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Sheraton Kauai Review and Pics

Ken555

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More pics of the 2-bed non-LO

21.jpg

20.jpg

22.jpg

28.jpg

23.jpg
 

Ken555

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Between buildings 6 & 7 (elevators at each end):

14.jpg


Construction at west buildings (parking lot beyond far building):

15.jpg


View from Building 8 backside (entrance to each unit):

19.jpg


Poolside BBQ (there are 4 BBQs in this area, two on each side, and another section across the pool which was closed during my stay):

35.jpg


Hotel pool (ocean is to the right):

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View north on walkway to/from Building 8 rooms (yeah, that's ugly):

18.jpg
 
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Ken555

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Thanks Ken555 for the review and photos !
The studio kitchenette looks about the same size as the St John Coral Bay 2 bdrm we had; not very usable for cooking other than very simple stuff. The Los Cabos unit kitchen was just slightly bigger, but not a big deal, because eating out is so much more enjoyable & inexpensive in Mexico.

I would not let the unit sizes & other small deficiencies keep me from booking, as south side Kauai location is great. With star options can book half a week at the south side and another half week on the north side...far less driving than staying only on end of the island. I'm sure others will say a whole week at Waiohai or Point at Poipu is much better than SKR, and I'd probably agree although I've stayed at none of them.

In the last ~10 years it does seem that new resorts have smaller and smaller kitchens.

FYI, I think SKR may have had limitations based on the location of the existing plumbing in the buildings. For instance, the 2-bed kitchen is sharing a wall with where the next door room bathroom would have been pre-remodel, the laundry unit is where the bathroom would be, etc. I think this is why the toilet/shower is the same size in each unit, as well. The construction crew told me that they could have changed the location on any but the first floor, so my guess is that they kept it the same for all for simplicity and consistency. I think it's satisfactory, but certainly not elegant nor a modern design (other than materials).
 

Ken555

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Ken, do you get full access to the amenities at the hotel, like in Kierland? The hotel pool and beach at the Sheraton are quite nice. I think I'd probably spend most of my time at the main resort.

Yes, and I believe that's what they expect most guests to do. This is why the timeshare pool had, at most, five people at any given time during my entire stay. I suspect this is also why they didn't go to the expense of installing a whirlpool...but they should do so, anyway. I think we should all send them comments about this, and ask them to add it (I'm sure it's possible). I would have used a whirlpool multiple times if it was close to the unit, and didn't walk the five minutes across the road to use the main hotel facilities each day. Also, keep in mind that the hotel pool area has a hotel vibe... which isn't exactly what I'm looking for every day. I prefer the relaxed, casual timeshare atmosphere, not the beer guzzling partiers present at the hotel.

To JK's question, I prefer purpose built timeshares or condos converted to timeshares over hotel conversions, and would choose Waiohai over the Sheraton if I wanted to stay on the south shore. (I own in both systems.) The grounds at Waiohai are really lush compared to the back (timeshare) side of the Sheraton, and I've had lovely garden views at Waiohai, even on Interval trades. Kauai is Kauai though, and I don't spend a lot of time in my room, so I would certainly give the Sheraton a try if that was all I could get.

I agree. I'd like to visit the Marriott, and may now try to get a week via II if possible sometime in the next few years. I certainly prefer to stay at VSN/Marriott/Hyatt/Hilton caliber properties whenever possible.
 

Ken555

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Hmm... some of these pics didn't want to display from photobucket. I'll try again later, and add more pics.

Photobucket has been exorcized! Begone, watermarks! :)
 

PamMo

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Ken, I can't thank you enough for the great photos! I think we're all curious about the new resorts, so it's very generous of you to take the time and effort to share with us. Thanks!
 
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silentg

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Thanks! Parts of the resort look good. Was the bed in front of the window? Looked kind of odd. But I suppose you would close the curtain at night?
 

Ken555

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Thanks! Parts of the resort look good. Was the bed in front of the window? Looked kind of odd. But I suppose you would close the curtain at night?

