Sally M.
Yelp
One of the perks of weekly business travel is airline miles, hotel & rental car points. I cashed in all mine from this past year with a 5-night stay at Kalanipu'u Lagoon.
I will start by saying that this property is confusing. Even when calling the Marriott reservation line to book this hotel, the reservation agents seemed to confuse this property with the hotel on the same property. We, too, upon arrival, got mixed up. The signage is atrocious and very confusing - the trick is to just keep driving as far as you can go on all the roads around the swirling golf course and across the tacky, gaudy bridges over the lagoons, and past the appallingly outdated and weird cement fish in one of the lagoons as you near the villas. Once you find it, however, it's well worth it!
We loved our 2-bedroom villa (the smallest available, as this property only has 2 or 3-bedroom villas). We had a spare bedroom and bathroom for no apparent reason, which seemed excessive, but the spare bathroom occasionally came in handy, as did the spare TP, toilet paper, and towels the day housekeeping forgot to clean and tidy our room (even though I called to request service, and I am a platinum status member).
That's another reason for the removal of one star - in addition to the confusion and sometime snobbiness from the hotel on the same property, their service - including IVR - was rather inconsistent. In addition to their less than coherent signage directing us to our hotel, when we'd call the front desk (pushing zero on the phone, since there was no "front desk" button), for some strange reason, I'd be directed to the hotel front desk and not my own at the Kalanipu'u villas. They would say things like "let me connect you to your front desk". Funny! I thought I was calling my front desk. Also, if I was calling the "wrong front desk," why was I greeted with my last name? Very odd.
Aside from the signage and non-standard IVR on the phone lines, the housekeeping was SUPERB on 2 of the 4 days we were scheduled to receive tidy service. Our beds were made, towels/TP/kleenex replaced, and everything was spotles - including our kitchen! However, 1 of those 4 days our TP & kleenex was skipped. And another of those 4 days, we were skipped for tidy service! We were totally forgotten, even though - while most guests at these villas do not receive daily tidy service - since I was using my points - we were set to receive it each day. Sure, my bf thought it was unnecessary that we receive it every day, but I prefer my paper products refilled and bed made while on vacation, and he is much more low maintenance than I am high maintenance.
Last of the "cons," the king mattress was very strange indeed! One whole side was sunken in as if the bed was a sleep number but not fully pumped up with air! Was a rather large person staying here before us? There was in fact a ridge between the two sides of the king mattress, and an obvious imbalance. It was peculiar and uncomfortable, but we did not report this, as I hardly expect them to have a spare mattress. Also, as has been the trend at Marriott's lately, they've been scrimping on costs since the bottom fitted sheets no longer fit the mattress and come off during the night. I don't know about you, but the last thing I want to do is to touch a hotel mattress, so this grosses me out. Figure out your cost structure Marriott, and order fitted sheets and mattress covers that properly fit your mattresses. To this end, Hilton's sleep number beds and Westin's Heavenly beds are *FAR* superior!
We LOVED the views from our luxurious villa - we could see the ocean, mountains, and watch the sunsets on our enormous deck. We LOVED the sliding windows/doors that were designed to fully open to create indoor/outdoor living in the main living room. We loved the open concept kitchen / dining / living room. We enjoyed the comfortable living room furniture and fully stocked kitchen. We loved having a washer / dryer to clean our clothes after muddy hikes.
The location was a bit more rainy than when we were staying on the south side the week prior, and we heard many a helicopters and planes since we were on the flight path and so close to the airport.
Having stayed at the Westin in Princeville in one of their 1-bedroom villas a couple years prior, this would be my comparison:
- Better Beds: Westin
- Better bathrooms: Westin (dual-headed shower & cool tub window pass-thru)
- Better Living Room: Marriott
- Better Deck: Marriott (indoor / outdoor living)
- Kitchens: comparable
- Better Customer Service: Westin
- Better Location: Individual preference, both have pros & cons
- Better pool: Westin is more relaxing, better suited for couples; Marriott for kids & families
- Wish list: Convert the Westin & Marriott pools to saltwater like the Hyatt's pool at Shipwreck Beach - much better for hair & skin :)
I'd of course stay at either property again, and enjoy both for different reasons.