Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort — Hotel in Kauai

THE NET NET: DON’T BOOK WITH POINTS! AND MANAGEMENT WILL LIE TO YOUR FACE!

We booked a room with Marriott Bonvoy points on May 9th for a two night stay on July 24th and 25th. We arrived at approximately 4:30 PM. The property has a 4:00 PM check-in. We booked a Standard King, however upon checking in we were provided an ADA room with a shower that had a broken shower head, which may have been quite possibly the worst room on the property. We immediately notified the front desk of our disappointment and requested a different room as we did not need or request an ADA room.

We were told that there was no other option due to the hotel being at full capacity. A front desk associate actually showed me a piece of paper that stated they were at 102% capacity. Then we proceeded to watch dozens of other guests check in after our arrival. We even made a video and took pictures in complete shock while sipping tropical cocktails. The only reason we booked a stay at the property is because we had a great experience four years prior.

This experience destroyed any hope of Marriott retaining me as a customer and I intend to spread this experience to as many colleagues, family members, and potential Marriott customers as humanly possible. The sad thing is that I was a Titanium Elite member for several years and have convinced many folks to sign up for the Bonvoy credit card which we have and spend nearly $100k on annually, but not any longer, as I will be happily canceling it. Why they decided to treat us like such garbage, we will never know.

Currently I am a lifetime Gold Elite member as I do not travel as much for work in my current role. I have probably spent at least a year of my adult life staying at Marriott properties ranging from Residence Inns to Ritz Carltons. I even spent my 40th birthday at this very property four years ago almost to the day. We enjoyed that stay so much that we thought it would be fun to spend a couple nights there before our two-week stay up in Hanalei Bay. Boy was that a mistake.

My partner complained upon check in, called the front desk twice, and I called the front desk, and they told us the same thing, that there simply are no more rooms available. I stated, “so you are telling me that we are the last ones to check in today.” The evening manager, Lilia, stated “yes.”

I eventually made my way to the front desk and a gal informed me that because when you book a room with points they will give you the worst room possible. I said we flew first class and I will gladly take a refund of our points and pay for a non-ADA room. Who would ever book a room months in advance, arrive 30 minutes after check-in begins, and be happy with this situation? I would totally understand the scenario had we arrived late at night or even several hours after check-in began.

The day before departure I called the office to request a late check-out and I informed the person on the line that due to the horrible experience that I would be filing a complaint with the corporate Marriott customer service, which happens to be case number, 715870391.

Well, the person on the other end happened to be old faithful Lilia herself and her reaction can only be described as distasteful and rude gaslighting. I am glad I have the recording to remind me of why I will never be returning to a Marriott property and I will also hold on to the dream of some kind of class action lawsuit about point fraud.

The story gets much more bizarre and I don’t care to go into further details of recorded lies with an elite guest service member supervisor in Nebraska named Tory. All I can say is Marriott isn't what it used to be and they are no longer focused on customer retention.

Lilia seemed enthusiastic to deny us a different room, gaslit us into frustration, and made me feel like I should be pleased with the horrible room which she said was a standard room. She lied in writing about offering us a different room, and became hostile when I informed her I would be filing an official complaint. DO NOT STAY HERE IF BOOKING...

We arrived with friends who are Bonvoy Titanium Elite members and we are not and we had 2 different experiences. When we arrived at 3:30 p.m., our friends were granted an ocean front room (free upgrade due to their Elite status) immediately. Prior to arriving, we paid for an upgrade to an "ocean view" room. We were told our room was not ready, but they would phone us when it was ready. No apologies or offers to comp something due to our room not being ready. We went out and did not receive a call until 6:30 p.m. that our room was ready. When we arrived in our room, there was an awful smell. My friend said it smelled like sewer, I thought mildewy. The carpet underneath the bed was damp. My husband went down and told them about the smell and the man (concierge?) said he would move us the following day to an "ocean front" room at no charge and it would be 192. The next morning, we moved our luggage to our friends' room and let the front desk know we were out. When we returned late that afternoon, the woman at the front desk seemed to not know anything about us getting room 192 even though we could see her looking at the note left at the desk. So, they gave away our room! Then, she very rudly said, "YOU DID NOT PAY FOR AN UPGRADE." I informed her calmly that we paid for ocean view, but Concierge comped us ocean front due to the smell in our room. Then she said, "Well I do not see you paid for ANY upgrade. What is your confirmation number?" I pulled up the app and showed her where it clearly stated "Ocean View, 2 Queens." She then said she would put us in 135. Then, apparently the employee at the next desk was giving that room to the man at her desk. Finally, she was able to give us room 392 which is ocean front. The ocean front rooms are large with a nice balcony, not anything like any of the other rooms which are much smaller. Our room sloped badly toward the ocean. Our friends' room had a safe that would not lock. Our room had a broken drawer in the bathroom, a wash cloth with a nickel sized hole in it and paint chips on the floor from a previous ceiling repair. I let them know about the paint chips they came off the ceiling and they said they would send someone to look at it. When we returned that evening and our bed had been made and towels exchanged, they did not bother to clean up the paint chips on the floor which means they did not sweep or mop the floor. Nobody ever came to see about it either obviously. The coffee shop is good, but get there before 7 or you will have a very long line. The breakfast place was excellent (we ordered off the menu). The Fire Hen was just okay. I mean it's chicken and rice, so not much to say about it. Those were the only places we ate. We only went to the pool once late in the day and there was an employee checking out towels to guests at a table 3 feet from the pool (even though there is no way to check them in once she leaves). She asked my friends if they were going to the pool (standing right in front of it) and then gave them a wrist band. She did not ask me this and did not give me a wrist band. This is inconsistent and odd for a Marriott Bonvoy hotel. I can only surmise that they have problems with non-guests using the pool and taking towels which doesn't bode well for prospective guests. Like another reviewer said, except for the Concierge, the front desk and other staff seems indifferent or annoyed when you speak to them about anything even in a calm tone. Some people claim that the beach here is "not swimmable." There are not many beaches in Hawaii that are swimmable as the water is very cold, the surf is rough at best, there is lava rock underneath and there are tons of rip currents in Hawaii. We tried snorkeling on a "swimmable" beach and got beat up by the surf and slammed against rocks under water. If you want to take your kids and swim in the ocean, best to stick with the Gulf Coast (Mexico to FL) or somewhere in the Caribbean. The water is warmer and calmer. Hawaii is mostly...

