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Big Island of Hawaii

mauialoha

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Aloha,

I have learned so much from reading the Marriott Resort System forum I just had to join! Thank you everyone for all of the valuable information posted here! We have been going to Maui for 20 yrs ~ owners at the MOC for the past 15 yrs. We have spent time on Oahu (Marriott Waikiki) Kauai (Kauai Beach Club and soon at the Marriott Grand Residences) Molokai and Lanai (day trips).

In 2014 we would like to spend some time on the Big Island. I have been exploring accommodation options online and at this time am leaning towards staying at the Marriott Waikoloa or Courtyard on points or perhaps points plus cash for about 5-6 days. I welcome your thoughts on these 2 resorts ~ looks like Waikoloa is about 25 miles north of Kona. How is that for getting around/to shops/restaurants? Is is better to stay more local at the Courtyard? Can we do a day trip to Volcanoes National Park from these locations?

In return, if I can be of any help with questions about Maui or the MOC, please let me know. We know that island by heart now!

Warmest Aloha's!
Candy
 

mauialoha

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Question regarding my membership: I just paid the $15 via cc, have user name/password. Why does it say I am a "guest"?
 

Quadmaniac

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Question regarding my membership: I just paid the $15 via cc, have user name/password. Why does it say I am a "guest"?

You have to log in on the home page and you will see your password to enter into your user profile that will make you a member instead of a guest :D
 

BocaBoy

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We have spent time on Oahu (Marriott Waikiki) Kauai (Kauai Beach Club and soon at the Marriott Grand Residences) Molokai and Lanai (day trips).
Do you mean Kauai Lagoons? I don't believe they ever opened the Grand Residence. Or maybe they sold a few units before it became a MVC branded resort? Are you renting from a Grand residence owner?
 
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pipet

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In 2014 we would like to spend some time on the Big Island. I have been exploring accommodation options online and at this time am leaning towards staying at the Marriott Waikoloa or Courtyard on points or perhaps points plus cash for about 5-6 days. I welcome your thoughts on these 2 resorts ~ looks like Waikoloa is about 25 miles north of Kona. How is that for getting around/to shops/restaurants? Is is better to stay more local at the Courtyard? Can we do a day trip to Volcanoes National Park from these locations?

I haven't stayed at a Marriott on the Big Island, so others can chime in for that, but I can add that it is quite a drive to see the volcano - about 3 hrs or so - one way. The big island really feels big once you start driving around it! If you are an in-and-out-and-done type, you can day trip it, but if you are more the savor & look type, I highly recommend staying closer to the park, at least for a night or two. Check out the Hawaii forums here on TUG, too, for help with big island planning.
 

UK Fan

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I stayed at the Waikoloa Marriott in 2008 and it was nice. The pools were great and the staff was wonderful. It is possible to take a day trip to the volcano from there, but it is quite a drive, so start early....we did just that. There are many restaurants, golf courses and shopping near by. Hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions that I can help with.
 

GregT

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Marriott: Maui Ocean Club Lahaina Villas (3BRx5), Ko Olina, Shadow Ridge II, Willow Ridge, Aruba Ocean Club, DC Points HGVC: Flamingo, Sea World, I-Drive, Starwood Bella (x4), SDO, TradeWinds, Worldmark
We have stayed at the Marriott hotel at Waikoloa and also the HGVC timeshares on Waikoloa. We love the Waikoloa area (restaurants/shopping) and prefer it to Kona. Either one is 3 hours from the volcano.

If you have DC points you could do a trade with an HGVC owner. If you click Our Website below, and look on Things to Know, there is a reasonable amount on the Waikoloa area.

Good luck and feel free to PM me with questions?

Best,

Greg
 
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Luanne

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We have stayed at the Marriott hotel at Waikoloa and also the HGVC timeshares on Waikoloa. We love the Waikoloa area (restaurants/shopping) and prefer it to Kona. Either one is 3 hours from the volcano.

I always say comparing Kona and Waikoloa is like comparing apples and oranges. We love both, and a perfect trip for us is to spend a week at each, with a night or two in between in Volcano Village so we can spend time at Volanco National Park.

My preference is also to stay in condos rather than a hotel. I like the availability of a kitchen, and also a washer/dryer.
 

mauialoha

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Do you mean Kauai Lagoons? I don't believe they ever opened the Grand Residence. Or maybe they sold a few units before it became a MVC branded resort? Are you renting from a Grand residence owner?

Hello from a neighboring state! :) Yes, we rented from an owner at Grand Residences by Marriott.
 
