My husband and I are staying at the north villa for a week with our 2.5 year old daughter. We couldn't be happier with the resort. The room (studio, island view) is beautiful, brand new, and quite stylish. The bathroom is huge, with a jacuzzi tub and separate shower. We especially love the in room washer/dryer and kitchenette. They are invaluable assets when traveling with kids! We can prepare breakfast, keep drinks cold in the fridge, have ice at the ready, prepare easy meals. We have a crib for our daughter, which easily fits in the entry way (like a mini room for her) which gives us more privacy. If I were traveling with 2 kids, however, I would definitely get a 1 bedroom villa instead of the studio. Who wants to go on vacation and sleep in the same room with their kids?? Not us!! In the 1 bedroom villa, the kids sleep in the livingroom and the parents can have the bedroom to themselves.

Though the resort caters to familes, it is very elegant and the landscaping is magnificent. We love the koi ponds, and the lush tropical plantings. The pools are fantastic, though we spend most of our time at the two toddler pools, which our daughter loves. They are super clean, safe, and so much fun!

The resort's restaurants are decent, but not amazing. The great thing is that kids eat free, which works for us. When we wanted to go have a really good meal, we used Happy Kids babysitting service so my husband and I could go out by ourselves and check out the new sushi bistro at the recently remodeled Ritz Carlton. Highly recommend it for tasty sushi in a lovely setting.

In sum, can't go wrong at this resort. The weather is absolutely perfect, not as cold and windy as Kapalua. The beach is gorgeous, the staff are friendly, the resort is relaxing, comfortable, and totally easy with kids.

Probably would not recommend this resort for people looking for a quiet getaway. This is a large resort that caters to families, so honeymooners or other folks looking for a totally silent retreat in the middle of nowhere will probably want to look elsewhere.

Our family of 4 (two parents & two kids, ages 4 & 7) just returned from a week here. It was spectacular! After a 7-hour delayed layover at LAX, we finally arrivied on Maui well after our scheduled check in time, but the check in was a piece of cake. The lobby is gorgeous and welcoming and the staff are very accommodating. We were assigned to a room on floor 3 of building 7. We couldn't believe our luck that our lanai directly overlooked the North prop pools, landscaping and straight out to a great view of the ocean. The room itself was very clean, and we ordered a rollaway instead of using the sofabed. (Major improvement). We took a boat trip (Four Winds) to Molokini and it was great fun, but we saw tons more fish right off the beach in front of the hotel & swam with at least 5 different sea turtles and puffer fish @ Black Rock. We even saw whales breaching from our rooms & from the beach out from. We wish we had made the time to get some fresh Island fish & grill it right there at the resort at the outdoor grills one of the nights. We also took a day trip to the Nakeleke Blowhole, Olivine Pools, Honolua Bay, etc. and they were all beautiful, but the resort was just incredibly relaxing. The restaurants aren't anything superb, but just okay (though pricey) and we preferred the dining in Lahaina town for dinners. The weather, staff and resort were excellent, and we are already counting the day when we can go again!

We stayed at the Westin Resort Villas from 4-17--4-21, 2008. Though we requested an early check-in a few weeks in advance, we were unable to be accomodated. We stayed in the North side of the resort which has a less appealing pool, but better ameneties in the rooms (LCD Televisions, etc.). We stayed in a 1 bedroom suite with an adjoining studio for our friends who came along.

The lobby, hallways, rooms, beds, appliances, lanais, bathrooms were great. We bought some groceries and made breakfast in the room a couple of days which was a good way to start the day.

The North pool is pretty pedestrian, while the south pool has a basketball hoop and a waterslide. The walk is not bad, but the resort did not have the feel of a true resort with cocktail servers and food by your lounge chair. Almost all of the time, we had to get out of the water and walk to one of the bars to order drinks and/or food while lounging by the pool. While you can use the shuttle to go to the Maui Westin, Sheraton, and a couple other resorts with MUCH more resorty pools. HOWEVER you can no longer use the pools at the other resorts, though you can apparently charge food and drinks to your room wherever you stay.

Now to the beach at the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas. . .the sandy beach was very shallow and steep, and when you got to the water, the shore was riddled with rocks and coral and it was generally unpleasant. We went to Kaanapali beach where a majority of the resorts are, just south of BlackRock had GREAT beaches with big waves, plenty of sand and room, and you could walk a hundred feet into the ocean and still be on soft sand. I would also reccomend going up to Kapalua to the beach at the Ritz Carlton which was awesome, but was kind of a walk from the car down to the beach. There was pretty poor snorkeling outside the Westin Kaanapali Villas and on Kaanapali beach.