Yes. But, I always close the curtain at night (doesn't everyone?). The studios at the other Hawaii properties have the couch closest to the window instead, so that's a correct observation, but I wouldn't call it odd - just very hotel-like (sense a theme yet?). And the 1-bed at the other properties have a chair or lounge closest to the window but there's no space for that at SKR.
 

Ken555

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A few other pics of Kauai...

Waimea Canyon

Kauai May-June 2019 - 20 of 27.jpg


Kauai May-June 2019 - 24 of 27.jpg


Kauai May-June 2019 - 22 of 27.jpg


Kauai May-June 2019 - 23 of 27.jpg


Kauai May-June 2019 - 26 of 27.jpg


View from Westin Princeville Studio (yeah, just ever so slightly better than SKR and the same StarOptions cost...):

Kauai May-June 2019 - 1 of 27.jpg


Go here next time you visit Princeville! This place was fantastic for lunch:

Kauai May-June 2019 - 9 of 27.jpg
 

mjm1

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Ken, thank you for sharing your insights and pictures. We have stopped by the Sheraton in prior years and like others were curious to see how the conversion to timeshares would turn out. I agree that providing feedback to them will help with the likelihood of future enhancements.

We like the Marriott Waiohai and have stayed there, but they only have two bedroom units. So, having this new resort available using SO’s is a nice alternative if one doesn’t need that much space.

Like you are some one else mentioned, the idea of splitting a week between Poipu and Princeville is something we will consider for a future stay.

Best regards.

Mike
 

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WKORV-N is getting ovens in the upcoming renos. It will be interesting to see how the full-size stoves fit into the space where the cook-top and microwave are now.

Yes it will be interesting because that is a good amount of storage space currently.
 

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WKORV-N is getting ovens in the upcoming renos. It will be interesting to see how the full-size stoves fit into the space where the cook-top and microwave are now.

I sure wish they would do this at Princeville as well. They seem to have a mix of old microwave ovens and newer ones that are a combination of convection and microwave ovens. All are positioned ABOVE the cooktop--not good if you have a heavy item to bake.
 

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Thanks for the review. Looks worth a visit. I see it has a tea kettle which puts it above Nanea in my estimation. How can anyone be expected to enjoy their vacation without afternoon tea :)

LoL...some Brit friends stayed at my second home. They complained that there was no tea kettle. When we offered alternatives, they claimed that "water boiled in a pot or in the microwave tastes different." So they bought us a tea kettle as a thank you gift. We now use it regularly to heat water...but I still don't drink much tea.
 

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I have a Kauai story to tell that will be of interest to very few: We took a day trip from the Westin Princeville resort all the way clockwise around the island, stopping at all the Waimea Canyon viewing spots along the way, plus a few other sites. When we got to the end of the trail at the Napali Lookout, we noticed just how close we were to the Westin resort. 13 MILES! Can you believe it! Hours of driving to end up 13 miles away, then have to turn around and go back!
 

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Thanks for the post - I will bring earplugs for our Sept stay (on SOs).


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CalGalTraveler

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Appreciate the photos. Are they converting the hotel side to timeshares? I hope so. We have many happy memories staying across the street on the ocean side and the grounds with the koi ponds are lovely. The oceanfront lanai views couldn't be beat. I am surprised at the small size of the dining area for a 2 bdrm. Is there room on the lanai for a dining table?
 

Ken555

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Appreciate the photos. Are they converting the hotel side to timeshares? I hope so. We have many happy memories staying across the street on the ocean side and the grounds with the koi ponds are lovely. The oceanfront lanai views couldn't be beat. I am surprised at the small size of the dining area for a 2 bdrm. Is there room on the lanai for a dining table?

No. Yes (but they didn’t).


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Ken,

Thanks for the great pictures.

It looks like they went with an open concept kitchen/dining versus the bar separation between kitchen and dining that we see at WKORV. Probably saved some square footage there.

