Westin vs Marriott: Pros and Cons?

[Jayco29D]

I am wondering what folks think of Westin timeshare system vs the Marriott time share system? What would you say are the pros and cons of each.

We own Marriott Ko Olina 2 bedroom ocean view EOYE. We are thinking of adding an odd year at another resort. We tend to like lock offs in case we want to deposit the studio but we are buying to use it oursleves with our two kids age 7 and 10.

The resorts we are considering are:

1) Maui: Westin Kaanapali (south or north) or Marriott Maui Ocean Club (the converted unit or the new towers)?

Some folks have mentioned on other forums that the island view in Napili/Lahaina towers can have partial ocean views. Have folks found that to be true?

The big negative to us with the converted MOC units is the lack of a real kitchen.

2) Kaui: Marriott Waiohai (beach is a positive but no lockoffs and I have read that the oceanviews are far off) or Westin Princeville (lockoffs are a positive but need to go to St Regis for beach access and no designated views are available)

I am not sure I have a preference for island. I like Kauai and Maui for different reasons. My most important factors would be good views (at least a partial ocean view consistently), nice beaches, beautiful scenery, kid friendly, and affordable price for what you get.

I read on another forum that Westin owners are having trouble booking at their home resort at 12 months. Have folks found this to be a problem with the Westins? Or is it just a Westin Kaanapali problem?

 

[DeniseM]

I read on another forum that Westin owners are having trouble booking at their home resort at 12 months. Have folks found this to be a problem with the Westins? Or is it just a Westin Kaanapali problem?

Just wanted to say that we owners at the Westin Ka'anapali don't have trouble booking at 12 months. But if you are trying for a prime week like President's week and you don't call right at 12 months, it may be too late.

I would not buy at the Westin Princeville:
-No deeded views.
-Very high maintenance fees.
-No staroptions when purchased resale.
-Poor resale value.
-Poor rental value.

In general, Maui has better resale and rental value than Kauai.

Buy resale.

Sent from my SM-T560NU using Tapatalk

 

[bobpark56]

We own 2 units at Westin St John, a 3BR Virgin Grand pool villa and a Coral Vista studio. Have never had any problems booking our units. In fact, I seem to recall WSJ automatically booking our pool villa for us...more than a year in advance.

 

[hangloose]

While I have not stayed in many Westin timeshares, the few I have toured indicate high quality similar to Marriott timeshares.

We recently picked up two Hawaii weeks, both MVCI. One at Ko Olina and one at Maui Ocean Club (old villas). While we love the lushness of Kauai (got married there at Marriott Kauai Beach Club), we opted to own on Oahu and Maui. Those islands provide a broader range of both fast and slow paced activities.

In Maui, we love Marriott Maui Ocean Club. It appears that may be where you are favoring given it checks almost all your boxes (good views (at least a partial ocean view consistently), nice beaches, beautiful scenery, kid friendly). The only box it doesn't check is affordable price. Maui Ocean Club tends to command a premium vs other MVCI resorts. You can lower price if you buy a smaller villa in an island/mountain view. These tend to be reasonable resale. However, if you require a partial ocean view, I would buy ocean view. You cannot guarantee an 'island view' deed will have any peek-a-boo ocean view, although some do. We chose the older villas in Maui Ocean Club, due to the lower price point, lower MFs, and larger villa size when comparing against the new villas. We think we can get away without in-room laundry and a full kitchen, especially since they added the 3/4 size fridge. The newer villas have both full kitchen and laundry, but cost more resale and have higher MFs.

In Kauai, we have toured Waiohai, but never stayed. Given it has no lock-off, we opted not to purchase there. A lock-off is a huge benefit, as it appears you understand. You can get two weeks in HI out of one week, or you can lock-off and exchange/rent a portion you may not need. Also, the views tend to be hit or miss at Waiohai. The lower profile of the buildings set slightly further from the water likely attribute to this. Kauai Beach Club has lock-offs, but is generally considered a lower quality MVCI HI resort in comparison to the others mentioned.

Good luck in your search. Your kids are near the same age as mine, so making great vacation memories for them is a fantastic idea! They will be grown before you and I know it.

 

[brianfox]

We have not stayed at Westin, but we own at both Ko Olina and Waiohai (all our weeks are Island view).
Lock off is not a big deal for us, because we need the full 2 bedroom for our family.
Waiohai can be very difficult to book 12 months out; they tend to go almost immediately when they open up. It has a very high owner occupancy, which I allude to later.
However, since you own Ko Olina, you may be able to take advantage of 13 month booking if your EOY line up. I do not think you can use the 13-month rule if you have a EOY-O and EOY-E, so be aware of that...

