After a short hop from Moloka'i, we were ready to kick our shoes off and relax. My now fiancée (we were engaged two days earlier) worked for a Starwood Hotel so we often plan our travels around available employee room rates. For the second half of our vacation on Maui we were making use of this rate. Unfortunately, that left us spending one night at the Westin Maui since our preferred hotel (Westin’s Ka’anapali Resort Ocean Villas) did not have a rate available for our first night on the island. Our goal was to make the most of our night and morning as there is so much to do at this resort!

The Westin Maui has been around for a while, but walking through the front doors, that is not immediately evident. The open air lobby area is stunning. A large pond backed by a picturesque waterfall is mesmerizing. The hotel is crescent-shaped with a huge pool area ensconced between the buildings and that delectable strip of white sand known as Ka’anapali Beach. Most of the pools are connected by channels or slides. You can’t leave without trying out the waterslide. But hotel standards, this one is great!

One can use superlatives to describe the public areas of this hotel. However, that sentiment did not translate to the rooms from the public spaces. Upon entering our room, one may turn right and enter a powder room area that is separated from the room by a counter. The actual bathroom contained the toilet and a small combination bath and shower. Having stayed in a fair amount of Westins, it is apparent that there is a lot of latitude in what constitutes a ‘Heavenly Bath’ experience. In this case, the only upgrade came from installing the dual showerhead in the shower. This was actually detrimental as the bathroom was smallish already. Adding those big showerheads made the water come out around my shoulders. I am less than 6’ tall so I’m not used to having this happen.

The room was tastefully decorated in dark woods. I find it possible to put a date on the hotel by taking a look at the sliding door to the lanai. They usually don’t consider things like that during renovations. The lanai itself was very nice and fairly spacious. Our 6th floor room overlooked the golf course and mountains.

Parking can be a chore at the hotel. By a chore I mean there isn’t enough. In the off season, this shouldn’t be a problem.Thankfully they offer complimentary valet parking when this happens.

All in all, I gave the hotel 4 out of 5 orange blobs. I would give the activities, location and grounds 5 out of 5. The room and value for the money would only receive 3 out of 5 blobs. I was happy to only be paying the employee rate (plus the $18 per day resort fee). My review wouldn’t have been as kind if I had paid the public rate.

Our room was the size of a normal hotel room, but the bed was very comfortable and the comforter was down filled. There was a small refrigerator and coffeemaker. Countertops were granite. We had a mountain view that was beautiful. We sat on the little terrace which had a small table and two chairs, and drank a little wine there before going to dinner, looking over the golf course and up to the mountain. The decor was pleasing to the eye and relaxing with neutrals.

One draw-back of the room was that there was not much room to unpack. There was a wardrobe that housed the television on one side and had a small pole to hang clothes on the other. Drawers were under the television. It made the room prettier this way, but was not practical.

The location was excellent. We walked next door to the Whaler's Village, which has restaurants and fun shops. A two-minute drive to Lahaina, which we loved. Lahaina has boat charters, and shows as well as great restaurants and shopping. The Sheraton is their sister hotel, and we used their facilities to snorkel Black Rock. My husband came face-to-face with a sea turtle there!