Jonnie Torres, sales manager at Starwood Maui recently visited tour operator All About Hawaii’s California offices, and reached out via Facebook while there to talk about travel to Maui and what’s new at the Sheraton Maui, Westin Maui and the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas.
While Jack Richards of Pleasant Holidays and Susan Kownacki of Blue Sky Tours both recently noticed a decrease in visits to Maui, Torres says the hotels are actually seeing an increase over last year. “Earlier this year we were a bit behind, and it appeared we would have to play catch-up,” she says. “However, we have seen a large increase of last-minute bookings.” Also, she adds, the holiday travel season is almost full, so she recommends booking now for Christmas and New Years.
Perhaps the biggest news is the multi-million-dollar room refurbishment at the Westin, which will cover 553 guest rooms and suites in the Ocean Tower. The rooms will have new furniture, carpeting and décor as well as a new “spa-like” glass-enclosed shower in place of the former bathtub. Vanity units will also be moved to make way for larger closet space.
Construction will begin on September 10 and continue through early spring. Guests will still be able to use both the Ocean and Beach Towers, and the spa, restaurants bars and “aquatic playground” will all remain open. In order to minimize guest impact, Torres says that only one floor will be renovated at a time, and the floors above and below the construction will be taken out of service.
