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The Bay [Club] at Waikoloa: Any recommendations

bryjake

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For our 10 year anniversary, we are finally going to the big island and staying at the Bay Club wiakoloa.

We are exited and are starting to plan it out even though it is a bit out October 2020.

Any differences between koana and wiakoloa?

Any pro vacation tips to share?

Our initial research is discovering that things are very expensive on the big island

Thanks in advance for the feedback
 

brp

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Not sure what you mean by "Any differences between koana and wiakoloa." The resorts are all at Waikoloa. There are Bay Club and Kohala Suites on 1 property, Kingsland (with a higher point structure) on another. There is also the Hilton Waikoloa Village hotel down on the water. Lots of threads comparing these.

Things are expensive if you let them be. Go to the market (KTA Superstore in Waikoloa (the Village, not the beach road) is a good one. Happy Hours abound in the area for cheaper adult beverage options.

October is a great time of year to be there.

Cheers.
 

bagabonz

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Almost everything happening on the BI is there. You can find free music or Hula almost every night of the week. The BI is not expensive in my opinion as compared to Oahu, Maui or Kauai. Search the Bay Club in this forum. You'll find plenty.
 

DeniseM

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Any differences between koana and wiakoloa?
The resorts are all at Waikoloa.

My 2 cents: Kona is more of a residential city, which also has hotels and resorts for tourists.

Waikoloa is more resorty.

They are very different from each other.
 

itchyfeet

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We are at the Bay Club right now. The resort is approximately 25 miles from Kona--easy drive but you will definitely need to rent a car. Costco or AutoSlash has the best rental rates. If you have any questions, just ask--I'll try to answer. There are many guide books available for the area (check your local library).
 

brp

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Costco or AutoSlash has the best rental rates.

I would amend this to CostCo (or anywhere else) and autoslash. Never a reason not to register any reservation with autoslash no matter where you make it. Also, check with them as well for an up-front quote, but have them track anything you book.

Cheers.
 

Shmiddy

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Bay Club is our favorite, larger units with a huge lanai. Kohala Suites is right next door and you can use the pool there if you wish. Kingsland is up the street and you will need to pay to access the pool - as well as at the hotel. Some folks like to go to the Lava Lava club for sunset views - we go but the food is soso and prices are high but it's nice, sometimes they have entertainment. Ironman is Oct 12th so it will be busy before and on that day with lots of road closures. There are several public beaches north of Waikoloa so explore - visit Kona, some nice places to eat and just enjoy the people watching. Drive to Hawi for the views then cut back accross the mountain for a great view of the coast. If you like stargazing there are regular events at the sumit visitors center where they bring in the astonomy clubs to set up telescopes - if you have a moonless night and the weather cooperates it is spectacular. Dress warm though, it gets cold at night on the summit. Nightime stargazing was suspended for renovations staring in January but should be done by the time you get there http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/visiting-mauna-kea/star-gazing-program.html Have fun - we are going post Labor Day for two weeks, our annual trip.
 
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fernow

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For what to do, depends on too many factors. How old are you. What do you like to do.

You can have a great time staying right there in the Waikoloa Beach Resort. Pools. Walk around the Hilton. A-Bay. Lava Lava Club. Golf. Tennis. etc.

Or you can spend everyday driving to the many great places on the island. Provided it is not the week of the Ironman in which case driving south can be un-fun. On Saturday, nearly impossible. Best Island in the archipelago, but don't tell anyone.

Big Island is cheap compared to the other islands.

After you land, hit Costco and Target in Kona before heading for Waikoloa. If timing is right have lunch at the Harbor House at Honokohau Harbor first.

Here is a strange tip you will get no where else. The Bay club has nice carts for taking your stuff to the room. (You will find the cart by the elevator) The carts have hanging bars. At Target, buy a small bag of black trash bags. (Hawaii like many other areas does not provide bags) Send them through the checkout first then fill them with your purchases. Fill them with your Costco stuff too. When you get to the Bay Club, you can hang them on the cart and transport to your room. Saves a lot of time and energy, particularly if you are on 2nd or 3rd floor.

You can use them again to take trash out to the dumpster if you fill up your trashcan or don't want a bunch of pineapple pieces under the sink for a week.

Have a great trip but tell everyone it was no good. Don't want crowds!
 

fernow

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One more VERY IMPORTANT tip for your trip to the BI. (in case you are still reading this thread) IF you are in fact going the week of Ironman (Heaven forbid arriving Sat the actual day of the race) , rent your car EARLY! Six months in advance at least. Cars sell out quickly for that week and get very expensive.

During Ironman, there are a lot of people there. Islanders tell me they don't really like it because even though they bring money to the island in the form of hotel and car rentals, they are there for athletic event and don't eat much or drink much and don't do tours etc, displacing other tourists who come there to eat, drink and go on tours. Plus they sort of take over the island and ride their bicycles as if they were the only ones on the roads.

But doesn't impact Waikoloa area much except on race day Saturday when they close the major highway and you basically can't go anywhere.
 
