# Grand Islander vs Grand Waikikian vs Hokulani Waikiki



## Yellowfin (Jun 24, 2020)

We have on hold with RCI all these resorts, 1 BR (except Hokulani 2 BR), we are 2 adults and 2 kids.   Which one should we keep for the best overall experience?


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## rjp123 (Jun 24, 2020)

Yellowfin said:


> We have on hold with RCI all these resorts, 1 BR (except Hokulani 2 BR), we are 2 adults and 2 kids. Which one should we keep for the best overall experience?


With kids I would stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The resort is more built for families and easy access to the water and beach.

Hokulani it's very nice, but probably not as practical if kids in beach time is what you're looking to maximize. 



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## CalGalTraveler (Jun 24, 2020)

Definitely Hilton Hawaiian Village with kids. Hokulani is more of an adult Waikiki city experience close to shopping and dining. Pool on the roof. HHV has several pools and is directly on the beach with a swimming lagoon and water toys. More resort like.


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## Yellowfin (Jun 24, 2020)

The dates we found for the Grand Islander work better for us, any disadvantages with this resort?


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## SmithOp (Jun 24, 2020)

Yellowfin said:


> The dates we found for the Grand Islander actually work better for us, any disadvantages with this resort?



only that its further from the beach/lagoon and the pool in that tower is smaller, but it is the newest tower, you might get a nice high room with a Diamondhead view.


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## Yellowfin (Jun 26, 2020)

We decided to keep the reservations for the Grand Islander, the dates work better for us. We also have bookings for later this year at Marriott Ko Olina. For those that have been to both, which one do you prefer?


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## elaine (Jun 26, 2020)

wondering this myself. We're considering DVC Aulani instead of HHV.
We loved HHV (hotel). You're at the end of the Waikiki strip, but still close enough to walk down the beach for action, and much closer than Ko or DVC to get to Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay.


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## CalGalTraveler (Jun 26, 2020)

Grand Islander has some low floor rooms that look out upon a rooftop with air conditioners. The higher room views are spectacular though. If you are staying in the lower units ask for a view of the pool which is the opposite side of the building. Not sure how they prioritize RCI traders. Owners and HGV points trader get higher priority. We traded into Lagoon Penthouse with RCI and they gave us the room next to the elevators which was very nice view but very noisy. Front desk told me this is the room they reserve for RCI traders. The resort was full so they couldn't move us.

Grand Islander has it's own pool which is less crowded than the hotel pools which is nice.

re: Ko Olina vs. HHV. We've stayed at both and we like them for different reasons. HHV is close to restaurant and attractions of Waikiki in addition to being on a beach resort, it's fun for people watching.  Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head are classic Hawaii with surfers etc. Ko Olina/DVC are best for resort only stays, and are quieter. No surfing but nice lagoons for the kids.


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## Yellowfin (Jun 26, 2020)

@CalGalTraveler Because we got 2 weeks x 2br oceanview at Ko Olina (one of them a penthouse) I am thinking it will be tougher to beat with a 2 weeks x 1 BR Great Islander RCI exchange.


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## CalGalTraveler (Jun 26, 2020)

@Yellowfin All else being equal, I would agree with your choice of Ko Olina for the room size and view. You can BBQ at Ko Olina, not possible at Grand Islander without a lot of hassle. HHV has Friday night fireworks on the beach (not running with Covid I believe). Ko Olina does not - different experiences - both are great.


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## CalGalTraveler (Jun 26, 2020)

@Yellowfin I am curious as to what you are trading with to get such great rooms at Ko Olina with II and RCI. We stayed at Ko Olina and had a bottom floor view of the parking lot! Close to the pool and BBQs though.


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## Yellowfin (Jun 26, 2020)

CalGalTraveler said:


> @Yellowfin I am curious as to what you are trading with to get such great rooms at Ko Olina with II and RCI. We stayed at Ko Olina and had a bottom floor view of the parking lot! Close to the pool and BBQs though. This was via a promo package during busy summer.


RCI points I have Regal Vistas Massanutten, for Interval I traded with Lagunamar. It was probably more luck than the fact that it was WLR.


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## oneohana (Jun 26, 2020)

Grand Waikikian has the largest room of the 3.
Doesn't the Hokulani have a small refrigerator?


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## frank808 (Jun 26, 2020)

oneohana said:


> Grand Waikikian has the largest room of the 3.
> Doesn't the Hokulani have a small refrigerator?


