Marriott Wialea vs. Marriott Ocean Club Kanapali
 

We've been to the Marriott Ocean Club in Kanapali and loved it. Now we are thinking about trying out the Marriott in Wialea. Aparently, it used to be another resort and Marriott took it over and renovated it in 2001. Does anyone know much about the resport and how it compares to the Ocean Club? (PS, we're not looking for other resports since we're traveling on Marriott points, and you can't beat free) Thanks so much!

Is this the Rennaisance? I need to know if you will be taking kids?

We stayed at the Renaissance in Wailea this past May - it's the only Marriott chain hotel in Wailea. It was beautiful - I've never been to the Ocean Club, but we loved the Renaissance. We were also on points and wanted to go to Wailea since the weather is nice and dry (except of course the 2 weeks we were in Hawaii and Maui where it rained all but 3 days.....).

The Marriott Wailea is the Outrigger Wailea. Marriott and Outrigger entered a partnership on this hotel as of 1/1/03.

Thanks for the posts...no, we will not be taking our kids this time, and we were looking at the New Marriot, (co-owned by Outrigger and Marriot), not the Ren. Thanks

Steve, We just got back from visiting the Maui Ocean Club in Nov. We went a week before the Thanksgiving vacation week and were struck by how many people were there. The surrounding resorts were virtually empty as were the restaurants and shops at Whalers Village and Lahaina. Everywhere we went we saw people who were staying at the Marriott. This led me to believe that the ownership component of the Ocean Club leads to a much fuller resort. There were lots of children (including ours) who had obviously been taken out of school to go on vacation. There were scores of people goign through the timeshare presentations. That said, there is plenty to like about the Ocean Club as you know. Haven't been to the place in Wailea but we really enjoyed snorkeling at the beaches there. Even better than Black Rock.

We used the kids pool there last year (legal as guests of The Palms) and thought it looked very nice and was quite pretty. The resort is fairly spread out, has a great ocean vista and seemed much more quiet and peaceful than the Ocean Club. I'd consider it almost opposite of the bustle of the Ocean Club. I think you did have to walk a bit to the end of the resort to access the beach. We were often the only ones in the children's pool (so don't be alarmed about masses of kids), which is in a different location in the resort as the main pool, and I believe below an adult only pool. If they in fact recently refurbished the rooms, I would definitely try it.<BR><BR>Have fun

My opinion (stayed at both)<BR><BR>The Rennaissance (Wialea)is a beautiful hotel but it more geared toward adults than the Marriott (Kaanapali), which is more family oriented. The Marriot has a huge &quot;funpool&quot; and many restaurants and is walking distance to a mall. The Rennaisance is quieter, with a very small pool but is a notch more elegant and wonderful for couples.

We're taking a trip in May on Marriott points as well. You might look into the Rennaisance. From my research, it seems more geared towards couples than the other Marriott. Something else to consider, you can redeem Marriott points for a stay at the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua but I have heard the weather can be windy and wet compared to Wailea.