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bryjake

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TUGBBS is definitely becoming one of my favorite websites.
The community and the information shared here is amazing.

Thanks everyone for all the "PRO" tips.
Keep them coming.
 

Ralph Sir Edward

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Another "pro" tip. There is a fee for the bags you put your groceries in. (Both paper and plastic cost paper - green!) Pack a few reusable grocery bags with you. Save a little money and make the islanders a little happier, you're not adding extra litter.
 

Ralph Sir Edward

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Bay Club only comments.

Yes, they have a hair dryer in the 2 bedrooms. Look in the bathroom drawers. There are usually an extra plastic bag (or 2) under the trash can bag in the kitchen.

Nice TV with BLU-ray player. . . but. . .you can't add extra HDMI cables to the TV. Mounted too tight to the wall.

Big walk-in closet (empty) between the entry door and the kitchen (on the biggest 2 bedrooms). (These are converted condos.) Big enough for a king size air mattress. . . .

No hard-wired Internet jacks. Wi Fi only.

Ice makers are cleared with each weekly turnover cleaning.

Also business center with printers for printing out boarding passes.
 
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Ralph Sir Edward

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If you want to mail thing back to the mainland, the nearest post office is in Waikoloa Village, on the other side of the main road from KTA. Turn right at the last main intersection (up mountain) and hook around and the next street on the right. It will be on the right,
 

brp

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Another "pro" tip. There is a fee for the bags you put your groceries in. (Both paper and plastic cost paper - green!) Pack a few reusable grocery bags with you. Save a little money and make the islanders a little happier, you're not adding extra litter.

Even without the fee this is the right thing to do!

Also, just found out (and others may know this): If you arrive early and your room is not ready, they have cols storage as well as bag storage. We are going Memorial Day weekend, arriving to KOA at 9AM. We will grocery shop (KTA) first and then store if not ready. We'll have our own bags :)

Cheers.
 

fernow

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Nice TV with BLU-ray player. . . but. . .you can't add extra HDMI cables to the TV. Mounted too tight to the wall.

.

Pick up a female/female HDMI adapter and you can unplug the HDMI cable from the BLU-ray player,
shopping.png
add the adapter and plug in your Roku/Firestick/Apple TV etc without taking the TV off the wall.

Usually need a small extension power cord to power your device as well.

Like with mostly everything else, you can get one from Amazon.

But, who goes to Hawaii to watch TV?
 

jnsrusty

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I would definitely recommend snorkeling with the Manta Rays in Kona and going up to the Mauna Kea visitor center and summit. We went to the BI last summer and these were our 2 favorite activities by far! You can pay for a tour to Mauna Kea or you can rent a four wheel drive vehicle and drive up yourself. Even though we rented a vehicle with 4 wheel drive, I was a little nervous to make the drive. It turned out to be no problem at all, just a bit of a bumpy ride. The view from the summit is stunning and if you stop by the visitor center at night, they have free stargazing programs that are unreal!
 

jehb2

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But, who goes to Hawaii to watch TV?

My husband and I love to watch Korean daytime dramas (soaps) when we go to Hawaii. :p When I use to watch American soap operas 25+ years ago they moved so slowly. I mean 6 months later Erica & Adam Chandler were still having the same conversation in the boat house. Korean soaps on the other hand go through a lifetime of events every episode.
 
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Ralph Sir Edward

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Pick up a female/female HDMI adapter and you can unplug the HDMI cable from the BLU-ray player,View attachment 11785 add the adapter and plug in your Roku/Firestick/Apple TV etc without taking the TV off the wall.

Usually need a small extension power cord to power your device as well.

Like with mostly everything else, you can get one from Amazon.

But, who goes to Hawaii to watch TV?

Merely catering to all tastes.

Besides, you might want to see those videos you recorded that day on a big screen. . . . :D
 

Ralph Sir Edward

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No, you didn't. . . . :shrug:

There is no stereo, so if you want to listen to your own music, you have to root it through the TV. . .
 

Shmiddy

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If you want to listen to your own music - I bring a small bluetooth speaker ($20 at Target) and play from my iPhone. Take that to the pool too so we can listen to the Giants lose (keep it low so as to not annoy other guests) or out on the lanai to play music.
 

1Kflyerguy

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Pick up a female/female HDMI adapter and you can unplug the HDMI cable from the BLU-ray player,View attachment 11785 add the adapter and plug in your Roku/Firestick/Apple TV etc without taking the TV off the wall.

Usually need a small extension power cord to power your device as well.

Like with mostly everything else, you can get one from Amazon.

But, who goes to Hawaii to watch TV?

Clever, never thought about doing that.

And yes we do occasionally watch TV or movies in Hawaii, and other locations.
 

Ralph Sir Edward

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I keep a pair of self powered speaker in my storage room. Never loud, but some light jazz or contemporary hawaiian music.

But then again, I use timeshares as a surrogate second home. . . .
 
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