posted 05-10-2005 22:40            

We stayed a week at the Waiohai Beach Club in Kauai. This to me was my favorite Marriott resort on the Islands of Hawaii. It has only two bedroom condos which are not lock out units. The grounds are absolutely beautiful plus a nice beach in front of the resort where you could swim, snorkel or surf. It is a place to truly relax and enjoy the ocean, sun and pool with your family or friends. My husband decided that he had enough of timeshare presentations after our first one so I went to the sales office by myself and asked them if they would give me an "owners update" which they gladly did without any hassle or misrepresentation and it really did not take much more than five or ten minutes. They were not wasting my time nor was I wasting their time either and they appreciated that. They gave me all the prices and brochures I asked for so I could show them to my husband. We did get a follow-up call from one of the salesmen which I appreciated because it was a very pleasant and professional call. It showed class. I can highly recommend this salesman. It was low key but he was a salesman too. Bravo, Marriott.

I also got my husband so far to drive to the Kauai Beach Club just to look at the grounds. It wasn't too far from where we stayed. This is a converted hotel and looks like a hotel but mostly sold out. They had some resales because I got a price sheet. There is a little bay in front and a beach too and to the right a little harbor. We had a drink at the bar and looked over the elegant grounds with koi, swans and even two nenes too and a grandiose pool but I much prefer the more casual Waiohai Beach Club atmosphere anytime. The Waiohai salesman had given me the prices for this resort too.

In Honolulu, we stayed at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa and I went to the timeshare booth and asked them if I could go and visit the Marriott Ko Olina Resort once again but by myself. I did not expect a yes but they said I could get a "5 minute update" so they bussed me to this resort. We were there two years ago when it first opened and for some reason I did not like it. Most likely it was the lack of tropical foliage because the resort was so new. Mr. Marriott must not have liked the pools either because they were ripped out to be replaced with a more tropical style pool with an Island in the middle and palm trees in the middle. One is finished already and looks nice. They were also adding more Jacuzzis and they were building the second tower. It will take some time before everything is finished.

I got a very honest and professional low key salesman here too. He gave me the scoop of this resort and what all is coming. No doubt about it, this will be one of the finest resorts in Honolulu as the Ritz Carlton is going to be built next door and the whole area will be upscale like the Wailea area in Maui with another aquatic park with dolphins, etc. next door. If you like to be away from the Waikiki hustle and bustle, you can relax here. Personally, I like the busy atmosphere of Waikiki Beach for a change as it almost feels like New York, Paris or San Francisco and I really enjoy it for a short time only from our quiet area where we live. It makes a nice change.

I have prices for all these resorts, if you are interested but they most likely will change again this month. Send me a private message at the other forum if you like to have them. They are just too many to post here.

posted 05-10-2005 22:53            

Great report. Busy gal

I'd be particularly interested in the current pricing at MAW and whether they're still doing the trade-up and/or 2EOY deal like last year.

As your e-mail isn't listed, could you please contact me through my web site listed in my profile?

posted 05-11-2005 01:14            

quote:

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Originally posted by camachinist:
Hi Emmy,

Great report. Busy gal

I'd be particularly interested in the current pricing at MAW and whether they're still doing the trade-up and/or 2EOY deal like last year.

As your e-mail isn't listed, could you please contact me through my web site listed in my profile?

Pat

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posted 05-11-2005 05:39               

I edited my profile so my email was accessable. Thanks!

posted 05-11-2005 10:05               

Just a comment on Maui Marriott. I believe the one bedroom villas are NOT lockoffs. Only the two bedroom villas have that feature. That's my understanding, anyway. Last week we were there and the hotel part closed May 4 and construction was in progress in the Lanai Tower on floors 4-6, with the lower 2 floors starting to be dismantled.

We were in 7109, Lanai Tower, OF lockoff directly above the "Presentaion" area. Great view of ocean and pool, with front and side lanai's. There was daytime construction noise 8-5 weekdays. Sometimes not too noisy, but very noisy at other times.
(Like jackhammering or a large compressor running).
I would expect this noise to quiet down as the heavy modifications are completed. Due to be complete in October. (Maybe?).
Does anyone have a definitive answer as to whether the one bedroom has the lockout feature?

