Got into conversation with someone hogging 6 chairs and 4 stools

[tomandrobin]

Great stories.....I hate pool/beach chair savers. I am that guy, who on every trip, will remove towels from chairs if I see them saved for hours and no one is there. Burns me to no end with those "entitled" people feel that can come to the pool at 1-2pm, hogging chairs and umbrellas. Meanwhile, there are actual guests that don't have anyplace to sit or put their belongings.

I do not ever feel bad for doing so. Lucky for my family, I am an extremely early riser and always get to the pool first thing in the morning. But I don't just save and walk away, I am there for the day or at least thru lunch.

 

[gdrj]

I think one of the issues is that there just aren’t enough chairs at WKORN. They really need to invest in more chairs and put them on the lawn. We are bringing extended family this year, and I kind of dread the chair issue. we will be renting chairs for the week for the beach as a back up

 

[rickandcindy23]

If there are rules, they should be followed, but rules need to be enforced. The resorts have to do that.

If they actually charged for towels not turned in and pool cards had to be included at the end of your stays, people would not leave their towels unattended. I still see issues with towels being stolen to turn in for fresh ones, which is probably why the towels and towel cards aren't really counted at the end of the stay.

Our granddaughter would stay in the pool all day, if we let her. Only Elizabeth and her mama can be in the sun that long. The rest of us need to be in shade.

 

[wanderer63]

We will be staying at WKORV in September and would like to understand what the "rules" are for tagging chairs and whether it would be better to just rent chairs and umbrellas. How are all chairs tagged by 4AM? We are early risers and do use the pool. I just want to know if we have to be up at the crack of dawn to get a chair in the shade or should we just rent.

 

[daviator]

We will be staying at WKORV in September and would like to understand what the "rules" are for tagging chairs and whether it would be better to just rent chairs and umbrellas. How are all chairs tagged by 4AM? We are early risers and do use the pool. I just want to know if we have to be up at the crack of dawn to get a chair in the shade or should we just rent.

The basic rule is that you need to be using the chairs, not just storing your stuff on them. If you get up at the crack of dawn to “tag” chairs and don’t return for hours, you are part of the problem, in my opinion. At a minimum, somebody from your party should be with “your” chairs or your stuff may get removed. If everybody did that, there would be enough chairs for everyone who wants to use them most of the time.

You can rent the little gazebos with chairs, but you have to do it in advance and they’re pretty expensive. There is a web site for reserving and paying.

If you bring your own chairs, I’m not sure where you could set them up, I don’t think they’ll let you put them around the pool. You could use them on the beach. Can’t remember if they rent chairs on the beach there, I think they do.

 

[celica7101]

The basic rule is that you need to be using the chairs, not just storing your stuff on them. If you get up at the crack of dawn to “tag” chairs and don’t return for hours, you are part of the problem, in my opinion. At a minimum, somebody from your party should be with “your” chairs or your stuff may get removed. If everybody did that, there would be enough chairs for everyone who wants to use them most of the time.

You can rent the little gazebos with chairs, but you have to do it in advance and they’re pretty expensive. There is a web site for reserving and paying.

If you bring your own chairs, I’m not sure where you could set them up, I don’t think they’ll let you put them around the pool. You could use them on the beach. Can’t remember if they rent chairs on the beach there, I think they do.

The Cabanas were $300/day at Nanea , but those are a lot nicer (has a TV, fridge, and wait staff to bring you food with a clicker button).

The Westin Nanea Ocean Villas - Cabana Reservations, Activities, Experiences, Amenities, Food and Beverage Ordering, and more in Lahaina 96761 , Hawaii.

Cabana Reservations, Activities, Experiences, Amenities, Food and Beverage Ordering, and more in Lahaina 96761 , Hawaii.

nanea.ipoolside.com

I recall it being at least $150-200 at WKORV for a full cabana ... but maybe someone has more recent pricing.

 

[rcv82]

We are at WKORV now. We never use the pool chairs, but when we have walked through there seems to have been some available. We did rent two beach chairs and an umbrella from Auntie Snorkel for $67 for 10 days. It’s $85 for one day if you rent from the resort.


