VIP Stay @ Kings Land

[jmpierson]

1st post on the forum, thought the experience would help some and make the veterans laugh.

Background: My wife and I are nearing our 50's and retirement planning discussions have been happening for the past several years. We live in the beautiful PNW, but want to do the snow bird thing during the winter season. We initially thought about purchasing a home in AZ and renting when we weren't there. Then we visited the Hilton @ Waikiki last year and endured a presentation. After saying no too many times, they offered a VIP package (1 week in a 2br/2ba in my choice of 6 of their top locations, my cost ~$1500). Only hitch, we had to do another presentation. We figured we would take our 4 kids to HI for a week @ a substantial savings, so we took the deal. I reserved Kings Land and we arrived on Monday.

Due to a late flight in, I used some HHonors pts to book the day before at the Hilton Waikoloa Hotel...big mistake. Charges for almost everything and a ~$150 room service bill for essentially bar food (watch out for the 22% gratuity). The trip started off on a sour note.

Then we checked into our KL room. OMG...what a gorgeous property. And the stark difference in staff friendliness was unbelievable.

Room is about the nicest we have ever stayed in. View is about as Hawaiian as you can imagine. Pools, golf, trails...the place is amazing. Pretty windy a few days (comes from the east to west between the mountains), but the wind made the stay interesting TBH. We even golfed 1 day (1/2 off for HGVC guests) and it was fun. The last 3 days have been amazing. I cannot say enough about how impressed we have been with this location.

Then we did our obligatory presentation. I told our salesman at the start that I do not make decisions on thousands on $$ without taking time to contemplate. A smile and a "just wait". Bottom line (and a great deal that is locked in from last years price as VIP's according to our Salesman)...$24k for 7k points EOY. Blah, blah, blah...then he attempts to make a last ditch pitch to my wife on an emotional level and that I am trying to apply logic to an emotional family benefit (my amazing wife is too smart for that and hammer'd him good).

However, we did get additional value in knowledge from the presentation. I did my analysis, found TUG, joined and now have my 1st offer in on a property. Will provide details on that later when I have all the paperwork signed through the reseller.

Our goal will be to collect 20-25k pts over the next 6-10 years and be able to vacation for 6+ weeks instead of having a mortgage and rental hassles to get out of the rain in the winter.

Cheers (with our Mai Tai's). Look forward to joining the community.

JP

 

[happymum]

Welcome, sounds like you've made a great decision, and gone about it the right way. Welcome to the world of timesharing!

 

[GT75]

Welcome to TUG and HGVC. It is always nice to hear a great success story.

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

Quality timeshares make a great substitute for a vacation home. While you will never (well...almost never) make money off of a timeshare, you don't have the hassles of individual real estate ownership, and if you are patient, you can get in cheap. Since you plan on being there 6+ weeks (eventually), I might suggest you rent a small storage room, and store clothes and whatnot so you won't have to haul as much back and forth from PNW.

 

[marinskas]

1st post on the forum, thought the experience would help some and make the veterans laugh.

Background: My wife and I are nearing our 50's and retirement planning discussions have been happening for the past several years. We live in the beautiful PNW, but want to do the snow bird thing during the winter season. We initially thought about purchasing a home in AZ and renting when we weren't there. Then we visited the Hilton @ Waikiki last year and endured a presentation. After saying no too many times, they offered a VIP package (1 week in a 2br/2ba in my choice of 6 of their top locations, my cost ~$1500). Only hitch, we had to do another presentation. We figured we would take our 4 kids to HI for a week @ a substantial savings, so we took the deal. I reserved Kings Land and we arrived on Monday.

Due to a late flight in, I used some HHonors pts to book the day before at the Hilton Waikoloa Hotel...big mistake. Charges for almost everything and a ~$150 room service bill for essentially bar food (watch out for the 22% gratuity). The trip started off on a sour note.

Then we checked into our KL room. OMG...what a gorgeous property. And the stark difference in staff friendliness was unbelievable.

Room is about the nicest we have ever stayed in. View is about as Hawaiian as you can imagine. Pools, golf, trails...the place is amazing. Pretty windy a few days (comes from the east to west between the mountains), but the wind made the stay interesting TBH. We even golfed 1 day (1/2 off for HGVC guests) and it was fun. The last 3 days have been amazing. I cannot say enough about how impressed we have been with this location.

Then we did our obligatory presentation. I told our salesman at the start that I do not make decisions on thousands on $$ without taking time to contemplate. A smile and a "just wait". Bottom line (and a great deal that is locked in from last years price as VIP's according to our Salesman)...$24k for 7k points EOY. Blah, blah, blah...then he attempts to make a last ditch pitch to my wife on an emotional level and that I am trying to apply logic to an emotional family benefit (my amazing wife is too smart for that and hammer'd him good).

