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Just back from a 3 week stay on Kauai. Our final week was in a 2bdrm at the Westin in Princeville, an exchange through II using a non Starwood 1 bedroom. Pretty good exchange but I was not wowed.
The resort is nice but not anything to sigh over. The description leads one to think it was designed to reflect the old Hawaiian plantation style but it is standard 3 story hotel architecture. The grounds and rooms are nicely kept but far from tropical in feel. The grounds are pretty much all lawn. The rooms are standard Westin, decorated in a dark wood, modern style and dark granite kitchens. There are a few prints of tropical plants on the walls. If the prints were desert scenes you could put this resort in Arizona. There are very nice BBQ stations around the resort. It's a good thing because the rooms, like at the Westin Kierland have no real ovens. Instead they have that annoying convection microwave that does a piss poor job of baking anything. I don't think that one is expected to actually cook. The cookware is cheap crap from Walmart. I was really astounded to discover the lovely EMPTY salt & pepper shakers. One pre-packaged coffee is provided to use in the standard Mr Coffee coffee maker but there are no filters for subsequent days. There are 3 packets of dishwasher soap and one roll of paper towels. If you need more, you must purchase them. I have never stayed at a timeshare resort where they did not provide salt & pepper, more dishwasher soap & paper towels if needed and a few coffee filters. It just seems so chintzy to not provide salt & pepper or a few coffee filters. Of course these items can be purchased at the convenience store on site (salt & pepper $!.99 each and about 10 filters for $2.50.) Milk is $6.50 for a 1/2 gallon. I don't begrudge the convenience store prices. I do, however, think that these small things make this resort appear chintzy.
There are plenty of lounge chairs at the main pool and a few cabanas which require a fee to reserve. We never had a problem finding a spot there or at one of the 2 smaller pools although there were always a few chairs that had the requisite flipflop or baseball cap holding the spot for the chairhogs that ignore the rules. But the pool lounges were perhaps the most uncomfortable I have ever encountered. For the kind of money paid to stay or buy here, they should supply cushions. A rolled up towel didn't help much to alleviate the discomfort of the metal bar in the middle of the back.
Valet parking is available for a fee and self parking is free. Check-in was easy and front desk was very pleasant. Wi Fi is free and from what others told me is fast & reliable. However, for those of us who are still living in the dark ages & don't have laptops, there is a business center with 3 computers. The downside?...$5.95 for 15 minutes. To Starwoods credit printing boarding passes is offered free.
Our room in building 7 2nd floor had a nice view of the ocean looking toward the lighthouse in Kilauea. The sunrises were awesome. The beds are the Heavenly beds and as always very comfy. Housekeeping?...chintzy. Midweek is a change of linens and trash removal. Period. Marriott doesn't even do that so I guess Starwood is a little less chintzy than Marriott.
Westin Princeville is on a cliff not a beach. Many rooms do not have an ocean view. There is not much within walking distance. It cost upwards of $55K to buy here and the MF are over $2300 per year. If it wasn't for the palm trees and the rainbows, I could have been at any Westin hotel anywhere in the world. There wasn't anything about this resort that felt Hawaiian. And, although certainly nice and perfectly comfortable, it just had a penny pinching feel about it compared to other less expensive timeshares. I guess my overall impression is......meh. I won't bother going here again.
The resort is nice but not anything to sigh over. The description leads one to think it was designed to reflect the old Hawaiian plantation style but it is standard 3 story hotel architecture. The grounds and rooms are nicely kept but far from tropical in feel. The grounds are pretty much all lawn. The rooms are standard Westin, decorated in a dark wood, modern style and dark granite kitchens. There are a few prints of tropical plants on the walls. If the prints were desert scenes you could put this resort in Arizona. There are very nice BBQ stations around the resort. It's a good thing because the rooms, like at the Westin Kierland have no real ovens. Instead they have that annoying convection microwave that does a piss poor job of baking anything. I don't think that one is expected to actually cook. The cookware is cheap crap from Walmart. I was really astounded to discover the lovely EMPTY salt & pepper shakers. One pre-packaged coffee is provided to use in the standard Mr Coffee coffee maker but there are no filters for subsequent days. There are 3 packets of dishwasher soap and one roll of paper towels. If you need more, you must purchase them. I have never stayed at a timeshare resort where they did not provide salt & pepper, more dishwasher soap & paper towels if needed and a few coffee filters. It just seems so chintzy to not provide salt & pepper or a few coffee filters. Of course these items can be purchased at the convenience store on site (salt & pepper $!.99 each and about 10 filters for $2.50.) Milk is $6.50 for a 1/2 gallon. I don't begrudge the convenience store prices. I do, however, think that these small things make this resort appear chintzy.
There are plenty of lounge chairs at the main pool and a few cabanas which require a fee to reserve. We never had a problem finding a spot there or at one of the 2 smaller pools although there were always a few chairs that had the requisite flipflop or baseball cap holding the spot for the chairhogs that ignore the rules. But the pool lounges were perhaps the most uncomfortable I have ever encountered. For the kind of money paid to stay or buy here, they should supply cushions. A rolled up towel didn't help much to alleviate the discomfort of the metal bar in the middle of the back.
Valet parking is available for a fee and self parking is free. Check-in was easy and front desk was very pleasant. Wi Fi is free and from what others told me is fast & reliable. However, for those of us who are still living in the dark ages & don't have laptops, there is a business center with 3 computers. The downside?...$5.95 for 15 minutes. To Starwoods credit printing boarding passes is offered free.
Our room in building 7 2nd floor had a nice view of the ocean looking toward the lighthouse in Kilauea. The sunrises were awesome. The beds are the Heavenly beds and as always very comfy. Housekeeping?...chintzy. Midweek is a change of linens and trash removal. Period. Marriott doesn't even do that so I guess Starwood is a little less chintzy than Marriott.
Westin Princeville is on a cliff not a beach. Many rooms do not have an ocean view. There is not much within walking distance. It cost upwards of $55K to buy here and the MF are over $2300 per year. If it wasn't for the palm trees and the rainbows, I could have been at any Westin hotel anywhere in the world. There wasn't anything about this resort that felt Hawaiian. And, although certainly nice and perfectly comfortable, it just had a penny pinching feel about it compared to other less expensive timeshares. I guess my overall impression is......meh. I won't bother going here again.
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