[ 2010 ] Size of Penthouse versus Ocean Front.

Hi everyone I am a newbie and have been reading for hours learning so much about timeshare from all of you.I visited Hawaii for the first time six weeks ago with my daughter and 5 year old grandson and stayed in the Lagoon Tower (room 1465) and we fell in love with this place.I am now looking to buy a timeshare there resale of course through either Seth or Judi.Because school holiday time in Australia is the middle of September I would be buying Gold Season.I am looking at a two week holiday there each year and would like a two bedroom Ocean Front or a two bedroom/2Storey Penthouse. I believe 7000 points would get me this for 1 week.A couple of questions I have is does anyone know the sq.ft.of ocean front and sq.ft of the penthouse as space will be important as there are 3 grandsons who need a bit of room to move in.As they are both classified as 2 bedroom premier can I book either or can I only book either ocean front or penthouse depending on what I purchase? The only problem I can see with the penthouse it appears from the plans that we could be at the 'back' of the building or looking at the Ilikai which would be disappointing.Of course I would need to purchase another 7000 points for the second week.It would be tempting to buy Orlando or Las Vegas less expensive but to guarantee Hawaii for 2 weeks back to back I guess it is better to purchase there so I can book 12 months out. I have no thoughts of exchanging for quite a few years with the exception of taking the children to Disneyland sometime.I am sure I will have a lot more to ask in the future,for now I would just like to say THANk YOU for sharing your knowledge and giving me some understanding of how the system works.

aussiemum said:

Hi everyone I am a newbie and have been reading for hours learning so much about timeshare from all of you.I visited Hawaii for the first time six weeks ago with my daughter and 5 year old grandson and stayed in the Lagoon Tower (room 1465) and we fell in love with this place.I am now looking to buy a timeshare there resale of course through either Seth or Judi.Because school holiday time in Australia is the middle of September I would be buying Gold Season.I am looking at a two week holiday there each year and would like a two bedroom Ocean Front or a two bedroom/2Storey Penthouse. I believe 7000 points would get me this for 1 week.A couple of questions I have is does anyone know the sq.ft.of ocean front and sq.ft of the penthouse as space will be important as there are 3 grandsons who need a bit of room to move in.As they are both classified as 2 bedroom premier can I book either or can I only book either ocean front or penthouse depending on what I purchase? The only problem I can see with the penthouse it appears from the plans that we could be at the 'back' of the building or looking at the Ilikai which would be disappointing.Of course I would need to purchase another 7000 points for the second week.It would be tempting to buy Orlando or Las Vegas less expensive but to guarantee Hawaii for 2 weeks back to back I guess it is better to purchase there so I can book 12 months out. I have no thoughts of exchanging for quite a few years with the exception of taking the children to Disneyland sometime.I am sure I will have a lot more to ask in the future,for now I would just like to say THANk YOU for sharing your knowledge and giving me some understanding of how the system works.

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Wow lots of Questions. Let me see if I can answer some:

1. First thing you need to know what resort you want to buy (This could be important to you). As it looks, you want HGVC-Lagoon.

2. What season you are buying. It looks like you want Gold.

3. What type of room you want, which will correspond to a point value (This could also be important to you). If penthouse is a must then find a resale for a penthouse. If Ocean "view" or Ocean "front" is what you want make sure that is what you purchased.

now to the nitty gritty.

If booking a certain resort for a certain time is import to you, buy just that. i.e Gold season, HGVC. This is important because you can reserve at 9-12mths out at you home resort. The catch, you must reserve the exact room for 1 week for the season you purchased. There is no point stretching or changing the type of room. Also, you can only reserve the Gold season. Although there will be some platinum season within 9-12mths you can't reserve it. Last catch you are still not 100% guaranteed you will get the week you want. 9-12mths you are competing with all the people that own your type of room and season in the Lagoon tower.

If the type of room is important (2 bdrm, 3 bdrm, Ocean view, Ocean front, penthouse) then buy that type of room. It goes hand in hand with the season. If I read you correctly you want a 2 bdrm Ocean Front Gold Season or a 2bdrm Penthouse Gold Season.

Under 9mths is open season. Type of season or the type of room you own doesn't matter. The points is what matters. You can upsize or downsize depending on what is available. "Available" is the key word. If you are expecting a penthouse during open season, you most likely will not get it. I have never seen the penthouse available during open season. Also you can borrow points from the next year to increase your stay. Last note: Hawaii has been popular lately. Open season rooms have been get snatched at the 9mth mark.

Hope this helps you out a little. Good luck with your purchase and welcome to HGVC. BTW I bought from Judi.

Deros

Thank you for the reply Deros,Yes you are right I do want to buy HGVC Lagoon Tower Gold Season 2 bed either o/front or Penthouse,and planning to book 12 months out. I must say I was shocked that we may not get the week we want 12 months out when that will be our 'home' resort,certainly given me something to think about especially as we will be travelling middle of September.

