Beach Ammenities at WKORV

I am seriously considering purchasing a resale at this property but am concernred about its beach. My family and I want to make sure that (1) the beach right in front of the resort is good for swimming (not full of rocks) and (2) that you are able to rent lounge chairs and umbrellas or cabanas on the beach itself. In viewing photos - we have not seen people using any beach ammenities such as what we are looking for. Please advise. Thanks.

The resort is right on Ka'anapali Beach so you have over 2 miles you can swim. You will find some areas that have rocks but the whole beach is not full of rocks. It is also very good for snorkeling. You can rent lounge chairs with umbrellas also. You can go to www.westinkaanapali.com and click on Hawaii Live to view a live web cam and look at the beach. VRXstudios also provides a 360 degree view of the beach on the website as well. I am an owner since 2003.

katcrazy wrote:

I am seriously considering purchasing a resale at this property but am concernred about its beach. My family and I want to make sure that (1) the beach right in front of the resort is good for swimming (not full of rocks) and (2) that you are able to rent lounge chairs and umbrellas or cabanas on the beach itself. In viewing photos - we have not seen people using any beach ammenities such as what we are looking for. Please advise. Thanks.

The beach is super private as compared with that of the regular Westin property. Major problem here is the element that is at the public park RIGHT next door with full beach access - as the beach area is public....can be a bit seedy...and they rent the grill area/tables for local parties and they brought in tons of coolers and drank the full content - and this is facing the pool area where all the owners chaises are - and the renters for the four-hour party also have full use of the pool and amenities - that I personally was disgusted by... too much alcohol - controlled by no one..and then they were everywhere and sometimes on vacation you let your guard down and leave items unattended....but don't! It is spotless, though...always cleaning and working on things...Basic restaurant on property - food delicious - great service-but more flies than I have ever seen in my life...ewww.

lauras187 wrote:

The beach is super private as compared with that of the regular Westin property. Major problem here is the element that is at the public park RIGHT next door with full beach access - as the beach area is public....can be a bit seedy...and they rent the grill area/tables for local parties and they brought in tons of coolers and drank the full content - and this is facing the pool area where all the owners chaises are - and the renters for the four-hour party also have full use of the pool and amenities - that I personally was disgusted by... too much alcohol - controlled by no one..and then they were everywhere and sometimes on vacation you let your guard down and leave items unattended....but don't! It is spotless, though...always cleaning and working on things...Basic restaurant on property - food delicious - great service-but more flies than I have ever seen in my life...ewww.

Confused by your comment that the renters have full use of the pool and amenities. What are these "renters" renting and who are they are they renting it from?

jonr5 wrote:

lauras187 wrote:

The beach is super private as compared with that of the regular Westin property. Major problem here is the element that is at the public park RIGHT next door with full beach access - as the beach area is public....can be a bit seedy...and they rent the grill area/tables for local parties and they brought in tons of coolers and drank the full content - and this is facing the pool area where all the owners chaises are - and the renters for the four-hour party also have full use of the pool and amenities - that I personally was disgusted by... too much alcohol - controlled by no one..and then they were everywhere and sometimes on vacation you let your guard down and leave items unattended....but don't! It is spotless, though...always cleaning and working on things...Basic restaurant on property - food delicious - great service-but more flies than I have ever seen in my life...ewww.

Confused by your comment that the renters have full use of the pool and amenities. What are these "renters" renting and who are they are they renting it from?

Apparently, the employees and or local residents are able to book a party at the pool- use the grills - and bring in their own alcohol.....use the pool, chaises, ect... talked to the cockail servers as I was a bit disappointed about this use/abuse as there is no one to monitor the amount that is being consumed by any individual - this breeds uninhibited remarks and luring stares...and then they leave there in their vehicles...and you need not wonder how hawaii's fatal car accidents with alcohol is at the top of the nation's list...scary....We ended up leaving our beautiful time-share and spending the day at wailea...but we had been warned by another owner who was there for the second week of like behavior....and then we saw it first hand.

I have stayed here 4 times and have never seen rowdy crowds with heavy drinking. I also noticed plenty of signs that say you cannot bring alcohol by the pool or beach. I also question if non-owners can book the bool or BBQ. Has anyone talked to the management about this?

dons7 wrote:

I have stayed here 4 times and have never seen rowdy crowds with heavy drinking. I also noticed plenty of signs that say you cannot bring alcohol by the pool or beach. I also question if non-owners can book the bool or BBQ. Has anyone talked to the management about this?

I just called the front desk at the facility and they said that only registred guests can use the pool and BBQ area. Moreover, Westin has security that patrol the facility; although as the BBQs are first come, first serve there is no way they can prevent non guests from trying to use the bbq areas.

Also, it is against Westin's policy to allow even guests to bring their own alchohol into the pool area (i.e. you can't bring down a 6 pack or keg and have at it); however, you can order alchohol from the bar on the pool deck.