However, we did get additional value in knowledge from the presentation. I did my analysis, found TUG, joined and now have my 1st offer in on a property. Will provide details on that later when I have all the paperwork signed through the reseller.

Our goal will be to collect 20-25k pts over the next 6-10 years and be able to vacation for 6+ weeks instead of having a mortgage and rental hassles to get out of the rain in the winter.

Cheers (with our Mai Tai's). Look forward to joining the community.

JP

Brilliant! Rational thinking and great attitude.

 

[WalnutBaron]

Nice going! Even though you are not yet a timeshare or HGVC owner, you're already ahead of a lot of us who fell prey to the sales weasels and bought our first timeshare from the developer at rapacious prices and later found TUG. You're going to be making your first purchase on the resale market, and both you and your bride had the good sense to blow off the heavy pressure tactics of the weasels.

Welcome to TUG. I advise you to spend some time on the "Buying, Selling, Renting" Forum as well as the forums for the major systems--Hilton, Vistana/Starwood, and Marriott--to learn more about them. It will take time, but a good place to start is on the stickies at the top of each forum page. You'll learn a ton and can then post questions to the rest of us who have learned from our mistakes, taken advantage of our opportunities, and learned how to get the most out of our timeshares.

 

[jmpierson]

Thanks to all for the feedback. Sad to say, we leave tomorrow, but it was the best vacation we have experienced. Some things we learned about the location & the island:

1. The location is ~1/2 hr north of the airport and there is almost nothing in between. For those who like to stock up a kitchen, you may want to head just south of the airport into Kailua-Kona prior to the trip north. The only Costco is close to the airport and was only sightly more expensive on a few items than home.
2. Waikiloa & Kona regions are on the dry side of the island, surrounded by old lava flows and sparse vegetation with 2 mountains looming to the east. However, the resorts in the area are lush and beautiful and incorporate the lava rocks in a classy way.
3. The coastal drive to Hilo on the other side of the island was amazing (about 1.5 hrs). That side of the island averages more than 120 inches of rain/yr. Lots of vegetation. We did Hilo, Mt. Kiluea (volcano) and the black sand beaches in the same day. However, you could spend 1-2 days at Mt. Kiluea. That is a must see IMHO.
4. Kona coffee is still expensive in Kona. But worth the treat a few times during the stay.
5. The harbor area in Kailua-Kona was a lot of fun. Very hip, with lots of bars/restaurants, gifts shopes, etc. Great for a 1/2 day walk.
6. The lagoon at the Hilton hotel was interesting, but we enjoyed Anaehi'omalu Beach (right next to the resort) much better. It's a real beach, clean & not too crowded.
7. The restaurant at the golf shop has a decent happy hour (3-5:30 I think). Decent beer & liquor specials and the food was reasonably priced for a Hawaiian location.
8. The courses are amazing. Scottish links and a beach course. Hole 7 on the beach course is breathtaking! ~1/2 off for HGVC members.
9. BBQ's on the sides of the buildings were high quality and great to use.
10. I read that uber was in Waikaoloa, but I couldn't find uber or lyft. Almost everyone rents a vehicle...I have never seen so many Jeep Wranglers in my life.
11. The hula show on Thursday was much better than we expected. Definitely worth it if you have time.
12. The resort is kid friendly, but wasn't overpopulated with kids when we were there.
13. There are 2 Malls/Shops (kings and queens, across the street from each other on the main drive into the resort area). The marketplace in the Queens shops was big and carried a decent selection of groceries at elevated costs, but good to have close by.
14. Rooms were great!

Happy Travels!!!

JP

 

[jnsrusty]

Great post! I'm glad you were able to resist the temptation to buy from the developer and did your research. Tug is an excellent resource for all of us that own a timeshare or are interested in owning a timeshare. We are headed to Kingsland for the first time this coming summer and I can't wait. Thanks for the tips!

 

[ontilt]

Glad you enjoyed it... at KL now through the weekend. One other tidbit if you ever have to sit in on a follow-up presentation. I did do a follow-up VIP visit some time back and went in pretty firmly that I wasn't going to be purchasing (had already purchased re-sale) and the salesperson informed me that we just had to be there for 45 minutes. So, we spent the last 15 just chatting about other things and at 45, she let me go on the minute.

 

[JSparling]

Great post but I don't understand your math. You said "20 - 25,000 points" and then "6+ weeks" of vacationing. You'd need 28,800 for 6 weeks in the worst 1-bedroom they have (Phase 2, parking lot view). You'd need 42,000 points for 6 weeks in a nice 2BR in Phase 2.

20 - 25,000 points will generally get you 3 or 4 weeks in a nice 2BR. At Kings' Land if you're going to stay in a 1BR you have to be in Phase 1 unless you like looking at the parking lot. And those are more points (7,200) than the 2BR in Phase 2.

