[mabillon]

Feb 25, 2014 10:23:27 GMT -5 @melissainabq said:

I don't know how much longer they'll be going on. We did ask for a room far from the construction and ended up with just that so I think they are working with people to accommodate them as best as possible. I agree with some tripadvisor reviews that they get a little nit-picky. Like I mentioned originally, when we did have an issue, they were on top of it and did everything the could to make it better so I wouldn't hesitate to suggest the hotel. It was a great facility and fabulous location.

Hi @melissainabq!  We PM'd about Westin Maui a couple months ago, glad you had a great time!  I can chime in on the above subject for raangoli since I was less thorough in my planning and stayed in the same tower that was under construction.  

To be perfectly honest, we heard it.  We are pretty easy-going about that stuff but there were 1-2 times where I was legit annoyed - it was when we heard drilling at 8pm (DD's bedtime) but the front desk said construction was done for the night.  Well, no, it obviously wasn't and I could see lights out our balcony from the workers!  My annoyance was mostly as the brush-off from the front desk staff but when it happened the next day, the other guy had a much more apologetic attitude, got me info about when it was done, and ended up comping the burger I had on-site.  My DH and DD weren't bothered by it at all (we did have white noise on) but my hearing is pretty sensitive, I guess.  Despite that, I was really happy with the hotel and while I wish I'd had the foresight to request the other tower in advance (we couldn't be moved because the hotel was full), we LOVED it there.  It was so ideal with a toddler.  Even in a hotel room, we could relax on the lanai after she went to bed with a glass of wine.  Wonderful.  

Oh, this was the view from our hotel room as we were getting ready for an early dinner.  You may want an ocean room but the mountain view isn't too shabby.

[raangoli]

mabillon Thanks so much for your review as well! We decided to book the hotel after all. I think I'll call the hotel to inquire about the construction to see whether we can get a room in a complete tower.

[msturtle143]

We were on Maui last year in Feb with our then 20 month old. She will be 3 when we potentially go back last week of May. Wondering what activities you did (sightseeing) if you can share? Thanks!

[msturtle143]

Also, we stayed in Kihei and Wailea are last time and I just remember being super windy in Kihei and okay in Wailea. How was it when you went? I didn't like that at all. We had a beach front rental in Kihei that we honestly didn't even get to enjoy. It was a mess even getting in and out of the car!