impact of more people in the new towers

We own a 2-bedroom mountain view unit (every year). We have traded our weeks during the construction of the new towers, so we have not been able to evaluate things first-hand. Our next visit is planned for Thanksgiving 2007.

We are taking a cautious "wait and see" approach regarding Marriott's expansion of the resort. The pool area at the Maui Ocean Club is a primary attraction for the resort. At certain times of the year, overcrowding at the pool is a real problem. The new towers being built will each include a small pool of their own. Older folks without kids sometimes complain about all the activity in the central pool, so Marriott's goal is to provide two tranquil pools for that purpose (although all pools will be open to all guests). However, I question how many people will choose to visit the smaller pools with a large and grand pool just around the corner. I fear the resort expansion will only add to the overcrowding problem at the central pool.

So far we have had no problems at all doing a trade - Maui is a very desirable destination. Our trading value in the original building may perhaps go down when the new towers come online. The two new towers being constructed will include units with a full kitchen and washer/dryer. This is a big selling point for some folks. The original units (like ours) have a wet-bar style kitchenette - and this seems to be the major complaint for some people (although it doesn't bother us). When traders can choose from newer and older units, it may be more difficult for us to make a trade.

For people who have recently visited the resort, I am curious to learn more about your opinion of the expansion. When finished, do you think it will be a net-plus, or a net-negative for the existing owners? Any photos of the new expansion to share? Do you share my concerns, or am I being too pessimistic?

I own at the original building, also. Look on Redweek under rentals at the Lahaina villas. I think the rentals will be a lot more expensive, and someone can rent at the original ocean club for less, and have the same amenities. Is it worth paying $800+ more for better bedding, and a full kitchen? That extra money will buy a lot of meals out.

I recently stayed at the resort (March 3 - 10, 2007). I did not experience the over crowding at the main pool area. There were chairs available at all time when I wanted to use the pool.

The new tower will definitely add a lot to the resort. The Lahaina Tower will open in July 2007. I think this is going to be a great addition for the resort. I think the additional pool will accomodate the people that are there. Hopefully the kids will be drawn to the larger central pool leaving a little peace and quiet for the older folks at the smaller pool. With the focus of the play areas in the central pool I am sure all the kids will congregate there.

Of greater concern would be the continued construction on the property. With your islandview at Thanksgiving I would avoid the Molikai Tower as I would expect they will be clearing that side of the property for up and coming construction of the Napili Towers. So be sure to request Lanai Tower, high floor! The bonus is that you will get a poolview you didn't have before.

Regarding the comment of the response... the bedding in the Molikai Tower was just replaced, and on going renovation of the Lanai Tower upgrading bedding will continue during the "slower" times when they can schedule it. (I know this because I attended the owners meeting in October of 2006.)

The pricing differential will shake out once the building opens. You can see the majority of the people who have "for rent" listing are renting their "lock out" units. I see this as something that Marriott has used as a selling tool in their presentation. They have told people to "use the income from the lockout to pay your maintance", then you are essentially "vacationing for free" every year. Well this doesn't always work that way. And as anything, with "supply and demand" I expect these prices to drop the closer the date of the reservation gets... people will be want to "unload them".

ges111

Thanks for your comments and insights regarding the new towers.

Virtually all of the 2 bedroom mountain view units are in the Lanai Tower, so I'm not too worried about Napili Tower construction noise during Thanksgiving.

The truth about pool overcrowding won't really be known until both of the new towers are ready for occupancy. When the resort is at full capacity I am anticipating that unused lounge chairs will be a rare commodity, but we'll see.

Cheers!

you got it right. We were there for our annual stay - 2 wks in August, and one of the new towers was open. The main pool has more people than ever, and forget about finding a chair. It is very sad. Very poor planning. There are no services at the new tower pool area, not even a drinking water. Everyone floods the main pool area for food, and all. The owner's party - normally very nice. This time, 20 deep to get a warm beer, and forget about the limited food. It is very bad, and still one more tower to go.

We just returned from a week at Maui Ocean Club during Thanksgiving week. We own 2-bedroom Mountain View. This is the first time we have visited the resort since construction of the new Lahaina Tower. Some observations ...

First the Good: The new health club facility is great - we love it. It is well used in the early morning hours when sometimes every machine is taken. The rest of the day you can have your pick of the equipment. The locker rooms have showers, sauna and steam room. Spa treatments (facials, massage) are available at normal resort prices ($100 per hour seemed average). Even with all the hotel rooms gone from the resort, there are still hotel services available. Valet parking, bellman service, on-site shops and restaurants are all still available. We are happy to see that.

