# How to Choose Which HGV on the Big Island of Hawaii is right for you



## Clifbell (Jan 8, 2022)

Hilton Grand Vacation has four wonderful properties in Waikoloa on the big island of Hawaii.  But which one should you stay at?  I created four criteria that I thought helped define the four Hilton Grand Vacations Properties so that you could choose which one was right for everyone.  Below is the summary;

Best pools - King's Land 
Closest to the Ocean - Ocean Tower 
Biggest Rooms - Bay Club 
Best availability - Bay Club and King's Land

The video below breaks down this analysis.  I have stayed at all four in the last year (and will again in 2022).  These timeshares are the main reason I own Hilton Grand Vacations.

How to Choose Which HGV on the Big Island of Hawaii is right for you

Map of all my timeshare reviews

The details behind my analysis are broken down in the following bullet points by each club should provide you the details to make a better decision.  I welcome any other comments and opinions on which ones you like;

Bay Club - Largest rooms, short walk to the ocean, huge decks 
1.  Room Sizes and Points     
     A. One  (825 Sq Ft) and two (1283 Sq Ft.) bedrooms.       
     B. Standard 4800 points for one bedroom and 7000 points for two bedroom 
2.  Swimming pools     
     A. Two pools.       
     B. Both pools are relatively small… No water slides but Jacuzzi’s a available 
3.  Close to the Ocean     
     A. Depending on unit about 1/4 to 1/2 mile     
     B. Shuttle available to Hilton Waikoloa hotel 
4.  Availability     
     A. Normally available     
     B. Multiple options during off peak season 
5.  Other Amenities (food, Parking, Art, entertainment, etc…)     
     A. Food available by the adult pool plus entertainment     
     B. Good fitness center     
     C. Plenty of Grills     
     D. Free parking 

Kohala Suites - Nice balcony, kid friendly pool with snack bar, and access to Hilton Waikoloa 
1.  Room Sizes and Points     
     A. Two (1150 Sq Ft.) bedrooms.       
     B. standard 7000 points for two bedroom 
2.  Swimming pools     
     A. One pool       
     B. Pools has water slides and Jacuzzi 
3.  Close to the Ocean     
     A. Depending on unit about 1/2 mile     
     B. Shuttle available to Hilton Waikoloa hotel 
4.  Availability     
     A. Normally available     
     B. Multiple options during off peak season 
5.  Other Amenities (food, Parking, Art, entertainment, etc…)     
     A.  Food available by the pool     
     B.  Plenty of Grills     
     C.  Free parking 

King’s Land - Best pools and close to main highway for getting around the island 
1.  Room Sizes and Points     
     A. Two (1150 Sq Ft.) bedrooms.       
     B. standard 7000 points for two bedroom 
2.  Swimming pools     
     A. Four pools       
     B. Pools has water slides and Jacuzzi 
3.  Close to the Ocean     
     A. Depending on unit about 1 mile     
     B. Shuttle available to Hilton Waikoloa hotel 
4.  Availability     
     A. Normally available     
     B. Multiple options during off peak season 
5.  Other Amenities (food, Parking, Art, entertainment, etc…)     
     A. Food available by the pool     
     B. Nightly Entertainment at the pool bar     
     C. Plenty of Grills     
     D. Free parking 

Ocean Tower - Stay here if you want to have ocean views, no rental car, and access to the hotel 
1.  Room Sizes and Points     
     A. Two (877 Sq Ft.) bedrooms.       
     B. Standard 10,500 points for two bedroom (17,250 Points for partial Ocean View)     
     C. One Bedroom (4800 Points) 590 Sq ft. (7200 Points Partial for Ocean View)     
     D. Studio (no Kitchen 3400 Points) 
2.  Swimming pools     
     A. Two pools     
     B. Pool has water slides and Jacuzzi     
     C. Use hotel pools also 
3.  Close to the Ocean     
     A. Can be ocean view or short walk to the ocean     
     B. Walk or take the tram to Hilton Waikoloa hotel 
4.  Availability     
     A. Normally available     
     B. Multiple options during off peak season 
5.  Other Amenities (food, Parking, Art, entertainment, etc…)     
     A. Convenience store on property     
     B. Art on walk from lobby to property entrance     
     C. Food available at the Hilton Waikoloa Hotel which is walking distance     
     D. Paid parking ($39/night)     
     E. No Grills


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## Luanne (Jan 8, 2022)

Great breakdown and analysis.  We have only stayed at Bay Club and Kohala Suites.  Of those two I prefer Bay Club.  We're not huge pool people so the better pools have never been a draw for us.  Maybe when our daughters were little they would have been.  We have also stayed in the Ocean Towers, but that was back when it was a hotel unit.


