Review of Ocean Tower Two Bedroom by Hilton Grand Vacations in Waikoloa Hawaii

[cbyrne1174]

Located in the Waikoloa area on the big island of Hawaii (20 minutes north of the Kailua-Kona airport) is where you will find the amazing Ocean Tower by Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare. The property is extensive and feature two pool areas plus easy access to the Hilton Waikoloa pools, jacuzzi's, restaurants, etc... It has the best of both. Having a timeshare with all its features and benefits plus a world class hotel within walking distance.

This location is ideal for viewing ocean sunsets and walking along the ocean. There was a fitness center, and all the other amenities that you expect from a high end timeshare. Staff was great.

Review of Ocean Tower Two Bedroom by Hilton Grand Vacations in Waikoloa Hawaii

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Ugh.... all of your Waikoloa videos are giving me Hilton add-on-itis. I DON'T NEED ANYMORE DAMN TIMESHARES!

Seriously though..... it's that stupid $79 booking fee that's preventing me from pulling the trigger on a nice Platinum Elara contract. I cancel/rebook too much. Like I seriously probably spend an extra $200 a year on those $19 Club Wyndham reservation fees, then have to subject myself to "60 minute" owner updates where I'm always being told how much I'm apparently "missing out" by being resale only in order to get my wasted $$ back. . Why can't I make my descisions and stick with them? At least I've made a game out of it (how quickly I can get the sales person to give up on me). My personal best is 11 minutes.

 

[dayooper]

Ugh.... all of your Waikoloa videos are giving me Hilton add-on-itis. I DON'T NEED ANYMORE DAMN TIMESHARES!

Seriously though..... it's that stupid $79 booking fee that's preventing me from pulling the trigger on a nice Platinum Elara contract. I cancel/rebook too much. Like I seriously probably spend an extra $200 a year on those $19 Club Wyndham reservation fees, then have to subject myself to "60 minute" owner updates where I'm always being told how much I'm apparently "missing out" by being resale only in order to get my wasted $$ back. . Why can't I make my descisions and stick with them? At least I've made a game out of it (how quickly I can get the sales person to give up on me). My personal best is 11 minutes.

As long as you are changing your reservation by 61 days, you can change all you want, shorten, lengthen or even change resorts! The fee to book online is only $59.

 

[GMan82]

What about switching one of your resales for a Hilton Club resale? You get the all-inclusive resy fee then.

 

[GT75]

then have to subject myself to "60 minute" owner updates where I'm always being told how much I'm apparently "missing out" by being resale only in order to get my wasted $$ back.

There isn’t a requirement to attend. It is an easy NO to concierge.

 

[SmithOp]

What about switching one of your resales for a Hilton Club resale? You get the all-inclusive resy fee then.

Need to calculate the difference in reservation fees vs the increased acquisition and maintenance fees at Hilton Clubs. A lower cost Vegas deed might work out cheaper. It might also be more cost effective to use HC points at HC properties.

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[GMan82]

Need to calculate the difference in reservation fees vs the increased acquisition and maintenance fees at Hilton Clubs. A lower cost Vegas deed might work out cheaper. It might also be more cost effective to use HC points at HC properties.

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True. That poster indicated multiple deeds already, though, and West 57th so far seems very well priced. Consider an EOY resale deed to minimize buy-in and MF? After 2 reservations in the year, the increased membership cost is essentially paid for.

 

[cbyrne1174]

Is it easy to rent out excess points? My problem is that I already own more than I can possibly use myself. I rent out a lot of Wyndham Bonnet Creek reservations during it's value season in May/Dec to get rid of excess points since it's so easy to make a small profit. I could give some deeds back to Wyndham, but I don't mind doing rentals to subsidize my own vacations.

 

[GMan82]

I don’t know how easy it is to rent points out since I’ve never done so. I figure NYC points would be easier to rent out since you can undercut a lot of the nice hotels there given the location. MF of $1576 for the STP at West 57th is roughly $225/nt all-in. The hotels in that area are Le Meridien, Park Hyatt, Conrad Midtown, etc. The New York Hilton, containing the Residences and HCNY, is also in that area. Plus I assume as your guest they would gain access to the Owner Lounge, too. So to me it seems like a viable option.

 

[alwysonvac]

Is it easy to rent out excess points? My problem is that I already own more than I can possibly use myself. I rent out a lot of Wyndham Bonnet Creek reservations during it's value season in May/Dec to get rid of excess points since it's so easy to make a small profit. I could give some deeds back to Wyndham, but I don't mind doing rentals to subsidize my own vacations.

Per the HGVC rules, you can only rent out your home week.

Here are the two sections in the 2019 Club Rules and 2019 Disclosure Document.