The dinner table is a deal breaker for me -- way too small to fit 5 or 6 people (and we use it more than just for eating) though I can see how it would work for most. Maybe it is the 2 large chairs that are positioned around it, but the table sure looks tiny, especially if people are sitting there while others are prepping meals.

5 of us will be staying at Nanea in August in the 2BR unit so we'll see how space works out for us -- 3 small kids but we are so used the space at WKORV/WKORVN.

-ryan
 

Ken555

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Ken,

Thanks for the great pictures.

It looks like they went with an open concept kitchen/dining versus the bar separation between kitchen and dining that we see at WKORV. Probably saved some square footage there.

The dinner table is a deal breaker for me -- way too small to fit 5 or 6 people (and we use it more than just for eating) though I can see how it would work for most. Maybe it is the 2 large chairs that are positioned around it, but the table sure looks tiny, especially if people are sitting there while others are prepping meals.

5 of us will be staying at Nanea in August in the 2BR unit so we'll see how space works out for us -- 3 small kids but we are so used the space at WKORV/WKORVN.

-ryan

Nanea has a large table, and I doubt you’ll have any problems with it. However, we used the table when preparing meals since there is otherwise almost no counter space available.

Note that we haven’t had anyone post pictures of the SKR 1-bed unit (yet, we have a member that was there last week and hopefully will post!). My impression and understanding is the 1-bed units don’t even have a table! They have a counter with two chairs against a wall. So, in this respect at least the 2-bed non-LO is better, albeit small.


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sjsharkie

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Note that we haven’t had anyone post pictures of the SKR 1-bed unit (yet, we have a member that was there last week and hopefully will post!). My impression and understanding is the 1-bed units don’t even have a table! They have a counter with two chairs against a wall. So, in this respect at least the 2-bed non-LO is better, albeit small.

You are right -- the picture on Vistana shows this. I guess it does sleep only 2 -- maybe because only 2 people can possibly fit at that skinny counter to eat.

I really do think that they missed the mark with a 1BR 81k SO reservation that only sleeps 2 --> yeesh... they seem to be devaluing the options here. Since they can't decrease the SOs once sold (and anger full boat owners), my worry is that they will inflate the SOs for other properties and cause devaluation for those of us that own elsewhere. We will see.

18-SKRV-1225-Villas-SKRV-Villas-Kitcehn-svo379lr.187689-800x533-800x533-optimg.jpg
 

Ken555

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You are right -- the picture on Vistana shows this. I guess it does sleep only 2 -- maybe because only 2 people can possibly fit at that skinny counter to eat.

I really do think that they missed the mark with a 1BR 81k SO reservation that only sleeps 2 --> yeesh... they seem to be devaluing the options here. Since they can't decrease the SOs once sold (and anger full boat owners), my worry is that they will inflate the SOs for other properties and cause devaluation for those of us that own elsewhere. We will see.

18-SKRV-1225-Villas-SKRV-Villas-Kitcehn-svo379lr.187689-800x533-800x533-optimg.jpg

Yeah, that’s certainly possible re devaluing the SOs.

The picture you posted certainly shows the problem. It’s not that it only sleeps two in the 1-bed, but that if you had the studio as well then you really have no place to eat with even four people. Just bad.

I typically end up working while away, and normally use the kitchen table. At this resort, the studio and 2-bed non-LO were okay (the studio was actually better), but this 1-bed would be horrible. I hate working at a desk with a wall right in front of me and eating there would be just absurd.

I don’t see myself ever reserving anything other than the studio in future, and then request one without a connecting unit (they said there were a number of them, but I don’t know how many...that would be interesting to find out, since I’m sure they’ll remind me that they can’t guarantee anything...).


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DavidnRobin

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I hadn’t seen that feature, to my knowledge, since I last posted pics. I think that was added with the new software, since we used to always post from other sites. This just shows how often I post pics here.


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Correct - no longer need PhotoBucket - can post photos directly to forum.

Oops - saw that this was already discussed.


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