• Welcome to the FREE TUGBBS forums! The absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 32 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 32 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 32nd anniversary: Happy 32nd Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    All subscribers auto-entered to win all free TUG membership giveaways!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $24,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $24 Million dollars
  • Wish you could meet up with other TUG members? Well look no further as this annual event has been going on for years in Orlando! How to Attend the TUG January Get-Together!
  • Now through the end of the year you can join or renew your TUG membership at the lowest price ever offered! Learn More!
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    Tens of thousands of subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

coolers at Ko Olina

C

chileaquiles

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2011
Messages
53
Reaction score
1
Just got back from Ko Olina and I'm an owner.

Security approached us this time around and stated we can't have a cooler in the pool area.

After a long discussion with the front desk about this rule they showed me a piece of paper stating, "coolers bigger then xxx (small size like lunch box) are not allowed unless you have baby formula or milk". The reason they said was due to lack of space.

I found that to be a bunch of xxxxx. Have they seen the size of beach bags lately that look like luggages.

At the end i feel its so folks buy more of their food and drinks. $3.50 a soda ~$15 a sandwich.

We have 4 timeshares and travel quite a bit. We always take our handy Costco cooler with two wheels that you can pull everywhere. We never have ran into this type of issue before or heard of such a rule. Never even saw it on any of the KoOlina owner newsletters, etc.

Anybody else know about this rule or seen this at some other Marriott resort?
 
Are they also checking people for wrist bands?

So we have the "cooler" police. How about keeping the locals out.

I have seem more and more posts and reviews about how it is obvious some "guests" simply aren't.

Buy hey you were in Hawaii. :)
 
Yeah they are checking the wrist bands and did see some folks get kicked out.
 
Sounds like a perfectly reasonable rule to me. We all benefit from pool beverage sales. I've stayed at many MVCI properties and I can't say I've ever seen anyone pulling a bulky cooler to the pool, and that's a good thing.

If you want to avoid buying poolside beverages, bring a can or two of soda or beer. No one objects to that. But I think it's reasonable to draw the line at coolers.
 
We had this happen to us when we were at Ko Olina in Feb 2010 -- the security guy approached us and told us to keep our cooler (it was a small styrofoam cooler) out of sight because they weren't supposed to allow them at all.

But it was a slow week and he didn't make us take it back. We've not had this issue at MOC.

Best,

Greg
 
DB-Wis,
I am not sure what you meant by "we all benefit from pool beverage sales". The owners do not benefit financially from sales from the pool side restaurants, bars or the Market Place. The Association receives no revenue from those sales.
 
To me there are different expectations at different levels of properties. I think of Ko Olina as a nicer place and for me I dislike seeing big coolers. It feels cheap to me. If I am at a cheaper property then I don't think it's an issue as you would expect that. If everybody brought out big coolers we would lose poolside service (which is already spotty at best) and I personally like to have someone serve me when I am on vacation. I realize everybody is different. I think the rule is totally reasonable.

In terms of the locals in the pools that does seem to be a problem at Ko Olina. However, I have seen obvious locals with wristbands so I think someone is giving them out. However, that was two years ago. This last trip they didn't have wristbands at the poolside shacks so I bet that cuts down on the staff giving them to their friends.
 
Bummer of a rule... but I can understand it. Can you imagine if everyone brought a cooler on wheels. That could be a safety hazard too. They don't want you to bring glass to the pool either. So, we always transfer our beer to empty water bottles.

Anyways, Costco sells these Cooler bags that I bring on all our trips. It actually keeps things pretty cold and much better than a syroform cooler. The nice thing about it is that it looks like a beach bag. And you can fit it in your luggage or use as a carryon bag.
 
@larryallen

I am a local and have done a lot of staycation.. To say it is obvious they (locals) are not guest is wrong.
 
On our only visit to Ko Olina, I enjoyed my first cold beverage on a bar stool with this view ...

Hawaii_2004035Medium.jpg


Don't think I spent a minute at the pool after that.
 
Big Matt said:
Question:
did they allow you to take the cooler to the beach?
Click to expand...

I don't think they are permitted on the beach either. I had a beach shade up for my toddler at Lagoon 3 and security made me take it down. Told me there was list of prohibited items up on the path, sure enough there was long list of things you can't have in this private resort area, including frisbees, umbrellas, and I believe large coolers.
 
DEROS said:
@larryallen

I am a local and have done a lot of staycation.. To say it is obvious they (locals) are not guest is wrong.
Click to expand...

You are right. I over-generalized.
 
minoter said:
DB-Wis,
I am not sure what you meant by "we all benefit from pool beverage sales". The owners do not benefit financially from sales from the pool side restaurants, bars or the Market Place. The Association receives no revenue from those sales.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected -- but I also stand by my basic point: it is reasonable to exclude large coolers. From management's perspective, if it allows one guest to bring in a large cooler, it must allow everyone to do so. If everyone does so, the pool areas will become a cluttered mess. That's not what I bought into.
 