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mauialoha

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We have stayed at the Marriott hotel at Waikoloa and also the HGVC timeshares on Waikoloa. We love the Waikoloa area (restaurants/shopping) and prefer it to Kona. Either one is 3 hours from the volcano.

If you have DC points you could do a trade with an HGVC owner. If you click Our Website below, and look on Things to Know, there is a reasonable amount on the Waikoloa area.

Good luck and feel free to PM me with questions?

Best,

Greg


Greg, We are not points owners...we save our weeks for Maui. Just split up our master/lock-off for next year and will be on Maui for 4 weeks after Hawaii.

Thanks for the Waikoloa area info ~ so there are shops and good eating places there? We actually prefer the less crowded area and this resort looks so nice!
 
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mauialoha

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You have to log in on the home page and you will see your password to enter into your user profile that will make you a member instead of a guest :D

BINGO! Your help and TUG's help via email has done it! I am a "member" now!

Aloha!
 

mauialoha

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I stayed at the Waikoloa Marriott in 2008 and it was nice. The pools were great and the staff was wonderful. It is possible to take a day trip to the volcano from there, but it is quite a drive, so start early....we did just that. There are many restaurants, golf courses and shopping near by. Hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions that I can help with.

Thanks for your info! Not sure if you have been to Maui and done "The Trip to Hana"..which is a long day but can be done. Sounds like Volcanoes might be like this and we would need an early start. Aloha!
 

Ann in CA

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We stayed at HGVC at the Waikoloa Beach Resort (Kohala Suites) last Oct/Nov, and had the best of both worlds with 6 complementary parking and pool passes for the hotel. We had stayed at the hotel in 1995 when our boys were young, and if we had not been on the club floor, with breakfast, and light supper buffets, eating every meal out would have been quite expensive at the hotel restaurants. Now there are lots more restaurants in the area, but in Hawaii is is always fun to load up on exotic fruits and vegetables at the farmers markets, so a full kitchen is great.

We loved both places. My husband and I had just been at Maui Ocean Club for a week, and met the others on the Big Island, so I made several trips to the airport to pick up and drop off...a very easy 20 minute drive, and not much more to Kona for restaurants, beaches shopping and beer. (our sons had to get to the Kona Brewing Company!) On our previous stay at the hotel, we had done lots of driving to see the rest of the island, so this time my husband and I stayed in the local area. If we ever were to do the volcano again, it would be at the end of our week, and we would stay over there. I remember getting back very late at night after lots of driving, but our boys still remembered the lava tube and falls and Hilo harbor, so it was worth the driving.

I posted a TUG resort review if you need more details. We loved our week there! Aloha!

PS I wrote this once, then preview, and accidentally tried to correct a typo on the preview part, and the whole post disappeared. Couldn't find it anywhere, so hope this does not post twice! This is a new improved (?) version anyway.
 

mauialoha

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We stayed at HGVC at the Waikoloa Beach Resort (Kohala Suites) last Oct/Nov, and had the best of both worlds with 6 complementary parking and pool passes for the hotel. We had stayed at the hotel in 1995 when our boys were young, and if we had not been on the club floor, with breakfast, and light supper buffets, eating every meal out would have been quite expensive at the hotel restaurants. Now there are lots more restaurants in the area, but in Hawaii is is always fun to load up on exotic fruits and vegetables at the farmers markets, so a full kitchen is great.

We loved both places. My husband and I had just been at Maui Ocean Club for a week, and met the others on the Big Island, so I made several trips to the airport to pick up and drop off...a very easy 20 minute drive, and not much more to Kona for restaurants, beaches shopping and beer. (our sons had to get to the Kona Brewing Company!) On our previous stay at the hotel, we had done lots of driving to see the rest of the island, so this time my husband and I stayed in the local area. If we ever were to do the volcano again, it would be at the end of our week, and we would stay over there. I remember getting back very late at night after lots of driving, but our boys still remembered the lava tube and falls and Hilo harbor, so it was worth the driving.

I posted a TUG resort review if you need more details. We loved our week there! Aloha!

PS I wrote this once, then preview, and accidentally tried to correct a typo on the preview part, and the whole post disappeared. Couldn't find it anywhere, so hope this does not post twice! This is a new improved (?) version anyway.

Thanks for the great info and this only posted once. Aloha!:whoopie:
 

UK Fan

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Thanks for your info! Not sure if you have been to Maui and done "The Trip to Hana"..which is a long day but can be done. Sounds like Volcanoes might be like this and we would need an early start. Aloha!

Yes, Maui is still my favorite place in Hawaii. We were married thee and I fell in love with the place. We really enjoyed The Big Island too. I prefer the Waikoloa area over Kona. It is a beautiful island, so you can't go wrong either way!
 