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## SmithOp (Jan 8, 2022)

KL has a limited number of 7k units, most are higher. The premier units have a good maint fee to point ratio to own.

KL has a weekly (Thursday) luau show on the ohana lawn.


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## pedro47 (Jan 8, 2022)

Are any of these resorts near the military resort The Hale Koa ?


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## Luanne (Jan 8, 2022)

pedro47 said:


> Are any of these resorts near the military resort The Hale Koa ?


Not exactly.  Hale Koa is on Oahu.  All of these resorts are on the Big Island.


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## SmithOp (Jan 8, 2022)

pedro47 said:


> Are any of these resorts near the military resort The Hale Koa ?



That would be Hilton Hawaiian Village, right next door on Waikiki beach.

For Big Island there is Kilauea Military Camp, right inside Volcano National Park.






						Home
					






					www.kilaueamilitarycamp.com
				





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## ski_sierra (Jan 8, 2022)

Clifbell said:


> Hilton Grand Vacation has four wonderful properties in Waikoloa on the big island of Hawaii.  But which one should you stay at?  I created four criteria that I thought helped define the four Hilton Grand Vacations Properties so that you could choose which one was right for everyone.  Below is the summary;
> 
> Best pools - King's Land
> Closest to the Ocean - Ocean Tower
> ...



Really great analysis and very helpful for people wanting to make a decision. We stayed at Kings' Land in Summer 2021 and are going back to King's Land for Thanksgiving 2022.


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## brp (Jan 8, 2022)

We've stayed all three non-HWV resorts and like all three. They all have things to offer. The analysis above is quite good, but misses a few things:


Kohala and Bay Club are on the same campus so each, effectively, has he same 3 pools, and we've used them that way.
Kohala has live entertainment as well and, when we where there in November, it was better than Kingsland
Food options are mediocre, at best, at all locations.

But otherwise looks quite complete.

Overall, we like the Kohala/Bay Club setting better. But we will likely stay at Kingsland again in November simply because we loved the building/area we were in. And as out unit type of preference is only found there, we'll be in the same area. And and adult hot tub is very nice for meeting folks and chatting. bar is usually better than Kohala, but was quite inferior in November. We expect it to be better this coming November.

And we still have points to burn. I don't think it's worth the extra unless one has the extra points.

Cheers.


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## pedro47 (Jan 8, 2022)

SmithOp said:


> That would be Hilton Hawaiian Village, right next door on Waikiki beach.
> 
> For Big Island there is Kilauea Military Camp, right inside Volcano National Park.
> 
> ...


Thank you and thank you very much.


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## geist1223 (Jan 8, 2022)

pedro47 said:


> Are any of these resorts near the military resort The Hale Koa ?



On the BI you have the Military KMC (Kilauea Military Camp) in Volcano National Park, which is on the opposite side of the Island from the HGV Resorts.


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## tdietvorst (Jan 8, 2022)

Clifbel, I am blown away by your review. How delightful. How helpful. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.


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## Clifbell (Jan 9, 2022)

SmithOp said:


> KL has a limited number of 7k units, most are higher. The premier units have a good maint fee to point ratio to own.
> 
> KL has a weekly (Thursday) luau show on the ohana lawn.
> 
> ...


I'll have to check for the Luau show.


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## Clifbell (Jan 9, 2022)

brp said:


> We've stayed all three non-HWV resorts and like all three. They all have things to offer. The analysis above is quite good, but misses a few things:
> 
> 
> Kohala and Bay Club are on the same campus so each, effectively, has he same 3 pools, and we've used them that way.
> ...


I love the decks on the Bay Club.  I will be staying in the two bedroom in May.... I was surprised how much I loved the second bathroom in the Bay Club one bedroom... It was convenient to the kitchen and living room without having to go thru the bedroom.