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[wanderer63]

We are at WKORV now. We never use the pool chairs, but when we have walked through there seems to have been some available. We did rent two beach chairs and an umbrella from Auntie Snorkel for $67 for 10 days. It’s $85 for one day if you rent from the resort.


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Thanks for the tip that sounds like a great option!

I really wanted to understand the comment about no chairs available at 4AM and they were not occupied? It seems that Westin should enforce some sort rules to prevent that behavior, like removing all towels on chairs before 7AM?

We are owners at Aruba Surf Club and we know the drill there. Because we really enjoy the pool and like the morning hours when the lazy river is not so crowded we are up at 6AM to tag our chair. (actual chair tag one per person). We stay in our chairs and enjoy the pool until after lunch and then remove our tags and head to the beach....

I don't believe we are part of the problem if we play by the rules. If Westin does not enforce any rules than I would much rather rent a chair then deal with chair hogs.
I am on vacation in paradise and won't let anyone ruin it!

 

[The Colorado Kid]

We are at WKORV now. We never use the pool chairs, but when we have walked through there seems to have been some available. We did rent two beach chairs and an umbrella from Auntie Snorkel for $67 for 10 days. It’s $85 for one day if you rent from the resort.


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@rcv82 To clarify...can you use the chairs you rented around the pool or only on the grassy area and beach?

 

[Henry M.]

In 24 years of going to Maui, I've been in various pools maybe 5 times. I much prefer to be in the ocean. It is usually as calm as the pools and cleaner. Sitting on the beach, just on a towel, is more attractive to me that being at a crowded pool.

 

[Quilter]

We got home yesterday after 10 weeks of watching life around the pool. Grande Ocean on Hilton Head and Ocean Pointe in Florida.

Some people get down early and claim the same location every day to the point that it was intimidating to even think about sitting in "their chairs". Because we don't know the regular Winter/Spring crowd at GO we weren't aware of this there. I'm only aware of this at OP.

Most days we didn't want to spend the full day sitting by the pool so we didn't claim chairs. On the days we thought we'd be joining in the water aerobics, visiting with friends and spending a significant time lounging I sent DH down early to make sure we had chairs with that lovely combination of sun/shade. Sometimes this was at the pool but at OP it was much easier, less dense, and quieter to just find lounges out on "Sod Beach".

We were at Grande Ocean both before OP and after. The reconstruction of the large Dolphin pool had a major hunk of pool lounge area fenced off. The last 3 weeks we were there during highly dense Spring Break & golf tournament 3/26-4/20. The majority of guests had families and congregated around the heated pool near the bar that served light meals. This area incorporates a sun deck that looks over the dunes towards the beach. On our stay 2/6-18 it wasn't so dense with families but there was THIS ONE GUY.

Daily he carved out his spot by taking a lounge by an umbrella. I always saw him on the full sun side of the umbrella. He would angle his lounge to command more space and keep others from getting too close. Lounges to either side were missing but the row of lounges behind were suspiciously packed in together as though the ones from the front row were moved back there to make space on the front row. If you're there long enough you notice his stuff is spread out onto the lounge in the shade side of the umbrella and there may also be a chair in the mix. He's a regular and has a bag of kitty kibble which he shares with the feral cats that live in the dune. February and this was rather amusing.

Come the end of March and the start of 3 big Spring Break weeks it was less amusing. Many days for the next 3 weeks there was rarely a lounge to be found. One day after my family took grands up for lunch I thought I'd relax in a lounge for a while. Nothing. But there was THE GUY, his empty chair and extra empty lounge with stuff on it. That night I had to visit the front desk for something. While I was there I saw one of the security people who helped us move on a room change. I asked him to help me with this irritation because if I understood more what was going on I could get past it taking up mental space. He knew who I was talking about. Never clarified if it was a day pass user or a long term guest. Told me the extra chair was for the guy's wife but rarely, if ever, saw her. The security guard said he had never seen day pass users denied entry even during peak weeks. I asked about this because OP had a policy that limited day pass users during peak times. I'm not even sure he was either day pass user or guest because he pinned his own personal beach towel to the lounge, it wasn't even a resort towel. Locals come to eat and drink at the pool bar. Sorry I never looked to see if he had a wrist band. But I rarely wore my own wrist band for that matter.