Now the Bad: There is indeed an overcrowding problem at the central super-pool. With one more tower still to go, pool overcrowding will only get worse. That part is very disappointing. Pool-side lounge chairs get claimed at 7:00am with books and towels. Marriott has a posted sign saying that vacant lounge chairs will be reclaimed after 45 minutes, but there is no enforcement. So we started doing our own enforcement. If we saw a desirable lounge chair go unoccupied for a long time, we simply put the belongings in neat pile and took over the spot. It is unfortunate that we had to take this approach, but the problem is not of our making. Marriott does seem to do a good job of enforcing wrist bands to ensure that non-guests don't crash the pool.

The new Lahaina Tower is very nice indeed, but it has a distinctly different feel from the original building.

Biggest Positives: - Full size kitchen - Washer/dryer in the unit - Beautiful lawn area facing the ocean with palm trees and many lounge chairs - No overcrowding problem at the Lahaina Tower pool

Biggest Negatives: - Expensive (higher purchase price, higher annual maintenance fees) - Feels much more like an apartment complex, less like a resort - Tile floors in the living/dining area (cold/sterile) - Only 2 bathrooms with a 2-bedroom unit - Sleepy, feels detached from the rest of the resort (some may prefer this) - Smallish pool next to Lahaina Tower is under-utilized, boring (some may prefer this) - Towel service but no food service at the Lahaina Tower pool - Very imposing parking garage structure looms over the Lahaina Tower pool

It all boils down to personal taste as to whether the benefits of the Lahaina Tower justify the higher price you will pay. Overall, we still much prefer the hotel conversion units in the main building. We understand if others feel differently. We like the hotel services (valet parking, bellman service) and the resort feel of the main building. We like the feeling of being in the center of activity. We also really like having 3 bathrooms with our 2-bedroom unit. We don't use a kitchen much while on vacation, so the smallish kitchenette is fine for breakfasts and lunches. And using a communal laundry room enables us to do several loads at once to get it all done quickly.

Marriott was offering 100% trade-in value of our original purchase price if you upgrade to the new Lahaina/Napili towers. They were also offering 100% trade-in value of our original purchase price to upgrade your view category within the original building. They are also reselling some weeks in the original building from those who upgrade. Not sure how long the 100% trade-up promotion will last though. Given current elevated pricing, there seems to be plenty of profit for Marriott to offer these upgrade promotions.

We were there Halloween week (2 BR Ocean Front) and stayed in the Molokai Tower poolside 9th floor. The pile drivers for the Napili construction could be heard faintly in the interior walkway to the elevator and not at all in the unit - even with all the sliding glass doors open. The sound seemed most pronounced in the lobby area downstairs. We also have a 3 BR unit in the Lahaina bldg. I agree with the different feel of the bldgs. Also, we have always cooked most meals. With the BBQ grills (especially the new ones added) plus the microwave, lack of a full kitchen has never been a problem. The older units are more spacious, also.

Since we were off-season the pools were sparsely attended, which was delightful. The health club facility was wonderful and the David Wicker daily exercise program was a great addition to the available activities.

I own two units at MOC. One is a 1BR in the old part and the other is a 2BR in the first new tower to come online (I think this it's called the lahaina tower).

We stayed in the tower in August 2007 and there were no issues with crowding in the central pool at all. The new tower area pool was definitely not as popular as the central pool, but people used it daily.

We stayed in our 1BR "older" unit in June 2006 and did not experience pool overcrowding at that time either, but then again the towers were still under construction at that time.

Regarding your concern re: difficulty making a trade on the older units, I think you will not need to worry about that for quite some time - if ever. We traded our older unit last year with no problem. We received a week in Kauai in exchange. We deposited our older week this year with II and received two weeks at any other resort in exchange. This is an indication of the continued high value of the MOC weeks.

As of the time of our visit last year, the first new tower was open for business. I am not sure when the second tower will open (or perhaps it is open already??). In my opinion, the addition is a net-plus for the existing owners. The older units are still in high demand from what I can tell (keeping value up).

One nice "extra" is a new BBQ pit area that is located by the new pool. I think there will be another one like it by the 2nd tower pool area when it is complete, too. The grills are high end, very nice and with the additional capacity it was much easier to get a grill when we wanted one.

All in all, I think you should not worry too much!