Deciding between Hawaii or Vegas

[Etalon16g]

Hi everyone, I'm completely new to timeshare but recently had the pleasure of staying at the Grand Waikikian with our friend who has a timeshare there. We attended a DRI presentation but decided it wasn't for us and found this great forum. I've been reading the various threads quite frequently but am still having trouble deciding where to buy. Any advice is much appreciated.

Basically, we love Hawaii and pre Covid, were travelling there at least once a year or once every two years. We have two kids, 11 and 7 and plan on going there for during platinum season at least once a year. A one bedroom is enough for the time being but as they get older, may require a two bedroom. However, my wife and I are also cognisant of the fact they won't want to travel with us forever so I think a one bedroom is more that suitable for us as we can always borrow points for a certain time period.

Now onto the part where I'm having trouble deciding. I of course prefer the maintenance fees in Vegas much more than Hawaii, however, am unsure how hard it is to actually book a room at the Grand Waikikian during Canadian spring break (which I believe has some overlap with US spring break) and also Christmas. I understand that as a Vegas owner, I can only book 9 months out. Now with max in the ballgame as well (albeit at 6 months), I'm curious to know what everyone's thoughts are about how hard it may be to book the week I want during club season. I'd like the ability to book at 12 months, but the maintenance fees are almost double and as a Canadian, its also 30% more.

We would also take advantage of the other resorts within HGVC across the world, but would likely be every couple of years. We may go to Vegas once in awhile but it wouldn't be our main destination.

Sorry for rambling on about this and any help, guidance and assistance is appreciated. Thanks on advance.

 

[jabberwocky]

When you say that you go to Hawaii - is it always Oahu or do you like to go to other islands as well? Buying in Hawaii only give you home resort priority at that one resort, not all resorts in Hawaii.

If you always want to go back to Oahu, then buying there can make sense (especially if tied to the school calendar). If you would also like to try out Maui or the BI, then a cheaper Vegas week might just do the trick. Some of the Kingsland contractS on the BI may also do the trick as their MF per point is pretty good - but are a bit more expensive for initial buy in.

 

[ljmiii]

So...in general the Grand Waikikian has good club availability in the spring because of the high point costs. But keep in mind that you may need to have enough points to pay for a Plus or Premium unit. Lagoon is a different story and if you wanted to stay there during spring break I would recommend buying at Lagoon...but for GW you don't really need to. Christmas (and New Years) is a completely different story with low availability that rely on Week 51 and 52 'event' weeks.

It's easy for me to say but if I were you and could afford it, I would plan to buy enough Vegas points to cover a 2BR Premium Platinum Week - 14,400 old, 23,040 new points. That said, I don't know how that price compares to just buying a 'normal' 2BR week at GW (or Lagoon or GI).

 

[Etalon16g]

When you say that you go to Hawaii - is it always Oahu or do you like to go to other islands as well? Buying in Hawaii only give you home resort priority at that one resort, not all resorts in Hawaii.

If you always want to go back to Oahu, then buying there can make sense (especially if tied to the school calendar). If you would also like to try out Maui or the BI, then a cheaper Vegas week might just do the trick. Some of the Kingsland contractS on the BI may also do the trick as their MF per point is pretty good - but are a bit more expensive for initial buy in.

I prefer Oahu myself but my wife likes Maui so we'd likely spend some time across all the islands.

Thanks for the tip on Kingsland, I will check that out.

 

[Etalon16g]

So...in general the Grand Waikikian has good club availability in the spring because of the high point costs. But keep in mind that you may need to have enough points to pay for a Plus or Premium unit. Lagoon is a different story and if you wanted to stay there during spring break I would recommend buying at Lagoon...but for GW you don't really need to. Christmas (and New Years) is a completely different story with low availability that rely on Week 51 and 52 'event' weeks.

It's easy for me to say but if I were you and could afford it, I would plan to buy enough Vegas points to cover a 2BR Premium Platinum Week - 14,400 old, 23,040 new points. That said, I don't know how that price compares to just buying a 'normal' 2BR week at GW (or Lagoon or GI).

That's a great tip. We like GW because it has in suite laundry which is a big plus for us. I was looking in and around the 11k (new point range) as I thought I could always borrow next year's allotment if required. Having said, I'll have to re check the points chart and see what's feasible. Thanks again!

 

[dayooper]

I prefer Oahu myself but my wife likes Maui so we'd likely spend some time across all the islands.

Thanks for the tip on Kingsland, I will check that out.

I’m not sure what the future holds for Maui and club availability. There’s still a bunch of pent up desire for Maui as it’s been talked about for a long time. What might be easier now could be difficult as those deeds get sold. The only way to insure Maui would be to purchase there. That would be very expensive right now and there are very little to no resale deeds as it brand new. Oahu is definitely doable with HGVC.

