My husband and I booked 6 nights using our Starwood points to celebrate our one year anniversary here. BAD idea. I would not recommend this resort to anyone other than timeshare owners since it is primarily a timeshare resort. I had made a specific request for a higher floor ocean view. I was told we could not reserve anything ocean front because all of those units were ONLY for timeshare owners but they assured us that we would
get the best partial ocean view possible.I reluctantly agreed. That was my Mistake number 1.

Upon check in, I was told we were on the first floor. After having read many reviews about some of the potentially bad locations, being on the first floor was one of them. I asked the receptionist if it was possible to be moved to a higher floor since that was what we requested originally. She told me the hotel was 99% occupied and there was nothing she could do until the manager got in the morning. She then assured me that the room has a nice view regardless.

When we got to the room, I opened the balcony door and stepped into a small patio enclosed by foliage. You couldn't see
anything unless you peeped out between the foliage and all you could see then was the pool and another building. There was no ocean in site.

We went down to the desk and she was less than sympathetic. We were told that as long as you could see even a SLIVER of the ocean, it was considered partial ocean view. I told her I would have to stand on the chair and crank my neck to see even a tiny bit of the ocean. Again we were told there was nothing that could be done til the manager got in the morning.

We tried to suck it up and it was around 9pm at that point. We were hungry so we figured we would grab a bite to eat on the resort. Unfortunately both restaurants were closed and the only place to get food was cold sandwiches at the pool restaurant. We opted to just eat the food we bought for breakfast and ate it on our patio staring straight into the foliage.

After many calls to SPG and to management, we got moved to the 3rd floor. It wasnt spectacular but at this point, anything was better than the cave we were in. And we were made to feel like it was a huge favor to us .

Other than that, the service at this resort is generally not one you expect from a typical 5 star Westin. This was our first time at a timeshare and probably our last. They cater to the owners needs and requests and your Starwood member benefit doesn't really go a long way here. We were disappointed in the service .

The concierge also messed up the surprise champagne I requested for my husband and I on our anniversary. I asked that they bring it to our room while we were at dinner. They knocked on the door an hour before we left for dinner as we were getting ready. I was handed a bottle of champagne, with no ice bucket and no champagne glasses. Ok so this resort isn't catering to people celebrating anniversaries or honeymooners, but it
was as if they made it a point to show us that.

Then on our last day I called for a late check out because our flight was at 10pm. They said the latest we could check out was 11am..usually SPG members can request 4pm but we were told they don't honor SPG Member late checkout requests. Yet another blow to us for wasting our points here.

So over all, the resort is not BAD. This review is primarily for Starwood members that are considering using your points for this resort. Obvously everyone else onthis board is an owner and loved it but if you are going to use your points, save it for the other Westin or the Sheraton unless you have a family with you and don't care about the views.

The layout of the resort in general doesn't really lend itself to many nice views of the ocean unless you are in the buildings reserved for owners. Most of the units face another building. We liked the pool on the South Side better. It is more open and gets more sun. We would have stayed on the South side but those studio villas don't have a balcony.

We made great use of the kitchen and the bbq grills which was nice. But that was it. I would not return to this resort until I have children and own a timeshare.

Their website and others say "Stay and Play" at 3 resorts, meaning the Westin Maui and the Sheraton Maui. They offer shuttle service between them all. But when we tried to use the pool facilities at the Westin hotel we were turned down. The manager there (at the Westin Hotel) said they change their policy according to occupancy rates and they were at 95% so we could not use the pool. When we inquired at the Ocean Villas, the manager there (Carol) said the "Stay and Play" only meant you could eat at the other facilities. I told her then that I wanted a table for 6 to play volleyball at the restaurant b/c to me eating at their restaurant was not playing for my kids. They wanted to go down the pool slide. They seem to make their policies on everything change as they please. Even after several complaints by us and other families, we were still not able to use the other hotel pools like they lead you to believe. We were even told on the phone when making the reservation that we could use the other pools.
Gecko in our room too.

I just came back from a 6 nite stay at the Westin Ocean Villas. Let me say that I am a fan of Starwood and I generally like all of the Starwood resorts. When I travel, I generally like to stay in nice hotels like the Westin, Hyatt, Renaissance, Ritz Carlton, etc... I had never stayed in a hotel that was used as a timeshare property before and doubt I will do it again.

From the exterior, the resort is nice and generally well maintained. However that being said, the ocean view room I orginally checked into located in the older South tower was simply the dirtiest hotel room I have stayed in years. It reminded me of a night I once spent in the Days Inn New Orleans. There were scuff marks on every wall and floorboard. The curtains were soiled with brown stains (maybe coffee). The sofa was filthy with stains and general brown grime. The "heavenly bed" comforter was stained with black ink. The dust ruffle was just that...dusty and brown. There was black mold growing in the noisy refridgerator. There were dirty fingerprints on the bathroom door. And the general cleanliness of the room? The toilet seat was left in the "up" position and there was no evidence that it had been cleaned. Finally, I found long black hairs on the floor and short and curly hairs in the shower. Even the towels in the room were dingy and gray. No joke.

I spoke with the night manager who seemed genuinely concerned about the problem. I was immediately moved to a new room in the North Tower. The room in the North Tower was fine.

My stay in the North Tower was 4*, my brief 30 minute stay in my South Tower room was 1*. I can't imagine why anyone would want to buy a timeshare at this resort. The room in the South Tower was only 4 years old and had already been completely run down.

The rest of the property from the gym, pools, and restaurants was generally fine.

We rented a friends of ours timeshare for the week for our honeymoon.

The place is beautiful! We had a premium 1 bedroom villa that was huge! The bathroom is really nice and the jacuzzi tub was great. We were on the 2nd floor in building 3 and had a nice view of the ocean and the pool area. The full kitchen and washer and dryer helped us to save a little bit of money and pack lighter as well (important with the new airlines/baggage rules).

We LOVED the grills set up near the pool. Lots of people used them but we never had to wait for a grill. They are all gas grills complete with lighting. All the tools you need are included in the fully supplied kitchen.

The pool is nice but it did get a little bit crowded. We spent time on the beach and it was nice. The water there is so clear and warm. I guess most all of Maui is probably like that.

The only place we ate at the hotel was the Pool Grill and Bar and we really liked it. The service was sometimes slow but they were always very polite and we enjoyed our experience there.

The location is great! The hotel offers a free shuttle that connects the Villas to the other Westin hotel and Sheraton that are near the shopping/dining area -The Whaler's Village. We used this a bunch and it was defnately a nice thing to not have to worry about driving anywhere if we didn't want.

The only thing that we didn't like was that often times the hottubs by the pools have teenagers in them. The sign says specifically no one under 16 but there were plenty that were younger. I don't really want to relax in the hotub with a ton of young hormonal kids getting there flirting/giggles on.

We loved the villas so much that we took the timeshare tour and bought into the every other year plan. We will be going back several times and I really can't wait till next time!