Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas North

[Hello123]

Hi, I am new to this forum, so I hope I am posting in the right place. I just bought a 2BR LO ocean front EOY at the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort North for $15,000 from a Maui resaler. I am getting 176,700 points EOY. Maintenance fee on the contract is $1363.19 for 2018. I have 7 days to cancel. I am hoping to get some feedback on the price I am paying.

I would also like to know how is Vistana as a company? Have they ever charged any special assessments on top of the maintenance fees?

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[dioxide45]

If you bought it directly from Vistana, the general advice is to rescind to do more research. The same deal will be there later, but if you get outside your rescission date you are stuck with a timeshare that loses at least 50% of its value, if not more.

 

[Hello123]

Thank you for your quick reply. I bought through a resaler on Maui, not direct from Vistana.



QUOTE="dioxide45, post: 2133303, member: 12397"]If you bought it directly from Vistana, the general advice is to rescind to do more research. The same deal will be there later, but if you get outside your rescission date you are stuck with a timeshare that loses at least 50% of its value, if not more.[/QUOTE]

If you bought it directly from Vistana, the general advice is to rescind to do more research. The same deal will be there later, but if you get outside your rescission date you are stuck with a timeshare that loses at least 50% of its value, if not more.

If you bought it directly from Vistana, the general advice is to rescind to do more research. The same deal will be there later, but if you get outside your rescission date you are stuck with a timeshare that loses at least 50% of its value, if not more.

 

[taterhed]

Hi, I am new to this forum, so I hope I am posting in the right place. I just bought a 2BR LO ocean front EOY at the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort North for $15,000 from a Maui resaler. I am getting 176,700 points EOY. Maintenance fee on the contract is $1363.19 for 2018. I have 7 days to cancel. I am hoping to get some feedback on the price I am paying.

I would also like to know how is Vistana as a company? Have they ever charged any special assessments on top of the maintenance fees?

Thanks for your thoughts.

So......
Not sure whom you bought from (sticky subject, but I'll say it anyway) but that price is at least a little high, you don't give enough details on the total cost breakdown to be sure. What's the cost breakdown?

WKORVN EOY ocean fronts generally start at about $11.5k and avg. around $13K. Of course, the devil is in the details (first use year, how much $MF's are due with the sale...total closing costs). Still, $15K sounds a bit high.

A very respected Hawaii reseller is Syed Sarmad, of Advantage Vacation. I've worked with him, he's a good guy. If this is who you purchased from....well, then I'm not sure what the details of your sale were. If not, price shop the deal with him. If he beats it....then you know.

Both Westins are great. Vistana is a changing company, but so are Hyatt, Marriott and everybody else, to some degree. I don't own WKORV/N yet, but strongly leaning that way.

Not sure that either resort has levied specials....but it's always possible in the event of a super typhoon or something. That's the risk. Both of these resorts generate an enormous amount of revenue though, so you can be sure that they have reserves and insurance to deal with such issues and reduce the risk.

One thing you should be very aware of: there are a bunch of the OF units at WKORVN (145? or something?) but the reservations for peak weeks can still be a bit tricky. Research booking online at exactly the moment the reservations open for your desired week. Westin uses timestamp for room assignment.

cheers.

Give Syed a call or post the particulars and let us know. Congrats and welcome to TUG! Consider joining; best $15 you'll ever spend.

 

[vacationtime1]

Rob has it right in post #4: you paid about 10-15% too much and Syed Sarmad is the go-to guy for WKORV (and many other Hawaii properties).

Don't obsess about the extra $1,500 you overpaid. You didn't pay retail (in which case you would have paid 2-3x too much) as many, many have. If you use the place ten times before selling, it is only $150/trip -- a rounding error. And it's a wonderful resort.

And welcome to TUG.

 

[controller1]

There was a special assessment a few years ago when Maui County required a retroactive property tax payment. Vistana paid it and then did the special assessment. They are fighting it in court and won the first round. That has been the only special assessment since the property opened.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

If there is a refund on the tax assessment will it go to the old owner or the new owner?

 

[DavidnRobin]

If there is a refund on the tax assessment will it go to the old owner or the new owner?

New Owner (unless somehow written into Purchase Agreement). The refund goes to the HOA not directly to Owner.


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[dioxide45]

New Owner (unless somehow written into Purchase Agreement). The refund goes to the HOA not directly to Owner.


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And the HOA would likely use it to reduce current year fees. So in reality, the benefit of any refund would go to the new owner.

 

[Hello123]

How much was the special assessment?

 

[Hello123]

Hi, thanks for all the great information.

I bought from timeshare resalers in whalers village.
$15,000 all tax and fees included except the following
Closing cost $612
Use starts 2018, but I have to pay the MF of $1363.19
176,700 star options. I am only allowed to use in the Vistana network but not spg hotels which I don't care about.