To guarantee Maui, you may want to purchase resale with a different company. An EoY with Vistana would do the trick.

 

[milkycow]

On a similar note, how easy is it to book a King's Land stay if I purchase a Vegas HGVC resale? Or should I just buy a King's Land resale instead. I have a very flexible job but kid is not school age yet, so I expect my vacation windows will change once they come of age for school.

 

[SmithOp]

Kings Land is easy to book, a lot easier than GW, although the lower point cost units go faster than the higher point. There are a lot more units than Maui right now so it's still our preferred Hawaii location.

To the OP, I think you would do well to consider buying Vegas and going to Kings Land, your kids will love it there. It has the best super pool of all the HGV resorts, much better than the one at GW. All the units have in room laundry.



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[milkycow]

Kings Land is easy to book, a lot easier than GW, although the lower point cost units go faster than the higher point. There are a lot more units than Maui right now so it's still our preferred Hawaii location.

To the OP, I think you would do well to consider buying Vegas and going to Kings Land, your kids will love it there. It has the best super pool of all the HGV resorts, much better than the one at GW. All the units have in room laundry.



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Another question I have for you, it seems if I can get~20k pts at King's Land for MF~1900/yr vs 2 separate Flamingo/Elara ~8-11k pts each for combined MF of ~2k/yr, it would be wiser to just get the King's Land timeshare instead. Or am I missing something?

 

[GT75]

Another question I have for you, it seems if I can get~20k pts at King's Land for MF~1900/yr vs 2 separate Flamingo/Elara ~8-11k pts each for combined MF of ~2k/yr, it would be wiser to just get the King's Land timeshare instead. Or am I missing something?

Usually, LV is cheaper MF but KL does have a couple of very good MF deeds (in fact both @SmithOp and myself own the KL 2BR Phase I premier unit platinum season deed just for points. I have been to KL but will stay in a cheaper point unit):

KL 1Br (Phase I/III Premier unit) 20160 pts
KL 2Br (Phase I/III Premier unit) 23040 pts

You will just need to look at buy-in price. Here is a resource for you:

2022 Hilton Grand Vacations Maintenance Fees

* Please limit this thread to only the MF specifics and take discussions/commentary to the discussion boards. Thank you! * Owners, please report your Weeks MF's as they are billed (NOT proposed/estimated) in this format: Resort Name/Unit Size Operating Fee Reserve Fee Property Taxes (or note...

tugbbs.com

 

[BingoBangoBongo]

Usually, LV is cheaper MF but KL does have a couple of very good MF deeds (in fact both @SmithOp and myself own the KL 2BR Phase I premier unit platinum season deed just for points. I have been to KL but will stay in a cheaper point unit):

KL 1Br (Phase I/III Premier unit) 20160 pts
KL 2Br (Phase I/III Premier unit) 23040 pts

You will just need to look at buy-in price. Here is a resource for you:

2022 Hilton Grand Vacations Maintenance Fees

* Please limit this thread to only the MF specifics and take discussions/commentary to the discussion boards. Thank you! * Owners, please report your Weeks MF's as they are billed (NOT proposed/estimated) in this format: Resort Name/Unit Size Operating Fee Reserve Fee Property Taxes (or note...

tugbbs.com

I've got both an EOY KL 1Br (Phase I/III Premier unit) 20160 pts and and an EY Elara 1BR Grand 11,200 and it's a great combination. The MF's are low enough that I could add a couple of higher MF deeds and still keep my overall MF's at a pretty reasonable level. I'm in the camp that I would rather pay more up front for a low MF Platinum deed, knowing that MF's will increase and I'd rather those start off lower. I think they will also be easier to get rid of and have held their resale value, if not increased a little bit as travel has recovered.

 

[SmithOp]

Another question I have for you, it seems if I can get~20k pts at King's Land for MF~1900/yr vs 2 separate Flamingo/Elara ~8-11k pts each for combined MF of ~2k/yr, it would be wiser to just get the King's Land timeshare instead. Or am I missing something?

As GT75 said, it's about acquisition costs factored in, how many years will you use it to overcome the higher buy in cost for a high point KL unit? I searched for a year before finding mine at a price I was willing to pay.


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[Nowaker]

On a similar note, how easy is it to book a King's Land stay if I purchase a Vegas HGVC resale? Or should I just buy a King's Land resale instead. I have a very flexible job but kid is not school age yet, so I expect my vacation windows will change once they come of age for school.

I booked Christmas/NYE/NY in Kings Land using my Vegas points. Moreover, I booked BR2 unit specifically - one with a lower point cost. I walked a reservation for two weeks to make sure it's available - but not sure if it was actually needed.

 

[Nowaker]

Another question I have for you, it seems if I can get~20k pts at King's Land for MF~1900/yr vs 2 separate Flamingo/Elara ~8-11k pts each for combined MF of ~2k/yr, it would be wiser to just get the King's Land timeshare instead. Or am I missing something?

