# Big Island for two



## topdog (Jul 31, 2012)

We are thinking of either Kingsland or Bay Club for a nice week for just the two of us next year.  Access to the Hotel pool would be nice.  I know the Bay Club units are bigger and nicely renovated, but they want a big fee for hotel pool access if we stay there I would guess.  Does anyone know?

If we pay up with more points for a Kingsland 1 BR premium unit, what will we get, in terms of resort feel and top floor etc. for our point worth?  Is it a very long drive or shuttle ride to the hotel resort?  Does hotel pool access include the lounge chair towels?


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## pierceit (Jul 31, 2012)

There is a fee to use the Hilton hotel pool when staying at Bay Club and not at the other two Big Island properties.  The other two properties have their own pools as well as free access to the hotel pool.  

When we stayed at Kings Land and used their pool, we had no interest in going down to the hotel to use that pool.  The Kings Land pool is very nice!  If you're going to walk down to the hotel pool, it's probably only about a 10 or 15 minute walk.  If stay at one of the two properties that give you hotel access, you can drive down and park in the hotel parking with free validation at the bell hop desk.  Yes, the hotel pool access does get you towel access also.

Two years ago we stayed in a 3 bedroom premium and the only thing I noticed was that we were on the top floor.  I did not see the other units, so I cannot comment on if our unit had better furnishings or not, but our unit was very nicely equipped.

Hope you enjoy your trip!


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## Adrienne (Jul 31, 2012)

If you want to save points, stay at Bay Club and buy a few daily passes to the hotel. They're steep at around $80/day/family...but if you don't go every day it's not that much money in comparison to the points saved.   

Never been to the Bay Club but I hear the units are nice with large lanais. 
Kinglsand is wonderful, that I can vouch for.  You won't care about going to the Hilton's pool once you see theirs.


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## Sandy VDH (Aug 1, 2012)

My thought is that I do not go to hawaii to sit at the pool.  So the pool is not a big attraction for me.  

Given that I prefer the Bay Club, cheaper points, easy access, nice units.  I could pay the fee for a day or two if need be.  But the fee is for pool access only.  You are allowed to access the ground for NO fee, just the pools themselves cost money.  If you just want to visit once or twice, save the points and pay a pass. 

If the pool is very important than Kingsland is the best choice.  If you have points to burn and want to use up book here. Problem is that the points are roughly 50% more, and that is only for a standard room, you want an upper floor you have to pay for a premium or a plus room. IMHO it is not worth it.  And I have stayed at Kingsland, but I refused to pay HGVC prices I booked via RCI and only paid 4800 points for a 2 BR unit.  However with Kingsland not only do they have a great pool complex themselves, but they also have free access the the Hilton hotel pool complex.  

I actually like WBC the least of the 3 Big Island properties.  Units are small and very close together, pool is OK, but has been under constant repair. (due to issues when built).


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## GregT (Aug 1, 2012)

If I went to Big Island with just my wife, we would stay at Bay Club.  The units are terrific and we wouldn't spend that much time at the hotel pool.   

And if you pay the big points premium hoping for a view, I think you will end up with a nice top floor or end unit second floor -- but no view.

Good luck and let us know what you do...

Best,

Greg


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## Ron98GT (Aug 1, 2012)

pierceit said:


> There is a fee to use the Hilton hotel pool when staying at Bay Club and not at the other two Big Island properties.  The other two properties have their own pools as well as free access to the hotel pool.
> 
> When we stayed at Kings Land and used their pool, we had no interest in going down to the hotel to use that pool.  The Kings Land pool is very nice!  If you're going to walk down to the hotel pool, it's probably only about a 10 or 15 minute walk. (Don't walk, use the free shuttle.)  If stay at one of the two properties that give you hotel access, you can drive down and park in the hotel parking with free validation at the bell hop desk. (When we we're there in May, it was only free if you show them a handicap sticker, which we did.) Yes, the hotel pool access does get you towel access also.
> 
> ...



The Hotel is huge.  After entering the lobby, you first have to use the tram to get anywhere, after you get off the tram, you'll do a lot of waking.  After checking out the hotel/pool, you may find that you'd rather stay at the TS pool.

