Review: HGVC Waikoloa Pools With Little Kids

[YuzuYou]

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Thanks to the advice of Tuggers here, we started to dip our toe into visiting a timeshare property as part of our process deciding if it's a product that works for us. When I say "dip our toe", I really mean it. We did not actually stay overnight at the Hilton Grand Vacations Waikoloa Village, but visited the pools and grounds via a day pass offered with the AirBnB rental we booked. Having access to exotic swimming pools (ideally with waterslides) is a key feature for my four kids who range in ages from 8 to infant and an argument in favor of TS.

However, despite the sprawling grounds, there was only one little corner of the pools which worked for our age span. All we needed was that one corner so my kids were very happy, but that's a lot of money and time walking spent had we paid retail or even rented via another owner for that experience. In fact, my husband kept saying how happy he was that we had the pass included as part of our stay at our nicer AirBnB and how much money we saved and crowds avoided that way. He said he would have been be ticked off to have spent retail to stay on property, especially since one still has to pay for food or at the very least cook for yourself. Paying for parking was another issue we likely would have had to face (validated with our pass) so our family saved over $200 a day every time we used our pass (compared to if we had bought a day pass through ResortPass).

The Kona pool was basically closed during our visit (the one with the giant waterslide) which I was prepared for, but there was also extensive construction happening in Ocean Tower which we could see and hear. I also heard two other guests complaining to each other that the electrical outlets in their rooms were not working properly ("Where am I--Cuba??" one of them quipped).

Top tips for visiting the pools (Kohala Waterslides or bust!) with little kids would be as follows;

• go after the afternoon nap, anytime after 2 PM. The crowds start to thin out and the sun situation is much better.
• if there is any talk of ice cream that day do it immediately after checking in for wristbands; Shaka Cones is directly next door and kids will have the time to burn off the sugar
• bring an umbrella stroller for any ambulatory little ones that might not have the stamina to walk from check-in to the opposite end of the property where the Kohala Waterslides are
• pool chairs around Kohala Waterslides are tough to come by but you can "make space" by dragging an empty one from elsewhere and setting it under the red life ring station (no staff told us otherwise and we did it two days).
• the upside about Kohala Waterslides is that it's closely situated to view the sunset; get the kids out about 15 minutes prior and make the 2 minute trek near Buddha Point to have them watch it.
• if no one is melting down yet, taking the boat back to the main lobby is a fun way to end the night.

Questions for Tuggers after this experience; My husband really did not like the cruise ship vibe and crowds of this HGVC mega-resort. He really liked our stay at Waikoloa Beach Villas, which was a spacious 3-bedroom townhouse with beautiful landscaping and a lovely grotto-style pool steps away from our lanai, very conveniently located across the street from Queen's Market. In your opinion, which properties/systems favor this kind of ambiance more? Mahalo!

 

[alwysonvac]

Cute picture

Thanks for the link. That's a very nice townhouse.

Renting in residential communities will shield you from the crowds during peak travel periods.
Expect peak crowds whenever the majority of kids are out of school (spring/summer/winter break and school holidays). That's when most families travel. The airports are busy, major attractions are busy and resort areas are busy (including timeshares).

Based on your rental post above, I originally thought you were looking for similar luxury accommodations but I found your TUG survey where you mentioned $1500 annual maintenance fees.

If you had to start today, how would you do it? + Survey

If you were a young family in my shoes starting out today, how would you approach TS? I was an early-ish adopter of airBnB (so maybe 12+ years now) and used them exclusively over many years. However, as my family has grown and the level of inconsistency from places and demands from hosts has...

tugbbs.com

HGVC might work for the Big Island and Carlsbad, CA. Visit the HGVC Forum.
It's a point system that allows 4 to 5 night stays. It also has a cash rental option 30 days before check-in based on leftover availability. HGVC Las Vegas properties have lower annual Maintenance Fees and can be used for internal trades. You'll want to look for a HGVC week with at least 11k+ points.

Did you checkout the other HGVC locations outside of the Hilton hotel area (away from the hustle and bustle of Hilton Waikoloa Village)? There are three. Stays at Kings Land and Kohala Suites include Hilton Waikoloa Village pool access.

 

[SmithOp]

We were just there last week, stayed at the Bay Club. I also rented an Ocean Tower penthouse with cash through open season, got the best unit there, 6073, which is top floor right above Buddha Point. We didn't visit the pools for all the reasons you mentioned, we had other plans for daytime activities, but evenings on the lanai we're spectacular with the Kona sunsets.

