Has anyone been to Ocean Tower lately? I am wondering what the status of the renovations is. We are scheduled there for three nights later this month and want to be prepared.
If by welcome center you are referring to the checkin/owners lounge, I visited Ocean Tower at the end of December and it was open. There is also a new sales center building at Ocean Tower across from the Italian restaurant, where they are moving the sales center from Kings Land once it is complete (guessing some time this year).
Based on the exterior renovation (paint, facade around door of unit), I'd say about 1/6 of the resort has been converted to HGVC - all in the back mountain side of Ocean Tower - resort views and partial ocean views. They haven't touched the Ocean Tower restaurant, adult pool, or feature pool, which are all very old and tired. I'm hoping they refinish the feature pool to get rid of the purple willy wonka plaster water slides with something a little more upscale. Also, replacing the now defunct towel service (they have a vending machine now) with a small poolside bar would be nice. It just feels like a second class experience at the moment. The entire HWV resort feels very tired and dated. Needs a good power wash and facelift. Hilton Waikoloa Village pales in comparison to neighboring Four Seasons Hualalei, Mauna Kea , and Fairmont Orchid. It's night and day how they are kept up. At a peak in the economy you would think Hilton could afford to renovate, especially with the $250M cash infusion from selling Ocean Tower to HGVC.Has anyone been to Ocean Tower lately? I am wondering what the status of the renovations is. We are scheduled there for three nights later this month and want to be prepared.
They are two different experiences - OT is staying at a 4 star resort with all the bells and whistles including tram and boat transportation to the lobby and main pool, ocean side accommodations, the lagoon (snorkeling, paddle boat, water tricycle, turtle and fish viewing, the dolphin experience, bars, restaurants, shopping, etc. The downside is 1) parking fee at OT and 2) walking to car. I would stay at OT to spend time at the resort, however I would stay at Kings' Land to explore the island since your car is right outside your door. Having stayed at a combination of both for 8+ BI stays, overall I prefer King's Land. We typically go to Hualalei, Mauna Kea, Fairmont Orchid, or Mauna Lani for dinner which are much more relaxing that crowded Waikoloa dinner locations and have free valet, so it's nice to have your car outside your door (and not pay parking). It's also nice for day trips around the island. We also prefer the Kings' Land super pool over the HWV main pool. That said, it's a golf course view with distant ocean views on top floors of King's Land Phase 1/3 higher point rooms vs a ocean side/ocean view and resort amenities at OT. If they did away with the parking fee and if they had better restaurants at HWV and updated the main pool it would be a no brainer. I would do a split stay - start at OT then move to KL personally. That's what we plan on doing going forward now that we own at both.
Just got back from a weeks stay. There is no new construction. There was some landscaping renovations taking place but didn't bother us.Has anyone been to Ocean Tower lately? I am wondering what the status of the renovations is. We are scheduled there for three nights later this month and want to be prepared.