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## jnjvance (Jan 11, 2022)

Clifbell said:


> I'll have to check for the Luau show.



When we were there in early October the Luau show was on hold due to COVID. Not sure if it is still that way, though.


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## Harry (Jan 11, 2022)

I love Ocean Towers, BUT I am a walker and prefer being on the ocean. We are original owners of the Bay Club but have elected KL since it was built. KL is probably the Hilton of choice for most


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## NiteMaire (Jan 11, 2022)

Thanks for the outstanding info.  

We've stayed at The Bay Club and Kohala Suites.  We lucked out and exchanged into 2BR Grand(?) Villa.  From what I recall it was originally built for year-round owners (maybe the entire resort was, but don't know).  We had covered parking and there were only 2 units per building.  We went from that huge unit to a small 2BR Kohala Suites unit for our second week.  We would definitely go back to Bay Club, but think we'd choose Kings' Land over Kohala Suites (based on what we've read about Kings' Land).

When we stayed at Bay Club, we were not given access to the pool at the hotel.  We didn't mind, especially since we were given access when we moved to Kohala Suites.  The pool is not enough of a draw to get us to stay at Kohala Suites again.  I wonder how the other 2BRs unit compare to the one stayed in...


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## Bill4728 (Jan 11, 2022)

NiteMaire said:


> The pool is not enough of a draw to get us to stay at Kohala Suites again. I wonder how the other 2BRs unit compare to the one stayed i


For us, having access to the hotel pools is worth a stay in the kohala suites.


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## brp (Jan 11, 2022)

Bill4728 said:


> For us, having access to the hotel pools is worth a stay in the kohala suites.



For us, the only one we care about is the Lagoon Pool (the rest are just pools. I've read here that, since this connected directly to the ocean, it's actually publicly accessible, but getting a towel there is not bad.

Cheers.


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## Harry (Jan 11, 2022)

The Bay Club was built as a private condo as were the villas. The developer either went bankrupt or sold tp a timeshare developer in the mid 90’s. We bought a resale in the late 90’s. Hilton affiliated and developed Kohala from old slabs from the Bay Club. Hilton offered owners the option of buying into their system at a really good price after Kahala was built.  The Bay Club Board has done a good job with the assistance of Hilton managing.


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## Luanne (Jan 11, 2022)

brp said:


> For us, the only one we care about is the Lagoon Pool (the rest are just pools. I've read here that, since this connected directly to the ocean, it's actually publicly accessible, but getting a towel there is not bad.
> 
> Cheers.


Anyone can walk around the Hilton grounds.  And sure, you could probably use the pools.  But, as you said you can't get a towel and you can't use the small water slide.  Other than that I don't know if they monitor who is in the pools, or laying around bedside them, for wristbands.


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## brp (Jan 11, 2022)

Luanne said:


> Anyone can walk around the Hilton grounds.  And sure, you could probably use the pools.  But, as you said you can't get a towel and you can't use the small water slide.  Other than that I don't know if they monitor who is in the pools, or laying around bedside them, for wristbands.



Agreed. Talking specifically about the Lagoon Pool. And I'm quite sure that one could get away with not being checked. But I've read here that, in addition to simply not getting caught, it's actually legal for the public to use this pool. Sans locally-acquired towel, of course 

Cheers.


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## Luanne (Jan 11, 2022)

brp said:


> Agreed. Talking specifically about the Lagoon Pool. And I'm quite sure that one could get away with not being checked. But I've read here that, in addition to simply not getting caught, it's actually legal for the public to use this pool. Sans locally-acquired towel, of course
> 
> Cheers.


The lagoon pool is the one that is supposed to look like a natural beach, right?  I mean, if you want to go to the beach, there is A-Bay, right next door.  We stayed at the Hilton some years back and I don't think any of us used the lagoon pool.


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## Lodemia (Mar 6, 2022)

We will have a car and we booked the ocean tower deluxe 1br because we wanted ocean views. Is that a mistake parking-wise?  I don’t mind paying for valet, but I don’t want to huff gear and groceries a mile away.  We’ve been to the big island three times prior, but this is the first as HGVC members.

All the other three are available for our dates. Thinking we might want to cancel and rebook kingsland or bay club. 

