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Group of 18 heading to WKORV/N in just over a month!

hvanv0405

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I can't believe it's almost here.

I booked 1 year in advance (to the day) for Feb 8th - 15th at WKORVN, had to wait until April to book airfare. We will happily leave Snowy Spokane, WA at 6am, arrive in Seattle at 7am, depart for Maui at 8am and arrive by about 1:30pm! I'm so excited to have gotten direct flights and getting there early.

There is going to be 18 in our group at the Westin Villas and 2 more staying at the KBH.

I found another owner on redweek willing to rent there unit for $2500 so my sister's family can stay on the same property. I referred my dad and stepmom for the $749 timeshare package and they arrive on the 10th. I referred my co-worker/friend, Shelly and she arrives with her fiance on the 11th.

My best friend & her hubby only confirmed late November they could join us but I didn't want to risk anyone getting questioned about "group referral" so I found them a deal on Expedia for 2 RT tickets from EUG to OGG, car rental, and 5 nights at the KBH, all for under $2K total.

In our 2bd unit we'll have me and my fiance along with each of our 6 yr old boys and our moms. . the mom's get to share the studio side and help with the boys who we'll try and put on the pullout in the living room.

My question here is will the moms be fine on just the bed and pullout our would one be better off getting a rollaway . . How comfortable are the pullout couches?

On the unit I found for my sisters family they'll have 5 sharing the 1 bd side and 3 in the studio. My sister & her hubby are going to have their 7 yr old share their room and both their teenage boys share the livingroom. . my younger sister & her boyfriend and my stepbrother will be in the studio. I think i'll call next week about having a rollaway for the 7 yr old.

Lastly the friends and family i referred I'm not sure which side they'll get but wondering with the large group of us stayign there if we'll get any perks at all.

I'm hoping we'll have a little advantage checking in on a Sunday and also being that it's my wedding party. I've been told SVO doesn't actually assign rooms until about 3 days before arrival and that's when I should call about asking for an upgrade and mention the group coming in for two 2BDLO's and 2 Studio reservations.

Does anyone have any recomendations about how we should go about getting the best rooms possible and or any other perks to shoot for?

The majority of the group checks out on the 15th and i've booked 2 nights at the Sheraton for my new hubby & I on the 15th and 16th. I've hear the KBH is under construction. . .is this heard loudly at the Sheraton?
 

DavidnRobin

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My MIL stayed on the Q pullout in WKORV and said it was comfy (yet she is not the complaining type). My folks stayed on the Q pullout at WKV and also were fine (and they are more picky).
 

LisaRex

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I wouldn't count on getting in early. With limited check-in days, the housekeeping staff has quite a bit of work on their hands. In fact, we checked in at 4:30 and the room wasn't ready yet.

Not sure about perks, though it stands to reason that had you rented the rooms directly from Starwood (vs. renting them privately or referring them for a discounted package) you'd have better odds. Nonetheless, I'd let them know that it's your wedding weekend and that you're bringing 18 people to Maui to share in what you hope to be a dream weekend and maybe they'll throw in a massage or something. Personally, I expect nothing and am rarely disappointed. :)

Re the rooms:

The studio is definitely adequate for the 2 moms. The bed is either a queen or a king.

5 will be fine for a 1 bdrm. The living room is kind of tight with the couch extended to a bed, but it worked out fine. There's even room for a cot if you put it in front of the washer/dryers or on the wall next to the bathroom.

My teenagers and my friends' teenagers all slept on pull-out couches and we didn't hear any complaints.

Re the Sheraton:

The property juts out quite a bit so construction noise shouldn't be an issue except perhaps in the Lahaina wing. (You can see KBH in the photo below on the far right.)

http://www.wizardpub.com/maui/mrsheraton.html

BTW, Congratulations!!!
 

DavidnRobin

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we got a $50 resort credit for a check-in delay (they offered - we were fine)

yes - congrats - we got married while staying at WKORV our first year - all had a great time (even those not expecting to like HI {for some reason...})
 

DeniseM

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We have never been able to check-in early, even when we are staying at the resort for 2 weeks and just had to move from one unit to another, so I wouldn't count on that. Often, we haven't even been able to check-in until after 4:00. We always just leave our stuff in the car, change into our bathing suits, have a meal by the pool, and relax until they call our cell phone number. If you land at 1:30, you won't get to the resort until about 2:30 or a little later - your stomach will be on mainland time and it will be dinner time. So rather than stress about it, why don't you plan to share a meal or cold drink by the pool and just relax and enjoy! Then if you get called early, it will be a pleasant surprise, and if you don't, you won't stress out about it. You can change clothes in the Owner's Lounge and even shower, etc. Otherwise, you will be sitting in the lobby with all the other people chomping at the bit, or complaining about their view, and that is no way to start a vacation!
 
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hvanv0405

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Thanks for the comments and suggestions. We stayed on the timeshare deal Oct 2007 and were sucked in to purchasing but only got the studio (on the timeshare trip) so it'll will be a treat to have the full 2bd villa this round.