If you haven't been to the Big Island before, you'll probably be spending a lot of time at the beaches, Kona, Hilo, Volcano National Park, etc., and not as much time at the pools as you think.


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## travelguy (Aug 2, 2012)

*Bay Club and BEACH!*

I agree with the strategy of staying at the Bay Club with two people (get a top floor if possible) and go to a different BEACH each day!  Use the pool at HGVC Orlando or Vegas, not where there is an ocean and Hawaiian beaches!


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## Ron98GT (Aug 2, 2012)

travelguy said:


> I agree with the strategy of staying at the Bay Club with two people (get a top floor if possible) and go to a different BEACH each day!  Use the pool at HGVC Orlando or Vegas, not where there is an ocean and Hawaiian beaches!



Stay at the Bay Club, get a copy of the "Big Island Revealed", and hit the beaches:

http://www.hawaiirevealed.com/books-apps/hawaii-the-big-island-revealed

http://www.amazon.com/Hawaii-The-Bi...343938643&sr=8-1&keywords=big+island+revealed


Specifically, Hapuna beach:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...ach-Kohala_Coast_Island_of_Hawaii_Hawaii.html


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## tahoeJoe (Aug 2, 2012)

*Easy Choice - Bay Club!*

I agree with the others and I would stay at Bay Club. There is a lot to do on the Big Island, you don't need to go to the hotel pools, at least not everyday. 

That being said, I have heard stories of people "sneaking in" to the hotel pools from neighboring hotels or condos. They have indicated they had no problems doing it. Now, I'm not advocating this approach, I'm just curious. Is it hard to do; will one "get caught"? Or since the hotel is HUGE, and the other 2 Hilton timeshares have access, the hotel pool people don't know who belongs and who doesn't so it easy sneak in. Thoughts?


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## Luanne (Aug 2, 2012)

tahoeJoe said:


> I agree with the others and I would stay at Bay Club. There is a lot to do on the Big Island, you don't need to go to the hotel pools, at least not everyday.
> 
> That being said, I have heard stories of people "sneaking in" to the hotel pools from neighboring hotels or condos. They have indicated they had no problems doing it. Now, I'm not advocating this approach, I'm just curious. Is it hard to do; will one "get caught"? Or since the hotel is HUGE, and the other 2 Hilton timeshares have access, the hotel pool people don't know who belongs and who doesn't so it easy sneak in. Thoughts?



Having stayed overnight at the Waikoloa Hilton I can see where it wouldn't be difficult to "sneak" in and use the pool.  However, without a wristband (which you can only get if you are a hotel guest, or I assume have privileges from the Hilton timeshares, or have purchased)  you can't get pool towels or use the waterslides.  So, if all you wanted to do was sit by the crowded pool with everyone else........go for it.


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## O-H-I-O (Aug 2, 2012)

We just stayed at Waikoloa Beach HGVC and there were people from Bay club at the pool every day we were there. They were very respectful of the chairs and never tried to consume the cabanna's. Since you can walk straight through the lobby to the pool, or go through a "not fully closed gate(s)" you could probably get away with it as long as you are respectful of the actual residing guests. Like the other posts, I am not suggesting you do this, but it happens all the time.


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## ricoba (Aug 2, 2012)

Another vote for the Bay Club and I am with the who needs a pool, it's Hawaii crowd! 

Up the road 20 minutes is paradise on earth, Hapuna Beach.

We stayed two weeks on the BI, one at the Waikoloa Suites and one at the Bay Club.  I visited the hotel one time, and never went to the pool, but went to the beach daily.


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## Sandy VDH (Aug 2, 2012)

Frankly every time I went over the the Hilton, I'd rather just sit out and have a view of the ocean and forget the pool.


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## topdog (Aug 3, 2012)

*Thanks and question*

Many thanks.  My wife and I will l decide later which Hilton to choose.  Bay Club and save the points is in the lead, but not at all for sure. 

I'm thinking we will try to go in late August or Sept., when airfares might be more reasonable.  Any other good times for airfares?  