So as far as resale value and MF go, I can give you some historical perspective.
We bought our annual Ko Olina in 2011. That was when Marriott was still selling weeks, and they were asking upwards of $40K for the week. We bought it resale for $10K. Back then, an annual Waoihai MV was going for around 15K. Today, Ko Olina annual mountain views are going for around $6K. Ko Olina MF back in 2011 were $1636. Today they are $2210. So much for "locking in the price of your vacation, eh?"

We bought our annual MV Waiohai for $5K last year. That is what they still go for today. MF at Waiohai used to be higher than Ko Olina. They are now about $150 less ($2077). No idea why Ko Olina MF spiked so fast. At $5K, even falling another 50% is something I'd be willing to accept. I'm basing all of my pricing on Redweek, TUG and Ebay, which I have tracked carefully since 2009.

Also, be aware that the differential between EOY and annual are virtually negligible when the annuals are $5K. It's not like you will find an EOY for $3K. I certainly have not seen that.
[EDIT: Weeeeelll, count me wrong. I see on the ROFR database an EOY 2BR MV that passed ROFR at $2500]

So over the past 7 years, Ko Olina went from a lower resale price and lower MF to a slightly higher resale price and higher MF. Maybe Aulani has driven up the market price? We consistently get rents of $2800-$3000 for summer rentals, despite the over abundance of Ko Olina rental units on Redweek.
Waiohai inventory is tighter but would yield about the same rents. Renting these HI units is very easy.

I can tell you one thing though - We've been going to Waiohai for the past 5 years and we see the SAME owners there year after year, and have made good friends along the way. Our kids (who were the same age as yours when we first went) look forward to going there very year to see their friends. We know many Waiohai owners who stay there 3-4 weeks at a time. At Ko Olina, even though we always stayed the same calendar weeks we never saw the same faces in any two years. Just complete strangers. Waiohai is like a second home, while Ko Olina is more like a hotel stay.

We stayed at MOC one year and we very much prefer Waiohai. MOC (new villas) command a very high resale value, but also a high initial outlay - and therefore have farther to potentially fall if there is a downturn - and they have fallen just as much as Ko Olina and Waiohai over the years.

 

[mauitraveler]

I am wondering what folks think of Westin timeshare system vs the Marriott time share system? What would you say are the pros and cons of each.

I am not sure I have a preference for island. I like Kauai and Maui for different reasons. My most important factors would be good views (at least a partial ocean view consistently), nice beaches, beautiful scenery, kid friendly, and affordable price for what you get.

I read on another forum that Westin owners are having trouble booking at their home resort at 12 months. Have folks found this to be a problem with the Westins? Or is it just a Westin Kaanapali problem?

We own units both at KORV and KORVN, and fortunately we've not encountered difficulties booking at 12 months. We've booked Summer, Fall, Easter break and President's week. Granted, there was a lot of anxiety just before the booking process, but practicing beforehand helps ease the anxiety. These resorts on Maui meet all of your requirements. My nephew's family always feel like they are returning to their second home when they go to Maui each summer.

We stayed at Ko'Olina this past November through an exchange with Interval, and the resort was beautiful. However, we find that Maui is more enjoyable for us, in that there is a more relaxing atmosphere on Maui. Some folks enjoy the excitement of Honolulu, but driving on a freeway to get there was not my idea of a relaxing vacation (maybe it's because I'm used to driving the freeways in California). Also for us, we have many more options for dining out at nearby Kaanapali/Lahaina/Kapalua than at Ko'Olina.

As has been suggested on other threads, if you have the opportunity, visit Maui and then decide if you want to purchase MOC or KORV or KORVN. The sales will always be there. Another fact that might help with your decision: the MFs at KORV are lower than at KORVN, and our recent purchase at KORV (South) 2-BR OV annual passed ROFR at $12,800. Also, the one-BR portion of the 2-BR villas in the South phase are larger than those of the North phase by almost 150 sq. ft.. However, another factor to consider is that the South villas have 2 entrances (inside a common entry way), whereas the North villas have a lock-off connection inside your villa, even though there are two outside entrances. Best of luck to you with your search and happy travels to you and your family! CJ

 

[Dean]

[EDIT: Weeeeelll, count me wrong. I see on the ROFR database an EOY 2BR MV that passed ROFR at $2500]

I haven't added it yet because it's not yet been added to our account but how about $2501 including 2018 fees and transfers for an EOY Even MV.