Elite premier if that matters


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## Luanne (Mar 6, 2022)

Lodemia said:


> We will have a car and we booked the ocean tower deluxe 1br because we wanted ocean views. Is that a mistake parking-wise?  I don’t mind paying for valet, but I don’t want to huff gear and groceries a mile away.  We’ve been to the big island three times prior, but this is the first as HGVC members.
> 
> All the other three are available for our dates. Thinking we might want to cancel and rebook kingsland or bay club.
> 
> Elite premier if that matters


Oh yeah, you will be huffing and puffing with groceries. There is (or at least used to be) a boat, or a tram, that would go from the lobby out to the towers.

With the parking, is it valet, or do you park the car yourself?  If you park it yourself you'll be lugging the groceries from the parking lot (up stairs if I remember correctly) to the lobby.  If it's truly valet at least you'll be able to leave your car at the lobby entrance.  I don't think when the hotel was built it was even intended to be used as a timeshare.


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## Lodemia (Mar 6, 2022)

I read both that there was a valet and that the valet was suspended due to covid. Now sure which to believe.


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## Luanne (Mar 6, 2022)

Lodemia said:


> I read both that there was a valet and that the valet was suspended due to covid. Now sure which to believe.


I would call the hotel and ask them.


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## dayooper (Mar 6, 2022)

Lodemia said:


> I read both that there was a valet and that the valet was suspended due to covid. Now sure which to believe.






Luanne said:


> I would call the hotel and ask them.



Yup, call the resort. They will know.


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## Luanne (Mar 6, 2022)

dayooper said:


> Yup, call the resort. They will know.


Just to add to this.  We are staying at the Hilton Union Square (San Francisco) prior to our trip to Maui.  Our daughter is coming up to join us and will be bringing her car.  I called to find out if the room rate that included parking was self parking or valet.  I found out it was self parking, and that at this time there is NO valet parking.  None of this was indicated on their website.


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## letsgobobby (Mar 6, 2022)

Do all four of these resorts have access to the Hilton Hotel complex pools? Are those still all part of the hotel, or are some now accessible only to OT guests?

With kids ages 6-16 and two rental cars we'll stay at KL next year but would be good to know what we can access and what we can't.


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## Luanne (Mar 6, 2022)

letsgobobby said:


> Do all four of these resorts have access to the Hilton Hotel complex pools? Are those still all part of the hotel, or are some now accessible only to OT guests?
> 
> With kids ages 6-16 and two rental cars we'll stay at KL next year but would be good to know what we can access and what we can't.


Kingsland and Kohala Suites have free access to the Hilton Hotel complex pools.  The Bay Club does not, but you can purchase access.  We prefer the Bay Club, due to the size of the units, but we're not huge pool people so access to the Hilton Hotel pools was not a priority.


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## brp (Mar 6, 2022)

Clifbell said:


> I love the decks on the Bay Club.  I will be staying in the two bedroom in May.... I was surprised how much I loved the second bathroom in the Bay Club one bedroom... It was convenient to the kitchen and living room without having to go thru the bedroom.



We are generally "upstairs people" as well. I was surprised at just how much we loved the ground floor KL Building 3 unit. Direct view of the quiet pool. Walk to the grills. Basically, the lawn is an extension of he patio.

We booked the 1BP again (Building 1-4 only) for 6 nghts at Thanksgiving and will request the same thing again. It was better than expected and, since we will cook dinner likely 5 or so of those nights, easy grill access is nice.

Cheers.


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## MuggleMoi (Mar 25, 2022)

All of this info has been so helpful. How is the walking around any of these? I love getting out early and late in the day. What's it like around these resorts? 

We had booked into KL twice but both times had to cancel due to travel restrictions. We're now finally back in Hawaii at HHV but definitely want to get to the Big Island next.


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## NiteMaire (Mar 25, 2022)

MuggleMoi said:


> How is the walking around any of these?


