What I Liked
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Beach front property in Maui
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Water Slide
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Kids Pool
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Table Tennis
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Tennis court
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Shuffle Board
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Free Parking
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Fire Pit
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Landscaped and well designed gardens
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Apartments with all the facilities of home
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I had five days at the Westin Maui Kaanapali Resort with my family. A large Resort, right on the beach. The resort is massive, with multiple pools, a water slide, kids play centre, tennis courts, table tennis, shuffle board and more. We had a great time (as you might expect).
We booked a discounted preview package. I paid $1,800 to stay in a 1 bed apartment for five days.
The standard rate for a one bed apartment is $3,500 for five days. So the price I paid was a 49% discount. I also received 40,000 Bonvoy Points. To get this price, we had to sit through a one hour timeshare presentation. In the article, I explain how you can book up this price.
FYI. Because I booked a discounted preview package. I was booked into the cheapest room. On the 1st floor, looking at the back of the hotel.
The Westin Ka'anapali is a Westin Vacation Club Property. This means that it’s a timeshare resort. So the property has apartments with all the amenities of home. Washing machine, kitchen etc.
The Westin Maui Kaanapali Resort is a Mega Resort! It’s part of a family of three Westin resorts. Next to each other
Each of these resorts has their own reception. As a guest, you can use the facilities at any of these three properties.
This review is a detailed guide. Know exactly what to expect when you visit. The article contains over 100 photos! Each photo can be clicked to open out the full slideshow.
The Westin Maui Kaanapali Resort website is here. You can book your stays at the hotel.
I stayed for 5 days in a 1 bed apartment. The cash rate for that room was $3,500. Which is good value in my view. Considering that the hotel is right in the beach in a prime Maui location.
I didn’t pay cash, I booked a discounted preview package. The Westin Ka'anapali is a Westin Vacation Club Property. Westin Vacation Club are timeshare properties. Westin Vacation Club is part of Marriott Vacation Club.
I paid $1,800 to stay in a one bed apartment for five nights. I got 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points (which I value at $200). I also got free parking during my stay (normal price is $150 for 5 days). So the cash rate for my stay would have been $3,850 (including the value of the parking and the Marriott Points).
To get this rate, I had to sit through a one hour timeshare presentation. The sales rep will do the hard sell and offer you an expensive timeshare. But there’s no obligation to buy anything, and I didn’t buy anything during my presentation.
If you want to book up a discounted stay, you can email me. Give me your name, Phone Number, Email address and the city you live in.
I should disclose that I’m a happy owner with Marriott Vacation Club. The system is easy to use. I’m very good at maximising my membership. Each year I use my points to stay at resorts that cost over $1,000 per night.
I wrote a complete guide to the program. It’s a must read, if you’re considering the program. I provide full details about what I paid to enter the program, and what I pay in maintenance fees.
Being part of Marriott Vacation Club has enabled me to take holidays, that I didn’t believe were possible. And that I couldn’t have otherwise afforded.
The time I have spent with my family will stay with me forever. I hope my kids will fondly remember these times too!
I have multiple reviews of Marriott Vacation Club Resorts on this blog. One very special review was at the Ritz Carlton Vail. A stunning resort on Vail, Colorado. I checked a random date. The starting price for a two bedroom apartment is $1,936 per night. I was able to use my annual allocation of points to book this resort. I pinch myself, just thinking about it!
Since I’ve been an owner with Marriott Vacation Club, I get offered discounted packages and presentations all the time. I do an average of two presentations a year. These are the same sort of packages that booked at the Westin Maui Kaanapali Resort. i.e. a discounted hotel stay with free Bonvoy Points, and a 1 hour sales presentation.
Also note that there are no resort fees or parking costs to pay either (if you stay on a discounted package). This is common at Westin Vacation Clubs and at Marriott Vacation Clubs. Its’s also pretty awesome.
For comparison, the Waldorf Astoria Maui charges $140 per day for the resort fee and valet parking (including taxes). So a 5 night stay would cost $700 in resort fees and parking. This is on top of the charges to stay at the hotel.
Below is a Youtube video about Marriott Vacation Club on My Channel.
The Westin Maui Kaanapali Resort is located on Ka'anapali beach on the Hawaiian island of Maui. It’s a 45 minute drive from the airport.
