Beyond HGVC What System Is Best for Hawaii

[CalGalTraveler]

If I were to invest in a resale to vacation in Hawaii with the following requirements:

1) Upscale HGVC class or higher accommodations and amenities
2) Oceanfront Lanai (HGVC only offers this in HHV)
3) 2 Bedroom
4) Good Availability to book (or trade-in similar to HGVC) during June/July peak months every year.
5) Any island (we like them all!)
6) We also would like ability to trade or use points at times for other properties, however Hawaii would be most frequent use

Which system or resort is best to buy resale beyond HGVC? and Why?

 

[GregT]

If I were to invest in a resale to vacation in Hawaii with the following requirements:

1) Upscale HGVC class or higher accommodations and amenities
2) Oceanfront Lanai (HGVC only offers this in HHV)
3) 2 Bedroom
4) Good Availability to book (or trade-in similar to HGVC) during June/July peak months every year.
5) Any island (we like them all!)
6) We also would like ability to trade or use points at times for other properties, however Hawaii would be most frequent use

Which system or resort is best to buy resale beyond HGVC? and Why?

I think Starwood is the right complement to HGVC because there is a point system that you can purchase inexpensively and you can access Maui and Kauai with those points. I just booked a 12 day trip to Westin Princeville for June 2017 and booked it right when the reservation window opened. Westin Kaanapali was also available -- and this is a great complement to the Big Island and Oahu availability that HGVC affords. The reservation experience is similar to HHV -- you have to book it right when the window opens.

Marriott is the other possible candidate, however you would be buying a week and then trying to trade in through Interval International. That is spotty, and as an exchanger, you would get inferior rooms versus using an internal point system. I do not recommend that Marriott point system unless you are loaded with cash.

I hope that helps?

Best,

Greg

 

[buzglyd]

I think Starwood is the right complement to HGVC because there is a point system that you can purchase inexpensively and you can access Maui and Kauai with those points. I just booked a 12 day trip to Westin Princeville for June 2017 and booked it right when the reservation window opened. Westin Kaanapali was also available -- and this is a great complement to the Big Island and Oahu availability that HGVC affords. The reservation experience is similar to HHV -- you have to book it right when the window opens.

Marriott is the other possible candidate, however you would be buying a week and then trying to trade in through Interval International. That is spotty, and as an exchanger, you would get inferior rooms versus using an internal point system. I do not recommend that Marriott point system unless you are loaded with cash.

I hope that helps?

Best,

Greg

What resort did you buy into to access the point system?

 

[SmithOp]

It would have to be one of the mandatory resorts Buzz, from the Vistana FAQ:

a. If a resort is Staroption "Mandatory," it means that when the week is sold to a new owner (resale) the Staroption value of the week transfers to the new owner, and the new owner has the right to exchange his timeshare in the Starwood Vacation Network. These resorts are Staroption Mandatory:

* Harborside at Atlantis
* Vistana Villages (Bella and Key West phases only)
* Westin St. John (Virgin Grand - Hillside only)
* Westin Ka'anapali & Westin Ka'anapali-North
* Westin Kierland Villas

b. If a resort is Staroption "Voluntary," it means that the Staroption value of the week DOES NOT transfer to the new owner when it is resold, and the new owner DOES NOT have the right to exchange his timeshare in the Starwood Vacation Network.

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63224

I agree with Greg, Vistana is the best match for HGVC and your requirements. It complements the islands nicely and exchange companies (Interval).


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[Ron98GT]

If I were to invest in a resale to vacation in Hawaii with the following requirements:

1) Upscale HGVC class or higher accommodations and amenities
2) Oceanfront Lanai (HGVC only offers this in HHV)
3) 2 Bedroom
4) Good Availability to book (or trade-in similar to HGVC) during June/July peak months every year.
5) Any island (we like them all!)
6) We also would like ability to trade or use points at times for other properties, however Hawaii would be most frequent use

Which system or resort is best to buy resale beyond HGVC? and Why?

