# help w/Hanalei Bay Resort (Princeville, Kauai)



## karenwxs (Jan 14, 2016)

My husband and I  have been owners with WorldMark for probably 20 years and have exchanged into Princeville many times. We love it there. We discovered the Hanalei Bay Resort about 6 years ago while driving around dreaming of buying our own condo. We weren't really in the market to buy another timeshare, but the location is simply paradise. We stopped into a timeshare resale place and asked some questions, and then back to the resort to talk to a few owners. We heard about the poor management and trouble the resort was going through, so we decided it would not be a good decision to buy. Since then we have stayed there 3 times with exchanges thru RCI, II, and a booking through VRBO. We have watched the turnaround the resort is making, and fell even more in love. We went to Kauai for a few days last month with an exchange into Kapaa, but found ourselves up on the North Shore 2 of the 3 days. Of course we had to check out our favorite spot - HBR. They have a resale office on site now, selling foreclosed ownerships. Though we weren't really looking to buy another timeshare, we would love to stay at HBR every year and exchanging doesn't guarantee we'd be able to do that, so are seriously looking at buying. We are interested in a 2 bedroom mostly because the views of the bay. We were told they are selling those for $8500 (2 bdrm maintenance fees are $1500/yr). Is that a fair price? should we be negotiating? Should we be keeping our eye out to buy from a private party instead? (The resale person said it would be faster, easier, and closing costs about $1000 less by going through her.)
One thing that is making me a bit unsure about buying is that my husband doesn't find out when his vacation will be for the following year until Nov., and since owners can book out as far as 25 months, and bonus time at 12 months, I'm worried there wont ever be availability for us once we find out when we can go. I'm wondering if we'd have just as much success continuing to exchange when we can, and VRBO when we cant. Any owners out there with advice on that? Or anything else about being an owner there?


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## presley (Jan 15, 2016)

First, message a moderator here and ask them to move this thread to the Hawaii timeshare forum. People who know about Hanalei Bay probably won't be looking in the Worldmark forum.

There have been lots of units for sale on Ebay for cheap. I am not sure if $8500. for getting exactly what you want is a good or bad deal. Grand Pacific Resorts is running Hanalei Bay now, and as you've seen they do a great job and they charge top dollar for that. I suggest checking Redweek, Tug Marketplace and Ebay for current listings and past sales of the property to give you a better idea. They were extremely cheap, as in less than $100. a few years ago, but that was for one bedrooms and at the time the resort was rated as very run down. If GPR has brought it back up to a decent place the pricing could go up, but there will still be plenty of owners who cannot afford the skyrocketing MFs who will do anything to get rid of their units if you can be patient.


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## sjsharkie (Jan 15, 2016)

karenwxs said:


> My husband and I  have been owners with WorldMark for probably 20 years and have exchanged into Princeville many times. We love it there. We discovered the Hanalei Bay Resort about 6 years ago while driving around dreaming of buying our own condo. We weren't really in the market to buy another timeshare, but the location is simply paradise. We stopped into a timeshare resale place and asked some questions, and then back to the resort to talk to a few owners. We heard about the poor management and trouble the resort was going through, so we decided it would not be a good decision to buy. Since then we have stayed there 3 times with exchanges thru RCI, II, and a booking through VRBO. We have watched the turnaround the resort is making, and fell even more in love. We went to Kauai for a few days last month with an exchange into Kapaa, but found ourselves up on the North Shore 2 of the 3 days. Of course we had to check out our favorite spot - HBR. They have a resale office on site now, selling foreclosed ownerships. Though we weren't really looking to buy another timeshare, we would love to stay at HBR every year and exchanging doesn't guarantee we'd be able to do that, so are seriously looking at buying. We are interested in a 2 bedroom mostly because the views of the bay. We were told they are selling those for $8500 (2 bdrm maintenance fees are $1500/yr). Is that a fair price? should we be negotiating? Should we be keeping our eye out to buy from a private party instead? (The resale person said it would be faster, easier, and closing costs about $1000 less by going through her.)
> One thing that is making me a bit unsure about buying is that my husband doesn't find out when his vacation will be for the following year until Nov., and since owners can book out as far as 25 months, and bonus time at 12 months, I'm worried there wont ever be availability for us once we find out when we can go. I'm wondering if we'd have just as much success continuing to exchange when we can, and VRBO when we cant. Any owners out there with advice on that? Or anything else about being an owner there?