I dunno who’s in charge of giving star ratings to this hotel but this is NOT a 4 star hotel. It’s a solid 3 star hotel very a la Holiday Inn with a coat of paint, a few wood shudders and throw pillows. Was it decent yes but if you are expecting an ounce of luxury you will be so disappointed especially for the price!

Customer service is professional but they aren’t going out of their way for you like an actual 4 star Hawaii resort. When we checked in we were given a double room instead of the king we booked and were told we were lucky we got a room at all because they were overbooked even though we booked in July. I will say Cedric went out of his way to move us the next day after I explained this was our 20 year anniversary trip. He moved us to an “ocean view” king suite which was nice of him since it seemed like they weren’t going to do much about it and their attitude was we were lucky to have a room. Even though the room was a lower quality room like a motel six room with a shower curtain bathroom and two beds and a toilet that made a crazy banging noise when you flushed it! Also no hot water, just luke warm showers with low water pressure.

When we moved to our “upgraded”suite the bathroom had a glass door which was nice but the shower floor was dirty maybe stained that way because it was dirty the whole stay even after housekeeping. And there was some mold in the corners of the sliding door but at this point we weren’t going to complain we at least had a bed! The ocean view was hilarious the balcony is so small two people can’t be on it at the same time. You have to lean over the edge of the balcony to see the tiny edge of the ocean but mostly our view was the empty lot next door where the homeless encamped. The rooms are small. Again with cheap finishings to make it look nice. The air conditioning barely keeps up in the room so it’s loud and runs the entire time and keeps the room at maybe 74 everything felt sticky. The bedding is polyester so makes you sweat the entire time. Hot water was hit or miss in this room also.

So on to the resort that charges $40 a night in resort fees. The pool is very small shallow and over crowded. The close proximity to the beach is nice but this is NOT a swimmable beach the breaks are too strong and it’s rocky! So it’s basically for views it’s not beachside as they make it seem online. The food is very mediocre and I got food poisoning the first night there. There is no vibe at the pool one little speaker that plays barely there music and an old outdated play list that plays Toto africa on repeat everyday. Service is basically non existent they have servers yes but they don’t ask you if you want or need anything you have to track them down and they seem bothered if you ask for anything. The lounge chairs at the pool have no padding and are uncomfortable

They give you a wrist band you have to wear the whole time which is weird and uncomfortable.

Even though it’s such a new resort it’s showing a lot of wear and tear already. Halls have a musty muggy smell to them. There’s rust dripping on the walls chipped paint a lot of places around the resort. The lobby is nice and very impressive.

I ordered room service one night again not a 4 star hotel experience. It doesn’t come on a tray with anything. Just in a sweaty box with condensation kinda cold and plastic cutlery and no condiments. But charges 18% room service fee plus 15% and the food which is overpriced so the regular fees of room service without any of the services.

They only give you two small rough bath towels in your room. Also all of their toiletries are oak musk smell they smell like cheap old man cologne I don’t know who picked that for the hotel but ever hear of eucalyptus or lemon or sage?? Yuck!

You should set realistic expectations stop trying to be a 4 star resort if you tell people are you a basic 3 star resort and they come to you they would be pleasantly surprised and happy. Instead of people coming to expect a 4 star experience and being...