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mauialoha

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Yes, Maui is still my favorite place in Hawaii. We were married thee and I fell in love with the place. We really enjoyed The Big Island too. I prefer the Waikoloa area over Kona. It is a beautiful island, so you can't go wrong either way!

Each island is so different! We explored most of the wild beaches on Lanai last year via Jeep..I will never forget Polihua Beach. Difficult to reach even in the Jeep but so worth savoring how windy and remote this sandy beach with wild surf is! Lunch at Four Seasons was a real treat!
 

eal

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After our third trip to the Big Island last November I felt like Goldilocks. During our first trip we stayed at Paniolo Greens - too rural. For our second trip we stayed at Wyndham Hawaiian Village in Kona - too urban. For our last trip we stayed at Kings' Land and the Bay Club in Waikoloa - just right!
 

rudy

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Waikola Marriott Room preference

My wife and I are planning to stay at the Waikoloa Marriott in 2014. There appears to be several room types ( in order of cost): garden view, pool view, larger corner room, ocean view, oceanfront, plus 1 and 2 bedroom suites.

View is very important to us and we would prefer high floor ocean view/oceanfront. I am thinking of booking an ocean view and hope for an upgrade to oceanfront....

My questions are:
1) How likely is it for a Marriott rewards platinum premier member to be upgraded and what type of upgrades have you received at this hotel?

2) any preferences for room location/bldg to view sunsets/whales

3) what type of view do the larger corner rooms have?


Thanks for all your help.
 

mauialoha

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My wife and I are planning to stay at the Waikoloa Marriott in 2014. There appears to be several room types ( in order of cost): garden view, pool view, larger corner room, ocean view, oceanfront, plus 1 and 2 bedroom suites.

View is very important to us and we would prefer high floor ocean view/oceanfront. I am thinking of booking an ocean view and hope for an upgrade to oceanfront....

My questions are:
1) How likely is it for a Marriott rewards platinum premier member to be upgraded and what type of upgrades have you received at this hotel?

2) any preferences for room location/bldg to view sunsets/whales

3) what type of view do the larger corner rooms have?


Thanks for all your help.

Very good questions Rudy! I look forward to responses from others and will consider much of the same you are looking for when booking out own stay in 2014! Aloha....
 

UK Fan

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My wife and I are planning to stay at the Waikoloa Marriott in 2014. There appears to be several room types ( in order of cost): garden view, pool view, larger corner room, ocean view, oceanfront, plus 1 and 2 bedroom suites.

View is very important to us and we would prefer high floor ocean view/oceanfront. I am thinking of booking an ocean view and hope for an upgrade to oceanfront....

My questions are:
1) How likely is it for a Marriott rewards platinum premier member to be upgraded and what type of upgrades have you received at this hotel?

2) any preferences for room location/bldg to view sunsets/whales

3) what type of view do the larger corner rooms have?


Thanks for all your help.

When we were there back in 2008, we were upgraded to a large corner room on a high floor with a great view...we booked a garden view. We used MRPs for the trip...
 

rudy

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UK Fan:

Thanks for sharing your experience....

Did the corner room give a view of the ocean & pool or gardens & mountain or ...?
 

UK Fan

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UK Fan:

Thanks for sharing your experience....

Did the corner room give a view of the ocean & pool or gardens & mountain or ...?

The corner room was an ocean view..
 

Carlsbadguy

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Was there a few months ago and booked the lowest priced room with an LNF rate of $89. As a Platinum I was upgraded to a room with a beautiful ocean view. It was a straight on ocean view but behind the pool, so not sure if this is considered ocean view or ocean front. I was also given 2 free breakfast buffets - per stay, and there was a sheet given at check in with other discounts for Platinum members. I did have to pay for parking, but the rest of the resort fee was waived.
 

rudy

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WOW .. that was a fantastic upgrade.

I had never heard of the LNF rate so I tried it but could not get any dates to pull it up.

With that sort of upgrade, I am confused as to what to book now... garden and hope for an upgrade like yours or just book what I want.:ponder:
 

SueDonJ

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WOW .. that was a fantastic upgrade.

I had never heard of the LNF rate so I tried it but could not get any dates to pull it up.

With that sort of upgrade, I am confused as to what to book now... garden and hope for an upgrade like yours or just book what I want.:ponder:

I like my surprises to be good ones so I usually book the type of room I want and then happily enjoy anything better that they want to give me. Especially when using cash - nothing's more depressing than getting that bill at the end of a disappointing stay. :(
 
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