Howdy,
My fiancee and I are two of the apparently many who are planning a honeymoon in Maui (in March), and we're leaning toward the KBH after a lot of reading, as we've never been to HI ourselves.

A few questions for any who may have experience:

--What is the difference between the Ocean View and Deluxe Ocean View rooms? Is it worth the rate difference?

--Has anyone traveled under their Romance Package, and if so, what were your thoughts?

--How commonly are upgrades available/offered on arrival? It sounds as though they are more commonly offered to Starwood travelers -- any other benefits to signing up for membership?

--Anyone ever stayed at their "Oceanfront Villa Suites," or seen much of them? Their site did not provide rate information or much detail.

Thanks in advance, and thanks to all who have posted the great information we've already gotten from the forum archives.

I too am planning a trip to KBH in January. I have heard a mixed bag of reviews, via www.flyertalk.com and www.tripadvisor.com as well as in this forum. It seems that people love it or hate it. It does seem to be one of the better honeymoon Maui properties (other than the Four Seasons). I too would love any recent reports.

I stayed in an ocean view room two years ago at the Kapalua Bay hotel. We actually paid for an ocean front room but when we arrived they were all taken (wasn't too happy about that!) but they deducted the difference in our price and gave us free breakfast buffets for the length of our stay. The view from our ocean view room was a good one (I could definately see the ocean)but it was quite a bit set back from the water. I could not hear the waves from my room but instead heard the air conditioning units. The hotel was very nice and classy. I did notice that the lounge chair on our lanai was in need of rapair. Also, we received little fish pins on our pillows each night with a story to be continued with each new pin. On our last night I requested the rest of the pins to finish the story and did not get them. As far as your question about the Starwood perks, you do know about getting a 30-35% discount on the room rates, right?
Hope this helps!

--What is the difference between the Ocean View and Deluxe Ocean View rooms? Is it worth the rate difference?

Hmmmm...I think we had just the standard ocean view. We were set pretty far back from the ocean, but still could see it. I don't know the difference in price, but if it's important to you...splurge on the deluxe ocean front!

--Has anyone traveled under their Romance Package, and if so, what were your thoughts?

We received a package deal...but I don't think it was the "romance" package, although there are some similarities.

according to the website:

A bottle of champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries upon arrival -- we did not receive this...but a bottle of champagne and fresh fruit platter showed up in our room one evening, compliments of the chef.

Daily breakfast for two -- we did have the daily breakfast buffet included, it was wonderful! We looked forward to it every morning, arrived early and sat at the edge of the terrace...it drizzled often in the morning and just made for the perfect atmosphere. sigh...
The first morning we left the hotel at 3:00 to see the sunrise on Haleakala, we spoke with the chef in advance and he arranged a "to go" breakfast for us. (had second breakfast at Kula Lodge) ;-)

A $100 dining credit at our award winning ocean front Bay Club Restaurant -- we did not get this...but we did eat there the first night and had a wonderful meal. Beautiful setting...be sure to make a resie for sunset.

Choice of ocean view accommodations

--How commonly are upgrades available/offered on arrival? It sounds as though they are more commonly offered to Starwood travelers -- any other benefits to signing up for membership?

sorry, can't help with this one.

--Anyone ever stayed at their "Oceanfront Villa Suites," or seen much of them? Their site did not provide rate information or much detail.

or this one...

We found KBH to be a very special hotel. If you do decide to stay there, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

aloha!

Thanks, y'all!

So what is this regarding the hefty discount for Starwood members? That's quite a deal -- does it include packages? Also, does that require any accumulated "points" from Starwood?

Forgive my ignorance -- as a medical resident, my time and budget don't allow for frequent travel (OK, ANY significant travel!), so are there any other good deals like that I should be aware of? I'd kill if I could find us something that good at the Four Seasons...

As mentioned several times before, www.luxurylink.com has a great ocean view/breakfast offer. Just don't overbid. I got a rate 6 nights ocean/breakfast for 1450. The auction has been there every week for over 2 years.

yes, join starwood. it's free. see if they'll let you pay 25 bucks to upgrade to gold. they may have discontinued this. even a basic membership will get you the discount in hawaii.

we paid like 250 a night and had an ocean view, no package. if breakfast is important to you, calculate the difference. you may want just a bed and breakfast package. call starwood and say "can you tell me the best deal for ___ " and give your dates. it may be a package it may not.

rent a car. rent or bring your own snorkel gear (bob's is right nearby in napili but the hotel charges for gear) and enjoy!

upgrades--we are gold starwood and have been since program started, so we always get upgrades and always pay for the worst room category. it's not guaranteed, but it works for us cause we really don't care that much what our view is as we can see water every day (lucky us and we're not even doctors!)

the four seasons is without a doubt the most service oriented hotel chain on the planet (maybe aman tresorts comes close), so you will have much better service there, but wailea's walking path is right in front of your cabana and the beach isn't a cove the way kapalua is. kapalua more private.
stay at kapalua, call the 800 number for starwood to hook you up. call the hotel directly immediatrely, tell them it's your anniversary. beg for the upgrade. be nice, etc. call again before the wedding.
there is no bad room at this hotel. you'll love it.

I agree, call the hotel directly and see what they can do for you. Also, consider looking into American Airlines Vacations, Liberty Travel or other bulk package deals. I believe we got a 5th night free deal...ocean front with breakfast included (still got the champers and fruit for our "honeymoon")...I don't know what the break down was but I think it was overall a better deal than the romance package which is like 500 something a night,correct? The only thing missing was that we didn't get the $100 bay club credit.