2BR Premier at Lagoon Tower - unit location

[mapsd]

Here's the view from Lagoon Ocean Front 20th floor (checked last Friday).

Cinnamon's, across the street has a great breakfast, we liked Goofy's, a little local joint around the corner as well.

 

[frank808]

FYI here is the view from Grand Islander room 703. Resort view 2 Bdrm unit.

The view overlooking the pool and Hale Koa resort grounds was not bad for a resort view.

(Of course it does not hold a candle to an OV/OF view.)

It was nice to have the private pool too as HHV was very crowded.

View attachment 7188

Hi there we were in 503 until June 17th.

Fyi the grand islander pool has signs that say for GI guests but anybody on site, actually anybody could use the pool area. Just walk right in.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[alwysonvac]

FYI here is the view from Grand Islander room 703. Resort view 2 Bdrm unit.

The view overlooking the pool and Hale Koa resort grounds was not bad for a resort view.

(Of course it does not hold a candle to an OV/OF view.)

It was nice to have the private pool too as HHV was very crowded.

So now that you’ve stayed at HGVC’s Lagoon Tower & Grand Islander Tower as well as Marriott’s Ko Olina what are your thoughts (room and resort comparisons)?

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Good question @alwysonvac.

If I had to do it over again I would spend 1 week in Lagoon Tower OF/OV, and one week at Ko Olina OV.

We liked the contrast of city/activities/ restaurants in Honolulu and the relaxing "Maui-like" feel of Ko Olina without having to spend $400 and half day to fly our family of 4 to Maui/Kauai/BI because it is a 40 minute drive to Ko Olina.

I may have a different opinion of GI if we had stayed in an OV/OF unit. The units are smaller and I found the kitchen limited in counterspace to cook. The counter is the dining table and there is only a small coffee table and 2 chairs on the lanai. If we did not have someone sleeping in the living room, perhaps we would not have felt as limited in space. Although Lagoon is not fancy, we love the space and views.

Others may prefer the luxury finishes of GI which were most up-to-date and fanciest of the 3 resorts. With all of the upscale finishes, we were surprised that GI did not have the comfortable memory foam American Leather sleeper couches. Ko Olina and W57 have them. The appliances at GI seemed complicated and a thick appliance manual was provided. There was a washer/dryer in the unit vs. Lagoon that has one down the hall.

Marriott Ko Olina 2bdrm seemed the same or slightly larger than Lagoon. We also thought the kitchen was better provisioned with service for 8 to 10 vs.only 6 cups in HGVC so we were constantly washing glassware.

IMO the staff at HGVC seem more customer service oriented and enthusiastic to help. The Marriott staff reminded me of flight attendants on major US airlines i.e. they do their job but really do not look like they care.

There is a vacant lot in between the Marriott and the Disney Aulani in Ko Olina. Would love to see a future HGVC resort there.

 

[alwysonvac]

If I had to do it over again I would spend 1 week in Lagoon Tower OF/OV, and one week at Ko Olina OV.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Yeah, I said something similar last year after my Marriott KoOlina stay. We loved it there.
https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/ko-olina-dining-and-activities.255478/

Last year we had room 603 at the Grand Islander for our extended family members. And I agree after seeing some of the other TUG member photos, we probably would have enjoyed the room better if it was a higher floor with an ocean view instead of a lower floor overlooking the pool view.

There is a vacant lot in between the Marriott and the Disney Aulani in Ko Olina. Would love to see a future HGVC resort there.

The vacant lot has been purchased.

From a Sept 2017 article - http://www.hawaiibusiness.com/big-plans/

The little-known Chinese conglomerate has purchased $569 million of real estate in West Oahu, including the remaining oceanfront land between Aulani and the Beach Villas at Ko Olina. There, the company plans to first build a 1,300-unit Atlantis resort with hotel rooms and timeshares, then two other luxury hotels with a condo complex.​

Later, on the border of Ko Olina and Kapolei, the company is considering building a residential subdivision surrounding a golf course. The company estimates a five- to eight-year build-out for its properties.

....Ko Olina’s Atlantis resort is slated to have 800 hotel rooms and 524 residential units, featuring an Aquaventure water park, aquarium and water-themed facilities. “You can swim, you can snorkel, you can sail in the river, you can see the fish … Anything you would expect from the water, you can get at Atlantis,” Yao says. Yao, who is an architect, says Oceanwide is still in the early stages of planning Atlantis but intends to combine contemporary design with Hawaiian cultural elements. It says it is working with local designers and architects.

......Oceanwide plans to build two other luxury hotels and a condo complex on a neighboring 17-acre oceanfront lot near Atlantis, between the Marriott Ko Olina Beach Club and the Ko Olina Beach Villas. Oceanwide bought that land next to the Nalu Lagoon for $191 million in December 2015.

Building two hotels adjacent to the immense Atlantis Resort may seem counterintuitive, but Yao insists that the properties will complement each other rather than compete. Atlantis is geared towards Millennials and families, and he says the other hotels can o er quieter and more exclusive vacations. Brands for the two hotels have not been announced.

​

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Thanks @alwysonvac for the helpful info. Perhaps with future Atlantis TS this will create more trading ops. I have had an OGS for Aulani but never has hit. BTW...Aulani pool area was amazing - very Disney-ish, but the resort seemed more crowded vs. Marriott.

Congrats on booking an AC for Ko Olina. That was a tremendous deal! I will have to keep an eye out for it now that we have II. We paid $800 for an island view 2 bdrm presentation preview for 3 nights. The Marriott folks kept saying that this was a tremendous deal given we are staying in peak summer. I was a bit annoyed that they kept saying this to us. Felt like a bit of a stick vs. a carrot to get us to buy, which was off-putting to me, IMO. HGVC staff never mentioned our rate and there was no difference in our service; much classier.

One more point for all is that there are plenty of bbqs at Ko Olina,so we were able to use them without reserving (unlike Hyatt Kaanapali which added more planning and stress to meals). Wish there was a bbq area for the TS at Lagoon, GI etc but probably no room.

 

[csodjd]

All interesting reading. I've always used home week at Lagoon Tower, Sat check-in, ocean view rooms, and have had 16th floor or higher each time.

In August, for the first time, I'm using a mixture of points and a cash hotel-type purchase for Grand Waikikian, with Thursday check-in. First I'm using 7200 pts for a 2-bed Premier 2BX. That's Thur-Sun. Then a "2 BDRM OCEANVIEW SUITE" (whatever that equates to), paying cash, Sun-Thur. So, I have no idea what the rooms will really be, floors, etc. I'm not "elite" in that I'm a resale buyer, but I'm a Hilton Diamond member. Not sure what that does for me, if anything.

Then, from there, it's over to Maui for the Marriott for 5 nights oceanfront.

Will make for a nice direct comparison.

P.S. This all results from me booking my two home weeks a year in advance for June, only to find out about six months later that I couldn't go the week I booked, and August in Lagoon was already filled. So, I rented my two June weeks and I'm using the cash from that to pay for the cash part of the week and the Marriott, and some points I had left over for the first 3 days. Lesson -- check your schedule before booking your home week, and again just before the home week window closes. Live and learn.