Sand of Kahana- anything I should know before taking over MF

[KandyApple]

Just wondering if there is anything going on at SOK. Timeshare Nation has a 2 bedroom that I could have for taking over the MF. There are a number of units for sale on advantagevacation.com and quite a few on RCI extra vacations and points exchange. A couple years ago I bought into Fairmont because a friend owned there and thought they had a smoking deal. While it turns out that wasn't such a great deal...the story well documented here on tug.
We sent my in-laws to SOK and they liked it so much they are going back. Makes me think that their maintenance program must be okay. We would likely use the week most years and try and book a second week with our other points.
Any thoughts/comments are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I have owned at SOK since 2008. It is a nice place that we enjoy going to. The maintenance fees are high in comparison to mainland MF, but are low compared to the name brand Hawaiian TS. So, if you are looking for a trader you will find that it is an expensive trader. But if you use it like I do - - for regular vacations - - it should work well for you.

They seem to maintain their units fairly well although some aspects are a little dated. In a year or so they will begin updating the kitchens (which are probably the original since the mid-1980's) but I don't think that it will be a particularly big deal.

Recently they added a heater to their main pool and have replaced the lounge chairs. A couple years ago they repainted the place. They finally seem to have worked out the problems with their elevators. They replaced the company who was running the on-site restaurant (probably a good move).

They bought out the land lease roughly about seven or eight years ago and it was structured as a 10 year payment. So there are perhaps 2 or 3 years left. I recall that the cost was around 100 or 200 a year. Not a big deal, especially because it will soon go away.

There is a group on Facebook called the Sands of Kahana Concerned Owners. You should check them out. Their webpage is www.sokco.info Please register in order to get periodic updates.

The board of directors of the vacation club is largely comprised of employees of the management company or business affiliates. I ran for the board of directors last year and got almost 2000 votes. That was a lot, but not quite enough. Perhaps next time I will succeed. While the board is doing a reasonable job, they could benefit from bringing in some outside "blood".

There are three types of view: Ocean front, ocean view and mountain (no) view. The view that you get is on a rotating basis. So, if you had ocean front last year, this year you would be eligible for either ocean view or mountain view. Many of the ocean views are really quite nice and might be considered ocean front at some other timeshares.

The only real negative about the place is that they don't have air conditioning. They do have ceiling fans which helps most of the time. Ask if you have more questions.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

I'm going to SOK as an exchanger in August of this year, what are the chances of getting an Ocean View Room?

I have owned at SOK since 2008. It is a nice place that we enjoy going to. The maintenance fees are high in comparison to mainland MF, but are low compared to the name brand Hawaiian TS. So, if you are looking for a trader you will find that it is an expensive trader. But if you use it like I do - - for regular vacations - - it should work well for you.

They seem to maintain their units fairly well although some aspects are a little dated. In a year or so they will begin updating the kitchens (which are probably the original since the mid-1980's) but I don't think that it will be a particularly big deal.

Recently they added a heater to their main pool and have replaced the lounge chairs. A couple years ago they repainted the place. They finally seem to have worked out the problems with their elevators. They replaced the company who was running the on-site restaurant (probably a good move).

They bought out the land lease roughly about seven or eight years ago and it was structured as a 10 year payment. So there are perhaps 2 or 3 years left. I recall that the cost was around 100 or 200 a year. Not a big deal, especially because it will soon go away.

There is a group on Facebook called the Sands of Kahana Concerned Owners. You should check them out. Their webpage is www.sokco.info Please register in order to get periodic updates.

The board of directors of the vacation club is largely comprised of employees of the management company or business affiliates. I ran for the board of directors last year and got almost 2000 votes. That was a lot, but not quite enough. Perhaps next time I will succeed. While the board is doing a reasonable job, they could benefit from bringing in some outside "blood".