Welcome to TUG

aussiemum said:

A couple of questions I have is does anyone know the sq.ft.of ocean front and sq.ft of the penthouse as space will be important as there are 3 grandsons who need a bit of room to move in.As they are both classified as 2 bedroom premier can I book either or can I only book either ocean front or penthouse depending on what I purchase? The only problem I can see with the penthouse it appears from the plans that we could be at the 'back' of the building or looking at the Ilikai which would be disappointing.

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From 12 months to 9 months before check-in you can only book what you own (unit size, unit type, season and only on the assigned check-in day which is Saturday for the Lagoon Tower). The two bedroom oceanfront, two bedroom penthouse and three bedroom penthouse are all considered different unit types.

From a space perpective, there is definitely more space in the penthouse units. The two bedroom oceanfront units have two twin beds in the 2nd bedroom. The bed sizes in the penthouse units vary (there is no guarantee which unit you will be placed in).

The number points required for a week stay are the same for the two bedroom oceanfront, two bedroom penthouse and three bedroom penthouse but the maintenance fees are different.
From my 2010 Annual Billing Letter (which excludes the Real Estate Taxes and our Annual club dues)
- two bedroom $1079.49
- two bedroom penthouse $1351.53
- three bedroom penthouse $1623.57

There are only two 2 bedroom oceanfront units on each floor (3rd floor to the 23rd floor). They are basically identically except one is slightly larger than the other. Based on my Lagoon Tower HOA documentation the total sq footage can either be 1293 or 1329 (which includes the Lanai area sq ft of 196).

On the 24th floor, there are six 2 bedroom oceanview penthouse units, two 3 bedroom oceanfront penthouse units and three 3 bedroom oceanview penthouse units.
Based on my Lagoon Tower HOA documentation the total sq footage can vary based on the unit:
- 2 bedroom oceanview penthouse varies from 1259 to 2110 (which includes the Lanai area sq ft of 236 to 598).
- 3 bedroom oceanfront penthouse can either be 2175 or 2602 (which includes the Lanai area sq ft of 479 or 580).
- 3 bedroom oceanview penthouse varies from 1702 to 2282 (which includes the Lanai area sq ft of 236 to 560).

Here are some photos of the Lagoon Tower oceanfront & penthouse units.

Two bedroom oceanfront
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40089311@N05/sets/72157620916829447/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40089311@N05/sets/72157625203402012/

Two bedroom oceanview penthouse
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40089311@N05/sets/72157620820305657/

Three bedroom oceanfront penthouse
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40089311@N05/sets/72157623591192119/

Three bedroom oceanview penthouse
See photos along with this tripadvisor review - http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser..._Village-Honolulu_Oahu_Hawaii.html#UR45839344

Since you're considering buying at the Lagoon Tower, also see the links I provided in this recent thread - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132777

Good Luck with your decision

Thank you ALWYSONVAC for your comprehensive reply I was hoping to hear from you as I have learnt so much from your posts.The photos and links are great,I have decided to go for a 2 storey penthouse very excited.

aussiemum said:

Thank you ALWYSONVAC for your comprehensive reply I was hoping to hear from you as I have learnt so much from your posts.The photos and links are great,I have decided to go for a 2 storey penthouse very excited.

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You're welcome and Thanks for the feedback
The 2 story penthouse units are very nice. Good Luck with your resale purchase.

aussiemum said:

Thank you for the reply Deros,Yes you are right I do want to buy HGVC Lagoon Tower Gold Season 2 bed either o/front or Penthouse,and planning to book 12 months out. I must say I was shocked that we may not get the week we want 12 months out when that will be our 'home' resort,certainly given me something to think about especially as we will be travelling middle of September.

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I don't want to scare you. I believe you have a really good chance of getting your home resort 9-12mths out. I like telling the worse case so when it happens, it is not a big shock.

@alwysonvac beatuiful pictures. Makes me want to spend the points and stay at an ocean front unit.

Deros

@alwysonvac beatuiful pictures. Makes me want to spend the points and stay at an ocean front unit.

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Warning... once you've done oceanfront, you might get hooked. No other Lagoon view will do
I love the oceanview penthouse views but my hubby is stuck on oceanfront :rofl:

alwysonvac said:

Warning... once you've done oceanfront, you might get hooked. No other Lagoon view will do

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6th floor and above, that is!


4th floor view.

Sorry HatTrick

Yeah, for the oceanfront units definitely try to check-in on the designated check-in day (Saturday). You'll increase your chances for a better room assignment.

alwysonvac said:

Sorry HatTrick

Yeah, for the oceanfront units definitely try to check-in on the designated check-in day (Saturday). You'll increase your chances for a better room assignment.

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Ah, I had never thought about that, but now that you point it out, makes perfect sense that more rooms will turn over on the designated check-in day...

alwysonvac said:

Sorry HatTrick

Yeah, for the oceanfront units definitely try to check-in on the designated check-in day (Saturday). You'll increase your chances for a better room assignment.

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It's never been an issue before, and I prefer to avoid coming and going on the weekends when the resort is at its busiest, but I see your point.

However, I may not have to deal with a low floor at Lagoon Tower in the future. With that zip line going in, I may just stick to Kalia or GW!