We own at KL and love it. And I'm thrilled you loved it too! Just want to make sure you know what you're getting into and that basically 25,000 points will only get you about half the weeks you're thinking of.

 

[jmpierson]

Great post but I don't understand your math. You said "20 - 25,000 points" and then "6+ weeks" of vacationing. You'd need 28,800 for 6 weeks in the worst 1-bedroom they have (Phase 2, parking lot view). You'd need 42,000 points for 6 weeks in a nice 2BR in Phase 2.

20 - 25,000 points will generally get you 3 or 4 weeks in a nice 2BR. At Kings' Land if you're going to stay in a 1BR you have to be in Phase 1 unless you like looking at the parking lot. And those are more points (7,200) than the 2BR in Phase 2.

We own at KL and love it. And I'm thrilled you loved it too! Just want to make sure you know what you're getting into and that basically 25,000 points will only get you about half the weeks you're thinking of.

I appreciate the question. Our goal in retirement is to travel "around", so KL would not be the only location we would visit. In fact, I would imagine we would return for a week every few years in a 1BR. I think 20-24k points gives us the flexibility to travel to multiple locations over a 6+ week period (whether all @ HGVC locations or mixed with some RCI trades), but may need to buy some days here and there in open season. We may need a 2-3BR every so often if kids tag along, but I expect that >80% of our trips will require a 1BR or studio.

Hope that helps.

JP

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I appreciate the question. Our goal in retirement is to travel "around", so KL would not be the only location we would visit. In fact, I would imagine we would return for a week every few years in a 1BR. I think 20-24k points gives us the flexibility to travel to multiple locations over a 6+ week period (whether all @ HGVC locations or mixed with some RCI trades), but may need to buy some days here and there in open season. We may need a 2-3BR every so often if kids tag along, but I expect that >80% of our trips will require a 1BR or studio.

Hope that helps.

JP

That sounds like a plan and similar to what we are working towards. Not sure if you have looked at any other systems, but you may want to consider owning in more that one program. That can open up a lot more locations. We added Marriott to our portfolio earlier this year, that gets us some of the other islands in Hawaii, plus lots of other places that HGVC does not yet have a presence.

 

[jmpierson]

That sounds like a plan and similar to what we are working towards. Not sure if you have looked at any other systems, but you may want to consider owning in more that one program. That can open up a lot more locations. We added Marriott to our portfolio earlier this year, that gets us some of the other islands in Hawaii, plus lots of other places that HGVC does not yet have a presence.

Based on what others have said, that is prudent advice. Resorts on some of the other islands is very intriguing and marriott has a good reputation for high quality (a major point for me and my better 1/2). Crossing fingers that my 1st purchase for 7k points passes ROFR. I should know in the next 2-3 weeks.

Cheers! -JP

 

[SmithOp]

Based on what others have said, that is prudent advice. Resorts on some of the other islands is very intriguing and marriott has a good reputation for high quality (a major point for me and my better 1/2). Crossing fingers that my 1st purchase for 7k points passes ROFR. I should know in the next 2-3 weeks.

Cheers! -JP

Here is something else to consider, only own in a system that serves the area you will go consistently. Rent when you want to explore.

I had my ownership up to 4 weeks in various systems that gave me access to RCI and Interval. Since I’ve retired I’ve divested down to one week in HGVC. My RCI and Interval accounts are still active as long as I pay the annual fee, both have cash getaways. They won’t remove you when you sell. I picked up a free Sheraton to get in both systems and it was easy to give away free a few years later.

I leave for Sedona next week, $700 cash for week in a 2br through RCI.


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[EnjoyingHGV]

Indeed welcome! I ended up doing VIP at Kings Land as well back in 2015... I (un)fortunately did buy... 8400 pts every other year for ~ 25-26K...I do plan on buying an opposite 8400 pts on the off year via resale however and right out the wrong (I did at least get 12,500 bonus points)

I actually just finished another VIP last week (if you buy the VIP outright, it can actually a good deal...)..Stayed at the new tower in Waikiki (which 7 nights "hypothetically" could have cost ~$4500 for a 2BR if booking on hilton.com...im sure debatable.. but at that pitch, the offer was to trade in my Kingsland EOT for 8400 pts every year for an additional 14K (plus closing) for one of the Florida properties (and another 8400 bonus points)...all in all, probably not a terrible deal, but figured why commit when there are lots more options out there.

Glad you enjoyed the Big Island.. it is one of my favorites to go... here's the list:
- Pizza at Kings View Cafe
- Malasadas at Tex Drive In
- Hilo /costal shore drive taking the North route around Rte 19
- Sunset on the west side is great
- Volcano hikes (lava tube, crater, etc)
- Lots and lots of places to pull in (HI State Parks, Akaka falls--great right after a rainy day)
- and more

Welcome!