I also wanted to make sure you were aware I bought ocean front not ocean view. OF is priced higher and gives more options. 176,700 OF vs 148,100 OV. I wonder what your thoughts are on the price knowing this now.

I just left Syed a message. Hopefully he calls me back before I leave Maui today.

Thanks everyone This is an amazing forum! I will look into the membership. I didn't realize there was a fee membership

Aloha

 

[Ken555]

Hi, thanks for all the great information.

I bought from timeshare resalers in whalers village.
$15,000 all tax and fees included except the following
Closing cost $612
Use starts 2018, but I have to pay the MF of $1363.19
176,700 star options. I am only allowed to use in the Vistana network but not spg hotels which I don't care about.

I also wanted to make sure you were aware I bought ocean front not ocean view. OF is priced higher and gives more options. 176,700 OF vs 148,100 OV. I wonder what your thoughts are on the price knowing this now.

I just left Syed a message. Hopefully he calls me back before I leave Maui today.

Thanks everyone This is an amazing forum! I will look into the membership. I didn't realize there was a fee membership

Aloha

The consensus on TUG seems to be that exchanging WKORV (via II or SOs) is not advisable. The MF for WKORV is simply too high to justify a trade. So, most of us would consider the SOs you get with the week irrelevant. However, it's great that you got an ocean front. Those are nice units, though having stayed in a couple in WKORV-N (in building 5; building 8 is better) I can only say if I was inclined to buy in Maui (and I'm not, for many reasons) I would definitely only buy at WKORV since the OF units there are quite superior than WKORV-N.

Is it your intention to only use the week in Maui at your home resort? If not, I'd think twice about this purchase.

 

[controller1]

The consensus on TUG seems to be that exchanging WKORV (via II or SOs) is not advisable. The MF for WKORV is simply too high to justify a trade. So, most of us would consider the SOs you get with the week irrelevant. However, it's great that you got an ocean front. Those are nice units, though having stayed in a couple in WKORV-N (in building 5; building 8 is better) I can only say if I was inclined to buy in Maui (and I'm not, for many reasons) I would definitely only buy at WKORV since the OF units there are quite superior than WKORV-N.

Is it your intention to only use the week in Maui at your home resort? If not, I'd think twice about this purchase.

It's interesting about your ideas of Building 5 vs. Building 8. We also own Ocean Front and we always request Building 5. Building 8 is isolated. If it is raining and you need to go somewhere, if you are in Building 5 you are able to go to the lobby or the parking garage or the spa and stay under cover the entire way. Building 5 is also better located to the main pool where we spend a good bit of our time. Yes, Building 8 is adjacent to the Adult Pool but that pool gets very limited usage since it is located in a "wind tunnel" and gets very little sun during the day.

 

[Hello123]

Hi, Can you elaborate on why you wouldn't buy in Maui? I would likely only use in Maui in my home resort .

Taterhed and Vacationtime1 have recommended Syed and I thank them both for this . I spoke with him and indeed he knows his stuff. I have canceled my purchase with timeshare resales and will wait to buy with Syed. The timeshare resale representative really didn't know her stuff and gave me misleading info. Thank you Tug forum for your help!

The consensus on TUG seems to be that exchanging WKORV (via II or SOs) is not advisable. The MF for WKORV is simply too high to justify a trade. So, most of us would consider the SOs you get with the week irrelevant. However, it's great that you got an ocean front. Those are nice units, though having stayed in a couple in WKORV-N (in building 5; building 8 is better) I can only say if I was inclined to buy in Maui (and I'm not, for many reasons) I would definitely only buy at WKORV since the OF units there are quite superior than WKORV-N.

Is it your intention to only use the week in Maui at your home resort? If not, I'd think twice about this purchase.

 

[Hello123]

Do you have problems reserving a OF room? I would get a 2BR LO EOY, but use a 1BR yearly. Do you think this is doable at the North resort with a OF view? Are you happy with the North resort? Thank you for your help .

It's interesting about your ideas of Building 5 vs. Building 8. We also own Ocean Front and we always request Building 5. Building 8 is isolated. If it is raining and you need to go somewhere, if you are in Building 5 you are able to go to the lobby or the parking garage or the spa and stay under cover the entire way. Building 5 is also better located to the main pool where we spend a good bit of our time. Yes, Building 8 is adjacent to the Adult Pool but that pool gets very limited usage since it is located in a "wind tunnel" and gets very little sun during the day.