If you want to go to Hana, it will take you 2.5 hours. The road to Hana is famous in Maui. With beautiful waterfalls and scenery on the way.
Haleakala National Park is a 2 hour drive away.
There’s a Safeway grocery store, 10 minutes drive from the resort. There’s a Walmart next to the airport. Walmart might be the cheapest Grocery Store in Maui.
There’s other hotels nearby the Westin. The Marriott Maui Ocean Club is 2 miles away. That resort is also part of Marriott Vacation Club. I stayed there last year, and it blew my mind! My review is here. My apartment had an epic view of the ocean. It’s worth clicking on the link, just to see the photo of the view.
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The island of Maui is an outdoor lovers paradise. With Whale watching, mountains, waterfalls, beaches and more. Below are some of my favourite activities.
Haleakala National Park contains a dormant volcano as it’s highlight. The volcano is 10,023 feet (3,055 meters) above sea level. I went up there. I took the above photo from the viewing centre. I went there in the afternoon, but sunrise is the most popular time to visit. You need to get a permit to visit at sunrise.
You can book a sunrise tour to Haleakala National Park here. Tour is rated at 4.6*. It lasts 9 hours and costs $219. Hotel pickup included. Breakfast at Cafe O'Lei is also included. And you’ll have a tour guide take you to the top of the mountain at sunrise.
The Road to Hana is a must visit for any trip to Maui. The road itself is 64 miles. And you stop off along the way to view state parks, waterfalls, black sand beaches, rainforests and more.
You can book a Road To Hana Tour here. The tour is rated 4.7* and lasts for 8 hours. It costs $250 and includes a local guide.
The tour includes a light breakfast of Hawaiian fruits and pastries. Maui is famous for its fruits. Pineapples, papaya, mango, dragon fruit, star fruit, lychee, guava and more.
Lunch is served at a very famous Hawaiian BBQ joint. The chef was featured on Gordon’s Ramsey’s Youtube channel (view video below). Hawaiian BBQ is pretty famous. You should definitely try it when you visit. Signature dishes include Huli-Huli Chicken, Kalua Pork and Chicken Katsu.
You’ll also see the best that the Road to Hana had to offer. Entrance to Wainapanapa State Park is included.
The Hawaiian Islands are one of the best places in the world to do a helicopter tour. The best value Maui Helicopter tour can be booked here. With a near-perfect 4.9* rating. It costs $329 and lasts for 75 minutes. You’ll experience Hana rainforest, Paia, Hookipa, and Haiku. You’ll land in the rainforest and then explore on foot. Before being flown back to the starting point.
The Westin Maui Kaanapali Resort is massive. It has over 1,200 condo units. At full capacity, there could be over 7,000 guests.
There are all sorts of activities to enjoy on your Hawaiian Vacation.
There are three connected resorts. The Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas North is where I stayed. The other two resorts are:
The three resorts are next to each other. Each of the resorts is a horse shoe shape, looking out towards the sea. And the swimming pools and the activities are in the centre of the resort.
The Westin Ka'anapali North has the following facilities:
The fire pit is really cool. In the evenings, people sit around it and listen to the live music.
The Westin Ka'anapali South has the following facilities:
In between the North and South buildings are even more activities. There’s a kids pool with pirate ship, kids playground, kids activity centre, shuffle board, table tennis and miniature golf.
It probably takes 5 minutes to walk from the North Building to the South Building.
The resort has lovely landscaped gardens and water features throughout the hotel. The property is well maintained.
The resort has loads of grills dotted around.
Below is a video I posted on Youtube. With a walk through of the resort. The video was created before I took my Youtube course, so it’s a little rough around the edges.
The Westin Nanea Ocean Villas is right next to the Westin Ka'anapali. If you’re staying at the Westin Ka'anapali, you can use the facilities at the Westin Nanea.
It’s a five minute walk. Although, it can feel longer in the Hawaiian heat. The other option is to use the free shuttle bus, offered by the Westin.
The facilities at the Westin Nanea, are very similar to the Westin Ka'anapali. Swimming Pools, water slide, games etc. The Westin Nanea has a kids pool with fake sand, which is nice. They also have hot tubs and a large pool in the centre of the hotel.
If you’re booking a stay, then try to book the Westin Nanea. The resort was built in 2017 and the facilitates are excellent. For comparison, the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas North was built in 2003.
