Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas North

[TJALB]

I'm thinking about taking transfer of ownership from my brother for a EOY 2 bedroom lock-off. My brother wants out of his timeshare so I may take ownership. I would appreciate any information regarding the resort. I currently own 2 weeks at DRI Ka'anapali Beach Club so I'm familiar with the TS world. I really don't know much about Westin Ka'anapali. I noticed there are "Villas" and "Villas North". I would like to know what the difference is, this unit is Villas North. What are the units like, beach, restaurants, pools, etc... Also, I have been following the TUG Marketplace and haven't seen any units from this TS actually sell. Should I offer him any cash for the TS or would a transfer be fair?

I would also like to know about experiences dealing with Westin regarding booking, maintenance fees, etc...
Any information that you are willing to provide would be immensely appreciated!

Thank you fellow Tuggers!

 

[jabberwocky]

There are three view types at the North phase. Oceanfront, Oceanview and Island view. These all generally have some value (if it is OF then I’d say a fair value would be $13k).
They are popular in the Vistana system and are Mandatory TS which means the internal trading mechanism transfers upon resale.
The north and South phases are next to each other and you can use the pools etc at either property. There is plenty of info on each property - just use the search feature.

 

[cindylou]

We have been owners at DRI KBC and WKORV (South) so are very familiar with both. The 3 pluses for KBC over WKORV South or North are: 1) 13 stories vs 6, so more oceanfront and ocean view rooms available, 2) depending on how many DRI points and status you have, you are are able to make reservations 13 months out vs 12 at WKORV and 3) you can make reservations for the same unit 1-50 days long, not just 7 days long. In every other way, the WKORV property is much nicer and has a much better kitchen and lanai. Beach, restaurants, and pools are way better at WKORV than KBC. Maintenance fees are therefore higher, but I think worth it. We were tired of spreading our resources between both Vistana (WKORV) and DRI so we just transferred our DRI points to our friends who have a gazillion DRI points and stay at KBC for 6-7 weeks at a time. We watch the Super Bowl from their 12th floor unit but most of the entertaining is done at our place because we have a way better kitchen. I can't speak to paying him cash or just transferring. In my view, a WKORV N week is more valuable than a KBC week but it is EOY and you don't specify the view, and that matters. We own 4 oceanfront weeks at WKORV south (for 10 years) and love every moment we are there, so I don't think you'll be disappointed. One benefit of WKORV North over South is that all the units "face" the water so no parking lot views. Some will see more of the resort than the water and may not see any water, but they do FACE the water (west).

 

[LisaRex]

MFs hover around $2500 per year.

Your brother should know that there is residual value in his TS should he want to sell it. Looking at current listings on Redweek.com, I'd say that fair market price for an EOY Island View would be ~$4-5,000, Ocean View ~$7-10,000 and Ocean Front ~$13-15,000.

 

[pacman777]

MFs hover around $2500 per year.

Your brother should know that there is residual value in his TS should he want to sell it. Looking at current listings on Redweek.com, I'd say that fair market price for an EOY Island View would be ~$4-5,000, Ocean View ~$7-10,000 and Ocean Front ~$13-15,000.

those are listed asking prices. Actual transactions are probably lower

 

[carpie99]

MFs hover around $2500 per year.

Your brother should know that there is residual value in his TS should he want to sell it. Looking at current listings on Redweek.com, I'd say that fair market price for an EOY Island View would be ~$4-5,000, Ocean View ~$7-10,000 and Ocean Front ~$13-15,000.

I think that is too high ... there is a 2 Bed EOY non-oceanfront on eBay that keeps coming up. It didn't have 1 bidder at $3,650.

2 BED LOCKOFF, WESTIN KAANAPALI, 148,100 STAROPTIONS, PLATINUM SEASON, TIMESHARE | eBay

What are StarOptions and how do they work?. Full 148,100 StarOptions will be issued on 1/1/2021. Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort South Villas. Revel in the sun-kissed waves of the Pacific. Size: Deluxe 2 Bedroom / 2 Bath Lockoff.

www.ebay.com

 

[CPNY]

I think that is too high ... there is a 2 Bed EOY non-oceanfront on eBay that keeps coming up. It didn't have 1 bidder at $3,650.

2 BED LOCKOFF, WESTIN KAANAPALI, 148,100 STAROPTIONS, PLATINUM SEASON, TIMESHARE | eBay

What are StarOptions and how do they work?. Full 148,100 StarOptions will be issued on 1/1/2021. Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort South Villas. Revel in the sun-kissed waves of the Pacific. Size: Deluxe 2 Bedroom / 2 Bath Lockoff.

www.ebay.com

Yeah they should cut their estimation in half. An EY OF would be around 15 I’d think.

 

[Bill4728]

The key info on both the north and south TS resorts are that they are "Mandatory" in the Westin system which means the internal trading mechanism transfers upon resale. This allows you to take the TS points and make other reservations at the many resorts in the system. A BIG plus since other westin resorts in Hawaii are not "Mandatory" and when you buy resale at these resorts you can only go to that one resort.

We really like both the WKORV but also like the Westin in Princeville.

PS if you get a Vistana ownership from a family member, Vistana will sometimes treat you as if you bought direct even at a voluntary resort. BUT I'm unsure if the family member would need to be a parent not a brother.

 

[alohakevin]

I think that is too high ... there is a 2 Bed EOY non-oceanfront on eBay that keeps coming up. It didn't have 1 bidder at $3,650.

2 BED LOCKOFF, WESTIN KAANAPALI, 148,100 STAROPTIONS, PLATINUM SEASON, TIMESHARE | eBay

What are StarOptions and how do they work?. Full 148,100 StarOptions will be issued on 1/1/2021. Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort South Villas. Revel in the sun-kissed waves of the Pacific. Size: Deluxe 2 Bedroom / 2 Bath Lockoff.

www.ebay.com

A 2br/lo eoy even at island view seems like a good deal. The maintenance fees are the same OF or IV.

 

[critterchick]

PS if you get a Vistana ownership from a family member, Vistana will sometimes treat you as if you bought direct even at a voluntary resort. BUT I'm unsure if the family member would need to be a parent not a brother.

The way I read our contract is that you can leave the unit to somebody in your will and they will step into your shoes as a direct purchaser, but I don't recall seeing anything similar about a transfer while you're still alive.

 

[LisaRex]

I think that is too high ... there is a 2 Bed EOY non-oceanfront on eBay that keeps coming up. It didn't have 1 bidder at $3,650.

Yes, but that listing is for the south side, which has the dreaded "highway" view. (The villas actually face the highway over a parking lot instead of the ocean.) All villas on the north side face the ocean, so IMO north IV are much more valuable than the south IV. (On the other hand, the flip side is true for OF, although when I owned OF at WKORV-N, my views were still quite dreamy, just not direct OF like the south side.

critterchick, I believe a transfer to an immediate family member is allowed even when you're alive. And that person retains the privileges of buying from the developer if the original contract was with the developer. At least that's the way it used to be with Starwood.