Waikoloa Ocean Club

[cp73]

Here now at Waikoloa. Lots of rain today. Nice resort and they really did a nice job on the vacation club rooms. We are here on the 799 5 night package and then moving to Maui on Sunday. Did the presentation today and done in 70 minutes. Very low pressure and nice job. I still like trading my unit rather than converting to points. Price offered was about $11 a point for 2000 points. Let me know if you have any questions about resort. I will post pictures and review when I return.

 

[gblotter]

When staying at Waikoloa on the $799 5-night promo package, did they put you in the hotel side or the timeshare portion of the resort? If staying in the timeshare, is it a studio unit?

 

[BocaBoy]

When staying at Waikoloa on the $799 5-night promo package, did they put you in the hotel side or the timeshare portion of the resort? If staying in the timeshare, is it a studio unit?

The timeshare has no studios.

 

[gblotter]

The timeshare has no studios.

Does that mean no lock-offs either?

 

[JIMinNC]

Does that mean no lock-offs either?

Since there are no weeks owned at Waikoloa, I think there was just less justification to build lock-offs. Since the MVC Trust owns all of the inventory, the only real benefit of a lock-off would be in allowing Marriott the flexibility to lock-off a unit themselves to allow people to book a studio unit with points. I suspect the cost of creating the lock-off units during the conversion was deemed to be too much to warrant the minimal benefits to Marriott in making some number of studio units available for points bookings.

 

[rickxylon]

Does that mean no lock-offs either?

No lock offs. 1BR and 2BR only

 

[cp73]

When staying at Waikoloa on the $799 5-night promo package, did they put you in the hotel side or the timeshare portion of the resort? If staying in the timeshare, is it a studio unit?

We are in a one bedroom unit that has bedroom, living room, and smaller size kitchen. Also a dining table that can seat 4 comfortably. It’s a nice unit. We also are on the third floor with an ocean view.

 

[mjm1]

We are in a one bedroom unit that has bedroom, living room, and smaller size kitchen. Also a dining table that can seat 4 comfortably. It’s a nice unit. We also are on the third floor with an ocean view.

Enjoy your time there. We stayed in a 1BR PoolView unit last fall using DC points and enjoyed the unit and resort.

How did you get the promo package?

Best regards.

Mike

 

[cp73]

Enjoy your time there. We stayed in a 1BR PoolView unit last fall using DC points and enjoyed the unit and resort.

How did you get the promo package?

Best regards.

Mike

In 2016we stayed at custom house and sat in on some points class they offered. I think it was there. The promo had many resorts and 3,4, and 5 day stays for reduced price. 5 nights in Hawaii was 799. If you send me a pm I will send you a copy of offer, if I still have it when I return home. I’m at moc now.

 

[Quimby4]

Since there are no weeks owned at Waikoloa, I think there was just less justification to build lock-offs. Since the MVC Trust owns all of the inventory, the only real benefit of a lock-off would be in allowing Marriott the flexibility to lock-off a unit themselves to allow people to book a studio unit with points. I suspect the cost of creating the lock-off units during the conversion was deemed to be too much to warrant the minimal benefits to Marriott in making some number of studio units available for points bookings.

So does this mean I will never see a trade in II? I was hoping to trade my 2 bedrooms DSV for a 1-2 at Waikoloa in 2019

 

[bazzap]

So does this mean I will never see a trade in II? I was hoping to trade my 2 bedrooms DSV for a 1-2 at Waikoloa in 2019

Updated - Yes, you will see trades in II, there may not be so many though.
There will be some inventory in II, either from MVC needing to offer up unsold Trust Inventory they own to satisfy DC Points owner booking requests for other MVC resorts or from DC Points owners making non MVC exchange requests directly with II.
Separately, there will be Inventory available for DC Enrolled Points owners, as DC Trust points owners want to get in to primarily weeks owned MVC resorts then this requires inventory from primarily or totally owned Trust points resorts to be freed up in exchange.