I think your kids would like the King's Land pool much better, there are a couple of slides and a sandy beach wading pool for the littles. it really is the best pool complex in the HGVC system imo. A stay at KL includes access to the hotel pools also, with the free resort shuttle drop off at the lower lobby. KL also includes the best discount rate at the golf course.

 

[bizaro86]

I second the advice to try Kings Land. We stayed there when our kids were that age and they LOVED it. There are little slides, a zero entry pool, etc.

 

[YuzuYou]

Based on your rental post above, I originally thought you were looking for similar luxury accommodations but I found your TUG survey where you mentioned $1500 annual maintenance fees.

Yes, when I posted I thought I was too . Our budget could be more than that (it was for this vacation roughly $400 a night just in lodging) for the right luxury location, but we have to feel like we are getting what we paid for. We are still exploring how much we'd like to/be able to spend and noting where our expectations lie. $1500 MF is more like the average we'd like to spend on lodging for a week of vacation. So, we could in theory spend more if we were able to get more weeks out of the yearly MF (like in a lock off situation). If you have luxury accommodation suggestions I'm open to them! We are also not committed to a particular system yet although I'm leaning heavily towards Marriott and anything that has a lot of properties or trades well into other systems in Hawaii.

We were just there last week, stayed at the Bay Club. I also rented an Ocean Tower penthouse with cash through open season, got the best unit there, 6073, which is top floor right above Buddha Point. We didn't visit the pools for all the reasons you mentioned, we had other plans for daytime activities, but evenings on the lanai we're spectacular with the Kona sunsets.

I think your kids would like the King's Land pool much better, there are a couple of slides and a sandy beach wading pool for the littles. it really is the best pool complex in the HGVC system imo. A stay at KL includes access to the hotel pools also, with the free resort shuttle drop off at the lower lobby. KL also includes the best discount rate at the golf course.

Very nice, I hope you enjoyed those views! I agree it looks like those top floors near Buddha Point were the best rooms I could see (not sure about the other towers but I feel like the Ocean Tower is hard to beat for sunset/ocean views) and fortunately the farthest from construction within that tower. Thank you and @bizaro86 for suggesting the Kings Land pools, I'll look into those if we decide to go back to Waikoloa.

 

[alwysonvac]

Yes, when I posted I thought I was too . Our budget could be more than that (it was for this vacation roughly $400 a night just in lodging) for the right luxury location, but we have to feel like we are getting what we paid for. We are still exploring how much we'd like to/be able to spend and noting where our expectations lie. $1500 MF is more like the average we'd like to spend on lodging for a week of vacation. So, we could in theory spend more if we were able to get more weeks out of the yearly MF (like in a lock off situation). If you have luxury accommodation suggestions I'm open to them! We are also not committed to a particular system yet although I'm leaning heavily towards Marriott and anything that has a lot of properties or trades well into other systems in Hawaii.

Each timeshare system has their PROs and CONs.

The top tier Hawaii timeshares are listed below, in no particular order (1 Hyatt, 4 Vistana, 4 Marriott, and 1 Disney):

• Hyatt Vacation Club at Ka`anapali Beach (hasn't been sighted in years via Interval International)
• Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas (two bedrooms are rare in Interval International)
• Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas North (two bedrooms are rare in Interval International)
• Westin Nanea Ocean Villas
• Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas (two bedrooms are rare in Interval International)
• Marriott’s Kauai Lagoons - Kalanipu'u (extremely rare in Interval International)
• Marriott's Maui Ocean Club - Lahaina & Napili
• Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club
• Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club
• Disney's Aulani (hasn't been sighted in years via Interval International or RCI)

For your party of 6 or 7, you'll need a two bedroom. Most of the two bedrooms at the top tier resorts have MF over $400/night. To get an idea of resale prices and 2023 MF at these top resorts, take a look at these broker sites:
- https://advantagevacation.com/hawaii-timeshares/
- https://sellingtimeshares.net/category/listings/marriott/
- https://www.dvcstore.com/dvc-listings.cfm.
NOTE: MFs increase each year. Here's an example of my HGVC MF increases over a 20-year period (link).

Below are some videos of the top Hawaii resort. You can find additional videos on YouTube.

The Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas

On Maui's famed Ka'anapali Beach, The Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas blends villa-style living with signature resort amenities.

www.youtube.com

Inside the brand new Westin Nanea 3-bedroom Suite

Join Malika Dudley as she experiences the incredible 3-bedroom suite at the brand new Westin Nanea Ocean Villas located on Maui's Ka'anapali Beach.

www.youtube.com

The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas

Situated on Kauai's pristine North Shore, The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas blends resort and villa-style living.

www.youtube.com

Explore Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club | Lahaina Tower |3 Bedroom Oceanfront in 3D

Matterport 3D Showcase.

my.matterport.com