Where to Stay - Hawaii

[Eludersd]

Hello All,
New to TUG BBS, so I hope I can find some helpful information. I have planned a trip to HI in April 2012, tickets boughts, Yahoo! I am doing 4 night at the Lagoon Tower in Honolulu, and the 5 days down to the Big Island. Right now I am confirmed at Hilton Grand Vacations Club at Waikoloa Beach Resort, for a 2 bedroom, but after reading so many reviews and blogs and such, is this the place I want to stay. Or do I want to stay at one of the other two properties. I know there are pros and cons to each one, just unsure, as this, of course, is maybe once lifetime trip.

Which resort do yo think is better?
Location
Couple Friendly (small ones staying home)
Room Views (golf course/garden/parking lot)
Resturants
Pools
Should I upgrade to a Plus or Premier room?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Mike

 

[greenwich3]

We stayed at the Lagoon a few times and it is nice, but since they upgraded the pool it was very overcrowded when we went last August. But still nice there.

Did Beach Resort twice and really liked it. This week we are going to Kingsland and can give you more info in a few days when we are there. We are in a 1 bedroom plus.

 

[yeereid]

This week we are going to Kingsland and can give you more info in a few days when we are there. We are in a 1 bedroom plus.

Looking forward to any tips you can share once you arrive at Kingsland! I'll be there for the first time in Oct!

 

[Adrienne]

Which resort do yo think is better? Having stayed only at Kingsland, can't really compare but I've toured the others and the pool is BY FAR the best.
Location I don't think it matters on Waikoloa. It's all within a small radius and there's a shuttle that goes round and round...and is very punctual.
Couple Friendly (small ones staying home) Lots of kids at Kingland but I assume that's true anywhere. It does have an adults-only pool as well.
Room Views (golf course/garden/parking lot)Kingland rooms all have a golf course view, which is really nice. Lots of palm trees, etc. You really know you're in Hawaii, despite the absence of ocean.
ResturantsCan't speak for the others, but Kingsland has a little snack place for a quick bite by the pool.
Pools As stated above. By far the best pools of the three resorts.
Should I upgrade to a Plus or Premier room? Since you're not bringing the kids there's no advantage to a ground floor where you can let them run around outside. I'd say upgrade to a plus and get a 2nd floor lanai. It's private, you can leave the doors open when you leave the room, etc. You'll love it out there.

 

[Emi]

Hi

We have stayed at all 3 HGVC resorts and own at Bay Club and HGVC Waikoloa. They are all under one general manager and the staff is superb

Here are our thoughts

Which resort do yo think is better?
Definitely Kingsland pool is the best. Waikoloa pool is small but surprisingly not crowded. If you stay at Waikoloa (and maybe Bay Club) for one week, you get a pool pass for Kingsland. The entertainment is mostly at the pool at Waikoloa. Waikoloa and Kingsland have privileges at the Hilton Waikoloa Resort lagoon and pools with free parking (the van will also take you there). Bay Club underwent an extensively upscale renovation last year and the units are larger.

Location
There are all in the same area. Bay Club is next door to Waikoloa and Kingsland about half a mile away.

Couple Friendly (small ones staying home)
Does this mean you have kids you want to leave home alone? How old are they? Kingsland has more room for the kids to run around but if they are too young, that may not be a good thing as most of the area where they would be are driveway and parking. There is no lifeguard at the pool and if they are too young, must be accompanied.


Room Views (golf course/garden/parking lot)
Kingsland and the 2BR Bay Club have golf course view. At Waikoloa, the plus and premier units have golf course view. The standard unit are the 2 buildings facing the road. Just a little more road noise.

Resturant
No restaurants only snack bars. Kingsland has a nice snack and lunch area but closes at 6. There is a large bar at Kingsland. The public area (front lobby, pool, snack and bar, lounge building) at Kingsland is at least 8 times the area at Waikoloa or Bay Club. Waikoloa bar also serve hot dof and burger. Bay Club has a small cafe.

Pools
The Kingsland pool is probably the largest timeshare pool almost anywhere. It is not crowded since it is meant to accommodate the eventual build out of 800 units. The Waikoloa pool is small and the 2 Bayclub ones are smaller. register at waikoloa and Kingsland and you can use the pools at the Hilton resort as well.

Should I upgrade to a Plus or Premier room?
Kingsland is the location. I have not stayed in a premier unit but was told they are the same other than floor number.
Waikoloa premier has penthouse on the 3rd floor of the buildings along the golf course. The units are more upscale, more tiles in the bath, multiple shower heads,higher ceilings. In the 2 buildings with standard units, all 3 floors are the same.
Bay club has villas that are considered Plus. These are separate 2 story buildings with an upper and lower unit. These units are huge and has private covered parking space.
If you are bothered by noise from above, the top floor is always the best. You can REQUEST top floor for standard points at the Bay Club and Waikoloa.


Hope this helps. Let me know if you have more specific questions.

 

[TTom]

One small update

The one thing I can add is that the "comp" for the Kingsland pool (for those who are staying at the Bay Club or Kohala) is no longer happening. It was a "sales gimmicK', and it probably won't be reinstituted until another phase is selling. Using the Kingsland pool now costs something like $15/day for residents of the other two resorts.

Access to the Hilton pools is free for Kingsland and Kohala guests, and the BC has negotiated a reduced rate (I think it's $50/day, but it could be $150 for 3 days).

That's the way it was when we were there this summer.

Hope it helps!

Tom

 

[mb_cik]

Kingsland pool cost

Thank you Tom.

Is that $15/day per person? Or per room? We are going in September and will be brining a two year old and a five year old.

Using the Kingsland pool now costs something like $15/day for residents of the other two resorts.


Tom

 

[TTom]

I honestly don't know, but I think it may have been $15 for the two of us, or, at least, that's the impression I got. They just said, "$15 to use the Kingsland pool."

My guess is that it would be per day or per adult, but I tend to interpret things in favor of the guest rather than the resort.

Sorry!

Tom

 

[mb_cik]

I just called the Kohala front desk for my upcoming reservation and they confirmed it's $15 per person to use the Kingsland pool. Though children under 5 are free.