1 BR Hyatt Kaanapali in March vs studio Westin Kaanapali ORVN in May?

[heathpack]

I have a very first world problem in that I managed to snag a studio week next May at WKORVN and I also got an internal Hyatt exchange into a 1BR in Hyatt Kaanapali in March. Very first world problem, I know.

When I got the WKORVN studio, I put in a HRC exchange request for the adjacent weeks in late April or midMay. But I had forgotten that I had an exchange request for March through Hyatt, and that of course came through. Now I have two reservations 7 weeks apart. There’s some chance I‘ll be able to grab the April or May Hyatt weeks and will be back to a 2 week trip to Maui in May.

But if that doesn’t happen, I’m love some input as to the better week to keep.

We‘ve stayed at WKORVN and loved it. We had a 2BR then but really what we care about is a kitchen (we will actually cook), laundry, and a balcony for me to drink my morning coffee without waking my sleeper-inner husband. I understand the studios at WKORVN have all of those things. Am I correct?

If so, I guess it boils down to:
1. season- March (whales!) is ostensibly “better” than May but we like the lower crowds and less expensive flights & car rentals of lower season, so in some ways May is better for us. I might try to ride a road bike up Haleakala and May might be a safer time to do that, traffic wise?
2. location- I didnt realize that these two resorts are at different ends of Kaanapali beach. We really liked the beach at WKORVN and spent a lot of time there. How is the beach down by the Hyatt (which is very close to the Marriott Maui Ocean Club)? What about dining and other amenities?
3. resort- I understand that Hyatt is smaller but it feels pretty spacious. We were previously at WKORVN in November and even in that low season the pool deck felt really crowded to us and we spent almost no time at the pool. So maybe the Hyatt is our better choice.
4. unit- obviously the Hyatt is the winner here, 1BR is our ideal unit size.

Thanks for in advance any advice.

 

[DeniseM]

What is the WKORVN studio view? I'm not clear if it is an exchange, or what.
Most of the Hyatt 1 bedrooms are on the back of the resort, with no water view.
The north towers at the Westin have no parking lot views.

 

[heathpack]

What is the WKORVN studio view? I'm not clear if it is an exchange, or what.
Most of the Hyatt 1 bedrooms are on the back of the resort, with no water view.
The north towers at the Westin have no parking lot views.

The WKORVN is an Interval exchange, so won’t know the view until we get there.

We‘re ok with no ocean view as long as it’s not a parking lot view. I understand the Hyatt island views are actually nice green views, as opposed to a parking lot view?

 

[DeniseM]

They call them mountain views, but I am not sure where the parking lot is.

 

[heathpack]

From a web review of Hyatt Residence Club Kaanapali:

There are a total of 131 units with the breakdown as follows:

• 19 one-bedroom units available
  • 10 ocean view
  • 9 mountain view
• 100 two-bedroom units
• 12 three-bedroom units

There are nine one-bedroom units with a mountain view on the back-side of the building.

 

[DeniseM]

Interesting - I guess I assumed there were more one bedrooms...

 

[heathpack]

Interesting - I guess I assumed there were more one bedrooms...

We had a 3BR unit at the Hyatt at the beginning of COVID. They are all ocean view. We got a zillion points back when we cancelled. The WKORVN studio is booked out of what’s left of that allotment.

 

[Denise L]

We have stayed at the Hyatt twice on promo stays. Each stay was for four nights in a two bedroom. Then we would move to our Westin Ka'anapali South villa for the following week. We are partial to the Westin properties because it is less crowded and quieter there, with a beach and snorkeling that we think are much better than the Hyatt's. We didn't spend a lot of time at the Hyatt pools, but there is the timeshare pool area, and then the main Hyatt hotel pools. How many of you are going and how much time do you plan to spend in the pools? We found the Hyatt hotel pools to be bustling, but these were all pre-Covid stays.

At the Hyatt, we do enjoy the free valet parking, proximity to Ululani's Shave Ice right on the Hyatt beach, plus the lovely landscaping, swans, flamingos, penguins, unique ducks, etc. We felt that the villa walls were much thinner than the Westin Villas walls (I could hear conversations and snoring and music and TV through the Hyatt walls easily).

We are actually staying at the Hyatt next month (had to use those expiring Hyatt points on something), and I looked up sit down restaurants at Whaler's Village and it listed three: Leilani's, Hula Grill, and Monkeypod. We will likely eat at one or more of them next month since they are so close by. It's fun to stroll around and look at shops, and it's a nice walk to Black Rock for snorkeling. I find the whole beach walk often very crowded during normal times. We would have preferred to stay at the Westin, but we booked this trip last minute, and nothing was available except at the Hyatt (or the new Maui Bay Villas in Kihei (Hilton Grand Vacation Club).

March is great for whales, like you mentioned, but May usually is warmer and has drier weather and less people (normally). You will probably love the one bedroom space at the Hyatt. I wish that Hyatt had less fees for booking and cancelling, then it would be less annoying to cancel anything that matches on the waitlist. I suppose if you could use your Hyatt points for something else, then maybe it is worth it to cancel? And as far as your Interval exchange into WKORVN goes, did you buy an E-Plus so that you can easily trade into another week you would like if you were to keep May at the Hyatt?

Can you just go twice? Both months are great for Maui.

 

[heathpack]

It’s just two of us.

We could go twice, I suppose, but the masked flights are not fun. If we’re going to mask up for the flights, I’d rather do one trip.

We are not really pool people but only because we like peace and quiet. If a pool area is quiet and relaxing and we’re not packed in like sardines, we enjoy it. But otherwise we’d probably hang on the beach.

I do have EPlus on the Interval week. I also think there’s a decent chance I will see the May Hyatt week pop up in inventory, and it’s not the end of the world to solve this problem by cancelling and rebooking the Hyatt week if that opportunity presents itself.

 

[BagsArePacked]

Not a hard choice for me IF the Hyatt 1 bedroom is OV. Any chance that's a March 12, 2022 Check-in, ?

 

[heathpack]

Not a hard choice for me IF the Hyatt 1 bedroom is OV. Any chance that's a March 12, 2022 Check-in, ?

Yes it is a March 12 check in. Why do you ask?

of course I can’t know the view in advance, since it’s an internal exchange…

 

[BagsArePacked]

I didn't realize that your internal exchange could be MV or OV for the same cost/points. I guess a 2 bedroom would be a guaranteed OV.

I have enjoyed that property for short stays especially when convenient flights were operating out of Kapalua Airport, no longer.

A March 12 check-in could possibly work for me as a rental. June/July is usually preferable.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

[heathpack]

I didn't realize that your internal exchange could be MV or OV for the same cost/points. I guess a 2 bedroom would be a guaranteed OV.

I have enjoyed that property for short stays especially when convenient flights were operating out of Kapalua Airport, no longer.

A March 12 check-in could possibly work for me as a rental. June/July is usually preferable.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

All the 3BR units are oceanview but with a 1BR or 2BR unit, you could get either mountain or oceanview with an internal exchange.

 

[heathpack]

Well… this morning I got a 1BR Hyatt Kaanapali as an internal exchange. April 30 check in, followed by the subsequent week in a studio at Westin Kaanapali ORVN on an Interval exchange.

I still have the March 1BR at Hyatt KaanapalI.

But right now, I’m leaning towards the using the April/May weeks…