My husband and I just returned from a wonderful 2-week stay at Kaanapali Shores. We booked 3 condos in all -- 1 for us and 1 each for both our sons and their families. There were 11 of us in all. All units were supposed to be gardenview, our sons' were 2-bedroom units because of their families. I read many of the reviews before we left and was somewhat apprehensive. Upon our arrival, I did not feel well because of some bad airport food and more or less fell into bed. By morning, when I felt better and looked around more, it was obvious, we had not been given renovated units -- but ours seemed sufficient , though dated, and very clean. The view from our balcony was very pretty. When our second son arrived several days later, he was given the choice of an upgraded ocean front renovated unit for what seemed like a nominal fee or the unit his family was originally assigned. He and his wife looked at both units and decided to spend the extra money and took the ocean front renovated unit.
It was beautiful and we could see the vast difference in renovated and non-renovated units. I checked with the desk later to see if our other son's family could also get a renovated unit and there was no problem at all getting them moved, and there was no charge. They were moved up...My husband and I just returned from a wonderful 2-week stay at Kaanapali Shores. We booked 3 condos in all -- 1 for us and 1 each for both our sons and their families. There were 11 of us in all. All units were supposed to be gardenview, our sons' were 2-bedroom units because of their families. I read many of the reviews before we left and was somewhat apprehensive. Upon our arrival, I did not feel well because of some bad airport food and more or less fell into bed. By morning, when I felt better and looked around more, it was obvious, we had not been given renovated units -- but ours seemed sufficient , though dated, and very clean. The view from our balcony was very pretty. When our second son arrived several days later, he was given the choice of an upgraded ocean front renovated unit for what seemed like a nominal fee or the unit his family was originally assigned. He and his wife looked at both units and decided to spend the extra money and took the ocean front renovated unit.
It was beautiful and we could see the vast difference in renovated and non-renovated units. I checked with the desk later to see if our other son's family could also get a renovated unit and there was no problem at all getting them moved, and there was no charge. They were moved up higher up above the trees, so they had a partial view of the ocean, and their unit was beautiful also. Housekeeping was wonderful and very cooperative about helping them get moved. All we had to do was ask. Since I didn't intend to use the kitchen much anyway and our bathroom was just fine, my husband and I stayed in our original unit, but I'm sure we could have been moved if we would have asked. It was Christmas time, so Santa was there for the children. Pictures could be taken with him and the kids could decorate their picture frames. We were given lights to decorate our balconies however we wanted. Some people were very creative! We were treated to egg nog and cookies one evening. The lobby and grounds at the resort are just as beautiful as described by others on this website. It was a pleasure to walk through them. We ate at the restaurant occasionally and thought it was pretty good and wasn't any more expensive than most of the restaurants in the area. Kids only eat free for lunch! We enjoyed the beach, but there are reefs but you can learn to look out for them. It's not as traumatic as some make it out to be. Fleming Beach is just up the road about 10 minutes and there are no rocks there. The pizza place across the street is excellent and there is a MacDonald's 5 minutes away. The Star Market is good if you need something on the run, but Safeway's prices are much better. Kaanapali Shores is great for kids. Our grandkids loved it. They could swim and run and play. Beach chairs are at a premium, so you need to get there early in the morning if you want anywhere to sit for the rest of the day. Beach towels were abundant. We stay at timeshares frequently and never have maid service. What a treat! The staff is so nice too! If I'd change anything I'd include the parking fee in the room charge rather than making it separate. I'd also replace the light bulbs with a higher watt bulb. The dark shades, especially in the bedroom make it difficult to see. All in all, I don't know why I was so worried. I guess some people are never satisifed. This was perfect for us and was a vacation we will never forget.More
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