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Westin Princeville or Ka'anapali Maui

R

Robert D

TUG Review Crew
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We're planning our first Timeshare stay in Hawaii and our choices are the Westin Princeville and the Westin Ka'anapali. Which would you choose?
 
Robert D said:
We're planning our first Timeshare stay in Hawaii and our choices are the Westin Princeville and the Westin Ka'anapali. Which would you choose?
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I can only speak of Maui because I have not been to Kauai, but we loved Maui and all it had to offer, including the resort, beaches, restaurants and weather. I have been to many islands (mostly in the Caribbean) and found Maui to be one of our favorites.
 
Most would choose Maui between the two for their first HI trip as it has more activities to offer. If you plan on going in the summer, I would seriously consider WPV. Summer in Princeville is the best time to visit with lush scenery, waterfall draped mountains, and nice snorkeling nearby.
 
That's a hard choice. I'd probably pick Maui because I like being at beach front properties. That is one of the most important things I want when I travel to Hawaii. However, Kauai does have a lot to offer so, if the beach front property isn't the most important thing then, I'd pick Kauai because it is beautiful with lots of greenery, etc... However, I'd only go to Princeville if it is summer because the beaches on that side during the winter are rough. Good luck deciding... I have pictures of both resorts in the link in my signature.
 
Thanks for the input. We've been to Hawaii several times including Maui, but never to Kauai and never stayed in a timeshare resort in Hawaii before, just hotels. Maui is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. We'll be going next April.
 
Hi, neighbor!

I would first choose the island and then stay at whatever resort was there. From what you say, I would go to Kauai, since you've already been to Maui a few times. I usually go for a couple of weeks, staying in Maui and rotating stays on the other islands. They are all unique and different from each other and which one is best is largely a matter of personal preference.

Henry
 
Robert D said:
Thanks for the input. We've been to Hawaii several times including Maui, but never to Kauai and never stayed in a timeshare resort in Hawaii before, just hotels. Maui is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. We'll be going next April.
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If that is the case, I'd definitely go to Kauai. Kauai is amazingly beautiful and there is a lot to on the island. Kauai is one of my favorite islands.
 
If you're going to the trouble of flying all the way there, why not go to both islands? :)
 
We just returned recently from Westin Princeville on Kauai for the first time and it was amazing! We love Kauai (it's so green and beautiful) and have also been to Maui (staying near at Kanapali area) but we would definitely choose Kauai over Maui for the beauty. It's true that Westin Princeville is not on the beach (it's on a bluff) BUT it's a short shuttle ride to the ST. Regis where you will have beach priviledges at their little beach there along with comfortable chairs for lounging, pool attendants who come around and fill your glasses with water, cocktail/food servers and nice restrooms to use! It's the best 5 star beach experience I've ever had! Then there are other nice beaches nearby that have amazing snorkling or go to Hanalei Bay beach for just nice swimming and beaching.

I'd say definitely Westin Princeville!

Janna
 
We love Kauai. It's our favorite, but a close second is Maui. I personally like Kauai (Princeville specifically) better because it's cooler, and being from a cool climate like Colorado, it's something I appreciate over the heat.
 
This thread is comparing two completely different resorts and experiences. Now that I've been to both, I can understand why this is a difficult question to answer. I prefer Maui, but I see the beauty and peacefulness of Kauai which appeals to some of you. I'm heading back to Kauai later this year, but have already booked two trips to Maui next year. I enjoy having a town like Lahaina nearby when I visit Maui, and I miss that in Kauai.
 
I agree with Ken, the experiences are different and in some ways it's comparing apples and oranges. Kauai is beautiful, natural and mostly uncrowded. WPORV is not on the beach though so access to the water is only via car drives or pretty hefty hikes.

Maui is more "happening" with more shopping, more restaurants, more crowds... Kaanapali is right on the beach with great snorkeling just steps away.

I personally like Maui better now that we have kids because there are things for them "to do" but before we had children, we almost always opted to go to Kauai for the peace and quiet! :) If you have a chance, try doing a bit of both islands. It is far to fly so you might as well!

