We just returned from a weeks stay at the Ka’anapali Beach Club on 6/16/08. Having read many previous reviews, both positive and negative, we went with an open mind and were not disappointed in the least bit. You must remember that some people will find the smallest thing to complain about and that alone spoils their vacation. Look for the positive and you might be surprised at just how much you really have right in front of your face. Incidentally, we are not owners at this property.
We normally stay at 4 star accommodations so that you will know what we might compare this to. This facility is not 4 star at the moment but is working on it. Right now I would probably give it 3 stars. The location and view is great!!
This building is around 20 years old but they are bringing it up to date. It was a former Embassy Suites that has been converted to vacation ownership. The current owner is a hands on owner and has taken control around a year ago. His intent is to renovate but of course it will take some time to complete.
From the moment we stepped on the property, to the day we left, we had nothing but excellent dealings with everyone we contacted. Front desk and concierge personnel were always very friendly and helpful. I have read some previous reviews with complaints about some of the employees but I always feel that if you give people a positive attitude, you will get that back in return. Just treat them like you would like to be treated yourself.
We had 2 different rooms, for our friends and ourselves, and both of them were outstanding with a beautiful mountain view. Very large nicely furnished rooms. There are updated rooms, which we did not have, but the difference is in flat screen TV’s and a few different pieces of furniture. Not a big deal but still nice. The bathroom is oversized and the king bed in our rooms were very comfortable!
I noticed a few other reviews about not getting maid service but we got it every day. Even though the sign in the bathroom stated that if you want clean towels to just put them on the floor and you will get clean ones, we didn't put them on the floor and still got clean towels every day. Plush fluffy towels, very nice. We also got clean sheets and pillowcases every day. We never knew when maid service was coming but it seemed like we would always come back to the room at different times and they had already been there.
The bar and restaurant needs updating and that is one of the things that is going to be done. The tables and chairs are older and you can see they need to be replaced. There is a daily breakfast buffet from 6:30 to 9:30. We ate there most mornings and the food is just O.K. Some hot items would occasionally be luke warm or cool but that might depend on what time you were eating. Depends on what you compare it to also. The breakfast pastries were always so fresh and delicious that you could make your meal on them alone. They were made right there in their kitchen. We never ate any other meals there so we have no idea of what they might be like. Yes, there are birds flying around inside. If you are not familiar with restaurants in Hawaii, most are open air and birds will come in. Especially if some people insist on feeding them!
There are 6 elevators, of which 2 in the lobby were always working and sometimes 2 others. There is an acknowledged problem with their elevators and they are working on getting them replaced. This is a 12 story building with many people staying there so it does take a few minutes to get the elevator to your floor at times.
There is plenty of underground parking available with a typical parking fee, which was $12/day here. This is to be expected no matter where you stay.
Ka’anapali Beach Club has one of the best, and largest, pool areas around Ka’anapali. If you check other hotels you will see most of them are smaller rectangle shaped pools with chairs placed on the grass to accommodate more people. Even the Marriott, Westin and Hyatt don’t have as large a pool area. This one is nicely landscaped with a waterfall and water slide and has plenty of cushioned pool lounges. No need to rush down to the pool at 8:00 a.m. to stake out your chair. Concerning the issue a few made about the pool towels. When you check in at the resort, you tell them how many beach towels you would like to have and they will give you that many pink cards the size of a credit card. You then take those cards down to the pool shack and they will exchange them for towels. When you are finished, you take the towels back to the pool shack and exchange them for pink cards again. Every time you want the pool towels you go through the same process and then finally at the end of your resort stay, you return the pink cards to the front desk when you check out and you won’t be charged anything. If you have not been responsible in taking care of your cards, or towels, you will be charged for them just as you said you would when you signed the form on check in. So what is the problem anyway?
From the beach, directly in front of the resort, there is also plenty of snorkeling marked by 3 marker buoys. We also did the free scuba lesson at the pool and then after went scuba diving with Tim the instructor. There were several sea turtles seen on our dive and one of them was well over 300 lbs. Excellent experience!
A fully furnished gym is right next to the pool and all of the equipment appears to be fairly new and well taken care of including the room itself. The room may be a little on the smaller side but it is certainly adequate and there were always towels.
Directly across the street is a full service grocery store in addition to several other small stores and places to eat. About 2 blocks down the street is a good sized ABC Store and gas station. You should be able to find most things you will need.
In the room you have a decent sized kitchenette with a microwave oven, refrigerator, dishwasher and all the utensils you will need. You can request an electric frying pan if needed and there is a BBQ area outside with 4 grills for your use. My word of advice is to not buy tons of groceries on your first day thinking you will use them all. Plan out how much you might think you need and then buy a little bit less or buy them as you need things. We met several people that were checking out with their refrig still completely full of food.
Besides the nicely laid out and open lobby, there is a second lobby on the lower level. Both of them have soft sofas and chairs that are good to just sit, relax and read or watch the people. WI-FI is available and free in the lobby. There are also 2 computers, 20 cents per minute, in the lobby for your use or to run off boarding passes.
Hopefully this review will help some of you that may have gotten the wrong impression from some of the previous reviews of this resort. There may have been some changes since some of those reviews were written. This one is accurate and up to date. As their renovation moves along, I can only see things getting better and we look forward to our next visit.