Review: Kauai Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas

Sales Pitch: Vacation Ownership is not a Timeshare – And, Pigs Fly

Revised 4/2021

Ah Hawaii...land of pineapples and gentle ocean breezes.  Honestly, I cannot get enough of that warm Pacific air.  Moreover, add a touch of rum to those juiced pineapples and I am in heaven.  I enjoyed both on my last visit to the oldest of the Hawaiian Islands, Kauai.  The only glitch in this trip to paradise was our first room at the Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas.  Well, there was that bit of sleight of hand too.

Note: Follow Hawaii and CDC guidelines when visiting.  Always wear your face mask when in public.

If a deal is too good to be true...well, you know.

I begin by sharing, what I believe to be a slight bit of deceit.  My husband, who is an excellent trip planner and always does his homework, received an “invitation” to learn more about Westin’s resort in Kauai.  The price was too good to pass up.  However, he was skeptical.  Therefore, he called and found that this was not a timeshare pitch.  Oh no.  They were just absolutely sure we’d love the property enough to visit often. 

Sure.  Yep.  And there’s this little piece of swampland you’ve just gotta see to believe. 

When is a personal concierge a salesperson?  Right here.

I must say, the salespeople are slick.  After checking in—and given the key to a nice room in building seven—we were escorted to meet our “Personal Concierge”.   Pleasant, friendly, gave great advice about island activities, but still she was simply a salesperson only dressed as a concierge.  After spending our first 20 minutes in the resort learning about the island and activities—and she is learning about us—she springs into action.  As she pulls the dreaded vouchers from within her desk, I begin to squirm in my seat.  I knew what was coming next. 

While she is writing the amounts of $50 on two of the vouchers, she is informing us of the 90-minute “optional” “Vacation Ownership” spiel we are expected to attend.  “Wait,” I say firmly.  “We didn’t come here to listen to a timeshare pitch.”  “Oh no!” she replies.  “This is nothing like that.” 

Meanwhile, my poor hubby looks completely defeated having planned this much-needed vacation for months, only to find that it came with strings attached.  Thus, he countered by informing her that there was no timeshare sales pitch on the letter from Westin.  

Smiling, our friendly concierge responded, “Oh, but this is nothing like a timeshare.  This is Vacation Ownership.”  (Yep, it’s a rebranding maneuver.)  Even after informing her that we called and were told that this wasn’t a timeshare pitch, she smiled and replied again that she would have said the same thing.  It isn’t a timeshare.  Frustrated, tired, and talking in circles, we decided to just sign our 90 minutes away and go to the insipid sales talk.  Afterward, we would try to enjoy the remainder of our short visit. 

I felt like a walking chump.  Chump here!  Yep, that’s me: chump.  Never. Again.  

Two hours of saying "No" is a long time when on vacation.

Yes, the salespeople were the nicest we’ve ever encountered.  Let’s be clear, they were still hard-sell.  We began with just one, very nice young man who was personable and listened.  His pitch included the typical stories, graphs, and tons of beautiful pictures.  This part lasted 100 minutes. 

When our answer was no, another “closer” came in to “offer us a great deal that isn’t available anywhere but here.”  Even though we said were didn’t really come here to purchase “time”, this closer continued for another ten minutes.  Yes, he was fairly nice. 

Now that we made our point clear, we were asked to stick around to offer our evaluation on the pitch.  Of course, this was just another ploy to offer us another type of “deal”.  Again, she was genuinely nice, but still a salesperson. 

Evaluation

Yes, the timeshare pitch was, most likely, optional.   Heck, I wouldn’t know since at the time all I could think of was getting out of the concierge’s office and into a hot shower.  Nevertheless, even for vouchers worth $100 and the fact that the salespeople were pleasant, I feel it was not worth it.  It isn’t as if there is much on the property to purchase, including food.  So, much of our time was spent wondering how to spend it, including their restaurant since it was closed during our stay.  And with the pandemic, it definitely is not worth it. 

Hey!  What about the first room?

Yep, there was an issue with our room as well.  However, since this post is chiefly about sleight of hand, that interesting little tidbit is in my next article, “The Room Over The Power Plant.” 

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