The Bed of a King - in Maui

My husband and I bought a timeshare in 2001, and I have to say we have been happy with the decision. We own one week in even numbered years at a resort in Orlando, FL - where we have never stayed. Since 2001 we have traded our week to visit St. John, USVI; Scottsdale, AZ; and cruise the Caribbean. Now, our tenth wedding anniversary is approaching, and, well, I was thinking of...Maui.

Trading a timeshare, if you aren't familiar, means depositing the week you own with the timeshare network, and then hoping that someone else deposits a week in a place you want to visit, at a time that you want to go. You can pick an exact resort that you want, or you can search for a general region, or you can pick your dates and see what is available then. If there are no matches for your criteria, then you can submit a request, and once something comes available, you get it.

Here's the tricky part. If something comes up that matches your search criteria, they will book and confirm your reservation without doublechecking with you that the match is a good one. So you have to make sure you specify your search well enough that you won't end up with something you don't want. They do allow you to limit to only resorts with certain amenities, like beach onsite (why would I go to Hawaii and not stay at a place with a beach?). You can tell the search program that you require a kitchen in your unit (this can actually make a vacation MUCH more relaxing). But you can't - and this is my sticking point - limit by available bed size.

My husband is a pretty big guy. I am not very big, but I am an expert sprawler. Also I toss and turn. At home, we have a king sized bed, and after 9 years with it, we don't do all that well in queen sized beds or smaller. Just like I am not going to travel all the way to Hawaii and NOT have easy access to a beach, I don't want to go for a relaxing week at the beach - and have trouble sleeping every night. Not if I can prevent it anyway.

So when I request a timeshare match, the only good option for me is to look at the directory of resorts in the area I want, and then do a little research to find out which ones offer king sized beds in their units. Then I can tell the search program to ONLY match me with these specific resorts. Which I did.

So, if you happen to own the week including Sept. 23, 2010 at either the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas or the Ka'anapali Beach Club, I think it would be really nifty of you to deposit that week with Interval International - go somewhere else for your 2010 vacation! I hear Orlando's nice.