Got an exchange in to WKORVN...I have questions

Just confirmed a 2 bedroom exchange in to the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas North, for the end of August. This will be our first time staying at the resort. I have a few questions. As an exchanger, what kind of view should we expect, island, parking lot, ocean? Also, does anyone have a map of the North buildings, showing where the units are located, building numbers, etc.?
Is the resort close enough for walking to town, shopping, restaurants, etc? I did read there is a walking trail, but not sure where it leads to or if it's just along the beachfront.

What really is the difference between the North & South buildings, as far as views, pools, etc? Does anyone prefer North over South? I have already read that the units are a bit smaller in the North.

We are so excited to go to Maui. We've been to Kauai several times, so this will be a new experience for us!! Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

Expect an island view as an exchanger, though there are very few clunker views in the whole place. Most rooms get some ocean view. The south side villas are larger, but as an exchanger you risk getting a parking lot view. No such worries on the north side.

On the map below, the south side is buildings 1-4, and the north side is buildings 5-8.

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1266068&postcount=1

The walking path was added after many resorts were built, so it meanders quite a bit. It's an oceanfront path in front of WKORV and the newer resorts, but you have to walk through parking lots of some of the older resorts.

Folks staying at Starwood resorts get a great benefit -- the Starwood shuttle. You pick it up next to the tennis courts. It makes a circuit to all the Starwood resorts (Westin, Sheraton, WKORV), Cannery Mall, and Lahaina. You can pick up a schedule at the front desk.

bhrungo said:

Just confirmed a 2 bedroom exchange in to the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas North, for the end of August. This will be our first time staying at the resort. I have a few questions. As an exchanger, what kind of view should we expect, island, parking lot, ocean? Also, does anyone have a map of the North buildings, showing where the units are located, building numbers, etc.?

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Note that you are unlikely to get the unit number on your confirmation. However, the nice thing about the North Phase is that it has no parking lot views. None of the units face the parking lot.

Is the resort close enough for walking to town, shopping, restaurants, etc? I did read there is a walking trail, but not sure where it leads to or if it's just along the beachfront.

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No - the resort is not in town. It is in the Ka'anapali Resort area. The nearest town - Lahaina - is about a 10 min. drive. The Westin is all the way to the left on this map:

What really is the difference between the North & South buildings, as far as views, pools, etc? Does anyone prefer North over South? I have already read that the units are a bit smaller in the North.

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They are simply 2 different phases of the same resort on the same property - you will have access to all amenities in both phases. For an exchange, the North Phase is a far better choice, because one side of building 4 in the South phase has parking lot/highway views.

Here is another map:

WOW! Thank you so much for the quick & informative replies!! Our confirmation does show a building and unit number, but I doubt we will end up in that same unit. The resort does look very nice! Thank you for the maps as well
Now, we just need to decide who to invite since we ended up with a 2 bedroom!!!

bhrungo said:

Is the resort close enough for walking to town, shopping, restaurants, etc? I did read there is a walking trail, but not sure where it leads to or if it's just along the beachfront.

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No, you can't walk to Lahaina, but you can walk to shopping and restaurants. If you walk north, first you'll pass a restaurant that we enjoyed, Duke's. (If you read Tripadvisor reviews, you'll get mixed opinions.)

Keep walking north, through the parking lot of a park, and you'll get to a shopping center that has a good grocery store. There are a few casual places to eat around there, too.


The grocery is http://timessupermarkets.com/ Times Supermarket.

A good coffee shop/restaurant is Java Jazz, in the same shopping center. http://www.javajazz.net/

We spent two weeks at WKORV, and it was really hard to leave.

Isn't the walk to the grocery store a mile or more?

DeniseM said:

Isn't the walk to the grocery store a mile or more?

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According to Google Maps, it is about a mile along the road, but in my experience it's only about a five minute walk from the Honua Kai, so perhaps 10-15 minutes from the Westin. Only the last few blocks are on roads, the rest is on the beach path so it's a nice walk, too.

Not sure if mentioned - but there is a free shuttle from WKORV to Whalers Villa, and also one from WKORV to Lahaina.

DavidnRobin said:

Not sure if mentioned - but there is a free shuttle from WKORV to Whalers Villa, and also one from WKORV to Lahaina.

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Nice to know there is a free shuttle!!! Thank you!

See the last paragraph of Lisa's post above for the route.

We walked to Times 4 or 5 times. It takes about 15 minutes. There is also a Snorkel Bobs in the same shopping center as Times and you can rent snorkel gear a lot cheaper than getting it at the Villas

You walk fast...

bhrungo said:

Just confirmed a 2 bedroom exchange in to the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas North, for the end of August. This will be our first time staying at the resort. I have a few questions. As an exchanger, what kind of view should we expect, island, parking lot, ocean? Also, does anyone have a map of the North buildings, showing where the units are located, building numbers, etc.?
Is the resort close enough for walking to town, shopping, restaurants, etc? I did read there is a walking trail, but not sure where it leads to or if it's just along the beachfront.

What really is the difference between the North & South buildings, as far as views, pools, etc? Does anyone prefer North over South? I have already read that the units are a bit smaller in the North.

We are so excited to go to Maui. We've been to Kauai several times, so this will be a new experience for us!! Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

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We just left there on Sunday. We were in 8113/14 in the north side through a Starwood exchange. We did get an ocean front villa, but that was because of a foul up on Starwood's part on one of our Atlantis weeks where they confirmed 2013, not 2012 (creating a massive Snafu as we had already rented the unit), and gave us this instead. The food market in the North building is great. I highly recommend getting breakfast there rather than at the pool side restaurant in the south part of the resort, which is basically $30/pp/per day for eggs, and nothing to write home about. Best restuarant on the island, IMO is Roy's in Lahaina (has won best restuarant in Hawaii for several years), closely followed by Pineapple grille at Kapalua Bay. If you are a diver, use Lahaina divers and go to Molokini's back wall and Cathedrals in Lanai. I am not a fan of shore diving, and the surf was quite rough while we were there, making the entrance/exit problematic. We are staying the second week on the big island at Kona Coast, and it is pretty apparant that I was spoiled last week. The cockroach that appeared last night should have had it's own zipcode....

"a foul up on Starwood's part on one of our Atlantis weeks where they confirmed 2013, not 2012 (creating a massive Snafu as we had already rented the unit"

???? You rented a float week before getting the emailed confirmation?

If it was a fixed week, when did you call to confirm your reservation of the fixed week? Fixed week reservations at HRA are automatically cancelled 10 months from your check-in date for use of the fixed week if you don't call. That week then goes into the float pool and is usually snapped up. And, you cannot call to confirm the future year use of a fixed week at HRA until much later (at 12 months). Just don't understand how the snafu got to be Starwood's fault. Salty

Quick question

If you have a confirmed II exchange for WKORV-N - can they place you in the South Villas when you arrive for check-in? I realize we prolly will not get the unit that is listed on our confirmation but I would really prefer to stay with-in the North Villas.

nalismom said:

If you have a confirmed II exchange for WKORV-N - can they place you in the South Villas when you arrive for check-in? I realize we prolly will not get the unit that is listed on our confirmation but I would really prefer to stay with-in the North Villas.

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No - the North and South Villas are separate resorts and you will get the phase on your confirmation.