Big Island timeshare options

[ba2471]

Planning on visiting the big island in Dec. Looking for your recommendation between
* Shell Kona Coast 1
* Shell Kona Coast 2
* Wyndham Mauna Loa Village.
* Shell Holua resort at Mauna Loa village

I'll be travelling with my wife and two 18 year old "adults".

thanks,

 

[Luanne]

We've stayed at Kona Coast, not at Mauna Loa (so can't speak to that one).

We were happy with Kona Coast. I don't know if we were in 1 or 2, but for some reason I think it was 2. These units are closer to the water. That means closer to the bluff where you can look down and see the water, the resort is not on the beach.

The only thing I really remember is that there was a daily fee for a/c. Even though it was summer we didn't need the a/c and didn't pay the fee.

 

[rickandcindy23]

You cannot go wrong with any of those. Mauna Loa Village is just beautiful, and so are the Kona Coast resorts.

 

[zentraveler]

We stayed at Wyndham Mauna Loa Village a few years ago when it was new to II and I really liked it, but my husband did not, almost entirely because it is set back a ways from the water. No ocean views from the property at all, although not a long walk to a bluff where you can see the ocean or bring a lawn chair.

I liked the units. Ours was a 1 bdrm and was spacious with comfortable furniture. The resort itself is a smaller scale with low rise buildings, underground parking and not a lot of amenities (restaurant, spa, shops, bar, etc), but the basics. In short, a peaceful, comfortable place to be if you don't need a lot of on site "life". The 18 year old "adults" might find it more than a bit quiet for their tastes .

 

[DeniseM]

This time last year, we spent a week at Mauna Loa Village and would not go back. It was hot, shabby, and dirty, with poor maintenance. You can no longer walk to the bluff - they built a subdivision between the resort and the bluff.

 

[DaveNV]

I used to own at Mauna Loa Village, bought cheaply sight-unseen, and after staying there once, I sold it. It was too apartment-like, and had nothing going for it (other than the location) to make it worth visiting again. We stayed in an upper unit, and there must have been 25 steps in one continuous staircase to reach the unit, which was dark and rundown. The Holua units are at the far end of the resort grounds, and I was told some units there might have a distant ocean view. But if there is now a resort built between there and the ocean, I don't know if that view is still there.

I currently have August reservations to stay at Kona Coast II. I'm told the units are closer to the water, and are larger than KCI. I originally had reservations for Kona Coast I, but Tuggers advised me to switch to KCII. So I did.

The four locations you named are very close to each other, basically at the end of Alii Drive, so among those four, if it was me, I'd choose Kona Coast II.

Dave

 

[SmithOp]

I’ve stayed at the Shell Holua resort, rented from an owner of Shell points. The units were clean and bright as I recall, although the furniture and appliances were a little dated, may have been updated since our stay in 2013. We had a 2nd floor unit near the parking garage, owners seemed to get the more desirable units closer to the ocean cliffside. The adjacent development only had one house under construction at the time. There is a golf course that wraps around the resort along the cliff. The unit itself was unique, a six sided living area with bedrooms/kitchen branching off. The lanai furniture was a lot nicer than the Wyndham units, with loungers and table/chairs. Nice to have breakfast or evening cocktails, no view to speak of but the grounds were well manicured and lots of geckos and colorful birds in attendance. The one nice activity is the onsite tennis club, we met lots of locals and played pickleball, there are 4 dedicated courts for pickleball and they have rental paddles cheap.

The area is a good base of operations to visit the Big Island but does not have a lot of resort amenities like Waikoloa.

It is a lot closer to the south Kona area than Waikoloa, so here is a list of places within easy travel distance that we visited.
Shopping center nearby for grocery, drug store, post office and craft booths on one day. The Sam Choys serves nice lunches or dinners with expansive view of south kona coast.
Place of Refuge/2Step
Painted Church and Peace Garden
Kona Town (don’t visit when the cruise ship is in the bay)
South Point
Volcanoes Park
Donkey Balls factory store
Canoe / snorkel on the Capt Cook bay, visit the monument
Lots of Coffee plantations in the area.




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[zentraveler]

This time last year, we spent a week at Mauna Loa Village and would not go back. It was hot, shabby, and dirty, with poor maintenance. You can no longer walk to the bluff - they built a subdivision between the resort and the bluff.

Well things have definitely gone downhill. It has probably been 5-6 years since we were there and it had a rather "old hawaii" feel to it that I like. Maintenance, furniture, bedding etc was all quite good. And there was the bluff. I would definitely skip it now!