 

[silentg]

Glad you got out of the deal. Hope you find what you want with Syed. We love Maui too but it’s a long way for us to go. We stayed at Maui Lea at Maui Hill in June 2016.
Loved it.
Silentg

 

[OC-Alan]

I spoke with him and indeed he knows his stuff. I have canceled my purchase with timeshare resales and will wait to buy with Syed. The timeshare resale representative really didn't know her stuff and gave me misleading info. Thank you Tug forum for your help!

Agreed on positive comments for both Syed and TUG. We're in the process of buying a WKORVN OF EOY with Syed as well and he's been great. Pricing should be better than $15K. Good luck!

 

[Ken555]

It's interesting about your ideas of Building 5 vs. Building 8. We also own Ocean Front and we always request Building 5. Building 8 is isolated. If it is raining and you need to go somewhere, if you are in Building 5 you are able to go to the lobby or the parking garage or the spa and stay under cover the entire way. Building 5 is also better located to the main pool where we spend a good bit of our time. Yes, Building 8 is adjacent to the Adult Pool but that pool gets very limited usage since it is located in a "wind tunnel" and gets very little sun during the day.

Building 5 is great...unless you have one of the units near the restaurant. The smell and noise is annoying to me, and others here who have commented similarly over the years. Some of the units at WKORV-N classified as OF shouldn’t be.


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[vacationtime1]

WKORVN has lots of OF suites, so I don't think you will have difficulty making reservations if you do it when reservations open at the twelve month mark.

Building 5 has advantages to be sure, but several of the first floor units in building 5 are coded as OF but are not really; the view is blocked by the restaurant. Building 8 does not come with that risk.

You cannot do a one bedroom OF each year if you own a two bedroom eoy. You can certainly reserve a one bedroom your use year, but if you want something your "off" year, you must either deposit the studio into Interval, trade, and hope for the best (something few here would recommend) or bank your 81000 StarOptions from the studio (cost: $99, iirc) and then hope to reserve a studio or six nights in a one bedroom the next year -- in either case making the reservation at the eight month mark with the attendant risk of non-availability.

 

[Ken555]

Hi, Can you elaborate on why you wouldn't buy in Maui? I would likely only use in Maui in my home resort .

Maui County hates timeshares. They tax them much higher than other vacation properties such as hotels, etc. You should read up on the latest lawsuit, which is now a few years old.

I love visiting Maui, but I won’t own a timeshare there. Of course, I’m also visiting for less cost by using my WKV week vs owning direct, so there’s no financial incentive to owning there either.


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[CalGalTraveler]

We just finished closing on a WKORVN EOY Odd unit this month. Although we didn't buy from Syed (he didn't have any listings at the time), if I had to do this over again, I would have waited and gone through him. We cannot wait to use our unit next summer.

WKORV EOY units are very rare and tend to be overpriced. Although the views are nicer, WKORV OF tends to be more expensive than WKORVN OF.

 

[silentg]

Is it too late to rescind?

 

[Hello123]

Let's see if I understood this correctly. if I book at the 12-month mark I have a very good chance of getting a Ocean front one bedroom. I can then rollover my remaining 81,000 options and in my off year book a one bedroom Ocean View or Studio Ocean front, but there's a huge risk because I can't do it until the 8th month mark and things might not be available; is that right? Do you think I would have a problem if I was not picky about my view and just want a 1 bedroom in the off year at the 8 month mark?

I didn't understand what the $99 fee was regarding.

Thanks for your help!

WKORVN has lots of OF suites, so I don't think you will have difficulty making reservations if you do it when reservations open at the twelve month mark.

Building 5 has advantages to be sure, but several of the first floor units in building 5 are coded as OF but are not really; the view is blocked by the restaurant. Building 8 does not come with that risk.

You cannot do a one bedroom OF each year if you own a two bedroom eoy. You can certainly reserve a one bedroom your use year, but if you want something your "off" year, you must either deposit the studio into Interval, trade, and hope for the best (something few here would recommend) or bank your 81000 StarOptions from the studio (cost: $99, iirc) and then hope to reserve a studio or six nights in a one bedroom the next year -- in either case making the reservation at the eight month mark with the attendant risk of non-availability.

 

[Hello123]

Ok so I understand your point now. They say it is so hard to trade to come to Maui. Sounds like this isn't the case for you? How many points do you need to have to go to Maui through II? Are you getting into the nicer resorts like the Westin when you trade?

Maui County hates timeshares. They tax them much higher than other vacation properties such as hotels, etc. You should read up on the latest lawsuit, which is now a few years old.

I love visiting Maui, but I won’t own a timeshare there. Of course, I’m also visiting for less cost by using my WKV week vs owning direct, so there’s no financial incentive to owning there either.


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[CalGalTraveler]

The 2 bdrm OF unit consists of a 1 bdrm and a studio. So if you bank the studio for SOs you will get a studio next year (view roulette), same with the 1 bdrm.