As you may have read in a previous post, I had an amazing time at the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas courtesy of a great offer from Westin Vacations and American Express.
As I mentioned in that post, the concierge made me an [additional] offer I couldn’t refuse: 7,000 SPG Starpoints for sitting through their timeshare presentation.
So what did I do? I took the offer (of course)! I sit through timeshare presentations so you don’t have to!
Review: The Westin Nanea Ocean Villas – Timeshare Edition (Maui, Hawaii)
I was expecting to be pitched on one of the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas (north or south), but instead I was surprised to learn that I would be shown properties at the brand-new Westin Nanea Ocean Villas, just north of the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas North.
The Westin Nanea Ocean Villas pool (with Molokai in the background)
The Official Promotional Video (video courtesy of Vistana.com)
The Timeshare Presentation
We met with the Westin Vacations Timeshare representative at the concierge desk of the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas South. Officially, I believe he was an employee of Vistana.
He walked us back to a staging room with Starbucks Coffee and warm chocolate chip cookies, and then spent some time building rapport by exchanging niceties and making small talk about the island of Maui. He then asked if we were ready to begin.
He walked us over to an impressive set of back-lit SPG panels showcasing stellar properties, exotic locations, and properties in the [pre-Marriott merger] SPG footprint. Next, we were led over to a huge globe of planet earth with every SPG property lit up. I actually was impressed.
We were then picked up by an extended golf-cart shuttle and whisked away to the Westin Nanea Ocean Villas.
The Westin Nanea Ocean Villas Property Tour
As we arrived, we were taken through the lobby through to the courtyard of the Nanea. The representative explained to us the Nanea was different from the other Westin Ocean Villas in that the designers teamed up with indigenous Hawaiian designers to create an environment that invokes the spirit of the Hawaiian people.
Courtyard of the Westin Nanea Ocean Villas
“Nanea” means “tranquility”. The nanea of this property is said to be enhanced by the “gentle wind” unique to Ka’anapali.
The Ocean View
Take a closer look and you’ll notice the rich Hawaiian accents of the the Nanea. Here, you can see the native Hawaiian Taro plant [among others] planted for cultivation.
Taro being grown for harvest
Initially, we were led to the “no-view” 1-bedroom model unit. We peeked inside, but it was jam-packed. There must have been 3 other tours going on in that unit at the same time.
Our representative said, “no problem, I’ll take you to see a prime unit with a view”.
The 3 Bedroom Unit
We headed upstairs into the kitchen and living room area of the 3 bedroom unit. I could see right away, units at the Nanea were styled radically different from the other Westin Ocean Villas. They were more modern, warm, and “homey” than their Ocean Villa neighbors.
The Official 3 Bedroom Promotional Video (video courtesy of SPG Hawaii)
The Kitchen
The Kitchen was large and outfitted with stainless steel appliances
The kitchen adjoined with living room and the dining balcony beyond that
One major notable upgrade was the increased shelf and pantry space, which in my opinion remedied a “fatal flaw” with the other Ocean Villas.
The washer and dryer combo
The Master Bedroom
The Master Bath
The rain shower and waterfall tub
Guest Bedroom
The View From The Room
Yes, this view is incredible!
The Balcony Dining Table
That’s the island of Molokai just offshore
The Time Share Pitch:
After the tour of the Westin Nanea Ocean Villas, we were returned back to the Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas South and led to what I’ll call the “hard-sell room”. This room was austere compared to everything else, consisting of a desk and a large dry-erase white board. There was also notably no door to the room.
The first phase was the recap – a rundown of everything we just saw, the Vistana point system, and the benefits of the Vistana Villa Resort Collection timeshare program. It was explained that the timeshare purchase consisted only of “time” in the form of currency in an exclusive Vistana point system (valid only at the Villa Resort Collection) – not physical property.
The complete Villa Resort Collection listings
In my opinion, the Vistana Villa Resort Collection was somewhat limited – having locations only in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, South Carolina, Mexico, The Bahamas and Virgin Islands.
It was further explained these Vistana points could alternatively be converted into currency in another world timeshare program or SPG points for expanded options, although it occurred to me at first glance that doing so may somewhat dilute the value of the Vistana points.
Editor’s Note: In the interest of providing unbiased reporting neutral to both buyer and seller, I’m not going to go into the specific details of pricing, terms, etc., as these items may vary significantly based on factors such as prospective buyer’s credit, seller incentives, and/or market prices.
As with any significant purchase, I recommend you always do your thorough research and consult your financial advisors to ensure a deal like this is right for you and your budget.
Next, the representative brought in his “closer” and she sat down for the hard-sell. She explained we were buying “ownership” and “equity” and that after “X” amount of payments of “$X” amount, we would “own” the timeshare [points] free and clear, and that we could even pass it on to our children or family members. The one caveat with ownership is that we would still be responsible for a significant annual maintenance fee as long as we held the property.
She then drew up some hard numbers that included the purchase price, the 10% down payment, closing costs, maintenance fees and interest rate. She did note that we were eligible to go through our own bank if we could get a better interest rate.
Then came the fun part: the “sweeteners”. She said, “if you buy right now, today only, I can throw in the following special offers,” and she began rattling offers off a list. The first was SPG Gold Status and 180,000 Starpoints (impressive). The second was a promo for 90,000 Starpoints (which could be received up to 4 times) with every payment – for a total of 360,000 Starpoints (most impressive).
I responded, “so let me get this straight, if I buy today and make 4 payments, I’ll receive 540,000 Starpoints?”. “Correct,” she responded. “Let me ask you this, if I pay for my timeshare with my American Express Starwood Preferred Guest card, will I get the bonus points for SPG purchases?”. Her response was, “Absolutely, that’s what we all do with our own timeshares”.
She then did the hard-sell, “are we going to be buying today?”, to which I responded, “no, but thank you for your presentation”. She was all business and no-nonsense and immediately got up and said, “time-shares aren’t for everybody, thank you,” she shook our hands and told us to wait for a colleague of hers to do an exit interview, and then walked out the door.
Her colleague immediately walked into the room and asked us a couple questions on why we chose not to buy at this time. She then said, “I see you are here on a great promotion, would you be interested in coming back next year on another great deal?” I said, “sure, what kind of deal?”, she then performed one final sell on what is called the “Explorer Package”.
The Explorer Package
The Explorer Package included a stay at one of the villas in the Vistana Collection, an additional 9,000 Starpoints, and the option for use the purchase price of the package toward the 10% down payment on a future timeshare purchase (within 1 year). I politely declined.
The Bottom-line Review: The Westin Nanea Ocean Villas – Timeshare Edition (Maui, Hawaii)
Overall, the timeshare presentation was very informative and professional and the Westin Nanea Ocean Villas was a very impressive property. I’m glad I got to see it up close, and I’m glad I did the timeshare tour (totally worth 7,000 Starpoints!). Even the mandatory “hard-sell” wasn’t even that hard, it was professional and no-nonsense. The sweeteners were very, very interesting.
In the end, this timeshare just wasn’t for me – but then again, none of them are. That’s just me. If you really want to stay at the Westin Nanea Ocean Villas, this property is bookable on Marriott.com. Is it cheaper booking it for a week than buying it through a timeshare? I’ll let you be the judge of that one.
Now that Marriott has assumed control of SPG and Starpoints, I’m curious to see what new offers and timeshare presentations they will have, maybe I’ll be back one day to see.
Mahalo!
2 comments
[…] to double down anyway and take on a timeshare presentation while there for some bonus points and wrote a review on the experience. Be sure to check out both […]
Thanks for the review. Did you get 7,000 starpoints = 21,000 marriott points?
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