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Wyndham Kona vs Hilton Grand Vacations Club at Waikoloa Beach Resort

New2time

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Any thoughts on the comparison between these two properties? beach access to both?
 

Luanne

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I haven't stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club, although I have stayed at the Bay Club which is in the same area. My opinion is that you are comparing apples and oranges when comparing these resort, mostly because of the location.

Wyndham Kona is in Kona, Hilton is in the resort area of Waikoloa. Our perfect vacation on the Big Island is one week in Kona and one week in Waikoloa.

Neither one is on the ocean, although you may have a partial view in Kona. The beach we go to in Kona is Kahulu'u, for snorkling. Although A Bay is in the Waikoloa resort area we prefer to go to Hapuna Beach, which is about a 10 - 20 minute drive, but well worth it.
 

New2time

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do you prefer one over the other? Never been to hawaii before
 

GregT

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Marriott: Maui Ocean Club Lahaina Villas (3BRx5), Ko Olina, Shadow Ridge II, Willow Ridge, Aruba Ocean Club, DC Points HGVC: Flamingo, Sea World, I-Drive, Starwood Bella (x4), SDO, TradeWinds, Worldmark
I think HGVC Waikoloa rocks -- great location and a lovely timeshare. It's not directly on the ocean but has full visitation rights to the Hilton hotel there which is pretty impressive.

If it was me (and I've had to make this choice) I'd go with HGVC every time. That being said -- Wyndham Kona is a very nice property too -- I've visited/toured but not stayed.

Best

Greg
 

Luanne

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do you prefer one over the other? Never been to hawaii before

That is such a hard question. We'd be happy in either location, they both have huge plusses (and really no minuses).

So, I'd really say no, I have no preference. Probably what I'd do is put the request in and see which one I could get.

Do you think you'd prefer staying in an upscale resort area, or a funky town atmosphere?
 

New2time

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Probably Upscale- I have a Wyndham Kona already booked but the Hilton has come available as well and I have it on hold for the following week. I could keep both or I could book the second week on another island or cancel the Kona and keep the Hilton...hmmm? There is a one day break in between the reservations, also wondering how difficult it would be to get a one day hotel in the areas, any idea?
 

Karen G

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Once owned these: FirstFairway@Walden X 2; Lawai Beach; ManhattanClub; PuebloBonitoRose; 4 South Africa--now timeshare-free
I could keep both or I could book the second week on another island or cancel the Kona and keep the Hilton...hmmm?
If this is your first time to Hawaii, I think I'd say go to another island for the second week--either Maui or Kauai. Both are very different from the Big Island and either would give you a different experience that probably would be very enjoyable.
 

Luanne

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Probably Upscale- I have a Wyndham Kona already booked but the Hilton has come available as well and I have it on hold for the following week. I could keep both or I could book the second week on another island or cancel the Kona and keep the Hilton...hmmm? There is a one day break in between the reservations, also wondering how difficult it would be to get a one day hotel in the areas, any idea?

If you want upscale resort area take the Hilton. Again, this is personal preference, but while I like to "visit" the upscale areas, I prefer to stay in the ones that aren't so much. But, that's me. But, as I also said before, you can't go wrong in either area.

No problem to get a one day hotel. We've stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa for one night in the part.
 

jlee2070

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do you prefer one over the other? Never been to hawaii before

Never been to Hawaii??? Humm... I might not start with the Big Island. Very spread out and kind of desolate except in the tourist areas of Kona if you ask me... The big attraction may be the Volcano but it's like almost 2 hours away from Kona with not a lot in between.

I think you should start with either Oahu or Maui...

Just my 2 cents...
 

Luanne

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Never been to Hawaii??? Humm... I might not start with the Big Island. Very spread out and kind of desolate except in the tourist areas of Kona if you ask me... The big attraction may be the Volcano but it's like almost 2 hours away from Kona with not a lot in between.

I think you should start with either Oahu or Maui...

Just my 2 cents...

I almost kind of agree, except the Oahu part. :D We absolutely love the Big Island. But before going there we had spent a lot of time on Maui (we own there) and also had tried Kauai. But once we started going to the Big Island, that quickly became our favorite.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the islands for your first trip. The only reason I made the kind of negative comment about Oahu is because of Honolulu which is a big city. Even our dds said it didn't seem like Hawaii. However there is a lot of great stuff on Oahu.
 

loosefeet

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The Wyndham Kona resort is very nice-all 2BR, each w/ single bed. Nicely landscaped, nice pools-no other real amenities-quiet. On busy Alii drive, making it central to many things.
HGVC is in Waikoloa. More amenities and access to the Hilton hotel, as well as some other lovely resorts to explore. Many lovely beaches. But, a distance from other areas.
Thus decide what kinds of activities you would like to do to help make decision. If you are going to tour around, do Kona. If you want to stick around resort with a little exploring, do HGVC.
I think you should stay only on one island-and my favorite is the Big Island. I just returned on Saturday, and looking to return. PM me if you have any questions about the island or resorts ( have stayed a few times in both).
 

Liz Wolf-Spada

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My personal opinion, best beaches are up north of Waikoloa area. We are staying for one week at Wyndham Kona and then a week where we own at Paniolo Green. We leave May 25th. I can not wait!
Liz
 

zora

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If you decide to stay in kona and then waikoloa, I suggest that you spend the night in between at the volcano house. It's very basic, a bed in a small/tiny room. But you're on the edge of a volcanic crater. There are hiking trails and a road that circles the crater. Don't do it if any one has major asthma because you don't know which way the wind will be blowing until you get there. Then you can stop to walk through an old lava tube and check out the farmers market in Hilo. It's a bucket list type of thing to do.
 

Twinkstarr

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My personal opinion, best beaches are up north of Waikoloa area. We are staying for one week at Wyndham Kona and then a week where we own at Paniolo Green. We leave May 25th. I can not wait!
Liz

Lucky you!

We were on the Big Island back in 2010, Hapuna was our favorite beach.

We stayed at WKH(perhaps my best trade ever, made with a RCI deposit that was a toss in when I bought my MI week, so it only cost me the exchange fee!). We checked out the Hilton complex, during our week.

We were in HI for 17 days on that trip and the BI was our favorite. If we ever go back wouldn't mind trading into one of the Hilton units and doing a 3-4 nights stay down in Kona with Wyndham points.
 

HudsHut

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The HGVC Kings' Land is a gorgeous resort in and of itself. HGVC Waikoloa does not have the super pool, but is very nice inside. However, both of them give you complimentary guest access to the Hilton Waikoloa Hotel, which is a real treat, especially if you have kids. Lots of pools, waterslides, lagoon, dolphins...
However, Waikoloa is somewhat isolated. It is about 20 miles from Kona, and the larger grocery stores are in Kona. There are only 2 markets near Waikoloa, and neither is as big as the Safeway.

I have also stayed at Wyndham Kona Hawaiian. It is nice, and has beautiful landscaping, but the units are not as luxurious as the HGVC resorts. I like its location, within a couple of miles of Safeway, Walmart, Costco and the rest of the town. In the mornings, we could take a walk into "town" and get coffee/pastry, then walk back.
 

Liz Wolf-Spada

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When we were in that area last year I think we shopped at a market off Mauna Lani by the golf course. We also shopped at the market in the village of Waikoloa. We went to a Farmer's Market in Waimea that was fantastic.
Liz
 
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