 

[Luanne]

I’ve stayed at the Shell Holua resort, rented from an owner of Shell points. The units were clean and bright as I recall, although the furniture and appliances were a little dated, may have been updated since our stay in 2013. We had a 2nd floor unit near the parking garage, owners seemed to get the more desirable units closer to the ocean cliffside. The adjacent development only had one house under construction at the time. There is a golf course that wraps around the resort along the cliff. The unit itself was unique, a six sided living area with bedrooms/kitchen branching off. The lanai furniture was a lot nicer than the Wyndham units, with loungers and table/chairs. Nice to have breakfast or evening cocktails, no view to speak of but the grounds were well manicured and lots of geckos and colorful birds in attendance. The one nice activity is the onsite tennis club, we met lots of locals and played pickleball, there are 4 dedicated courts for pickleball and they have rental paddles cheap.

The area is a good base of operations to visit the Big Island but does not have a lot of resort amenities like Waikoloa.

It is a lot closer to the south Kona area than Waikoloa, so here is a list of places within easy travel distance that we visited.
Shopping center nearby for grocery, drug store, post office and craft booths on one day. The Sam Choys serves nice lunches or dinners with expansive view of south kona coast.
Place of Refuge/2Step
Painted Church and Peace Garden
Kona Town (don’t visit when the cruise ship is in the bay)
South Point
Volcanoes Park
Donkey Balls factory store
Canoe / snorkel on the Capt Cook bay, visit the monument
Lots of Coffee plantations in the area.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

All of these advantages also apply to Kona Coast.

 

[ba2471]

Do all timeshares enforce a "mandatory tourist tax"? Kona Coast is noting there is one but Shell Holua is not.

thanks,
ba

 

[Luanne]

Do all timeshares enforce a "mandatory tourist tax"? Kona Coast is noting there is one but Shell Holua is not.

thanks,
ba

If you are talking about the TAT (transient accommodations tax), it applies to all islands, so would apply to both of those timeshares. When I tried to look for Mandatory tourist tax I got back the information on the TAT.

"In Hawaii, all accommodations are subject to the Hawaii Transient Accommodations Tax. The transient accommodations tax is an amount added to the daily cost of your lodging. The current rate of this tax, as of July 2019, is 10.25 percent. This tax is in addition to the GET, which is added to the cost of your lodging. "

 

[ba2471]

If you are talking about the TAT (transient accommodations tax), it applies to all islands, so would apply to both of those timeshares. When I tried to look for Mandatory tourist tax I got back the information on the TAT.

"In Hawaii, all accommodations are subject to the Hawaii Transient Accommodations Tax. The transient accommodations tax is an amount added to the daily cost of your lodging. The current rate of this tax, as of July 2019, is 10.25 percent. This tax is in addition to the GET, which is added to the cost of your lodging. "

Thank you!

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I used to own at Mauna Loa Village, bought cheaply sight-unseen, and after staying there once, I sold it. It was too apartment-like, and had nothing going for it (other than the location) to make it worth visiting again. We stayed in an upper unit, and there must have been 25 steps in one continuous staircase to reach the unit, which was dark and rundown. The Holua units are at the far end of the resort grounds, and I was told some units there might have a distant ocean view. But if there is now a resort built between there and the ocean, I don't know if that view is still there.

I currently have August reservations to stay at Kona Coast II. I'm told the units are closer to the water, and are larger than KCI. I originally had reservations for Kona Coast I, but Tuggers advised me to switch to KCII. So I did.

The four locations you named are very close to each other, basically at the end of Alii Drive, so among those four, if it was me, I'd choose Kona Coast II.

Dave

We've stayed at Mauna Loa Village several times and enjoy it very much - in good part because it is apartment like!!!! Our favorite resorts are often ones, like Mauna Loa Village, that were built for fee simple ownerships, and then converted to timeshare. They just feel more home-like to us - like a place we could actually live in as a second home.

 

[DaveNV]

We've stayed at Mauna Loa Village several times and enjoy it very much - in good part because it is apartment like!!!! Our favorite resorts are often ones, like Mauna Loa Village, that were built for fee simple ownerships, and then converted to timeshare. They just feel more home-like to us - like a place we could actually live in as a second home.

That's part of what is so great about timesharing - some places are over the top, and others are just "what they are." Mauna Loa Village wasn't terribly bad, it just didn't capture me, and I felt like they could have done better. I felt underwhelmed and "Meh" about the place when we stayed there. It may have been the unit we stayed in - with the rusty refrigerator and cracked laminate on the countertop. But that's me. Maybe exchangers got the better units, that I didn't get, as an owner. I would have expected the opposite.