Without a doubt: Marriott - Marriott - Marriott

1. Oahu
2. Maui
3. Kauai
4. Soon to be Hawaii (Big Island, with a beach)
5. Very easy trades into the islands listed above.
6. Very easy to get trades into Westin properties, on Kauai and Maui.

But, I guess I should keep it a secret, shhh.

 

[GregT]

What resort did you buy into to access the point system?

I bought at Sheraton Vistana Villages - Bella and Key West -- as Dave has indicated, these are mandatory properties.

The MFs are relatively high, so it's the opposite of HGVC where buying in Orlando gives you the cheap MFs to then book the nicer properties. With Starwood, since only a limited number of properties are mandatory, you don't have the same ability to acquire StarOptions that provide discounted MFs.

Only one of the mandatory properties has lower MFs (Kierland) and it is premium priced accordingly. I made a conscious decision to keep accumulating the SVV - Bella's for the system access, not for lower MFs.

Best,

Greg

 

[GregT]

Without a doubt: Marriott - Marriott - Marriott

1. Oahu
2. Maui
3. Kauai
4. Soon to be Hawaii (Big Island, with a beach)
5. Very easy trades into the islands listed above.
6. Very easy to get trades into Westin properties, on Kauai and Maui.

But, I guess I should keep it a secret.

I love love love my Marriotts, but don't consider it an easy trade in the June/July months that OP was asking about. But they are terrific properties and I love to visit them!!

Best,

Greg

 

[Ron98GT]

Marriott is the other possible candidate, however you would be buying a week and then trying to trade in through Interval International. That is spotty, and as an exchanger, you would get inferior rooms versus using an internal point system. I do not recommend that Marriott point system unless you are loaded with cash.

I hope that helps?

Best,

Greg

We've gotten really, really nice OF 2-BDRM units at the Maui Ocean Club, Ko'Olina, and the Westin on Maui. Excluding Waiohia, we have had really nice OV rooms a number of times. Although the TS at Waiohai faced in towards the ponds and hot tub, it was a very nice unit and vey convenient being on the 1st floor: very easy to use the barbecue, a hot tub, or take the short walk to the beach. Never had a bad Marriott trade - yet.

 

[DeniseM]

I think these two things are mutually exclusive - a true ocean front TS at one of the top resorts is going to be expensive - too expensive to trade.

2) Oceanfront Lanai (HGVC only offers this in HHV)

6) We also would like ability to trade or use points at times for other properties, however Hawaii would be most frequent use

For instance, the true Oceanfront Units at the Westin Ka'anapali and the Maui Ocean Club Napili & Lahaina Villas are $20/$30K and up, and have high maintenance fees.

It's just not cost effective to trade them.

You may want to consider an EOY deed in Hawaii, if you don't want to go every year.

 

[vacationtime1]

There are no oceanfront timeshares on Kauai comparable in quality to HGVC. Westin Princeville is delightful, but not oceanfront. Neither Waiohai nor Kalanipu'u (Kauai Lagoons) is true OF either. Kauai Beach Club does not have kitchens (there are great guaranteed views there). None of the others on the island will measure up quality-wise.

On Maui, both Westin Ka'anapali and Maui Ocean Club (Lahaina and Napili Villas, not the original section) have OF deeded units which meet your specifications. We own OF at the former and it is our absolute favorite; MMO is comparable. I recommend "burdening" yourself with onsite research before buying; renting will focus your decision making process.

MMO is more in the middle of things; our kids liked it better as teenagers. MMO offers fixed weeks which is both good and bad (as well as some floating weeks). These units are expensive to buy and MF's are high as well; these are not traders (ok; they are great for trading in, but don't count on it, especially for summer).