 

[JIMinNC]

So does this mean I will never see a trade in II? I was hoping to trade my 2 bedrooms DSV for a 1-2 at Waikoloa in 2019

Yes, you will see trades in II.
There may not be so many, but if DC Trust points owners want to get in to primarily weeks owned MVC resorts then this requires inventory from primarily or totally owned Trust points resorts to be freed up in exchange.

I'm not sure the scenario you use would directly result in weeks being freed up to exchange in II. Trust points owners who want to go to weeks-based MVC resorts would be reliant on weeks deposited by enrolled owners into the MVC Exchange company, not II. They do not have a week to exchange, only points. The only way a Trust owner can access II inventory is to convert their Trust points to II exchanges (for example, 4000 DC points gets you a 2BR in II with a TDI of 115-135), but I think my understanding is those II exchanges using DC points have to be to non-Marriott resorts. In that case, where a Trust owner is exchanging to a non-Marriott in II, Marriott does have to give II a week from somewhere in the MVC system. Not sure how often points are exchanged for II non-Marriott trades, but I can't imagine there are that many.

Having said that, I do think some Marriott Waikoloa inventory will show up in II (I think some have already reported seeing the inventory there), but that may be because MVC has great discretion in what weeks they give to II when they control the deposits, and they have an incentive to try to get non-owners to come through the resort to provide prospects to the sales organization. As long as they have unsold Trust points, there will be units controlled by MVC that are in excess of potential demand from other points owners, so that gives Marriott some flexibility as whether to make those units available in II, for cash, or even additional deposits into the MVC Exchange to benefit MVC points users. As a result, I suspect they allocate some percentage of the inventory at Trust-owned resorts for II deposits. I agree that there may not be many Waikoloa II deposits, but I think MVC does have an incentive to find ways to deposit some Waikoloa inventory into II.

 

[bazzap]

I'm not sure the scenario you use would directly result in weeks being freed up to exchange in II. Trust points owners who want to go to weeks-based MVC resorts would be reliant on weeks deposited by enrolled owners into the MVC Exchange company, not II. They do not have a week to exchange, only points. The only way a Trust owner can access II inventory is to convert their Trust points to II exchanges (for example, 4000 DC points gets you a 2BR in II with a TDI of 115-135), but I think my understanding is those II exchanges using DC points have to be to non-Marriott resorts. In that case, where a Trust owner is exchanging to a non-Marriott in II, Marriott does have to give II a week from somewhere in the MVC system. Not sure how often points are exchanged for II non-Marriott trades, but I can't imagine there are that many.

Having said that, I do think some Marriott Waikoloa inventory will show up in II (I think some have already reported seeing the inventory there), but that may be because MVC has great discretion in what weeks they give to II when they control the deposits, and they have an incentive to try to get non-owners to come through the resort to provide prospects to the sales organization. As long as they have unsold Trust points, there will be units controlled by MVC that are in excess of potential demand from other points owners, so that gives Marriott some flexibility as whether to make those units available in II, for cash, or even additional deposits into the MVC Exchange to benefit MVC points users. As a result, I suspect they allocate some percentage of the inventory at Trust-owned resorts for II deposits. I agree that there may not be many Waikoloa II deposits, but I think MVC does have an incentive to find ways to deposit some Waikoloa inventory into II.

You are of course right JiminNC. I was heading off down the wrong track in my original post.

 

[Denise G]

We are thinking about booking Waikoloa for April 2019. Is there a map or graphic that shows the allocation of various views like I’ve seen for Maui and other MVC properties?

 

[cp73]

I will write a review of the resort and post it in the appropriate section. To summarize in general its a nice resort especially if you want to see the Big Island. The beach in front of the hotel doesn't seem to lend itself to the resort property. The resort has no chairs, lounges, or cabanas on the beach. There is an independent run company that rents 4 -person cabanas out on the beach. But there are only a total of 4 available. The resort is also set back from the beach a bit. There is a large pond that separates the resort from the beach. The rooms that were converted to Timeshares are really nice. As far as the overall resort goes I might place it at or near the bottom of the list of Hawaii resorts. Here are some photos of the newly converted hotel rooms to timeshares.

 

[PDXGolfer]

Looks nice, despite the absence of a full kitchen. Thanks for posting the pictures! What was it about the overall resort that put it in the bottom of Hawaii resorts for you (aside from what you've described above)?