On the brighter side of humanity, when I couldn't find a lounge I sat in one of the swings. Shortly, a woman approached me and said she was moving to a shady lounge that had opened on the other side of the pool and asked if I'd like the one she was vacating. I thanked her but my lounging time was at an end as the grands would be finishing their lunch. One would be napping and the Mommy would be looking to us to entertain the 3 yo so she could have a nap or break.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

We got home yesterday after 10 weeks of watching life around the pool. Grande Ocean on Hilton Head and Ocean Pointe in Florida.

Some people get down early and claim the same location every day to the point that it was intimidating to even think about sitting in "their chairs". Because we don't know the regular Winter/Spring crowd at GO we weren't aware of this there. I'm only aware of this at OP.

Most days we didn't want to spend the full day sitting by the pool so we didn't claim chairs. On the days we thought we'd be joining in the water aerobics, visiting with friends and spending a significant time lounging I sent DH down early to make sure we had chairs with that lovely combination of sun/shade. Sometimes this was at the pool but at OP it was much easier, less dense, and quieter to just find lounges out on "Sod Beach".

We were at Grande Ocean both before OP and after. The reconstruction of the large Dolphin pool had a major hunk of pool lounge area fenced off. The last 3 weeks we were there during highly dense Spring Break & golf tournament 3/26-4/20. The majority of guests had families and congregated around the heated pool near the bar that served light meals. This area incorporates a sun deck that looks over the dunes towards the beach. On our stay 2/6-18 it wasn't so dense with families but there was THIS ONE GUY.

Daily he carved out his spot by taking a lounge by an umbrella. I always saw him on the full sun side of the umbrella. He would angle his lounge to command more space and keep others from getting too close. Lounges to either side were missing but the row of lounges behind were suspiciously packed in together as though the ones from the front row were moved back there to make space on the front row. If you're there long enough you notice his stuff is spread out onto the lounge in the shade side of the umbrella and there may also be a chair in the mix. He's a regular and has a bag of kitty kibble which he shares with the feral cats that live in the dune. February and this was rather amusing.

Come the end of March and the start of 3 big Spring Break weeks it was less amusing. Many days for the next 3 weeks there was rarely a lounge to be found. One day after my family took grands up for lunch I thought I'd relax in a lounge for a while. Nothing. But there was THE GUY, his empty chair and extra empty lounge with stuff on it. That night I had to visit the front desk for something. While I was there I saw one of the security people who helped us move on a room change. I asked him to help me with this irritation because if I understood more what was going on I could get past it taking up mental space. He knew who I was talking about. Never clarified if it was a day pass user or a long term guest. Told me the extra chair was for the guy's wife but rarely, if ever, saw her. The security guard said he had never seen day pass users denied entry even during peak weeks. I asked about this because OP had a policy that limited day pass users during peak times. I'm not even sure he was either day pass user or guest because he pinned his own personal beach towel to the lounge, it wasn't even a resort towel. Locals come to eat and drink at the pool bar. Sorry I never looked to see if he had a wrist band. But I rarely wore my own wrist band for that matter.

On the brighter side of humanity, when I couldn't find a lounge I sat in one of the swings. Shortly, a woman approached me and said she was moving to a shady lounge that had opened on the other side of the pool and asked if I'd like the one she was vacating. I thanked her but my lounging time was at an end as the grands would be finishing their lunch. One would be napping and the Mommy would be looking to us to entertain the 3 yo so she could have a nap or break.

Seems like a great topic for a doctoral thesis!

 

[rcv82]

@rcv82 To clarify...can you use the chairs you rented around the pool or only on the grassy area and beach?

I don’t know about around the pool as we use them only for the beach. But if you are going to rent, offsite is a much better deal.


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[The Colorado Kid]

I don’t know about around the pool as we use them only for the beach. But if you are going to rent, offsite is a much better deal.


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Completely agree - we rented thru MauiBaby - very happy...just wanting to make sure I wasn't missing a pool chair hack!

