There is quite a difference between the rates for the different views. All of the rooms are pretty much the same I've been told. Here are the rates for just the room w/no package:

Mountainview $315
Gardenview $415
Partial Ocean $495
Oceanview $575

SO, is it worth the additional cost to upgrade from a mountainview? Has anyone stayed in a mountainview room? What did you think of the view? Is it a view that is inviting, or that you might enjoy looking at while eating breakfast?

Thanks for helping me decide.

Joan, how many nights will you be staying? If you plan on spending most of your time sitting in your room looking out the window then perhaps the oceanview is the way to go. If you are going to eat well, visit a spa, play golf, take a helicopter ride, or anything else to enjoy the area, then perhaps you might want to save some room money and put it towards other activities.

My advise would be to book the Mountainview and smile at check-in and politely ask if they have any upgrades. Smile again and pass off a $50 tucked under your credit card. It works in Vegas.

Last week i posted the question as to FS versus Kea Lani. FS won. I never questioned the view, though. Here's a thought: I agree that unless you spend the day in your room, which would be insane, the view is not worth the premium. At night, the view is the same-darkness. Hope that helps.

David, I will be at the Four Seasons for 6 nights. I think that during most times of the year it is not unusual to receive an upgrade. The problem is that August is usually fully booked. Reservations said that during the month of August repeat guests rarely receive their complimentary upgrade because the upgrade is simply unavailable. But thanks for your tip.

Mark, you are probabaly right. I really do not spend a lot of time in my room, I'd rather be enjoying the beach, pool, and other activities. I do, however, enjoy my balcony and view in the morning, sometimes with breakfast. But that reason alone probably is not worth the extra cost.

At the FS in Maui I'd personally feel very uncomfortable trying to bribe a desk clerk for an upgrade. That kind of thing is very out of character there, and while the desk clerks in LV can lose their jobs for taking 'tips', many of them will do it. At the FS I would wager that desk clerks would be at much higher risk of actually losing their jobs. Vegas and the FS Maui are night and day different as far as decorum.
As for views, if money is an object, I'd not recommend an ocean view. Big premium for what you get IMO. We stayed in a mountainview there once and had a lovely view of the asphalt parking lot. Not someplace I'd have chosen to luxuriate during breakfast. Even many of the partial ocean views are more partial than ocean view. The hotel is built such that most of the rooms have very limited perspective toward the coastline.

Jack-did you really just see an asphalt parking lot? I don't want to pay a premium price for an oceanview, especially if it is not a fabulous ocean view, but looking at mostly asphalt is not very appealing. I'm glad that you mentioned this. I knew that the mountainview overlooked part of a small parking lot, but I did not realize that the parking lot overwhelmed the view! Better to know now then to be disappointed later.

ttt from another interested party

Joan: we did indeed have a view of the parking lot and not much else. In scanning the hotel layout I'm sure we had, quite simply, the worst room at the resort. Many of the mountain rooms are better situated. Since I was attending a conference I didn't much care about the view. The trip was paid for and I spent little time at the hotel.
I would bet that a goodly percentage of guests who are placed into those rooms overlooking the lot end up back at the front desk complaining, though. I'll bet that on many occasions the desk clerks put people into those rooms then cross their fingers!

Jack, I'm glad to know that there are some mountainview rooms that are better situated. Since I am going for a relaxing vacation, I would definitely go to the front desk and ask for my room to be changed. You never know...

Joan, As a former travel agent my suggestion is to close your eyes and picture what you think you'll see when you step into your hotel room and onto the balcony. If you're picturing ocean waves, then you will be disappointed with any other view and is it worth it to spend the money to go and be disappointed. If you really don't care, go for cheaper. Partial Oceanview generally means that somewhere in the room or balcony you can see the ocean. You might have to stand in one corner of the balcony, but you will see blue. You might also consider calling the hotel directly and ask how many mountainview rooms face the parking lot. If they all do, at least you'll know in advance. Maybe even the Gardenview would be better. Again, visualize your vacation. I have seen many unhappy clients who booked the cheapest room category and were sorely disappointed that it didn't live up to their Hawaii experience expectation. Good luck on making your decision.

I have done a bit of traveling and depending on my budget have gone with the more economical rooms or on several occasions have splurged for the high end room. When I have splurged for the room with the better view and amenities, I have never regreted it and it only added to the overall vacation experience. So, my advice would be that if you can afford it, do it, however if that means you won't as money left to do everything else you want on the vacation, then go for a more moderate room. I think that having a nice room with a good view is part of the fun of being on "vacation" and pampering yourself, in addition to the location that you are visiting.

Sandy, I appreciate your thoughtful advice, but isn't it a bit short-sighted to suggest that people: "...close your eyes and picture what you think you'll see when you step into your hotel room and onto the balcony. If you're picturing ocean waves, then you will be disappointed with any other view and is it worth it to spend the money to go and be disappointed..."?

The price difference between mountainview and ocean view at the Four Seasons is as high as $300 per night. Most travellers can't afford such a premium.
So to suggest that they whip themselves into a frenzy by imagining the perfect ocean view which they can't afford really doesn't serve any good purpose (except that if you can convince them to spend more $$ it might increase the travel agent's commisiion).
At a condo the price difference may be affordable to most travellers, but at the most expensive places, many people aren't willing to pay those kinds of $$ and they'll only feel shortchanged and disappointed if they sit and dream about something they can't have.

David thanks for the tip no pun intended

Margo,
Obviously you've completely missed my intention of visualising the trip. If somebody is staying at the Four Seasons to begin with, it's not like they are on all that tight of a budget. I have NEVER in my career pushed an oceanview for extra commission. In fact I have helped many people find a happy medium with a garden or paritial oceanview. I am simply trying to uncover what the client's expectations of their trip are when they visit any destination. If your accommodations don't meet your expectations regardless of how nice they are, you will be disappointed. If an oceanview was a must have for someone, I would rather suggest a less expensive hotel with a full ocean view if it would make their overall experience better. If you read my suggestion carefully, you would have realized I also suggested asking about the garden view rooms. Sometimes even the difference between parking lot and a view of tropical plants can be a huge difference.

Thanks to all for your opinions. I know I will not be as happy with a parking lot view as an oceanview, but I really do want to stay at the Four Seasons. Maybe the garden view is the way to go. I really do not want to look at a parking lot. Of course, I probably won't be spending all that much time in my room anyway. Decisions, decisions!!!