The Westin Nanea Website is here.
The below video is from my Youtube channel
I booked up a one bed apartment at the Westin Maui Kaanapali Resort. When you book up a discounted package, you get booked into the lowest category of room. As such, my room was on the 1st floor and had a view of the exterior garden. There was no ocean view.
The apartment was 800 square foot.
If you stay here on a package, then you’ll be booked into the lowest category of room. You won’t get an ocean view either! Hey don’t complain. You’re staying at a 50% discount and getting 40,000 Bonvoy Points. It’s a great deal.
My one bed apartment was decent. It had all the facilities of home:
I slept in the sofa bed. My wife and kids shared the king size bed. In theory, the apartment can hold 8 people, but I wouldn’t recommend it!
I think 6 is probably the most you could reasonably hold in the apartment. And you would need to be part of the same family. As you’re going to be squashed in!
We had a small terrace with a chair and a couple of seats. However, as we were on the 1st floor, we didn’t want to use it. Because of security concerns. Anybody could walk by and come into the apartment.
The apartment didn’t have a nice view. You couldn’t see the ocean. You couldn’t see the resort. The apartment was facing outwards, on the side of the resort. We could see the Westin Nanea, beyond the field.
The apartment furniture was a little dated. The furniture itself was in a decent condition. However, the furniture was functional rather than luxury.
The bathroom had a nice whirlpool bath, complete with bubbles. My kids loved it! After spending an entire day playing and swimming, they would come back and use the whirlpool!
The above slideshow has about 20 photos of the apartment. The below video is a walkthrough of the apartment
I viewed one of the two bed apartments at the Westin Nanea Ocean Villas. It had been recently refurbished and was terrific.
It was a spacious 1,300 square foot. All of the kitchen appliances were super high end. The décor was lovely too. The bathroom was huge and had a freestanding tub. You can see the photos in the above slideshow.
Between the three Maui Resorts, there’s a lot of swimming pools and hot tubs! I won’t cover the pool at the Nanea in this section. That’s covered in the above section on the Westin Nanea.
The Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas North (where I stayed) has two swimming pools. There’s a large swimming pool with a basketball net. This pool was pretty busy on each day (although not as busy as the pool at the Westin Ka'anapali South).
There’s also a smaller adult pool. Which I never saw anyone use! There were also two hot tubs.
The swimming pools were open until 10pm. The hot tubs were open for use, for 24 hours.
One of my very favourite things about Marriott Vacation Clubs are the activities. The resorts operate a home away from home concept. So there’s loads of activities to enjoy.
The Westin Maui Kaanapali Resort was no exception. They had the following games to play:
They had corn hole at the back of the Westin Ka'anapali North, before you get to the beach.
Miniature golf was next to the kids pool. There were 6 holes. It wasn’t great. The holes were quite old and there were no windmills! But it’s something to do!
The table tennis table was next to the kids pool. My wife played this with me. She’s getting better. But nowhere near as good as me!
Next to the kids pool is a kids play centre. It’s a little small, and they do arts and crafts. They also had some board games like jenga.
I booked tennis a couple of times with my wife. Both times she bailed because of the heat! So I went by myself and practised my serve. The court was a super high quality hard court.
All of the 3 Westin properties back on to Ka'anapali beach. The beach is really nice, with golden yellow sand.
I went for a walk each day along the beach.
The beach itself is public, so that’s something to be aware of. There’s a public path way in between the North Tower and the Nanea Tower.
I have a lot of reviews of Marriott Beach Properties in Hawaii. This review is of Waikoloa Beach Club in Big Island Hawaii. That resort had 4 swimming pools and 3 hot tubs. This review is of the Westin Hapuna in Big Island. The view from the lobby was spectacular (check the article photos).
The Westin Maui Kaanapali Resort has a pretty good fitness centre. My room was right next to it, and I used it one time. They had a decent range of dumbbells, resistance machines and cardio machines.
I used the dumbbells to do a bench press and some triceps. The gym was good enough for me.
I love Hawaii and I love Marriott/Westin Vacation Club. So this resort is a lay up for me. I was always going to like it!
The Westin Maui Kaanapali Resort is a beach front resort with loads of activities for you and the family. The property also has apartments, rather than hotel rooms.
My only complaint is that the apartment decor was dated.