Starwood Maui Hotel help
 

I am lucky enough to have earned a bundle of Starwood hotel points that I'm going to use for a honeymoon in Maui. I'm wondering if people can give help on the 3 hotels to choose from. I'm looking for romance, serenity, & a great beach/pool atmosphere. According to the guidebooks, Kapalua Bay Hotel is beautiful but the weather is spotty up there, and beach isn't as nice as Kaanapali. Westin is supposedly frequently crowded with families and kids, and Sheraton is dated. Can anyone offer any insight??

We were married at Kapalua Bay Hotel on July 4, 2000. I think Kapalua Bay is such a classy, understated hotel. We've stayed at the Westin before and it's good if you have kids or want to be closer to Lahaina and shopping, but we personally prefer Kapalua Bay Hotel.

We just returned from the Sheraton and really loved it. It did not look dated at all!!! Our room was recently renovated from the looks of it, try to request a room in Building 3.

The grounds are wonderful, and it's close to everything. We did find the pool area to be nicer at the Westin (we only saw it at night though), and their beach chairs are padded and plush, however there are only 2-3 umbrellas for the whole pool area. Every chair at the Sheraton has it's own 'umbrella'. There were some kids, but it wasn't crazy with kids. The pool chairs were reserved quickly in the morning however.

Cobby...Hope ya get some responses. I too have points and dont know where to stay in Maui!

I just returned this morning from Maui and my 3rd stay at the Sheraton. As a platinum SPG member, each of my stays they have upgraded us to a beautiful 2 room King oceanfront suite (in building 2). This is one of the reasons I keep going back there.
Several thoughts here... we couldn't stay at Kapalua Bay b/c it was booked. It's location is nice and secluded, however we wanted a good beach, so not a big deal. The Westin has a great pool area and is full of kids - not my idea of quiet romance. I like the Sheraton because it's at the end of the Kannapali hotels (so people aren't always walking by). The beach is great; the snorkeling is excellent right in front of the hotel; sunset is beautiful; you can walk along the beachwalk in front of the other hotels/whaler's village if you want to get a quick bite or drink nearby; we rented surfboards down the beach(near the Westin). The pool at the Sheraton is smaller, but we spent all our time on the beach, so that didn't matter. I wouldn't consider the rooms dated, they aren't the sleekest(like the heavenly beds in the Westin) though, but I do consider them high quality.
Side note - Starwood is promoting their stay at one and play at all kind of thing. You can eat and use the services of any of the Starwood hotels there and have it charged to your room.

What she said! We also just returned from the Sheraton Maui and loved it. Room was in building 6 on Black Rock. It wasn't outdated at all. In fact, housekeeping kept it immaculate the whole time. I was impressed. I did see Kapalua too and thought it looked great (and romantic). Didn't see the rooms though. I think you would be happy with any of the Starwood hotels in Maui. I chose the Sheraton for the beach and location. It surpassed my expectations. We were upgraded without using any points, even though we used points for our room.

Just to add one quick note. I see you mentioned you will be on your honeymoon.
Last Friday was my boyfriend's birthday and I surprised him with one of their "Romantic Dinners Under the Stars" at the Sheraton. It was just the 2 of us in a gazebo on the beach(yet private), lit by torches, and 5 course dinner with personal waiter. Very romantic! Food and service was great(though we got the dessert delivered to our room as I couldn't eat another bite!). They have several menu options on the Sheraton-maui.com website. If you book online you get an additional 10% off. The prices quoted on the website were actually higher than we paid, so I was pleasantly surprised with a lower bill. Still, not cheap - but very romantic for a special occasion.

We stayed at the Sheraton Kaanapali in January and loved it. We did not find the hotel to be "dated" at all. The beach was great, it was a short walk to Whaler's village and they offer a shuttle to Lahaina. Our room was nice, very spacious and comfortable. I believe we were in Building 3 also with a nice view of the beach/ocean/grounds. We had friends that were right over Black Rock and their view was unbelievable. You don't say what time of year you'll be going, we obviously didn't have a lot of kids around since it was January so I can't comment on how or if a large number of kids would have changed our experience.

What time of year are you going to Maui? May through October, I would not worry about the weather in Kapalua......... it is beautiful then, with a few more showers and breezier because it is the Northern part of the island. I don't think you could go wrong with Sheraton or Kapalua......... Both sound heavenly to me!:-)