Sam, I'm glad you found this place while you're still in the recission period. Do yourself a huge favor and rescind immediately, using the instructions included in your packet. Then I'd enjoy the rest of my vacation, stress free, and re-visit Tug when you return home.
In the meantime, here's food for thought:
a) The Kauai property is very different from the Kaanapali property. For instance, it sits on a bluff overlooking the ocean. It's not directly on the beach like Kaanapali.
b) Have you even been to Kauai? It has a completely different vibe to it than Maui -- way more low key, with fewer restaurants and activities. For sure, ome people love Kauai, but make sure that you visit, and love, the island before committing to a TS purchase.
c) Starwood controls their HomeOwner's Associations. Our maintenance fees (MF) in Kaanapali have nearly doubled in five years. This is making it increasingly difficult to own there and even more difficult to try and recoup your purchase price when selling. Currently there are THOUSANDS of Westin Hawaii resales on the market.
d) You can't use your unit but every other year, so $1300/year translates to $2600 in MFs. That is $350 a night over and above what are paying out of pocket to own it -- you can rent hotel rooms in this economy for $200/night. And we have no say in these rising MFs.
e) With Timesharing, you have to reserve your unit 12 months in advance in you want the best room. That means that you have to reserve your unit well before you can price out good airfare deals. If you use frequent flyer miles, this present problems as well.
f) If November works for you, that is the lowest season on Maui and it would be silly to own at a location that soaks you for $2600 in MFs that you could rent for less than, or close to, the MFs. It would be far more economical to buy one of the cheaper mandatory locations (such as Westin Kierland, Sheraton Vistana Villages) and simply trade into a Hawaii property. Hawaii is very easy to get into, especially in November. Data: A platinum 2 bdrm at Westin Kierland (Phoenix) goes for about $20k, and gives you sufficient Star Options to trade into any 2 bdrm in the system for less than HALF of Kauai's annual MFs.
g) Westin Princeville is a voluntary resort. That means that when you go to sell it, the new owner does not inherit the ability to trade within the Starwood network. Translation: Your unit loses most of its value on the resale market. So if you pay $36k today, you'd be lucky to fetch $12k on the resale market. (Data point: Currently there is one EOY 2 bdrm on Redweek for $15.8k; There are 7 EY units, with the lowest asking price of $24k. And note that there haven't been any recent sales.)
h) If the salesman said that you could trade easily to Westin St. John or Atlantis with your StarOptions, he lied. You may get into Atlantis during hurricane season. Don't count on trading into St. John ever, though some have gotten lucky. Certainly don't expect it during the summer. And those are the only two resorts where it would make sense for you to trade because the MFs are equivalent to what Hawaii owners pay. (Why pay $2600 in MFs to trade into a location where the MFs are $1300?)
i) If you love Kaanapali, definitely check out resales on these in a few months. Owners are getting their staggeringly high MF invoices now, and resale prices should drop like a stone. I paid $50k for my OF unit in 2007; I'd be lucky to fetch $30k now.
j) See my related thread about the rumor re Westin Princeville.
Good luck!