Next year, we will probably do 5 days in Maui and 5 in Kauai if our vacation time allows.

Katherine
 
I recently returned from a one week stay at each property.

I have to say that I loved the Princeville resort. It only has about 140 units, so it's much smaller and intimate feeling - I think about 8 buildings spread out, with each building only having 3 floors. This means that your own unit is that much more accessible and there was plenty of parking available. Also - pools & barbecues were very accessible - I preferred being in the ground level unit so I could just walk out from my room to the pool & barbecue. Also - the restaurant on property, Nanea, was one of the best meals I had the entire time on either island. The biggest downside, of course, is no direct beach access, but the north shore of Kauai has so many beautiful beaches that it wasn't a huge detraction. I personally was not a huge fan of the St Regis beach - it's completely manmade & the layer of sand is kind of thin, and faces into Hanalei bay, but without any of the perks of going to Hanalei bay proper (no kayaks or paddle boards to rent, etc). If you do go to Kauai, I highly recommend going to Anini beach - it's beautiful & picturesque with a lot of trees reaching right over the ocean. If you're into hiking, I personally feel that Kauai had much more to offer than Maui in that respect.

The Ka'anapali resort is great too, especially the beach access as it's one of the nicest beaches on Maui. I found the restaurant to be so-so & expensive in terms of relative value. Also, I found parking to be a huge hassle (stayed in the North tower). The spaces are almost all compact, but more than half of the guests have SUV's so they inevitably end up taking 2 spaces. Also, unless you're staying very close the elevators, the walk from the parking lot to some of the rooms is ridiculously long. However, for water activities Maui is definitely better.

We found our rooms at both resorts to be beautiful and well maintained, and the staff were exceptionally pleasant and helpful at both.

All in all - if you can swing it, I'd say visit both! But if not, Kauai & Princeville still take a special place in my heart. It's too bad Princeville is a voluntary resort...
 
both - and for different reasons (heavily dependent on time of year...)
 
We went to WPORV for the first time earlier this year. The weather was not the greatest, which I understand is not unusual for spring. We liked Kauai, but not as much as Maui. We will probably go back to Kauai again, some day, but have already booked for Maui next February.

The resort at WPORV was great. We were on the first floor with a small pool right outside our door and a great view overlooking the bluff out to the ocean. The roosters were everywhere, but were not troublesome at all. My wife and I like to lay out by the pool, read, and just basically relax. Even so, it seemed that Kauai might have been a bit too laid back for us. Having more options is always a good thing.

I really think you should try Kauai at least once and then decide.
 
I've never been to Kauai, but would love to visit one day. However I do love to book different activities so I'm worried that I'd get a tad bored in Kauai without bringing another couple along. We traveled to St. John last year with another couple and it was great having someone to snorkel with, play tennis against, and play cards with at night. I quickly got sick of snorkeling (literally as it makes me sea sick) but I was content to veg out while the others did their thing. So I ended up enjoying it but wouldn't have had nearly as much fun had it just been the two of us.

I'm in Hawaii (Big Island, then Maui) now and so far we've done a night swim with the manta rays, seen the volcano during the day and night, hiked through a lava tube, snorkeled, surfed, gone horseback riding, and ziplined -- in addition to the usual sitting by the pool and going for walks. Tonight we're seeing Ulalena and tomorrow we head off for an all day Zodiak lava cave and snorkeling trip. So I prefer to strike a balance between experiencing new things and vegging out. Maui is a great place to do that as we still haven't hit everything I want to do and we've been here four times.

So think of your own personalities and what you want in a vacation. Both islands are undeniably beautiful. One is directly on the beach, the other is on a bluff. Maui has more to do but can get crowded. If you're into hiking and snorkeling, Kauai can be a paradise for that.

I will say that I did find it interesting that on the MSC site, they interviewed owners as to what they'd do if they won the million star points. Two who owned at WPORV reported that their dream vacation would inlcude WKORV. :shrug:
 
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