Fantastic!  Highly encourage doing this. Here's a post of a some petraglyphs you can see:








						Big Island: Day-trip Recommendation/Experience (from Waikoloa)
					

We hit 3 locations today: Pine Trees Beach, Lava Tube, and Hapuna Beach.  We packed our lunch and had dinner at our unit so no info on restaurants.  As I mentioned yesterday, one of our friends is a surfer.  We headed to Pine Trees Beach which is, reportedly, one of the best places to surf. We...




					tugbbs.com


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## brp (Mar 25, 2022)

MuggleMoi said:


> All of this info has been so helpful. How is the walking around any of these? I love getting out early and late in the day. What's it like around these resorts?



Early is very nice even for just walking around the Waikoloa loop. We're early risers as well. Some mornings we get up early and run as the sun is coming up. Other days we walk. Yet others, sit on the lanai with coffee for the sunrise. 

Cheers.


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## ski_sierra (Jul 29, 2022)

Quick question about Bay Club: For a non-elite HGVC member, can you get access to Kings' Land and the HWV Hotel pools for a fee? Or it's not possible?


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## Luanne (Jul 29, 2022)

ski_sierra said:


> Quick question about Bay Club: For a non-elite HGVC member, can you get access to Kings' Land and the HWV Hotel pools for a fee? Or it's not possible?


It looks like you used to be able to get a day pass for Kingsland, but I'm not sure if that exists any longer.  I haven't been able to find any current information.  I suggest you call, either Bay Club, Kingsland, or maybe both, to find out what is currently available.


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## ski_sierra (Jul 29, 2022)

Luanne said:


> It looks like you used to be able to get a day pass for Kingsland, but I'm not sure if that exists any longer. I haven't been able to find any current information. I suggest you call, either Bay Club, Kingsland, or maybe both, to find out what is currently available.


I just called. Bay club access to HWV is $100 for a single day and $255 for 3 days.


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## Luanne (Jul 29, 2022)

ski_sierra said:


> I just called. Bay club access to HWV is $100 for a single day and $255 for 3 days.


What is HWV?  Is that Hilton Waikoloa Village?  That would be the resort.  What is the fee for just the Kingsland pools?  A saw a fee of $15, but that was a few years back.


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## CalGalTraveler (Jul 29, 2022)

Bay and Kohala have free access to Kingsland pools if you are HGVC Elite.


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## Luanne (Jul 29, 2022)

CalGalTraveler said:


> Bay and Kohala have free access to Kingsland pools if you are HGVC Elite.


@ski_sierra said they were not HGVC Elite.  That's why they were asking about a fee.


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## pacman (Aug 1, 2022)

We sound a lot like the OP. Own HGVC for Waikoloa alone. Have stayed at all 4 resorts multiple times. Bay Club is our favourite, but we like Ocean Towers for a change of pace, and staying in a studio is a VERY good value of points. Not really a fan of KL - as they use up points very fast. We own 2 platinum units in Vegas, but will NEVER go there. Very happy with the availability in Waikoloa because of the 4 resorts there.


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## letsgobobby (Aug 1, 2022)

pacman said:


> We sound a lot like the OP. Own HGVC for Waikoloa alone. Have stayed at all 4 resorts multiple times. Bay Club is our favourite, but we like Ocean Towers for a change of pace, and staying in a studio is a VERY good value of points. Not really a fan of KL - as they use up points very fast. We own 2 platinum units in Vegas, but will NEVER go there. Very happy with the availability in Waikoloa because of the 4 resorts there.


OT or Bay Club studios are a good value?


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## SmithOp (Aug 1, 2022)

letsgobobby said:


> OT or Bay Club studios are a good value?


no studios at BC so he must mean OT.

We rented one using open season on a recent visit, was not impressed, it was too much like a hotel stay. The only elevators are located on the south side near the lobby, so if you are on the north side with a golf course / partial ocean view it a long walk around the "ring" to get to your room. The north side had stairs only, and we had 7th floor. 

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## Wright17s (Aug 2, 2022)

I've stayed at Ocean Tower and King's Land... loved them both for different reasons (Ocean Tower was an amazing resort you never have to leave if you don't want to, and King's Land was an amazing resort with easy access to parking and great if you're doing day trips across the island).

I do have a question on the 2 bedroom rooms at Ocean Tower in case anyone can help ( we stayed in a 1 bdrm when we were there )...  does anyone know what the correct sq footage is for the 2 bdrms?  The booking detail for the rooms on the HGVC website says 874 sq ft but the floor plans diagramed here say 1023 sq ft.


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