Ko Olina in Jan. 2011

You are right about the cooler police! I brought a cooler to the pool site and was politely asked to return the medium sized cooler to my room! I loved the timeshare and will return after the disney timeshare opens up!

J.D.
 
a1000monkeys said:
I don't think they are permitted on the beach either. I had a beach shade up for my toddler at Lagoon 3 and security made me take it down. Told me there was list of prohibited items up on the path, sure enough there was long list of things you can't have in this private resort area, including frisbees, umbrellas, and I believe large coolers.
Click to expand...

I agree that coolers shouldn't be allowed at the pool. However, I am not sure they can prevent them on the beach. I believe all beaches in Hawaii are public. How can they prevent you from using shade on a public beach? Is a shade the same as an umbrella? Or do you mean a tent?
 
The beaches are public and there are many families having picnics with coolers on the beaches, under the shade of the trees
One og the nice sights at KoOlina, seeing all the diverse families enjoying the beauty and having a nice family picnic
 
cp73 said:
I agree that coolers shouldn't be allowed at the pool. However, I am not sure they can prevent them on the beach. I believe all beaches in Hawaii are public. How can they prevent you from using shade on a public beach? Is a shade the same as an umbrella? Or do you mean a tent?
Click to expand...

The beaches are public in that the resort areas have to provide public access but what the security guy told me (a KoOlina resort security guy, not Marriott's) the private resort area can make its own rules.

It was a pop up shade, not like a full tent but according to the sign no umbrellas are allowed either and saw him asking some other family to remove their umbrella on a different lagoon. I don't recall the specific rule on coolers but I don't recall seeing any large coolers on the beach. I'm quite sure styrofoam coolers aren't permitted.

Also, no alcohol in the beach but I believe that is a state law.

As far as shade goes. Most local families set up under the trees on the grass.
 
Wow! No umbrellas allowed? We buy chairs and umbrellas (tasteful ones, of course ;) ) every trip to Hawaii, as DH is a dermatologist and he has a "thing" about getting out of the sun. Our grandson wears a sun shirt, hat, and a thick layer of sunblock on any exposed skin - I'd hate to think of how my husband would react if he was told we couldn't have a shade umbrella on the beach! :eek:
 
PamMo said:
Wow! No umbrellas allowed? We buy chairs and umbrellas (tasteful ones, of course ;) ) every trip to Hawaii, as DH is a dermatologist and he has a "thing" about getting out of the sun. Our grandson wears a sun shirt, hat, and a thick layer of sunblock on any exposed skin - I'd hate to think of how my husband would react if he was told we couldn't have a shade umbrella on the beach! :eek:
Click to expand...

There are couple permantly installed thatched umbrellas at Lagoons 1 and 2 but they go fast. At Lagoon 3 in front of the Marriot you can rent palapas by the day or half day but they are not cheap and they are in the area of the beach closest to the property and farthest from the water.
 
a1000monkeys said:
There are couple permantly installed thatched umbrellas at Lagoons 1 and 2 but they go fast. At Lagoon 3 in front of the Marriot you can rent palapas by the day or half day but they are not cheap and they are in the area of the beach closest to the property and farthest from the water.
Click to expand...

That's exactly why we buy chairs and umbrellas! (Plus we're able to take them with us to other beaches around the island.)
 
a1000monkeys said:
The beaches are public in that the resort areas have to provide public access but what the security guy told me (a KoOlina resort security guy, not Marriott's) the private resort area can make its own rules.
Click to expand...

I dont think the security guy was correct regarding the beach, although that is just my speculation. I did a search and found something from the state on Hawaii beach rules but there was no mention about umbrellas not being allowed. I dont see how a private resort can enforce special rules on a public beach. All beaches in Hawaii are public beaches. Any lawyers or people in the know about Hawaii laws pertaining to public beaches and how this could be correct?
 
cp73 said:
I dont think the security guy was correct regarding the beach, although that is just my speculation. I did a search and found something from the state on Hawaii beach rules but there was no mention about umbrellas not being allowed. I dont see how a private resort can enforce special rules on a public beach. All beaches in Hawaii are public beaches. Any lawyers or people in the know about Hawaii laws pertaining to public beaches and how this could be correct?
Click to expand...

Not sure, perhaps because it is man-made beach they can make their own rules.

FWIW, we had no issues with our shade on any other beach in the north shore or even Waikiki, just Ko Olina.
 
the lagoon beaches at KoOlina are PUBLIC There are no rules about coolers, umbrellas, beach chairs, etc - Marriott can make rules on its property but not the beaches
as far as alcohol, the opposite, none allowed on beaches in Hawaii but you can drink alcoholic beverages at the pools on Marriott grounds
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top