HGVC, Hawaii-The Big Island

[Aquaman55]

Just received a fabulous re-sale offer for a platinum at Waikola. (Passing ROFR hasn't happened yet.) How does Waikola compare to Kings Land...and what about that Hilton Hotel that HGVC owners have beach/pool access to? Is it nice? (Never been to Hawaii!)

Another question...air fares to the Big Island seem really high. Does anyone know where you can get discount fares to the Big Island? Thanks!

 

[Talent312]

Keep in mind that MF's in Hawaii are among the highest. So, you might consider adding 10-20 years of those to your purchase price to compare the true cost of acquisition to a HGVC-TS in Vegas or Orlando.

Howver, Hawaii is also in high demand. Thus, owning there can be an advantage, if that's where you want to go most often. I'd be asking myself, "How likely is it that that I'd stay there more often than anywhere else?" before deciding whether the extra cost in MF's made it worthwhile.

 

[presley]

and what about that Hilton Hotel that HGVC owners have beach/pool access to? Is it nice? (Never been to Hawaii!)

The Hilton Hotel is fabulous. If you look up the hotel on the Hilton site, it will show you some of the things there.

My favorite is the lagoon. We rented a canoe each day. Turtles swim right up to the canoe. There are amazing colorful fish in there, too.

There are several pools with lots of waterslides. Transportation around the hotel is done by boat and monorail.

I had originally thought about buying HGVC Waikoloa just for the access to the hotel grounds. I decided that I wouldn't be able to afford the airfare there enough to make it worth my while. Hopefully, that will change someday.

 

[SmithOp]

Youll have to check various west coast cities for best fares to bi. Try oakland ca or seattle, then there are charters like sun trips. Also check the Hawaii board here, people post air fare sale sightings.

 

[mb_cik]

The Hilton hotel is amazing, especially if you have young children. Both Kingsland and Waikoloa HGVC are very nice, it probably depends on your specific situation and likes.

Just remember neither of these HGVC properties are on the beach. This isn't a problem for my family as we have young children so we prefer the pools and the lagoon.

We just got back from Kingsland and Waikoloa last month so let me know what additional questions you have.

 

[mb_cik]

Regarding airfare, where are you flying from? We are in Oregon so we can often get tickets down to $400 roundtrip.

 

[Aquaman55]

Your Insights

Thanks for your replies. You all make good points and I appreciate the tips. As for MF's, I have HGVC TS units in both Vegas and Orlando. The Waikola unit is an EOY. This would give us a toehold on the Big Island without the big MF hit. We wouldn't go to Hawaii every year anyway. The airfares to Hawaii from the Midwest are high, $800-$900 and up. I did read the beach at the Hilton Hotel does get crowded. Did any of you have a problem with that? What is the best time of the year to visit...as far as weather goes?

 

[ccwu]

Regarding airfare, where are you flying from? We are in Oregon so we can often get tickets down to $400 roundtrip.

What airline you have? We are from NY. The round way ticket is consider good if it is under $1,000. We have been trying to use frequent flyer mileage to Hawaii from NY. Lately most of them are out, we had to use 45,000 AA miles for one way (usually 35,000 round trip to Hawaii.)

We found a few nice local beaches and is less crowded from friend who retired from NY to Hawaii during witner. We do not know the name, just know how to get there. There were lots of trees and beautiful beach with few people.

 

[mb_cik]

What airline you have? We are from NY. The round way ticket is consider good if it is

We usually fly Hawaiian, but Alaska also has good fares.

On the West Coast we have Hawaii, on the East Coast you have Carribean!

 

[Brkian]

Thanks for your replies. You all make good points and I appreciate the tips. As for MF's, I have HGVC TS units in both Vegas and Orlando. The Waikola unit is an EOY. This would give us a toehold on the Big Island without the big MF hit. We wouldn't go to Hawaii every year anyway. The airfares to Hawaii from the Midwest are high, $800-$900 and up. I did read the beach at the Hilton Hotel does get crowded. Did any of you have a problem with that? What is the best time of the year to visit...as far as weather goes?

A few points:
- There is no benefit to buying the Hawaii unit versus comparable units (vegas/Orlando) with lower m&t. With 3 HGVC's next door to each other on the big island, there is almost certainly always inventory available at the 9 month mark. Buying there will only give you limited additional access in the 9-12 month time frame, which is nice but completely unnecessary in most cases.
- There is no beach at any of the 3 HGVC nor at the neighboring Hilton. The closest thing to a beach is "A-bay", which is the beach in front of the neighboring Marriott. For a beach experience, though, there are multiple beautiful beaches within a 5-15 minute drive.
- The weather is almost unchanging throughout the entire year. We like to go in September/October, but only because those are the slowest times of the year (schools back in session, etc).
- airfares: set up a travelocity fare watch from your closest major airports to Kona and Honolulu. It's amazing how super cheap airfares pop up. We are on the east coast and usually see rates in the $700-$1000 range, but recently booked $400 Kona flights and have seen as low as $280 Honolulu. You just have to be flexible and jump when you get the alerts.

my advice: buy vegas/orlando platinum resale if you plan to add to your points.

 

[Aquaman55]

Brkian...your points are valid and helpful. (Talent stated similar opinions in his post.) If one does EOY just to get a foothold in Hawaii, the MF isn't too bad. I understand that it's much easier to get the times you want, if you have that extra 3 months that comes with it. Having beach/pool access at the Hilton Hotel resort is a good perk, something owners at Kingsland, Waikola (but not Bay Club) get. I am still far off from ROFR anyway...I guess HGVC is buying up a lot of resale properties there. Thanks for the travelocity tip. I will look into it!