The best feature of the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort is the awesome beach. I have stayed at other Starwood beach properties, including Nusa Dua, Bali and Phuket, Thailand and this beach beats them by far. The water is crystal clear and the sky is blue and clean, plus, no beach vendors!

The property is located north of Black Rock and is on the remote part of Ka'anapali beach. It is away from the main beach, where the major hotels (Sheraton, Westin, Marriott, Hyatt) and Whaler's Villiage are, but it is still within walking distance.

The snorkeling off the beach here is better than the famous Black Rock ( and for that matter, most other places I've been to in the world) and you can see lots of beautiful fish, coral and even sea turtles within feet of the shore. You can rent beach chairs with sun protection for $25 per day, which is the going rate in the area.

This property has is really two resorts, the original Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas (south) and the newer Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas North- opened in summer 2007.

I am a Starwood timeshare owner at the newer north villas and I stayed in an oceanview studio (479 sq ft) by myself but, it can sleep up to 4 people comfortably.

If you book an oceanview room, I recommend rooms 7671-7676.
They are in bldg 7, sixth floor, facing north and overlook open land and island of Molokai. I've posted a photo of the view from the room.

The studio was roomy and the decor was beautiful, subtle, simple, with clean lines. The room included the signature Westin Heavenly king bed and bath, queen sofabed, flat panel TV/DVD, Bose Wave CD/FM, fully equipped kitchenette with dishwasher, full size refrigerator, glass cooktop, microwave, toaster, blender, coffee maker (with Starbucks coffee) and washer/dryer.

The bath had jacuzzi tub, separate toilet and shower, granite vanity, towels for four and plush bathrobe. The private lanai with outdoor seating was nice for morning coffee.

The grounds were well landscaped and manicured, with lush plants and beautiful flowers. Nice koi ponds on both properties. I prefer the pool in the south bldg, as it is larger and features the waterslide. There are not enough pool lounge chairs in shade and you must go early to stake your claim to one.

Resort amenities include, an excellent concierge, daily activities, Westin Kids club, onsite pool/beach equipment rental, outdoor gas grill, spa (which is nice/definitely adequate), Westin Workout room, DVD rental and shuttle to Sheraton / Westin hotels, Whalers Villiage ( restaurants and shops, including not to be missed Honolulu Cookie Company and even a Louis Vuitton store) and Lahaina town (Safeway store is here).

There is a general store on both north and south properties, and although its expensive (more than supermarket) , its convienent for fresh made food and basic/ gourmet foodstuffs.

The onsite Pulehu restaurant had great pizza. The concierge told us about the dinner Buffet Barbecue at the south Pool Bar and Grill . I would not recommend it, as the food was mediocre at best and it was expensive.

Food in the Hawaiian islands is expensive, that's why it was so nice to have the kitchenette. I bought food (snacks, drinks, breakfast and lunch stuff) at the local supermarket (Safeway )and splurge for dinners out. We found the restaurant at the property next door (Royal Lahaina) was a great place for dinner and watching the sunset. It is low key, more affordable than the resort restaurants, has very fresh food, good size portions and locals providing entertainment. The sunsets are gorgeous every night.

I would recommend this resort for families, large groups, and those who prefer to have a larger space than a regular hotel room. The kitchen and kitchenette feature is a great amenity and you are not forced to eat out for every meal, which will save you bucks.

Unfortunately, I am not able to use my oceanview unit in 2009 and will make it available to anyone at virtually half the published rate. Any size unit is available, Studio, One Bedroom and Two Bedroom and is available any week in 2009 (7 nights) Fri -Fri, Sat-Sat, Sun-Sun. One other option is 6 days and 5 nights.

Please feel free to contact me with your inquiry and questions at susan.jue@safeway.com. You are welcome to visit my Picasa Web album at www.picasaweb.google.com/SusieJue/Maui

Otherwise, I recommend my Starwood Platinium Concierge, Alberto Teixeira. He can help you with your reservations and is good at getting promotions and upgrades. You can contact him at alberto.teixeira@starwoodhotels.com. Let him know that I recommended him.

PS- I enjoyed the Maui Ocean Center ( the Hawaiian Aquarium).
The display of local ocean habitat and sea life is incredible.
It's $25 per ticket.

We were disappointed with the Westin Villas Ka anapali. We were looking for the beauty and peace of Hawaii. This was not it. We were looking for a 5 star property. This was not it. Our ocean view room was on the second floor overlooking the kiddy pool, and the air conditioning unit. We could have been at the local park overlooking the kids slid and the swing set. The couch in the room had ripped cushions top and bottom on both sides, and it was really kind of dirty. They charge you for everything from lounge chairs for the beach, to the game room. The place was crowded, so much so we did not want to be there. All in all for us, a big disappointment.

In Maui for combination business, pleasure trip. First night in our villa our view and location was 2nd floor overlooking dumpsters and delivery area. Temperature in villa never got below 80 degrees. The one air vent in the unit blew directly onto the bed. Listened to delivery truck beeps as they backed into dock. Also had the quite loud noise of a constantly running compressor just outside our villa. Moved to another villa. Better location. Wireless internet would not work in our villa. Called Westin support service in Kansas City and they were stumped. Fortunately there is an internet cable and we simply plugged and unplugged. Housekeeping is geared to timeshare, not hotel guests. Service was very sporadic. One day they cleaned the unit, the next day they did not. Had to go to front desk to get a new bar of soap. Seems to be a great place for families and those seeking planned activities and timeshare setting. Avoid if you are looking for hotel services, amenities and environment. Not a business friendly property. We travel frequently for business staying primarily at Hilton and Starwood proerties. We do not recommend this property if you are not coming for timeshare.

We have just returned from a week at the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas on Maui. The resort was beyond our greatest expectations. From the edge of the property we had direct beach and ocean access to some of the best snorkeling on Maui. The one bedroom condo was very spacious and pleasing to the eye. The condo was equipped with a full kitchen, washer and dryer, balcony, and a jet tub. It very comfortably slept 4 with a king size bed and a queen sofa sleeper in the living room. The resort was located within a 10 minute drive to a great Fish Market and the resort was well equipped for out door grilling and dining with a Maui sunset as a backdrop.

The pool and the waterslide in the South Villas were very nice. Our kids are 11 and 14and they enjoyed it.