marriott KoOlina questions

[nanceetom]

OK...we just clicked the button and purchased our tickets for 14 days, October 6-20 for a one bedroom penthouse suite in at Ko Olina. Being from the East, the flight is long and quite pricey for a retired couple. We have been to Kauii two times many years ago. To make our stay great, we know the Pent house suite, mountain view, is similar to one bedrooms mountain view, except for the floor level. Any recommendations for a building for penthouse, mountainview we should request and hope for the best! Thanks. Also, we have a rental car reserved...any great things, places or restaurants we should go to?

 

[Werner Weiss]

I don't think there's such thing as a bad view from a mauka ("towards the mountains") Penthouse. Unlike a regular mauka villa, a Penthouse villa means you don't have to worry about a direct view of the cars parked on the top deck of a parking structure. Even if there's a parking structure below your villa, you won't notice it unless you lean over the railing of your Penthouse lanai.

Some mauka villas offer a glimpse of the ocean (or at least the marina and the industrial harbor beyond it). I assume that almost everyone with a mauka reservation requests such a villa. There's an order in which room assignments are done. Owners (presumably including MVC DC points owners) have a higher priority for having their requests met (and, even then, the earliest reservations have a priority).

Hale Kona is the most convenient location in the complex because it's the most central. Hale Naia is the newest building, but the newer half of Hale Naia has not been renovated (but it's still in good shape). I find the parking for Hale Naia to be the most convenient. Hale Moana has good views of the Ko Olina golf course because it's right across the street.

My recommendation would be simply to ask for a renovated villa. Others here may suggest a specific building. To some degree your building will depend on what type of villa you have reserved. Hale Naia has dedicated 2-bedroom villas and very few lockoffs. The other two buildings have 2BR and 3BR lockouts.

Right in the Ko Olina Resort area, there's a restaurant I really like called Monkeypod Kitchen by Merriman. Check it out for happy hour and/or dinner. It's in a small shopping center with very limited parking. You can use the free Ko Olina Resort shuttle to get there. If you like walking, a very enjoyable way to get there is to walk on the shoreline walkway past Aulani (Disney Resort) and make a right turn at Olani Street. It's around a mile.

I like lunch at Ama Ama at Aulani. It's a little pricy, but the prices are not that bad for a top resort in Hawaii. The view and food are excellent. Ask the host or your server to explain why Ama Ama is designed as it it. (The Disney Imagineers came up with a backstory and then designed the restaurant to have three distinct parts to go with the backstory.)

A pricy but excellent dinner restaurant is Roy's at the Ko Olina golf course. It's much better than the Roy's on the Mainland, which are owned by a different company.

Aloha!

 

[jcjl1]

First, consider cancelling your rental car and rebook with Costco within a week of arriving. You'll love the rate.

Second, I assume you have never been on Oahu. You are roughly 35-40 minutes from Honolulu and all it has to offer. Besides Pearl Harbor (a MUST DO!!!), consider a docent tour at Iolani Palace (www.iolanipalace.org). Also, visit The Bishops Museum. Visit (and climb) Diamond Head.

Take a day and visit the North Shore. Take another day and go to the Polynesian Culture Center‎. If you like to snorkel, visit the state park at Hanauma Bay.

Finally, invest in the book "Oahu Revealed: The Ultimate Guide to Honolulu, Waikiki & Beyond". It's also available as an Android and Apple app. Great info!

 

[larryallen]

I second Oahu Revealed. It's mandatory in my opinion.

We always book our rental car through "Hawaii Discount Car Rental." Just google those exact words. Do it now as the early prices are usually very cheap. Can check it once a month going forward but it should be the cheapest.

For an incredible shave ice go to Shimazu Store. It's in a not great neighborhood sort of near the airport.

When going to Waikiki what we do is go in after morning commute. We then stay through dinner and go back to Ko Olina after the evening commute. Traffic is horrible so plan ahead!

Have FUN!

 

[frank808]

You will be in moana and kona towers. The naia tower has only one 1br penthouse units as the rest of the units are dedicated 2br. Naia has very few lockout units i beleive only 3 or 4 lockouts per floor.
The penthouse units start as low as the 6th floor although there is no one above you and you are at the end of the building so only neighbora on one side.

 

[Quadmaniac]

I would third "Oahu Revealed" but the app as it is all downloaded to your phone - no data needed when you are using it, and it has a built in map that you can tap where you are and see everything to do, go, eat close by. Much more versatile than the book and you can downloaded to all your devices connected to the same account. I have it on my iPhone and all my iPads.

 

[davidvel]

I assuming the OP's reservation was for weeks vs points. If the latter, shouldn't one get a PH if that's what they reserved using points?

 

[Werner Weiss]

I assuming the OP's reservation was for weeks vs points. If the latter, shouldn't one get a PH if that's what they reserved using points?

It's unclear to me whether the OP has a points reservation, a weeks reservation, a private rental, a Marriott.com rental, an II exchange, or something else.

OP has a 14-night reservation for a "one-bedroom penthouse suite in at Ko Olina" with a "mountain view."

I assume, regardless of the type of reservation, the OP should get the reserved villa type. (But there have been a few anecdotal accounts of II exchangers not receiving ocean views, despite having reservations that indicated ocean view. So it's possible that some II exchanges could be fulfilled with only the correct size.)

However, the type of reservation influences the order in which villas are assigned.

 

[nanceetom]

Thank you so much for all comments! Yes, we are going there on Destination Points and our reservation states we have a one bedroom, penthouse suite, mountain view.
Any other recommendations are really appreciated.

 

[wesley]

Just back from Ko Olina

Hi


We just returned from Ko Olina. We traded our two BR oceanside May 2015 Oceanwatch reservation for this recent stay at Ko Olina.

Ko Olina is a beautiful! We were pleased to have a beautiful two bedroom unit on the 11th floor of Naia, the southernmost of the three towers. We could easily see the ocean while looking off to the right. Straight ahead off of our balcony was the the industrial area, but overall the view is much better than we expected, given the "Mountain View" designation. (Unlike Oceanwatch, this resort only has Mountain View and Oceanfront views).

We rented a car - the cost was $350, fees incl, for the week. We rented through "economy rental". Painless. A car is essential here. The Diamond Head climb and the North Shore surfers and the WW II Memorial were great. The Polynesian Cultural Center is overrated.

Keep in mind that if trading through interval, as we did, views are never guaranteed.

But I think you will be happy with "Mountainside" (or if VERY lucky oceanfront!)....

Thanks

Wesley

 

[SueDonJ]

Thank you so much for all comments! Yes, we are going there on Destination Points and our reservation states we have a one bedroom, penthouse suite, mountain view.
Any other recommendations are really appreciated.

Using Destination Club Points you'll be placed in exactly the unit type/view that you reserved, just like with Weeks ownerships and cash stays when different prices are dependent on unit configurations. It's only during II stays that particular unit view/type placements are not guaranteed.

 

[wesley]

Thanks!

Many thanks, Susan, for that clarification. Because we traded our MOW 2015 week to get the recent Hawaii week, we went thru interval. But your clarification is spot on and my initial message was unclear.

Thanks again

Wesley