We only own and island villa but of course added special request for ocean view if available. The unit I found for my sister to rent (from another owner) i believe is OV but the reservation was only made in October so figuring might be out of luck. . then again I'm quite lucky. . .

I started playing sweepstakes when I was prego with my son in 2002 and became a huge junkie for years. I won a trip for two and took my mom in Dec 2006 figuring i'd never get a chance to go to Hawaii. We got 5 nights at the Sheraton. I only met my fiance, Derick, a month before the trip i took with my mom so didn't get the romantic Maui experience. After a few months of knowing each other Derick came into a small inheritance that was sorta unexpected and suggested we go somewhere. I begged to return to Maui and we did after I found someone to refer us.

It was even better the 2nd time and now this will be my 3rd trip and everyone in my family and my closest friends get to join us. . .most for their first time ever!

We had a great stay at our studio at the Westin but our one extra night at the Sheraton was a bit of a let down (no upgrade, ground level) after the studio villa a standard hotel room just didn't cut it. I'm crossing my fingers that it being our "honeymoon" part of the trip we'll get some sort of upgrade this time.

I never go in expecting anything special and we're far from picky people but i've usually always gotten "something". . my best upgrade was in August on a 3 day trip to Seattle. Using cash & points for two nights we checked in and were given the Presidential suite on the 47th floor!

I've also booked 20 seats at the OLL for the evening of Feb 14th. . figured the one activity we should ALL do together is the Luau and so instead of a dinner and wedding reception what better then a Luau with open bar!
 
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hvanv0405

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oh and just to add we weren't looking to check-in early at all. . figured we'd be making a stop to Costco, then maybe even get snorkel gear rented on the way so by the time we get to that side i'll easily be after 4 or 5pm.
 

islandguy

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DW and I will be checking in the same day as you for three weeks. As with you I enjoy Maui and wish I could visit more often.

Last year we had a roll-a-bed and it worked out fine. I would recommend that option as it gives you more options.

It's whale season and they put on a great show right off the beach. You can also take a boat and go out there.

Hope to see you there.
 

hvanv0405

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DW and I will be checking in the same day as you for three weeks. As with you I enjoy Maui and wish I could visit more often.

Last year we had a roll-a-bed and it worked out fine. I would recommend that option as it gives you more options.

It's whale season and they put on a great show right off the beach. You can also take a boat and go out there.

Hope to see you there.

Shouldn't be too hard to spot us. .. .at least maybe when we're all at the BBQ's for dinner :) We are a pretty fun bunch and my dad and Derick tend to make people laugh pretty easily so just follow the laughter and join us for a drink if you'd like.

I'm hoping we can at least have a few drinks out and take my sisters family and my close friends to Hula Grill. . .Last trip Derick and I ended up sitting next to Dog and a big party he was with. .Dog (the bounty hunter) was pretty quiet but some at his table were loud and fun.

We've extended our villa to our mom's so they can help with our kids, all they had to pay for was their airfare and car so i'm hoping with them babysitting we'll get to enjoy some happy hours. I also like the Blue Lagoon and happy hour & taco's there and even though some don't care for it I really enjoy the Rusty Harpoon.

My first trip there my mom and I had our first stop there and really enjoyed the Lettuce wraps. We got an order of Mai Tai's and when the bartender made more by mistake our server gave us two for free.

Last year on my bfs birthday we tried going to Hula Grill but the wait was quite long. We spent the morning doing the Kaanapali Zipline (my bf zipped into his 35th). We weren't planning anything else special and were just going to stay in that night. The person we purchased our timeshare from offered to pay for our dinner so we wanted something nice. We checked Leilani's and the wait was long there too. Sadly we had no reservations because we weren't expecting to be eating out that night. We opted to go to the Rusty Harpoon since they only had a 15 min wait, again I was NOT disapointed. Our server was great, quick and offered perfect suggestions. Food and drinks were perfect and we let our server pick a birthday desert which was FAB.

My picture site here has a few shots from that dinner, on the 2nd page of "Maui part 1"

http://heathernderickmaui2007.shutterfly.com/

My dad has been to a few of the islands and owns a lower end timeshare somewhere. . .this will be his first trip to a luxury resort. No one in my family is too picky, least of all our mom's so sounds like they'll be taking turns on the roll away. . figure one gets the bed the first part of the trip then after maid service has mid-week cleaning they can rotate.

Funniest part is after two previous trips I've never been into the Costco there yet but work next to one here and shop there all the time. . .with our large group that will be our first stop, just hoping we won't need a car upgrade to fit everything. We'll have 3 cars for the first 13 of us landing on the 8th. My sister's family has a mid-size but Derick and I only the economy size so hoping for an upgrade and looking for Hertz coupons right now (we'll have our two boys with us). Then my mom and Derick's mom will have a car and be driving my younger sister and her boyfriend (who was a late addition and will be flying in on Hawaiian but landing just 2 hrs after us) Figured they can go pick him up after shopping. .. then the beautiful drive over to the resort.

Any recommendation on snorkel gear rental? Do any shops give group discounts if we all reserve together or should we be find just stopping in a shop and picking some up for the week? I've found I can reserve gear online for Snorkel Bobs but considering two other places and still open to ideas.
 
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