The refrigerator is about a 15 cu foot but the ice maker is in the bottom and doesn't make ice very efficiently. 

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## letsgobobby (Dec 29, 2020)

bumping this older thread.

We would like a 2 BR and what is available for our dates is GW 2 BR (2BD) 10,500 points, or GI 2 BR Plus (2BP) 12,600 points. We are a family of four and will use the Lagoon pool and the beach and Lagoon. Which is a better choice for us? (Normally we would stay at Lagoon but as of today, a full week is not available.)

I suppose the other option is a 1 BR, our kids are 11 and 13 and old enough to be good sports in the sleeper bed, if that is definitely a better option (main benefit being fewer points, but also perhaps a 1 BR is more likely to open up at Lagoon eventually). 

And finally we could split the week, half at GI/GW, the other half at Lagoon, but that’s kind of a PITA. Plus I’d have to pay two different reservation fees, right?


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## csodjd (Dec 29, 2020)

letsgobobby said:


> bumping this older thread.
> 
> We would like a 2 BR and what is available for our dates is GW 2 BR (2BD) 10,500 points, or GI 2 BR Plus (2BP) 12,600 points. We are a family of four and will use the Lagoon pool and the beach and Lagoon. Which is a better choice for us? (Normally we would stay at Lagoon but as of today, a full week is not available.)
> 
> ...


We are doing just that next month... 5 nights at GI and 5 at Lagoon. Yes, had to pay two res fees, but given the overall cost of 11 days in Waikiki for 3 people, pretty immaterial. We’ve never stayed at GI and thought it would be fun to check it out since a premier luxury 2BR was available. Yes, a bit of a pain to move over to Lagoon, but a “pain” in Hawaii isn’t really that much of a pain.


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## Wgk101 (Dec 29, 2020)

We moved between the towers and the bell staff handled the whole thing.  Easy peesy


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## csodjd (Dec 29, 2020)

Wgk101 said:


> We moved between the towers and the bell staff handled the whole thing.  Easy peesy


I'm just guessing here... but my guess is my wife will not let anyone touch anything. She said nobody cleans the rooms, or comes in, period.


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## Luanne (Dec 29, 2020)

csodjd said:


> I'm just guessing here... but my guess is my wife will not let anyone touch anything. She said nobody cleans the rooms, or comes in, period.


Hope this doesn't come off the wrong way, but with her concern about getting to the resort and what she will, and won't do at the resort, it sounds like your wife isn't setting herself up for a very relaxing trip.


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## letsgobobby (Dec 29, 2020)

thanks, i’m truly brand new to this so learning as I go.

weekends cost more than week nights, right, so i'm assuming all things being equal, it’s better to spend weekends at Lagoon and weeknights st GW, vs the other way around. and since i’m not booking a home week reservation, there’s no disadvantage to booking a few days per reservation, except for the reservation fee.

any thoughts about Kalia tower?


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## csodjd (Dec 29, 2020)

Luanne said:


> Hope this doesn't come off the wrong way, but with her concern about getting to the resort and what she will, and won't do at the resort, it sounds like your wife isn't setting herself up for a very relaxing trip.


Eh, she has a long history of saying, wow, that wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be, so I don’t pay too much attention. And she loves Hawaii more than anywhere else, so once she’s there, on the lanai overlooking the ocean, all those worries will go away. (Oh, and it appears we’ll both be vaccinated before we go. I got registered by LA County Dept of Health today. That’ll help. A lot! )


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## GT75 (Dec 29, 2020)

letsgobobby said:


> weekends cost more than week nights,


yes, twice as much as weekdays.    So, I will give you a hypothetical.    Let say your 1 week reservation is 7000 pts (standard 2 bd).    That would mean that weekday (Mon-Thurs) is 700 pts each night {I assume that you notice that this is 1/10th of the 7000 pts for the full week} or 2800 pts for 4 nights and weekend (Friday - Sunday) is 2x700 or 1400 pts each night or 4200 pts for 3 nights.   (2800 pts + 4200 pts = 7000 pts)


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## frank808 (Dec 29, 2020)

letsgobobby said:


> thanks, i’m truly brand new to this so learning as I go.
> 
> weekends cost more than week nights, right, so i'm assuming all things being equal, it’s better to spend weekends at Lagoon and weeknights st GW, vs the other way around. and since i’m not booking a home week reservation, there’s no disadvantage to booking a few days per reservation, except for the reservation fee.
> 
> any thoughts about Kalia tower?


Only studios and 1br units in Kalia tower. 

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