There is no room service in this resort. There are a couple of restaurants at the resort which we did not frequent, we instead went to the Pineapple Grill in Kapalua, The Lhaina Grill in Lahaina, Cheesburger in Paradise in Lahaina, Sansei Sushi in Kapalua, Kimo's in Lahaina, The new Mai Tai Lounge in Lahaina, and Aloha Mixed Plate in Lahaina. I will review under the appropriate heading.

There were a lot of kids around the resort, and I do not have children, but I did not find them to be annoying or loud.

The Concierge was able to book a helicopter tour for us on 1 hour 30 mins notice when we were unable. That was outstanding!

Parking is not a problem, it is a 20 dollar cab ride each way to Lahaina, which of we took advantage several times. The shuttle to Lahaina is free and is pretty quick and runs like clockwork.

All in all, if you do not care about the beach or the pool at your resort, and do not care about room service or cocktail service by the beach or pool, then this is a great resort. The rooms are probabably better than any standard room you will get at any other resort.

I will probably not stay here again, because I am looking for a true resort experience with people waiting on me hand and foot and keeping my belly full of tropical cocktails and food.

I was looking for a place to spend a late spring break on Maui (April 7-13) with my two kids, ages 9 and 13. We usually stay in Napili at the Outrigger (a lovely, low-key property), but since my husband couldn't join us on this trip, I was looking for a slightly upscale place that had a wide range of resort-type services (room service, onsite dining, beach gear rentals, and onsite beach activity rentals), and where my kids could be comfortably set loose at the pool for the day. I also wanted a place where I could fix a few meals if I chose to. This place fit the bill perfectly.

Checkin was a breeze. We arrived via rental car, bearing loads of groceries. The bellman asked if I wanted it all taken to our room while we checked in, and I said sure. They put away all my groceries for me, and gave me a full tour of the resort while my kids settled in. They really made me feel special, and valued. Valet service ($9 day, self-parking is free) was quick and friendly. Parking is no problem at all. Each complex has an underground lot, very useful as cars left outside during the heat of the day can get quite hot. It also rained nearly every morning/night we were there, so the underground parking was the way to go.

I booked a one-bedroom "island View" villa, knowing full well from the other reviews that this meant a view of the highway and parking lot - I was willing to gamble that a free upgrade might be available. Upon checkin, I politely asked the front desk attendant if there were "quieter" rooms available away from the road, as I was worried about the road noise and car alarms. She hated car alarms, too -- and so gave me a partial ocean-view villa fronting the pool, a huge improvement (Rm. 2211 in the South complex). The rooms felt very big to me, and the bathroom was large, clean, and well-stocked with amenities. We never used the jacuzzi tub but I liked the fact that you could soak in it while watching TV if you wanted. Maid service was daily, which suprised me (I expected just once during the stay) and they always restocked our free laundry detergent, fabric softener, dish soap, etc. The villas were very quiet and well soundproofed. I never heard any noise at all from another room. The pool is open until 10pm, but the windows seal wel and close out most sound from outside. At first, I couldn't figure out why the A/C wasn't working, then I remembered another reviewer said you have to make sure all the windows are closed completely. I had to push the balcony slider hard to make contact with the switchplate inside the panelframe, and then it kicked in. Not a problem, really.

The Westin Villas' location on North Ka'anapali Beach means less crowded conditions & plenty of sand for everyone, and great snorkeling is found right offshore. The reef is close-in and is still very healthy, as the water is just deep enough to prevent the coral from being trampled, but not so deep that you can't see the fish & marine life. I used to live near here, and was worried that this reef would be destroyed by all the people, but thankfully this has not happened, largely owing to the rather steep dropoff from shore. During our stay, the ocean was very calm, no waves at all, very good for swimming/kids. (Even during a swell, this beach doesn't get big breakers, but big surgey waves.) The pool was very warm which I like -- and the hot tubs were HOT! Delicious after snorkeling.

The villas are a ten-minute drive from the north end of Lahaina, and there are free shuttles to the Kaanapali Beach resorts/Whaler's Village shops (every 15 mins) and to Lahaina (every hour). If you have a car, do your grocery shopping at Star Market in Honokowai, just 5 mins. to the north - they have a much better quality and selection than the Safeway at Lahaina Cannery Mall. Also try the Honokowai Okazuya (takeout) for delicious, restaurant-quality takeout - the lemon-caper mahi mahi is legendary.

This resort is far less crowded than the other Ka'anapali Beach resorts, and I was impressed by the lovely landscaping. It's really very nicely done. I have to say I prefered the South complex to the North, due to the openness of the South Complex to the ocean (the North Complex is a bit closed off at the ocean end, obsuring the view from the grounds), and better pool (the South's Ocean Pool is larger, and has a waterslide for kids). However, if you are booking a studio unit, the ones in the North complex have actual walk-out lanais; the studios in the South unit only have balconettes (you step out to a railing).

In all, I would recommed this place highly for families w/kids. If you are looking for ultimate luxury, and/or peace and quiet, look elsewhere.