If you look at the Princeville area, there are tons of timeshares and not enough people to buy them (or even take them for free).  While Hanalei is a bit further down the road (past the one way bridge to be exact), I can't see this property being worth $8500 with a $1500 mf/yr.  GPR managed or not ... it's not worth that to most people.

It may be that the 2BR inventory pool is not large and consequently not many people are selling right now.  However, I'd suggest to continue renting/exchanging while you search for a good deal on the property.  I'm certain one will pop up with a much more reasonable purchase price that is in line with the area.

Good luck!

-ryan


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## wilma (Jan 15, 2016)

This discussion is in the wrong forum. Hanalei Bay Resort is not Worldmark or Wyndham. This should be in Buying, Selling or Hawaii?


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## wilma (Jan 15, 2016)

karenwxs said:


> My husband and I  have been owners with WorldMark for probably 20 years and have exchanged into Princeville many times. We love it there. We discovered the Hanalei Bay Resort about 6 years ago while driving around dreaming of buying our own condo. We weren't really in the market to buy another timeshare, but the location is simply paradise. We stopped into a timeshare resale place and asked some questions, and then back to the resort to talk to a few owners. We heard about the poor management and trouble the resort was going through, so we decided it would not be a good decision to buy. Since then we have stayed there 3 times with exchanges thru RCI, II, and a booking through VRBO. We have watched the turnaround the resort is making, and fell even more in love. We went to Kauai for a few days last month with an exchange into Kapaa, but found ourselves up on the North Shore 2 of the 3 days. Of course we had to check out our favorite spot - HBR. They have a resale office on site now, selling foreclosed ownerships. Though we weren't really looking to buy another timeshare, we would love to stay at HBR every year and exchanging doesn't guarantee we'd be able to do that, so are seriously looking at buying. We are interested in a 2 bedroom mostly because the views of the bay. We were told they are selling those for $8500 (2 bdrm maintenance fees are $1500/yr). Is that a fair price? should we be negotiating? Should we be keeping our eye out to buy from a private party instead? (The resale person said it would be faster, easier, and closing costs about $1000 less by going through her.)
> One thing that is making me a bit unsure about buying is that my husband doesn't find out when his vacation will be for the following year until Nov., and since owners can book out as far as 25 months, and bonus time at 12 months, I'm worried there wont ever be availability for us once we find out when we can go. I'm wondering if we'd have just as much success continuing to exchange when we can, and VRBO when we cant. Any owners out there with advice on that? Or anything else about being an owner there?




You should be able to find a 2 bedroom HBR on the resale market for less than $2000 but given your scheduling/reservation issue it may not be worthwhile. The HBR resale office is overpriced but people are buying again because the resort has been fixed up and is now well run.  I helped my sister and friend find 2 bedroom HBRs on ebay and once owner transfer was final, it was very difficult to get a reservation one year out. Summer is prime time at HBR because of the nicer weather and you can swim at northshore beaches, those weeks go fast. Good luck.


