maui with kids need suggestions on a dvc hotel

[wdwstar]

just bought dvc and with getting the mb we decided finally on going to maui with 2 kids,(13)(5) for our next trip,since we were just at wdw wilderness lodge for 10 days. (loved it) we want to stay on maui but i dont know which hotel to make ressies, can someone help? i went to the dvc web page and i cant get any info because im having trouble opening the down load pages, i have what you need, it just wont open them. so, i need everyones help, that have been there where to stay. and just for the future what about hawaii ?
thank you

 

[Dean]

The only resort you can make a direct reservations at is the Kapalua Bay Hotel. For an exchange on Maui, the Marriott is the place through DVC. I'd also consider the Embassy or Whaler if you can get it through another source. Then there's the Westin if it ever gets going.

 

[littlestar]

We snorkeled at Kapalua Bay on Maui. They had a nice, sheltered cove with calm water. (this was the end of May - don't know if the time of year makes a difference on the water). The golf course overlooks the bay (beautiful)!

Hawaii waters can be dangerous. Our youngest daughter almost drowned on our first trip to Hawaii and she won't go near the water there unless it's in a cove and very calm looking!

A great resource for planning a trip to Maui Hawaii is a book called "Maui Revealed." They have a companion website that will let you look at aerial views of Maui resorts for free (if you want the complete review with photos you have to buy the book to get the password to enter that part of the website). I bought the book "Maui Revealed" and it was worth the $15.00 I paid for it. We used it our whole trip. Especially when we did the "Road to Hana." Here's the web address:

http://www.wizardpub.com/maui/mauresort.html

Click on resort aerial photos and it will show you views of the hotels from the air. If you want to look at other pages for the other islands, there are links at the top of the page for that. I am anxiously waiting the publishers next book for Oahu. Enjoy!

 

[wdwstar]

thank you, especially about the water, you gave me a chill, i hope your daughter is alright , sometimes when we are on vacation we let our guard down . i will look into the web site, thanks again!

 

[pnelson]

Don't know if you've called yet, but it is very difficult to get a trade into Maui except at the Kapalua Bay. The only timeshare available is the Marriott but I was told by Member Services that the Marriott is almost impossible. I put out a search for anytime starting in April of 2004 and right now they don't have anything. Also, isn't booking night by night at Kapalua very pricey-points wise??

This is the one part I feel my Guide at DVC was very dishonest and almost deceitful. It is not as easy to trade outside of WDW as they made it sound. Also, I've found it's not always easy to book outside of my home resort at the 7 month window. Oh well.

 

[wdwstar]

no, i have not called yet, but thank you for the tip. i was trying to find a place first,so, i was kinda prepared, instead of, oh im not sure, uh im not sure, let me look it up, in other words, i didnt want to sound like a newbie, even though i am. thats about the time i was going to look into, april 04, i guess i better have a few dates ready. and your right to use the other dvc, points per night is crazy, you would only get about three nights compare to a full week for the same amount of points. i was looking into the grand hotel, in mackinac island, we go every aug. you should see how many points they want for a night, but you are getting breakfast and 5 course dinner per night for two, but still did you see how many points yikes. you are right the salepersons they really know how to talk when it comes to non disney dvc resorts. i guess we should all know better, but we bought it because of the dvc resorts stays and we love mickey!
thank you again for your advice

 

[vbfamily]

I don't know what it costs to stay at Kapalua point wise but Starwood Preferred Guest is running a special through the end of the year. It actually looked pretty attractive to us. I didn't feel like comparing it to the cost with points. Their price is $254 per night. Is that better or worse than with points?

Plus, you get 35% off rental car, certain food, certain activities, etc.

If you do go to Maui...the whales are awesome at certain time of the year. You can bike down Haleakala-this would probably have to be done without the kids. The other poster is right about the water. Sometimes it looks calmer than it is.

Have fun planning.

I'm interested in knowing if you do end up using points or just paying cash. It seems like cash is just the way to go sometimes-all depends on the deal you can get.

 

[GrammieMame]

Kapalua is really expensive, point-wise, but I'm doing it anyhow. I bought into Beach Club and didn't go there for a year, and also had some leftover points from Wilderness Lodge, so figured what the heck. But I did get two "free" nights and 2 buffet breakfasts daily at Kapalua, and wanted the assurance that we would have a reservation on the beach. So it's worth it to me.

 

[pnelson]

Well, since you want Maui, there really are not that many choices open to you in terms of places to stay. The only two that I know of are Kapalua Bay and the Marriott Oceaneers Club on Maui. And it really isn't a matter of specific dates-the more open you are to a time frame, the more chances you have. But the person I talked to on the phone said she had never seen the Marriott open up for trade on Maui-at any time frame. I think I've pretty much decided I'm going to use my DVC membership for Disney and maybe a fancy night here or there when I have extra points, but for Hawaii I think I am going to stick to cash.

 

[Dean]

Actually there are several choices for Maui, just that the only one through II-DVC that's a fair trade is the Marriott. The other choices like Sands of Kahana, Kaanapali Key and Schooner are not on par with DVC. One Napili way is a reasonable choice but not for young children. That's not to say their not worth considering, just not worth a direct one to one trade using DVC. Your best bet is a direct exchange with a Marriott owner. Marriott will not be available for April as of yet as the owners there can only reserve at 12 months out (13 months for multiweek owners) and cannot deposit earlier than 12 months.

I'd look for a direct exchange and talk to 2 or 3 indendent exchange companies to include San Francisco Exchange, Trading Places and possibly Platinum interchange. The Embassy is fairly easy to get through SFX. The schooner is easy through TP. One of these also does Maui Lei and Maui Hill which would be a good choice of one doesn't want the Kaanapali area. The Embassies are both going II it appears and should get added to the DVC list once they are in the system.

 

[littlestar]

wdwstar,

My daughter is okay, but very careful around water now. She has no interest in the water mice at Disney! We love Hawaii, but are very careful when swimming or snorkeling in open water (rip currents).

We found when planning our Hawaii trips that airfare can be outrageous. Sometimes package deals (like a package through a travel agency like AAA) that include the airfare are your best deal for a trip to Hawaii. Sometimes it's like getting the hotel for free on a package because they discount the airfare compared to what you can book directly (hope that makes sense).

The year we went to Hawaii for just an eight day trip I did better with a package. Then the year we went to Maui for 15 days, I lucked out with a super airfare sale and then got an Entertainment Discount with our Disney Club card (50% off our condo) so I booked that trip all separately myself. Then I bought our trip insurance through Travel Guard I think it was. I always buy trip insurance when traveling to Hawaii just in case of an emergency (Hawaii is so far away, unlike Florida where we could drive home if we had to).

Here's another website to take a look at. I used Pleasant Holidays (we ended up booking the 8 day trip with Pleasant Holidays through our AAA travel agent - but I did use the site to get an idea on price) I also went to various airline websites and got quotes on their sites to compare packages. Here's Pleasant Holidays site:

http://www.pleasantholidays.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Welcome

Have fun planning your trip. I wish Hawaii had a DIS board!