 

[Ron98GT]

There are no oceanfront timeshares on Kauai comparable in quality to HGVC. Westin Princeville is delightful, but not oceanfront. Neither Waiohai nor Kalanipu'u (Kauai Lagoons) is true OF either. Kauai Beach Club does not have kitchens (there are great guaranteed views there). None of the others on the island will measure up quality-wise.

On Maui, both Westin Ka'anapali and Maui Ocean Club (Lahaina and Napili Villas, not the original section) have OF deeded units which meet your specifications. We own OF at the former and it is our absolute favorite; MMO is comparable. I recommend "burdening" yourself with onsite research before buying; renting will focus your decision making process.

MMO is more in the middle of things; our kids liked it better as teenagers. MMO offers fixed weeks which is both good and bad (as well as some floating weeks). These units are expensive to buy and MF's are high as well; these are not traders (ok; they are great for trading in, but don't count on it, especially for summer).

Not true for the Marriott Waiohai. I don't know how many OF units that they have, but they let me into one that they were remodeling. Wow, that unit was going to be nice and yes it was full OF. That unit was much nicer that anything that I saw at HWV.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

Not true for the Marriott Waiohai. I don't know how many OF units that they have, but they let me into one that they were remodeling. Wow, that unit was going to be nice and yes it was full OF. That unit was much nicer that anything that I saw at HWV.

I have not stayed at Waiohai, but walked though the grounds while staying next door at Kiahuna Plantation

For some reason i thought they only offered Ocean View and Island View there. Are the OF units at Waiohai a separate distinct category that you can reserve/purchase?

 

[GregT]

I have not stayed at Waiohai, but walked though the grounds while staying next door at Kiahuna Plantation

For some reason i thought they only offered Ocean View and Island View there. Are the OF units at Waiohai a separate distinct category that you can reserve/purchase?

You are correct that they are only OV and IV views, but some of the OV's are ocean-front. They are fiercely competitive and owners love when they are assigned them.

Best,

Greg

 

[vacationtime1]

Not true for the Marriott Waiohai. I don't know how many OF units that they have, but they let me into one that they were remodeling. Wow, that unit was going to be nice and yes it was full OF. That unit was much nicer that anything that I saw at HWV.

There are only two room classifications at Waiohai -- island view and ocean view. About 15-20% of the ocean view rooms could have been fairly classified as ocean front, but they were not sold as such and there is no way of guaranteeing one of those rooms.

 

[Ron98GT]

There are only two room classifications at Waiohai -- island view and ocean view. About 15-20% of the ocean view rooms could have been fairly classified as ocean front, but they were not sold as such and there is no way of guaranteeing one of those rooms.

I wouldn't expect that an II trader would ever stay in one of these rooms, and there are very few. Don't know how you would request it even with Marriott points? You would probably have to rent directly from an owner, some how.

I was sitting here thinking/wondering what the owners of those units did during that major interior renovation?

If I find any pictures I'll post them. The unit I was in had a hallway entrance that I entered from, a side entrance that I exited from, and then the sider that exited right into the sand and that full/panoramic ocean view from inside the unit. Wow!

 

[vacationtime1]

I was once told by someone at the front desk that the best ocean view units at Waiohai go to multiple week owners staying for multiple weeks. Our own experience is that we have been assigned one of these excellent rooms exactly once (in about seven stays; we own OV).

I have seen rental ads advertising "ocean front" units at Waiohai; those ads are fraudulent (strong language intended).

 

[onenotesamba]

I'd be interested in the answer to this question if Hawaii wasn't a priority. Namely: if you're a HGVC resale purchaser, and you wanted to compliment your Hilton ownership with something in another system, what would generally make sense.

I gather that Hyatt treats resale purchasers well, but they're a really small system. Vistana seems to have locations that aren't already in the HGVC system. Marriott and Wyndham are huge systems, but they seem unnecessarily complicated.

Just wondering if anyone's looked at this, generally, and not just with an eye toward Hawaii.