After I sold MLV is when I bought the oceanfront unit at Kauai Beach Villas, and I owned and visited there for ten years. The only reason I sold it was because I wanted to start taking short stays, since a week became a long commitment. The difference was the view, being oceanfront, and the great hotel right next door. MLV is kind of in its own corner, and there is nothing right around it except maybe the Sheraton down the street.

it's all good. I hope the OP makes a decision that works for them.

Dave

 

[TheHolleys87]

We stayed at Shell Holua Resort in May 2016 on our Shell Hawaii points and found it comfortable for my dad, DH and me. The kitchen and dining area were upstairs and we had a lovely view of the golf course, garden and somewhat distant ocean from the dining table. One thing we disliked is not being able to park near our building. There’s one garage, and when arriving and leaving you have to either wait for the one bellman to come with a golf cart to transport your luggage (or groceries) or pull/carry it yourself down to your building. We’ve stayed at KCR II many times - my parents bought there in the early 90s - and overall I’d rather stay at KCR, but Holua was fine and I’d stay there again.

 

[perktd]

I own weeks at Kona Coast II and have stayed at Kona Coast I and at Holua. All of these resorts are managed by one of the Wyndham brands and are close to the same level of resort. One major issue I have with many of the above comments based on visits over the last few years is they don't reference current conditions or variation with each resort. All four resorts have been undergoing major renovations over the last 3 or 4 years and each persons reaction usually assumes the unit they stayed in is representative of the whole complex. Usually that is not the case during a renovation and many of the recent renovations have occurred over a two or three year period.

What doesn't change is the location and floor plan. Kona Coast I was built to sell as owner occupied condo's and many of the units are still owned by a single party. Shell bought the unsold units during an economic downturn and sold the remainder of the units as timeshare. They are the quite a bit the largest units of the 4 and used to be dated. I understand there has been major work going on at Kona Coast I in the last few years and even though I haven't seen the complete redo I would not hesitate to stay there.

Kona Coast II is built on land acquired by Shell when it bought the Kona Coast I property. Kona Cost I and Kona Coast II resorts share check-in, pools, management, housekeeping, etc. The Kona Coast II units are newer and still spacious. For example, the second bedroom in a KCR II 2 bedroom unit still has room for 2 queen size beds. The kitchens and living area have been recently updated and the bathrooms are going to be done over the next couple of years. This is my personal favorite of the four mentioned.

Holua and Mauna Loa Village are part of the same resort. It was originally a tennis complex and has at least 8 or 10 courts. The design of this resort is different than many timeshares. Instead of parking right in front of your unit, there is a central 2-story parking garage where everyone must park. You then walk to your unit along nicely landscaped paths. They do have help to move people in and out and haul groceries but the feel is different. This resort also has a large number of small pools scattered around rather than a small number of large pools. Pools are much more private, but not as active. Holua consists of the part of the complex purchased by Shell many years ago. Mauna Loa Village comprises the units purchased by Wyndham at approximately the same time. As far as I know all the buildings have similar floor plans regardless of the systems that own them. Shell and Wyndham were completely different competing systems until a few years ago when Shell was purchased by Wyndham. For most of their life the interiors have reflected the system they were in. I haven't stayed in a Holua unit for about 4 years. I know the floor plans are more compact than at Kona Coast I and II, but they are still acceptable. The interiors have been updated and are probably more similar than they used to be between Holua and Mauna Loa Village, but I suspect there are some differences. If reservations are not available at Kona Coast or you want to save on points, both of these resorts are perfectly acceptable.

Kona Coast I and II are a little closer to the Kahaluu shopping center and Kahuluu beach park, but all of these resorts are located at some point on the same golf course so you know they are not very far apart.

 

[Rjbeach2003]

We have Shell ownership and have stayed at KCR II and Shell Holua Mauna Loa. KCR has more amenities, more open space, larger pool, restaurant etc. It costs more as well. What I read in reviews before staying at Holua, was that it was preferable to the Wyndham Mauna Loa. That might have changed as Wyndham now owns Shell.
We have stayed in one bedrooms three times at KCR, twice in the same unit facing BBQ and play area, and once facing the ocean. They do charge a daily fee for AC if you want it, and we did.
Holua is as described above pretty well. The advantage is that if you aren't in need of on site amenities it's a good money saver. Or at least point saver.
Both are on the south end of Kailua-Kona, which is nice, except that when you want to go to the best beaches it's about a 50-60 minute drive.

While we at Holua, about 5 years ago, they were upgrading units, though ours hadn't been yet. New TV's, furniture. So now everything is at least five years old. We had a couple of nights reserved there this June and then after a week stay in a 4 bedroom house at Mauna Lani Resort, followed by 8 nights at Paniolo Greens, another Shell property. All cancelled of course, so planning for 2021.