Comparing DVC Aulani and MVC Ko Olina Beach Club

TinkAgainU

Trust In The Pixie Dust
Joined
Dec 11, 2021
Just wondering if anyone has both - Marriott Vacation Club for Ko Olina Beach Club seems a viable option to compare to adding Aulani? It does not have the Disney "magic" of course, but wondering about adding a timeshare at Mariott Ko Olina? We have DVC already, so understand how it works, a little intimidated by the idea of learning a new timeshare program lol. But also just cannot get onboard easily with the annual fees for just a Studio at Aulani vs a 2 bedroom at Marriott. Thoughts?

 
Please look at the resale market to save LOTS of money on a timeshare purchase (not Disney). We got a crazy deal that we thought might be a scam because it seemed too good to be true, and we did not understand the timeshare market. Not sure if I can post here the company that we bought with over 20 years ago, and still going strong.
 
Please look at the resale market to save LOTS of money on a timeshare purchase (not Disney). We got a crazy deal that we thought might be a scam because it seemed too good to be true, and we did not understand the timeshare market. Not sure if I can post here the company that we bought with over 20 years ago, and still going strong.
You can post a link. Your link will be replaced with**** if the company is on the banned list
 
Just wondering if anyone has both - Marriott Vacation Club for Ko Olina Beach Club seems a viable option to compare to adding Aulani? It does not have the Disney "magic" of course, but wondering about adding a timeshare at Mariott Ko Olina? We have DVC already, so understand how it works, a little intimidated by the idea of learning a new timeshare program lol. But also just cannot get onboard easily with the annual fees for just a Studio at Aulani vs a 2 bedroom at Marriott. Thoughts?

We stayed at the Marriott Ko Olina some years ago, and it's a typical Marriott, meaning a very, very nice timeshare, in many ways nicer than DVC in terms of larger villas, nicer furnishings, etc. If you're considering buying into Marriott, I'd recommend resale as well - you can save a lot of money, plus Marriott has a process that will allow those resale points to have all the rights and privileges of points bought from Marriott. You might want to do some reading on the TUG Marriott forum - https://tugbbs.com/forums/forums/marriott-vacation-club-abound.29/
 


We stayed at the Marriott Ko Olina some years ago, and it's a typical Marriott, meaning a very, very nice timeshare, in many ways nicer than DVC in terms of larger villas, nicer furnishings, etc. If you're considering buying into Marriott, I'd recommend resale as well - you can save a lot of money, plus Marriott has a process that will allow those resale points to have all the rights and privileges of points bought from Marriott. You might want to do some reading on the TUG Marriott forum - https://tugbbs.com/forums/forums/marriott-vacation-club-abound.29/
I didn't know that forum existed (and I'm a member of TUG lol). Thank you!
 
For sure look for a resale contract. You can buy a 2 bedroom lockoff and have the option to use it to stay two weeks, one week in the studio and one week in the one-bedroom. Some people rent one side to defray the annual MF. Or you could deposit one side in Interval and exchange into another Marriott.

You would have to spend a bundle with MVC to requalify a post-2010 resale weeks purchase (to get access to the points based system). Probably doesn't matter because it sounds like you want to buy a week to use yourself.
 
It would likely be cheaper to "add" on at MVC! Ko Olina Beach Club is an excellent property...and in the same zip code as Aulani ;) If i were interested in spending more time in Hawaii than I am already able to with Aulani, I'd be tempted by MVC.
 


Personally I'd like having the benefit that if I didn't want to go to Aulani at times, I have extra points to spend at other DVC resorts to make some of those trips a bit "grander" or stay an additional few nights. All a matter of preference of travel at the end of the day.
 
I'm in both systems, have stayed at MVC Ko Olina and have toured Aulani. DVC is a better / higher-end system to me, but it is limited. For DVC, you or at least we basically have 3 places to go in my mind - Disneyland area, Aulani, and Walt Disney World. I don't see us taking a vacation in Vero Beach, and if I want to go to Hilton Head to play golf, I probably will use my Marriott. The Marriott is more useful as there are far more places to visit and many more options on room type. DVC offers far more memorable options.

For Ko Olina specifically, the Marriott has bigger rooms that are more generic. The restaurants at the Marriott are better. Many of the activities that are available at the lagoon in front of Aulani are available at a nearby lagoon to the Marriott. The big advantage to me for Aulani is access to the snorkel area which is only available to Aulani guests. The lazy river looks great also, and if the water temperature is good, that is clearly something the Marriott doesn't have. Lastly, it is much easier to walk to the mall across the street from Aulani versus the Marriott.

Given that I have two kids and mostly just book 2 bedrooms, the Marriott system is more economical, but the really cool lodging options are definitely with DVC so I have both and am happy with both. For example, on a recent trip to WDW, we stayed at MVC Sabal Palms for half the time and DVC Animal Kingdom Safari view for the other half -- both with 2 bedrooms. Sabal was comfortable and quiet, but DVC Animal Kingdom was borderline mind-blowing for my kids -- and I loved waking up to seeing a few giraffes every day!
 
If you are considering other systems, you really need to go spend some time on TUGS. There are also many rental services for these systems as well.
 

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