Also went to a 15,000 point presentation (as owners there) and was told pricing for the new towers may be available in July. (Didn't say what year) only that some condo owners at the Ka'anapali Ali'i next door were being a bit difficult.

posted 05-11-2005 12:54               

quote:

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Originally posted by ZCar:
...
Does anyone have a definitive answer as to whether the one bedroom has the lockout feature?.

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As you stated, only the 2BR have lockouts.

posted 05-11-2005 14:14            

I will email the prices later today. I don't feel it is right to post all of them here. The Marriott may not give them out so freely anymore so it would spoil it for all of us who wants to know. Just email me.

Dave M, what is your comment to that? You always have the right answer!

PS. My ISP is E A R T H L I N K with my user name in front of it so you can reach me easier.

posted 05-11-2005 22:24               

quote:

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Originally posted by iconnections:
Coming back to the Westin in Maui which are the Ka'Anapali Ocean Resort Villas. We did not tour them as the Marriott salesman had told us that they are next to a sewer plant and that you may smell the odor nor did we want to. When we stopped by the booth in Honolulu, they told us that this was a lie but I don't know what the truth really is as we are not interested in these high prices. A 2 bedroom Ocean View was selling out at $48,900 and a 1 bedroom OV was selling out at $33,900. From the brochure we saw, these are beautiful condos with full kitchens and washer & dryers so more practical. This price is the use of one week at that particular resort but they said that it may trade for more than a week at some of the well-known hotels all over the world that are a member of Starwood. What interested us was that the Sheraton Royal Hawaiian was included too. It would give us ten days at a Heritage Hotel in Amsterdam with no black-outs. It also included many Sheraton Hotels which seem to have the best locations everywhere.

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I just wanted to comment that we've stayed at the Westin Ka'anapli Ocean Resort Villas (WKORV) and haven't had any problems with foul odors. I'm not sure where the sewer plant is exactly. The villas are beautiful and the reviews for this resort are positive. We bought there because Starwood was offering everything we were looking for (full kitchen, beach, nice pool). We didn't look at the Marriott because we wanted a full kitchen with for our small children. If you own a 2-bedroom here, you can use the lock-off feature and stay for 2 weeks if that was what you were looking for.

Starwood is expanding to the North of the current WKORV with more units that will be built over the next couple of years.

posted 05-12-2005 04:59               

Thanks for the informative Hawaii post. Nice to hear how KoOlina is coming along as we were last there a few years ago.

I agree with your comments about Marriott TS sales being low-key and to the point. I'm sure that there's an occassional exception out there, but Marriott repsects their owners and lets the product speak for itself.

My wife and I trade into Marbella last July. For information purposes we take a tour of Playa Andaluza as we were pondering European ownership sometime in the future. Our sales associate knew we weren't there for a sale, but he goes out of his way to show us the resort and gives us all of the background information we need about ownership in Europe.

In our case, we end up purchasing at Playa on that visit as the price was right and the resort will gain momentum next year as it enters its big building phase. It was certainly a pleasant surprise for our salesman when we decide to buy. But that's the Marriott experience.

posted 05-12-2005 18:54               

Thanks!

posted 05-13-2005 03:14            

quote:

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Originally posted by deniselew1:
I just wanted to comment that we've stayed at the Westin Ka'anapli Ocean Resort Villas (WKORV) and haven't had any problems with foul odors. I'm not sure where the sewer plant is exactly. The villas are beautiful and the reviews for this resort are positive. We bought there because Starwood was offering everything we were looking for (full kitchen, beach, nice pool). We didn't look at the Marriott because we wanted a full kitchen with for our small children. If you own a 2-bedroom here, you can use the lock-off feature and stay for 2 weeks if that was what you were looking for.

Starwood is expanding to the North of the current WKORV with more units that will be built over the next couple of years.

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We had decided not to go to any sales presentations before we left for Hawaii since we rather not buy more timeshares. If a resort is very nice, it may be hard for us to say "NO" so it is better to stay away. We would have traded our MDSV-I for the Waiohai Beach Club if it had not been too costly. Our desert timeshare is very nice too and hopefully, we can trade again.

Emails were sent to the TUGgers who were interested in the Marriott prices. Emmy

posted 05-14-2005 10:16               

Could I have the Waiohai pricing please? We own there but sure wish they had offered the double-EOY deal when we bought.