If MFpp is the same KL vs 2xVegas, then Vegas is better because it's easier to sell. It will go very easily. Also, Vegas isn't prone to any natural disasters, whether it's earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, or whatnot, so you're not looking at getting hit by any special assessment. As your first purchase, Vegas is king. You can diversify with your subsequent deeds, if you ever want more.

 

[SmithOp]

I booked Christmas/NYE/NY in Kings Land using my Vegas points. Moreover, I booked BR2 unit specifically - one with a lower point cost. I walked a reservation for two weeks to make sure it's available - but not sure if it was actually needed.

Have you stayed in a BR2 unit yet? There is a big difference from the higher point 2 bedroom units. Smaller units, cramped living/dining/kitchen, plastic lanai furniture, and across the street location. You will still have all the other KL amenities though.

I'm checking in today to a 2br plus unit, got lucky and booked with the 30% discount offered earlier this year, so it came out with a point cost comparable to the phase 2 units.

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[dougp26364]

My advice is buy where you plan to stay and buy a unit large enough for your growing family. My opinion is buy a 2 bedroom. We’ve never been disappointed having to much room. We have been disappointed when we felt cramped with to little room.

We purchased in Vegas because that’s where we travel the most. We have booked Hawaii pre-CoVid and found it difficult to get the exact dates and units we wanted. We’ve spent a week in a 1 bedroom at the lagoon tower. When we wanted to go back, we couldn’t get the lagoon tower and had to book one of the more expensive 1 bedroom GW units for the dates we wanted. That unit was my third choice in unit styles and cost me quite a few more points than I intended to spend that year, forcing us to rearrange some of our other vacation plans. The third time I used Hilton to book was for the Big Island. If the Big Island was always going to be my destination, the supply of units is large enough I wouldn’t really care where I owned as there is nearly always something we would be comfortable staying in for a week.

So I’ll amended my original statement. If you want Oahu or Maui most of the time I’d own the unit and resort I wanted the most. If it’s the Big Island and your not locked into one specific resort or unit location, I think owning i. Vegas would be fine at this time. Keep in mind that rules and conditions always change. Owning where you’re happiest going if all else fails is never bad policy IMHO

 

[Nowaker]

Have you stayed in a BR2 unit yet? There is a big difference from the higher point 2 bedroom units. Smaller units, cramped living/dining/kitchen, plastic lanai furniture, and across the street location. You will still have all the other KL amenities though.

No, and we don't mind, given the points price. Las Palmeras 2LK is 1050 sqft and it was fine for us, so Kings' Land BR2 950 sqft will be just as fine. But I'm still considering shortening our 12 night stay at KL to 8 nights, and booking 4 nights at Kohala Suites, so we could check out HWV pools for free.

 

[SmithOp]

No, and we don't mind, given the points price. Las Palmeras 2LK is 1050 sqft and it was fine for us, so Kings' Land BR2 950 sqft will be just as fine. But I'm still considering shortening our 12 night stay at KL to 8 nights, and booking 4 nights at Kohala Suites, so we could check out HWV pools for free.

KL has HWV access also, it's only Bay Club that is the outcast, the owners decided not to participate in the agreement.

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[BJRSanDiego]

There are a bunch of Hawaiian properties (with deeded weeks rather than points) that have in suite washer/dryers and often sell for a couple hundred bucks on ebay. Their MF's are $1500 to 2K) a year.

We bought a Sands of Kahana (Maui) for $900 (and we probably overpaid) for a 3 BR unit, 2 weeks EOY. Washer/Dryer, full kitchen, 2 bathrooms, but no AC. They sometimes are given away for free). It isn't of the caliber of the GW but is nice enough. We generally use it, although we did exchange it once for a 2 BR Point at Poipu 2 BR. I pay around $1550 a year MF and around $100 or 150 property taxes. A 2 BR unit would have a lower MF and property tax.

But we also own some Marriott TS and have been successful in exchanging for Hawaii every time that we tried. (Marriott Waiohai, Marriott Maui Ocean Club, Westin Princeville, Kona Coast II (twice) and Marriott Ko Olina). In each case we deposited a 1 BR and in 5 of 6 tries we got a 2 BR unit on the exchange). So, our Marriotts are 2 BR units and we deposit the 1 BR and still have the efficiency to use for another exchange.

Marriotts exchange well and if you own a Marriott you have a 3 week priority on exchanges through Interval.

I am only offering this as another alternative.

 

[Nowaker]

KL has HWV access also, it's only Bay Club that is the outcast, the owners decided not to participate in the agreement

Ah, thanks for clarifying.

Still considering a couple days in KS though, as I'm an explorer and would love to experience all of them HGVC resorts...