There are three types of view: Ocean front, ocean view and mountain (no) view. The view that you get is on a rotating basis. So, if you had ocean front last year, this year you would be eligible for either ocean view or mountain view. Many of the ocean views are really quite nice and might be considered ocean front at some other timeshares.

The only real negative about the place is that they don't have air conditioning. They do have ceiling fans which helps most of the time. Ask if you have more questions.

 

[Passepartout]

If you can regularly get it on RCI Extra Vacations, why own there with it's high MF?

 

[rickandcindy23]

I'm going to SOK as an exchanger in August of this year, what are the chances of getting an Ocean View Room?

Your chances of ocean view are better than an owner's chance of ocean view.

We owned SOK, 2 bedroom, and we decided not to keep it because EOY we got that ocean view, and EOY it was the island view. The ocean view was not that great because we had first floor above the BBQ grills.

We talked to people around the pool and in the parking garage, and exchangers got better views. They also were offered even better units when those units were vacated later in the week. Not one offer to move US, when we paid the fees on our unit religiously.

We decided to forget SOK and sold it through the broker here on TUG who has an office at the Cannery Mall in Lahaina. Got our money back, and that was all I cared about. The broker gets most of the money, of course, because it's hard to sell a timeshare with so many on the market everywhere.

We bought oceanfront at Hono Koa and are very pleased with the units we now own, but even still, the fees are very high at nearly $1,600/wk (not as high as SOK for the same unit type). 3 weeks of timeshare bliss each year.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I have owned at SOK since 2008. It is a nice place that we enjoy going to. The maintenance fees are high in comparison to mainland MF, but are low compared to the name brand Hawaiian TS. So, if you are looking for a trader you will find that it is an expensive trader. But if you use it like I do - - for regular vacations - - it should work well for you.

What are the fees for your 2 and 3 bedrooms at SOK?

 

[Sugarcubesea]

Rick and Cindy, Thank you… Would I call about a week prior to check in, or do you just ask at check in?

thanks again

Your chances of ocean view are better than an owner's chance of ocean view.

We owned SOK, 2 bedroom, and we decided not to keep it because EOY we got that ocean view, and EOY it was the island view. The ocean view was not that great because we had first floor above the BBQ grills.

We talked to people around the pool and in the parking garage, and exchangers got better views. They also were offered even better units when those units were vacated later in the week. Not one offer to move US, when we paid the fees on our unit religiously.

We decided to forget SOK and sold it through the broker here on TUG who has an office at the Cannery Mall in Lahaina. Got our money back, and that was all I cared about. The broker gets most of the money, of course, because it's hard to sell a timeshare with so many on the market everywhere.

We bought oceanfront at Hono Koa and are very pleased with the units we now own, but even still, the fees are very high at nearly $1,600/wk (not as high as SOK for the same unit type). 3 weeks of timeshare bliss each year.

 

[KandyApple]

If you can regularly get it on RCI Extra Vacations, why own there with it's high MF?

Yes I agree that makes sense but the availability right now is for November/December. We want to travel mid January to end of February when there may not be as much available. The reason we would buy is to have the certainty of getting a unit.
Curious if anyone know why there are so many extra vacations in Maui from resorts from SomerPointe Resorts.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

What are the fees for your 2 and 3 bedrooms at SOK?

I have a 3 BR and the MF is $1421. The land purchase (which will be paid off in a few more years is an additional $288. The taxes are paid separately.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I'm going to SOK as an exchanger in August of this year, what are the chances of getting an Ocean View Room?

I think that your chances are at least fair. But it somewhat depends on the size of the unit you have. If you exchanged into a 1 BR, about half of the units are considered garden view and the 1 BR units are located on the first or second floor.

If you reserved a 2 or a 3 BR, only about 1/4 are garden view with the remainder being ocean view or ocean front. So, statistically you have a better chance of getting a unit with a view.