Thanks for the links.  I guess people love Hapuna beach for good reasons.  

Is it easy to rent beach umbrellas and chairs for Hapuna or any other nice beaches there?  Any beaches with rental chairs set up?


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## MikeinSoCal (Aug 3, 2012)

We just stayed at KL in late April/early May.  Used the pools at KL and WBR.  Never had to pay for parking at WBR.  Free validation at the valet desk.  Probably stopped by WBR at least once everyday for a week.  The pools at KL are nice, but more options at WBR.  Also the sunset at WBR was great.  I never received a wrist band (do KL visitors get wrist bands?).  Used their towels with no problem.  I just told them we were staying at KL and all I had to do was show them my key card.


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## topdog (Aug 3, 2012)

Thanks Mike.


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## tahoeJoe (Aug 3, 2012)

O-H-I-O said:


> Since you can walk straight through the lobby to the pool, or go through a "not fully closed gate(s)" you could probably get away with it as long as you are respectful of the actual residing guests.



Can I change my vote? I recommend staying at Bay Club and "sneaking-in" to the hotel pools . LOL :rofl:


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## Luanne (Aug 3, 2012)

topdog said:


> Is it easy to rent beach umbrellas and chairs for Hapuna or any other nice beaches there?  Any beaches with rental chairs set up?



I've never seen any of the public beaches with rental chairs set up (and this included Hapuna, the beach at the Mauna Kea, Magic Sands and Kahalu'u.  I know you can rent chairs at several of these, we've usually borrowed them from the timeshare we've been staying at.  We also always buy the woven beach mats as we find them to be quite helpful.

There are chairs set up at the beaches in front of the hotels, Hapuna and Mauna Kea, but I've never been brave, or bold enough, to try and use them.


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## Ron98GT (Aug 4, 2012)

topdog said:


> Many thanks.  My wife and I will l decide later which Hilton to choose.  Bay Club and save the points is in the lead, but not at all for sure.
> 
> I'm thinking we will try to go in late August or Sept., when airfares might be more reasonable.  Any other good times for airfares?
> 
> ...



I just noticed that you own a Bay Club?  Ever stay there, or new owner?


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## topdog (Aug 4, 2012)

We still own at Bay Club, but have not been there yet.  We bought it resale, to get into HGVC, thanks to TUG!  It would be nice to see it, and stay at either Bay Club or Kingsland, in a 1 BR most likely.


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## TheWizz (Aug 6, 2012)

*Kings' Land NOT so kid Friendly!*

I just returned from a week at KL on the Big Island.  I had a 2BR Plus, which basically just gets you a nicer view from the 1st or 2nd floor.  I called about a week prior to arrival and asked about a high floor corner unit as I had read those were the best.  The agent I spoke with told me because of my Elite status we were confirmed in a "high floor corner 2BR unit".  Sounded good, so couldn't wait to get there.  When we arrived I found out we were in the "near end" of Bldg. 10, which is about as far away from the pool as you can get, save Bldg 11.  And the "corner unit" wasn't in the corner at all.  In fact I was told later that there are no 2BR corner units - they are all 1BR units.  But I have no evidence of this...  The units look nice, but are small compared to what I hear the Bay Club offers.  The pool doesn't look like the first pic on the HGVC website as there are no units directly behind it - that is where the clubhouse is.  Also, the MG states there is a "lazy river".  Any pool I have went to that had a "lazy river" implied a circular flowing river that you sat in a tube and float around the river passing other pool areas.  I don't know what part of the KL pool is supposed to be the "lazy river" as I never saw it.  All I saw was an adult section, two large adult/kids sections, and a kid section with a sand (small rocks) beach.  The pool was nice and never really overcrowded, which was good, but I imagine that will change once all the new units they are building across the street are opened for business.   