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## TheTimeTraveler (Jan 15, 2016)

karenwxs said:


> My husband and I  have been owners with WorldMark for probably 20 years and have exchanged into Princeville many times. We love it there. We discovered the Hanalei Bay Resort about 6 years ago while driving around dreaming of buying our own condo. We weren't really in the market to buy another timeshare, but the location is simply paradise. We stopped into a timeshare resale place and asked some questions, and then back to the resort to talk to a few owners. We heard about the poor management and trouble the resort was going through, so we decided it would not be a good decision to buy. Since then we have stayed there 3 times with exchanges thru RCI, II, and a booking through VRBO. We have watched the turnaround the resort is making, and fell even more in love. We went to Kauai for a few days last month with an exchange into Kapaa, but found ourselves up on the North Shore 2 of the 3 days. Of course we had to check out our favorite spot - HBR. They have a resale office on site now, selling foreclosed ownerships. Though we weren't really looking to buy another timeshare, we would love to stay at HBR every year and exchanging doesn't guarantee we'd be able to do that, so are seriously looking at buying. We are interested in a 2 bedroom mostly because the views of the bay. We were told they are selling those for $8500 (2 bdrm maintenance fees are $1500/yr). Is that a fair price? should we be negotiating? Should we be keeping our eye out to buy from a private party instead? (The resale person said it would be faster, easier, and closing costs about $1000 less by going through her.)
> One thing that is making me a bit unsure about buying is that my husband doesn't find out when his vacation will be for the following year until Nov., and since owners can book out as far as 25 months, and bonus time at 12 months, I'm worried there wont ever be availability for us once we find out when we can go. I'm wondering if we'd have just as much success continuing to exchange when we can, and VRBO when we cant. Any owners out there with advice on that? Or anything else about being an owner there?






I am going to suggest you check out:   www.TimeshareResalesHawaii.com

Maybe they'll have something for you.

Keep us posted on your search.




.


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## Roger830 (Jan 16, 2016)

There are units on vrbo for rent, some less than the $1500 mf. 

There is an active poster on the TripAdvisor Kauai board that has intimate knowledge on many of the units that are privately owned and rented.


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## ThreeLittleBirds (Jan 17, 2016)

I did a trade on the TUG Marketplace and just came back from HBR. We loved it there. Our unit was a 1 bedroom/2bath and the owner was able to book it 1 year out for week 52. 

Not sure what availability would have been for a 2 bedroom.


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## wilma (Jan 17, 2016)

ThreeLittleBirds said:


> I did a trade on the TUG Marketplace and just came back from HBR. We loved it there. Our unit was a 1 bedroom/2bath and the owner was able to book it 1 year out for week 52.
> 
> Not sure what availability would have been for a 2 bedroom.



was the restaurant or bar open ?


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## jacknsara (Jan 17, 2016)

wilma said:


> was the restaurant or bar open ?


Aloha,
We stopped in a few days ago.  It remains under construction.  We did not ask about expected completion date.  We've been coming to many years to believe anyone knows.
Jack


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## ThreeLittleBirds (Jan 18, 2016)

wilma said:


> was the restaurant or bar open ?



As I wrote in my review:

If it were HGTV - 6 days to completion 
If it were the mainland - 6 weeks to completion
Given that it is Hawaii - 6+ months to completion

The lobby is gorgeous and the work on the restaurant so far looks equally as gorgeous

I have a lot of pictures on my phone that I will upload sometime in the next couple weeks


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## wilma (Jan 18, 2016)

ThreeLittleBirds said:


> As I wrote in my review:
> 
> If it were HGTV - 6 days to completion
> If it were the mainland - 6 weeks to completion
> ...



Actually it's been about 4 years. The rest and bar are owned by a private party and there is no credible explanation for the delay.


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## ThreeLittleBirds (Jan 18, 2016)

wilma said:


> Actually it's been about 4 years. The rest and bar are owned by a private party and there is no credible explanation for the delay.



I meant what is left to do, but yeah, 4 years sounds like Hawaiian time...lol

The restaurant's woodwork flows nicely and matches up with the new lobby. I'll try and work on some pictures tonight


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## jlr10 (Jan 30, 2016)

We just got an email update from HBR and the Happy Talk Bar is scheduled to open in February (of 2016.) Staff is being trained right now.

Still work to be done on the Restaurant. The owner was at the annual meeting last year and is trying to get it open as soon as possible, and they had just gotten plans and construction started.  No scheduled date for it to open.


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