I think that if you are arriving earlier in the day, that it can increase your chances of getting a nicer unit. Conversely, if you show up in the evening, the nicer view units may have been occupied - - that's just a theory of mine. It can't hurt to call. You'll probably get "we can't guarantee...." but it can't hurt.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

I think that your chances are at least fair. But it somewhat depends on the size of the unit you have. If you exchanged into a 1 BR, about half of the units are considered garden view and the 1 BR units are located on the first or second floor.

If you reserved a 2 or a 3 BR, only about 1/4 are garden view with the remainder being ocean view or ocean front. So, statistically you have a better chance of getting a unit with a view.

I think that if you are arriving earlier in the day, that it can increase your chances of getting a nicer unit. Conversely, if you show up in the evening, the nicer view units may have been occupied - - that's just a theory of mine. It can't hurt to call. You'll probably get "we can't guarantee...." but it can't hurt.

I've got a 3 bedroom reserved thru my exchange and I'm planning on checking in early on that day as we will already be on the island. Thanks much for the help

 

[KandyApple]

BJR hoping I can ask a couple questions about reserving at SOK as an owner. As an owner, what is the earliest you can reserve your week. I am looking at taking over a floating week in a 2 bedroom. We would normally be going in January/February each year. Would I reserve a unit 12 months out? I know that with my RCI points TS I reserve 12 months for my home resort and 10 months out for any other exchange. Have you ever deposited your week with RCI? If so what is the earliest you are able to deposit The only reason I would do that is to get a 1 bedroom for a longer period. Lastly, as an owner are you able to use your weeks early, that is, if I wanted 2 weeks in one year, could I choose to use 2 years in 1? Do you have to prepay the MF to do that.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

BJR hoping I can ask a couple questions about reserving at SOK as an owner. As an owner, what is the earliest you can reserve your week. I am looking at taking over a floating week in a 2 bedroom. We would normally be going in January/February each year. Would I reserve a unit 12 months out? I know that with my RCI points TS I reserve 12 months for my home resort and 10 months out for any other exchange. Have you ever deposited your week with RCI? If so what is the earliest you are able to deposit The only reason I would do that is to get a 1 bedroom for a longer period. Lastly, as an owner are you able to use your weeks early, that is, if I wanted 2 weeks in one year, could I choose to use 2 years in 1? Do you have to prepay the MF to do that.

As an owner, you would be making your reservation with crmlv.com a year (that is, 365 days) in advance.

Keep in mind that February is probably one of the highest demand months. So, you would want to make your reservation very soon. If you can make a reservation today, you'll probably get your Jan/Feb res. If your deal doesn't close for a few months, it will affect your chances. The first units to disappear will be the ocean front, then the ocean view.

I am associated with ii, not RCI. When I want to deposit I call CRM and (as of the last time I spoke with them) they make a deposit on my behalf. The specific week that is deposited depends on CRM. So, if I have paid my MF, I can call up CRM during my use year and have them deposit a week. So in theory, I could call CRM on January 2 and have them deposit.

I think that the number of TPUs that you get with a 2 BR is not double the number that you get with a 1 BR. So, I don't think that you could take a 2 BR TPUs and get two weeks in a 1 BR. I hope that someone else chimes in if they have better info. If you are counting on using points rather than TPU's I don't think that points membership transfers - - it reverts to weeks.

I have read a number of complaints on TA about the 1 BR units. So, I am not particularly a fan. The 1 BR units are either on the 1st or 2nd floor. Very few have a view. They tend to be a bit warm (depending on weather) and noisier than the upper floors. Take a look at the room layout that you can access via Google. Unlike the 2 BR units, I think that the only way to get flow through ventilation (remember there is no AC ?), is to leave your door open on one end and the patio door open on the other end. Okay during the day, perhaps, but questionable at night.

I think that there may be a way to use your week early (borrow) or to bank it for a fee. It is listed on the CRM site, but I am not overly familiar. There is also a possibility of renting units at the Sands for a fee. If you call, they'll tell you.