 

[Quilter]

Seems like a great topic for a doctoral thesis!

hahahaha.

It would have many chapters as there are so many aspects to the need to be front and center by the pool when you're just a few minutes from the beach. At OP it seems to me that some of the people who claim the hottest sections of cement by the pool NEVER take a step out to the beach. The chairs closest to the edge of the pool are the highest demand. Bodies are packed in chair to chair. People who are mostly strangers the rest of the year are mingling. Even crazier is the density at the Sailfish pool that families seem to favor.

Contrast this phenomenon with the condo buildings along the inlet where it's full ownership. Those people are actual neighbors, however we rarely see anyone sunning or visiting with their neighbors at these delightfully peaceful pools. The people in the condos could carve their spot by the pool and keep it all day if they wanted because there doesn't seem to be any competition. But they don't. Is it because there's no competition that there's no innate need to claim and hold?

 

[1Melanie]

This is one of my pet peeves! I hate pool hogs! Unless your body is in that chair or in the pool waiting for your wet self to return, your towel doesn’t belong there! Period!!!

 

[Quilter]

This is one of my pet peeves! I hate pool hogs! Unless your body is in that chair or in the pool waiting for your wet self to return, your towel doesn’t belong there! Period!!!

Bathroom breaks? Run to room for lunch?

At Ocean Pointe (OP) there's a 45 minute grace for such things.

 

[jmhpsu93]

Bathroom breaks? Run to room for lunch?

At Ocean Pointe (OP) there's a 45 minute grace for such things.

Bathroom breaks...yes. If the "run to room for lunch" is quick then yes. Even if you're getting in a quick round of mini-golf I'm cool with that, as long as you're in the pool area. I think the 45 minutes is fair but I'd really like to see it enforced more.

I haven't had issues at Ocean Pointe in the past but we're usually there in late May through maybe early July, which isn't really peak time. Grande Vista (and to a lesser extent, Cypress Harbour) is nuts during busy times.

 

[1Melanie]

Bathroom breaks? Run to room for lunch?

At Ocean Pointe (OP) there's a 45 minute grace for such things.

Bathroom break ok but that doesn’t take hours.

 

[Moparman42]

Just so everybody understands, nobody is complaining about bathroom breaks, swimming or going to the room to get something. it is the people that put towels on the chairs at 6am, go to breakfast, shopping and head to the beach and then come back at 1pm expecting the chairs to still be theirs. Or the ones that reserve 6 chairs by the pool for three people (one by the pool and one in the shade each, for their stuff) and then spend the day at the beach, coming back to the pool around 3 to rinse off before going to dinner. there are also the ones that reserve pool chairs and sit in their room playing yatzee and come running down when somebody tried to use their chairs, then go back to their game. I have personally witnessed each of these behaviors while other families, sometimes with chillens, are looking for a place by the pool to sit and actually use it. Every guest is entitled to a chair, just be courteous and thoughtful and everything will be just fine.

 

[dioxide45]

We are owners at Aruba Surf Club and we know the drill there. Because we really enjoy the pool and like the morning hours when the lazy river is not so crowded we are up at 6AM to tag our chair. (actual chair tag one per person). We stay in our chairs and enjoy the pool until after lunch and then remove our tags and head to the beach....

I have my own gripes about the chair policy at Aruba Surf Club. We have been there two times and will be back in June. The policy does prevent people from reserving chairs at the pool and the beach at the same time, but it also promotes people saving a chair for every single person in their villa every single day regardless of what time they plan to come to the pool or beach. There were many times I would go down early (in shoulder season) and every chair is tagged and many would remain empty for hours on end. The resort is just replacing the pool towels and personal items with a resort sanctioned tag to reserve chairs. I am not a fan.

 

[rickandcindy23]

The clips people put on the towels at the top of the lounge chair are really a loud message to leave the chair alone.

 

[Quilter]

I haven’t seen those like that. I thought they were personalization. They also keep the towel from annoyingly falling down behind your back.

My granddaughter thought my Nemo clips were fun.

Any “stuff” on the chair says “leave my chair alone”.