 

[Helios]

I'd be interested in the answer to this question if Hawaii wasn't a priority. Namely: if you're a HGVC resale purchaser, and you wanted to compliment your Hilton ownership with something in another system, what would generally make sense.

I gather that Hyatt treats resale purchasers well, but they're a really small system. Vistana seems to have locations that aren't already in the HGVC system. Marriott and Wyndham are huge systems, but they seem unnecessarily complicated.

Just wondering if anyone's looked at this, generally, and not just with an eye toward Hawaii.

I think the best complement in Hawaii is Vistana. At some point HGVC will have a precense in Maui but the Westins in Maui are better located. The Westin in Kauai is pretty nice.

 

[alwysonvac]

I'd be interested in the answer to this question if Hawaii wasn't a priority. Namely: if you're a HGVC resale purchaser, and you wanted to compliment your Hilton ownership with something in another system, what would generally make sense.

I gather that Hyatt treats resale purchasers well, but they're a really small system. Vistana seems to have locations that aren't already in the HGVC system. Marriott and Wyndham are huge systems, but they seem unnecessarily complicated.

Just wondering if anyone's looked at this, generally, and not just with an eye toward Hawaii.

If Hawaii is not a priority, then I would chose WorldMark.

Some of the old threads
Considering buying another timeshare than adding points to HGVC (2015) - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=232743
Question: For anyone that owns more then one time share (2014) - http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210627
HGVC + Worldmark owners - Questions Please (2013) - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202811

 

[alwysonvac]

If I were to invest in a resale to vacation in Hawaii with the following requirements:

1) Upscale HGVC class or higher accommodations and amenities
2) Oceanfront Lanai (HGVC only offers this in HHV)
3) 2 Bedroom
4) Good Availability to book (or trade-in similar to HGVC) during June/July peak months every year.
5) Any island (we like them all!)
6) We also would like ability to trade or use points at times for other properties, however Hawaii would be most frequent use

Which system or resort is best to buy resale beyond HGVC? and Why?

With timesharing, there is almost no such thing as good availability during high demand travel periods at high demand resorts. If you don't own a fixed summer week, you will be competing with other owners as soon as the booking window opens. There's only a fixed number of summer weeks and a fixed number of units. Everyone can't be accommodated so someone loses out so date flexibility is key

True oceanfront rooms have a lanai that is parallel to the ocean with no structure in-between (NOTE: This doesn't exclude trees/bushes at some resorts).
Rooms with true oceanfront view are consider prime rooms in Hawaii. Even for a hotel room you will pay an arm and a leg for a prime oceanfront view at an upscale/luxury hotel in Hawaii.

In general timeshares in Hawaii are more expensive especially at the Hotel based timeshares.
If you require a true oceanfront lanai, you would have to own or rent. Exchanging/trading is a crap shoot (demand vs supply) because at most resorts there is only a very small percentage of rooms that are considered true oceanfront. And most that own a fixed summer week will either used them or rent them out. A high demand resort during peak travel season, is going to be expensive either way - renting or buying

I own an oceanfront week at the HGVC HHV Lagoon Tower because I prefer Oahu. I believe Hilton may be the cheapest compared to the other major hotel based timeshares. But of course, Marriott's Maui Ocean Club - Lahaina & Napili Towers, Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas and Hyatt Residence Club Ka'anapali Beach Resort are all a step above HGVC in terms of quality of rooms. Here's an old 2014 thread comparing the Hawaii Maintenance Fees - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=205535

Some folks adjust their Hawaii timeshare requirements once they realize the final overall cost others don't.
Some are all about the view so they're willing to sacrifice amenities such as central air conditioning, upscale/luxury furnishing, etc for oceanfront or ocean view.
While others are all about the resort amenities and sacrifice view by accepting a lesser view such as garden/mountain/parking lot view just to be at an upscale/luxury beachfront resort
For example
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=235836
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=246832
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=238641

I also own mandatory Starwood weeks. I like Starwood because of the flexibility to check-in any day of the week for any number of days along with the banking and borrowing option. This flexibility allows me to book back to back Hawaii stays with HGVC and Starwood. Starwood also works for me since I can travel anytime during the year (except when I'm traveling with school aged nieces/nephews) but I've also accepted that I've sacrifice my chances for a guarantee view by using an internal trade (vs owning).