​

No Commercial Use of Club by Members or Guests. Accommodations available through the Club are for the personal use and enjoyment of Members, the Members’ immediate family, and guests personally known and acquainted with Members. The Club strictly forbids the use of the Club for commercial purposes or monetary or other consideration by Members or their guests including the use of a confirmed reservation in an Affiliated Resort for any rental, resale or other commercial use (other than an owner’s Home Week) including through the use of guest certificates. Failure to abide by this restriction may result in immediate cancellation of the applicable reservation(s) (without refund or credit), suspension of Club or Open Season reservation privileges, denial of access to any confirmed reservations, or other products or services offered through the Club and limitations on the number or type of transactions by a Member. Any lease or rental agreement for a Home Week shall be deemed to contain a provision requiring that any sums due to the Club as annual Club Dues or due to the Association as assessments must be deducted from the gross rentals and paid directly to the party for which such sums are owed.​

​

Club Benefits for Members Only.​

Membership benefits are only for the benefit of Club Members who own a vacation ownership interest at an Affiliated Resort. Members may be asked to answer security questions or otherwise verify identity prior to servicing. Members are responsible for the activity that occurs on their account, and must keep their account access information secure. Hilton Grand Vacations has no obligation to provide services or benefits to Member guests. Reservations booked through third party exchange, travel holiday clubs or any third-party rental or exchange site not affiliated with Hilton Grand Vacations including but not limited to AirBnB, VRBO, HomeAway, eBay, Craigslist, or similar may be denied by Hilton Grand Vacations in its sole discretion. Hilton Grand Vacations is not responsible​

for any loss, claim, demand or other injury, including, but not limited to, disclosure of private information, loss or rental proceeds, fraud, performance or non-performance of any transactions, or misapplication of funds, refunds, or credits, arising out of or related to the use of a Member account or reservation at an Affiliated Resort by any third party, including any third party rental or exchange program not affiliated with Hilton Grand Vacations, any designated or authorized user, authorized, permitted or provided access to the account by the Member, including any use rights granted through corporate, partnership, trust or other entity or organizations holding membership.​

​

I just checked the pdf confirmation that I sent to my nephew for his stay last year and it has the following printed at the bottom.

GUEST CERTIFICATE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT​

I acknowledge that my guests are my immediate family and/or personally known and acquainted with me and that use of the Club for commercial purposes of Members or their guests including the use of a confirmed reservation for any rental, resale or other commercial use (other than an owner’s Home Week) is strictly forbidden. Reservations made through a commercial rental business are subject to cancellation.​

I am responsible for any damages caused by my guests during this stay.​

My guests are at least 18 years of age and will provide proof of age upon check-in to the property.​

View attachment 17380

How strict is HGVC is monitoring rentals?

The Club Reference guide seems very clear about "no commercial use of club" but there still seem to be a lot of HGVC rooms available to rent on the timeshare rental sites. Do people have experience in renting (either as renter or rentee) HGVC stays or know of any direct action HGVC has taken in...

tugbbs.com

 

[cbyrne1174]

Per the HGVC rules, you can only rent out your home week.

How strict is HGVC is monitoring rentals?

The Club Reference guide seems very clear about "no commercial use of club" but there still seem to be a lot of HGVC rooms available to rent on the timeshare rental sites. Do people have experience in renting (either as renter or rentee) HGVC stays or know of any direct action HGVC has taken in...

tugbbs.com

I think Marriott, Wyndham and Disney is enough for me lol. The only Hiltons I care to access are in Hawaii and Myrtle Beach anyways, which already have good Marriott and Wyndham resorts.

 

[cbyrne1174]

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[Harry]

Hilton owns enough property behind the Maura and Central Towers to provide parking. There was a problem with one of the condo owners across from the golf course regarding night headlights. This should have been resolved by now with appropriate landscaping. The current driveway is primarily used by maintenance and construction crews. As remodeling construction continues supposedly soon in the front Makai Tower, there most likely will be more traffic. So, probably continued parking unconscionable fees will continue that have to do wth an agreement between Hilton and the hotel management. This is a problem for the sales staff since a majority question the rationale for buying at OT when the other Hilton properties up the street have free ample parking and do not enjoy waking for 10 minutes. I am sure this will be brought up at the annual meeting March 30.

 

[SmithOp]

Hilton owns enough property behind the Maura and Central Towers to provide parking. There was a problem with one of the condo owners across from the golf course regarding night headlights. This should have been resolved by now with appropriate landscaping. The current driveway is primarily used by maintenance and construction crews. As remodeling construction continues supposedly soon in the front Makai Tower, there most likely will be more traffic. So, probably continued parking unconscionable fees will continue that have to do wth an agreement between Hilton and the hotel management. This is a problem for the sales staff since a majority question the rationale for buying at OT when the other Hilton properties up the street have free ample parking and do not enjoy waking for 10 minutes. I am sure this will be brought up at the annual meeting March 30.

@Harry do you know if there is a shuttle from the main parking that can use the service road? On my last visit there was an entrance loop under construction off the service road and I saw a van drop off people a couple of times.

I will be there in May at Bay Club and we utilize the service road to access Buddha Point and the rest of the property, so I will check out the latest construction progress.

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[Harry]

The shuttle most likely was being used by the sales staff to show prospective buyers the models. The resort does not like guests using that roadway. However, I used it to drop off groceries and one time when I forgot my wallet. I am going to try to attend the annual meeting on Wednesday and will report here any updated information.