Westin in Princeville--what to expect?

[tartanwood]

We will be staying at the Westin in Princeville in late March, and we wonder what to expect.

I believe the unit will be assigned when we arrive. If given a choice, what should we request? Any other tips for the resort?

Are good restaurants on site or nearby? What about shopping for meals to cook in the unit?

Will we be expected/pressured to attend a timeshare presentation? We are used to high pressure "updates" in Mexico, so we wonder if this will be true at the Westin.

We will be in PoiPu for a few days before and after our week in Princeville, so we want to focus on activities in the north during our week in that part of the island. Please share any "must-see/do" or "try-to-avoid" suggestions.

Thank you.

 

[slip]

If you want to go up to Ke’e beach you need to get online now and see if you can still get a parking pass. They limit the number of visitors up there now since the storm. Even if you don’t stay a long time, I recommend going up there. It is beautiful up there.

 

[geist1223]

You can take the shuttle (fee) from Hanalei.

 

[goaliedave]

I own at Westin .... Princeville I stay ground floor on 13th hole facing ocean so at sunrise it is beautiful plus its a par 3 so i can play it for an hour before any golfers come round. Views are so awesone they do sunset tours and sunrise yoga. Amazing sunsets at the former St. Regis or the park just before it where you can park on the street.

Poipu is great i own at Diamond Resorts Point at Poipu, was there last week. Hang out next door at Hyatt great entertainment and cliff jumpers at Shipwreck beach (photo). Recommend happy hour at Kalapaki Joes (photo) but south and west have a dozen amazing things to see.

Did presentations at both plus Marriott, very professional no pressure.

Currently on east side for a couple of weeks, more traffic but small village vibe and walkable.

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[rickandcindy23]

You will be asked for a presentation. You don't have to go. I recommend that you not go.

 

[Lanswitch]

One “tip” regarding the restaurant.
When it comes time to pay for your meal, you’ll see a line on the bill that says “Tip” but above it you’ll see another pre-filled line that says “Service Charge 18%”.
When we asked the waiter what the “Service Charge” was for, he replied that it was for the standard tip and the “Tip” line was for any additional tip we might choose to leave.
I would expect that many people would just see the “Tip” line and add in their usual 15-18% tip thus giving the waiter a huge 33-36% tip.
You’ve been warned.


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[flindberg]

What about shopping for meals to cook in the unit?
Thank you.
[/QUOTE]
You can stock up at the Costco near the airport for best prices. The Foodland in Princeville is generally well stocked. Get a Maika'i Shopper Card on your way into the store and you'll save quite a bit.

 

[sun starved Gayle]

Here is a resort map. I have only stayed in studios in buildings 3 and 6, without a direct ocean view. We liked building 3 as it was quiet, we overlooked the large grassy area with nenes and their chicks wandering around, with a bit of an ocean view. We also had a bit of an ocean view in Building 6, which had easy access to the infinity pool where we spent a lot of time at. I remember walking by building 1 and thinking I was glad I was not in that building. In my opinion, unless you have a direct ocean front unit, the higher floor, the better your view. I prefer a higher floor because we like to leave the door open. I would not do that with a ground level room for privacy and security reasons. But alot of people here on TUG love the ground floor units. To each his own!

 

[sun starved Gayle]

We also have always seen lots of turtles at Anini Beach. A good place for beginning snorkelers with easy access into the water. I would recommend an afternoon there if you enjoy snorkeling and want to see turtles.

 

[chellej]

One thing that surprised me was that there was not a full-size oven, just the cooktop, and the microwave/convection oven. If you wanted to say bake a large pizza, you couldn't...at least not whole.

 

[controller1]

One thing that surprised me was that there was not a full-size oven, just the cooktop, and the microwave/convection oven. If you wanted to say bake a large pizza, you couldn't...at least not whole.

Yes, Vistana did that during the timeframe Princeville was constructed. During the next refurbishment a full-size oven will probably be installed. That's what they are doing now at The Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas North.

 

[tartanwood]

Thanks to all of you for sharing suggestions and advice. We will tuck away the information for future reference. We have cancelled our trip for now. Since we are in our 70's and have some underlying health conditions, we decided to heed advice against travel at this time.

As noted in my more general Kauai post, we feared being stranded if one of us were to unknowingly have the virus already or if we were to pick up the virus in the plane or while on the island. We were scheduled to stay in 4 different places, so I'm not sure how we could "self-isolate" if that became necessary during our trip. I'm sure no one would want us to contaminate their space. Our travel protection policy has made it clear that it would not cover any disruptions due to a quarantine since we made all of our reservations in early February, just a week after coronavirus became a "known event" at the end of January.

Fortunately, Alaska Airlines made it easy to cancel our flights and the condo/timeshare owners have been helpful. We cannot recoup all of our costs, but they have reimbursed enough so we feel OK about it.

We learned a lot while making plans for this trip, so it will be easier when we finally are ready to go some time in the future.