The reason I put that the resort is not kid friendly is that the insulation between the floors is NOT adequate.  Being on the 2nd floor, I could hear the folks above us quite often but it wasn't too loud to cause any issues.  The same could not be said for the folks below us unfortunately.  I had my 2 yr old grandson with us and as with most 2 yr olds, he packs a lot of energy that was released by running around.  The resort clearly states that "resort quiet time" is to be observed from 10PM-6:30AM each day.  So imagine my surprise on our second night when we get a knock at the door from security at 9PM.  He told the folks below that we had another hour before quiet time, but they insisted he come talk to us, so he did.  We did our best to keep our grandson from running a lot after that, and ensured he was in bed by 10PM each night.  Our last night we got him to bed right at 10PM and the folks had once again called security around 9:45PM.  I guess their watch was broke?    While this was obviously frustrating (for all parties involved) it could have easily been solved with better flooring and insulation between the floors.  I have stayed at HHV several times and never heard anyone above us nor have we had anyone complain about our grandson running around there from the folks below.  Other minor issues is the lighting in the kitchen isn't that great and the AC unit doesn't have enough vents for the space being cooled, e.g. there is one vent for the kitchen, dining, and living rooms.  And for some reason the breakers to the lights in the bathrooms and hallways kept tripping.  I think I'll pass on KL again anytime soon - disappointed with the (expected and advertised) pool features and lack of quality/construction in the (small) units there.

The one bright spot was that a guy stopped me by the pool one day and asked if I owned there, liked it, etc. as he had just plopped down $18K for a 1BR bi-annual usage and asked me what I thought.  I told him to rescind ASAP and gave him some ideas for a better way to spend less than $18K for annual usage and more points and pointed him to tugbbs.


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## travelguy (Aug 6, 2012)

The Bay Club has the "noise from the people above" problem as well.  In fact, that's my only gripe with the entire Bay Club resort.  

It pays to ask for a top floor unit!  (I seem to recall that Bay Club only has two bedroom units on the top floor)


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## TheWizz (Aug 6, 2012)

travelguy said:


> The Bay Club has the "noise from the people above" problem as well.  In fact, that's my only gripe with the entire Bay Club resort.
> 
> It pays to ask for a top floor unit!  (I seem to recall that Bay Club only has two bedroom units on the top floor)



I did ask for the top floor and was initially told I would receive a top floor unit, however, I didn't.  

IF I go back there, I will save my (extra) points and just get a regular 2BR unit on the ground floor so I don't have to worry about my grandson bothering folks below.


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## mrsmusic (Aug 13, 2012)

We just returned, stayed in both the Bay Club and the Waikoloa units.  I would definitely save the points and stay in the Bay Club units, they are nice.  And you have access to the pools at Waikoloa as well as the Bay Club pools.  The check-in is at the very same place.  The activities flier is for both.  

We had 2 units, 2 weeks, one in each the 2nd week.  The only time we were asked for ID when going to the Hilton Hotel area was when we wanted towels.  However, we didn't go to the pools except once - we mainly went to the lagoon area.  The lagoon is fresh seawater and turtles come in there.  Easiest place to swim with the turtles I ever saw.  Not any coral, because it's built, and with all the feet there was sometimes poor visibility, but a few different kinds of fish and the turtles.  I could bring my 71-year old dad there who had never snorkeled before and he snorkeled with turtles. I would skip the pools and just go to the lagoon.  They have lounge chairs set up that are sometimes hard to get but not horrible.  

Next door to the lagoon they have the dolphin "experience" people pay big bucks for, but I wouldn't bother. You can see them just fine walking over the bridge and although you can pay for the "experience" you are only in the water with them for a short time and no swimming.  I had all I wanted to see just walking by. 

I asked but never did find out how much the extra fee was.  

Rent your beach chairs from Snorkel Bob and go to the beach if you don't want to mess around with the Hilton Hotel !


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## topdog (Aug 14, 2012)

who and where is snorkel Bob?


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## Luanne (Aug 14, 2012)

topdog said:


> who and where is snorkel Bob?



Snorkel Bob rents out snorkel equipment.  We've used the location right in front of Huggo's in Kona, but I would imagine there is a location closer to where you'll be.  You can check the website:

http://www.snorkelbob.com/

Looks like the closest location would be the one at Mauna Lani.


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