 

[taterhed]

Why WOULDN'T you put a convection microwave into the kitchen. Really.
Ditto for the 2-burner hob or electric skillet....

A burnt microwave makes just as much smoke/fumes.

 

[Quimby4]

Nice!! How was the beach at the Waikoloa Resort? That is our biggest negative about Maui Marriott.

 

[taterhed]

Nice!! How was the beach at the Waikoloa Resort? That is our biggest negative about Maui Marriott.

Really? You don't like the beach at Kaanapali? That's not something I've heard lately.

 

[cp73]

Looks nice, despite the absence of a full kitchen. Thanks for posting the pictures! What was it about the overall resort that put it in the bottom of Hawaii resorts for you (aside from what you've described above)?

The resort just seemed like it needs a total makeover. The lobby area was nice, however the entrance to the Hotel is not impressive at all. There is a very limited store onsite with groceries. Just more like your typical hotel gift shop with some booze, candy, chips, and souvenirs. The service at the pool was spotty and inconsistent. The barbecue area was just like they placed 4 (?) barbecues in the grass over at the side. It sets back pretty far from the beach. Somehow with it being half timeshares and half hotel its not quite the same. Its not a bad place, just not one of my favorites in Hawaii. As I had mentioned if you want to go to the Big Island you should stay there.

 

[cp73]

Nice!! How was the beach at the Waikoloa Resort? That is our biggest negative about Maui Marriott.

Honestly we never sat on the beach at Waikoloa. It seemed like a public beach with the hotel across a lagoon and behind it. The hotel had no chairs or cabanas on the beach. This is a picture of walking to the beach from the hotel. On the left and right of this path is the lagoon that separates the hotel from the beach.

The next picture is from the same path at the beach looking backwards to the hotel

This is a picture of part of the beach in front of the hotel. The lounges and cabana is rented from the beach service provider, not related to the hotel. The beach is in a large cove.

We also went to MOC after Waikoloa. I use to feel the same way you did about the beach in front of MOC. However, the beach this week was huge in front of the Napili towers where we stayed. Lots of sand and easy to swim in. It was nothing like I had remembered from my last trip. I spoke to an employee that confirmed my suspicion. The beach changes greatly throughout the year. In the summer time the beach in front of the resort is at its smallest and in the winter its at its largest. I asked him where did all the sand come from and he said it just shifts from the other resorts on the coast. It was really amazing how much larger the beach was from my last trip there. Here is from our studio unit on the second floor of the Napili tower.

 

[mjm1]

Nice!! How was the beach at the Waikoloa Resort? That is our biggest negative about Maui Marriott.

We stayed at the resort last fall and went to the beach one day. The water was very comfortable with a very gentle wave action. There were some flat lava rocks a little way off the shore that we had to navigate, but they didn't create any problems for us. There were a few other people in the water and more on shore. I would say it is more conducive to wading or swimming in rather than body boarding, at least at the time of year we were there. My DW usually doesn't like going in the ocean, but she enjoyed it here.

On a different topic, the water in the pool was very warm. Almost too warm to enjoy. That is the first time we have ever experienced that at a resort, so we aren't sure if that is an ongoing issue or something they were trying to work through. Hopefully, it isn't always like that.

Best regards.

Mike

 

[PDXGolfer]

Thanks for posting the additional pics. They do, indeed, paint a thousand words of why the beach at the Marriott Waikoloa would not be as desirable for those of us looking for an MOC-like beach. Of course, I'd rather be at either right now than in wintry weather in the Pacific Northwest.

 

[taterhed]

True true...the beach at Kaanapali does change....just walk north past the times shopping center; there is some serious erosion at the far northern end of the beach.

They say it's due to strong waves/tides this winter, but I think it's a cycle....

 

[Quimby4]

Wow, I have not seen that much sand at MOC ever!! We have been going to Kaanapali since the 1980's. Hoping the sand stays for our July trip. I find MOC to be a steeper entry with about 2 feet of water before hitting dead coral. Poor visibility so not ideal for snorkeling or just swimming.