Renting is a very good option. TUG member LisaRex provided great tips on how to choose a VRBO renter - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1870837&postcount=12.
And there also are other rental websites like redweek.com and the TUG marketplace

 

[alexadeparis]

I'd be interested in the answer to this question if Hawaii wasn't a priority. Namely: if you're a HGVC resale purchaser, and you wanted to compliment your Hilton ownership with something in another system, what would generally make sense.

I gather that Hyatt treats resale purchasers well, but they're a really small system. Vistana seems to have locations that aren't already in the HGVC system. Marriott and Wyndham are huge systems, but they seem unnecessarily complicated.

Just wondering if anyone's looked at this, generally, and not just with an eye toward Hawaii.

This is exactly why I have EOY toeholds in a lot of different systems. Some are for luxury vacations (Starwood, Hyatt) and some are for group gatherings (Wyndham, HGVC) in more pedestrian destinations. Still others are held only for trading (Shell, TPU units). The only thing I would change is reduce my Shell points and maybe add some Marriott points eventually.

 

[ljmiii]

In general, I would answer Marriott. I own two oceanview weeks at Waiohai on Kauai and an oceanfront week in the Napili villas at Maui Ocean Club and have been very happy with them. That said, as others have pointed out the fly in the ointment is your fourth requirement...

4) Good Availability to book (or trade-in similar to HGVC) during June/July peak months every year.

The only way to ensure oceanfront accommodations in Hawaii during the summer weeks is to buy a fixed week and they are not inexpensive. Certainly too expensive to consider trading with them - much better to rent out the week if you are unable to go to Hawaii.

Also, while I have very much enjoyed our weeks at Waiohai they are 'oceanview' - there is no 'oceanfront' category. And while I have on occasion been fortunate to be given an oceanfront room I've been pleased with all the rooms I have been assigned as an owner.

 

[Ron98GT]

I'd be interested in the answer to this question if Hawaii wasn't a priority. Namely: if you're a HGVC resale purchaser, and you wanted to compliment your Hilton ownership with something in another system, what would generally make sense.

I gather that Hyatt treats resale purchasers well, but they're a really small system. Vistana seems to have locations that aren't already in the HGVC system. Marriott and Wyndham are huge systems, but they seem unnecessarily complicated.

Just wondering if anyone's looked at this, generally, and not just with an eye toward Hawaii.

I can't speak for Marriott Points that I'll never own, but using/trading my Marriott week hasn't been that complicated. Granted, not as easy as HGVC, but still, not bad. And the benefits are well worth it.

 

[rickandcindy23]

If I had the money to do it, I would buy a Marriott Lahaina and Napili oceanfront unit, resale. I would buy two weeks and use them each year, back to back, during whale season.

A close second would be Westin oceanfront, resale.

But I am poor, so I bought three weeks oceanfront at a podunk little resort in Honokowai, but our lanai is 50 feet from the ocean. Rick says it's probably 40 feet, but who's counting? The fees are still high at about $1,600 per year, but we paid $2,000 per week. Love the place. Our house isn't fancy, just an average house, so average Maui oceanfront was okay with me.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I was once told by someone at the front desk that the best ocean view units at Waiohai go to multiple week owners staying for multiple weeks. Our own experience is that we have been assigned one of these excellent rooms exactly once (in about seven stays; we own OV).

I have seen rental ads advertising "ocean front" units at Waiohai; those ads are fraudulent (strong language intended).

Does the Marriott program give multi-week owners a priority on room preference or is that just the resort being nice to those owners?

Currently i only own with HGVC, but considering a different program to better access to other HI islands.