I would encourage anyone who is interested to call in to the Westin as I would be curious if you receive the same answer I did.

lauras187 wrote:

The beach is super private as compared with that of the regular Westin property. Major problem here is the element that is at the public park RIGHT next door with full beach access - as the beach area is public....can be a bit seedy...and they rent the grill area/tables for local parties and they brought in tons of coolers and drank the full content - and this is facing the pool area where all the owners chaises are - and the renters for the four-hour party also have full use of the pool and amenities - that I personally was disgusted by... too much alcohol - controlled by no one..and then they were everywhere and sometimes on vacation you let your guard down and leave items unattended....but don't! It is spotless, though...always cleaning and working on things...Basic restaurant on property - food delicious - great service-but more flies than I have ever seen in my life...ewww.

I have been an owner since 2003 and been to the resort (5) times. I have never seen any wild parties at the grill(s) on the Westin property. Alcohol is not allowed at the grill(s) or by the pool unless served by Westin staff. This is due to Hawaii law. This is also controlled by Westin security.

The public beach is a couple of blocks away so you are probably confused. This is the only place where they would allow such activity.

The water is rocky just off the beach due to a wonderful reef area that allows for great snorkeling and sea life viewing right from the beach. I understand the beach is wonderful for swimming if you walk a little ways in the direction of the Sheraton. Nice amenity having snorkeling right off your resort and beach!

adampkelly wrote:

lauras187 wrote:

The beach is super private as compared with that of the regular Westin property. Major problem here is the element that is at the public park RIGHT next door with full beach access - as the beach area is public....can be a bit seedy...and they rent the grill area/tables for local parties and they brought in tons of coolers and drank the full content - and this is facing the pool area where all the owners chaises are - and the renters for the four-hour party also have full use of the pool and amenities - that I personally was disgusted by... too much alcohol - controlled by no one..and then they were everywhere and sometimes on vacation you let your guard down and leave items unattended....but don't! It is spotless, though...always cleaning and working on things...Basic restaurant on property - food delicious - great service-but more flies than I have ever seen in my life...ewww.

I have been an owner since 2003 and been to the resort (5) times. I have never seen any wild parties at the grill(s) on the Westin property. Alcohol is not allowed at the grill(s) or by the pool unless served by Westin staff. This is due to Hawaii law. This is also controlled by Westin security.

The public beach is a couple of blocks away so you are probably confused. This is the only place where they would allow such activity.

+++no confusion+++the party was held at the tables in front off the bbq grills. They had their alcohol in coolers, so there was no way for the staff to monitor the level of alcohol consumed. They had all their own beach towels and layed them out on the grassy area as there were no chaises available. The children were mostly in the pool area after celebrating, but the adults "hung out" at the tables by the bbq grill...when I did not like what we saw, I called the salesman that we had just bought our timeshare from, to see what the protocal was...they did come out immediately and addressed the situation .... along with security as well. Later, we learned that personal of the hotel can rent out the pool area for parties....They do have a great command of anyone that does not belong in the villas coming up from the beach...as I had asked that question....It is an amazing property, this may have been an unfortunate one-time incident, hopefully....

No issues during our trip last week . Staff were friendly and the beach was uncrowded. Most of the beach cabana chairs were gone but with such a nice big beach , we went into town , bought a beach umbrella and a couple mats for a little more than the price of the chair rental and staked out a spot when we wanted . We gave our stuff to someone else at the KOV when we left. Some folks enjoyed great snorkeling with sea turtles right off the property, and lots of whale sightings. We liked the kiddie pool, and no issues with any rowdies .

Wasn't awar that they charged for chairs - they are free at other Starwood resorts. What is the daily charge? Are they the type with the pull up shade? Perhaps we should invest in an umbrella and a couple of chairs

Is it really on Kanapali Beach? A local woman told me that WKOR is really on Airport Beach? Why did he call it airport beach? The development next door says its Kanapali also. Why the confusion?

Right next to the original WKORV is a little park called Kahekili Park. It has been there for many many years and the locals called the beach there airport beach because the small Kapalua airport is near by. It was know as an excellent scuba and snorkeling beach and many of the dive shops did dives there (still is). This whole section of beach is called Kanapali North from what I understand. They have plans to eventually build out this whole section with high end condo's and timeshares/fractional ownership resorts. As owners we get informed of plans, but I have not seen a timeframe of the buildout. If you do not mind taking prop planes in from other islands, it is really convenient to fly into this small airport.

larryw139 wrote:

Is it really on Kanapali Beach? A local woman told me that WKOR is really on Airport Beach? Why did he call it airport beach? The development next door says its Kanapali also. Why the confusion?

I was told there was an airstrip there at one time. It's all getting built on now, the Westin at one end and a high end condo resort half a mile or so north at the other end. For reference, the Westin KORV is about a mile north of Black Rock/Sheraton.

Personally it's a bit of a stretch to call it Kaanapali in my opinion but that's marketing for you :)

Yahoo Maps now has some good satellite imagery of the area, much better than Google Earth's current mix. So easiest way to see it all is to go to Yahoo maps and bring up a "hybrid" map, i.e. satellite photos with street names overlaid. You'll play for hours !

The park is actually next door to the southern most bulding, building 4 and 5. When the locals use the Resort facilities they have ususally booked a room (at a low rate) and use the pool and services for all of their guests as well. But, you can not see the park from the pool, building 5 is in the way. But, it's true when the locals take over the pool and surrounding area, it is awful and the security does not do anything.