Please help us to choose: DVC Aulani vs. Marriott Ko Olina

[dsneygirl]

Interesting. Maybe that's true in general, but if you actually experience the activities at Aulani, I think it would be hard to say that the activities are better at any Marriott than at Aulani. The Menehune Trail, Hula lessons, Ukulele lessons, etc at Aulani are examples of activities that are only available to Aulani resort guests. Add in the awesome lazy river, pool slides, and new grotto area, and the Marriott timeshare cannot compare.

We actually ran into a family at Aulani that had just spent a few nights at the Marriott Beach Club, and they said it was fine, but WOW, they just could not get over how awesome Aulani was. So I agree, that if you are purchasing this just for HI, and you have kids or think you'll bring kids (nieces, nephews, grandkids), go with DVC. Otherwise, sure, give Marriott a try.

I have never been to the Marriott (other than walk by) but the quality of activities (pool party, characters, story telling etc) was unbelievable we were completely blown away and had very, very high expectations. I just don't see how the Marriott could be that much better. Even the little touches and details of the Beach House were incredible. The team lead by Joe Rhode really outdid themselves, the playground etc was top notch.

They had a stuff on the walls from the Adventurer's Club for crying out loud, lol.

 

[msabol01]

We wrestled with the exact question ourselves. We stayed at Aulani as part of a two week visit to Hawaii which included a hop over to Maui and two nights in Waikiki prior to leaving. It was a combined DVC points and Marriott Rewards points vacation since I used to travel 120 plus days a year. While at the Waikiki Marriott (great property btw) we were offered a comeback visit at the MVC for $399 for five nights the only requirement was to attend a 1 1/2 sales presentation. We could also upgrade to a 1 bedroom for another $150. We fell in love with HI and the thought of coming back was easy.

So last summer we made our second trek out to Hawaii stayed at the Marriott Ko Olina Beach Club first then Aulani. Our intent was to check out Marriott and beat the system with an affordable stay. The sales presentation is on par with the DVC presentation, it was professional and low pressure. Marriott is a quality product and operates much like DVC with a point system that was introduced about 4 years ago(although some older owners prefer the weeks system).

In the end we decide to purchase at Marriott rather than add points to our DVC membership. It was a tough decision as we love our DVC membership and use it extensively. Ultimately, it came down to a financial one, we've seen over a 60% increase in DVC points since we first purchased. Also, we wanted to diversify our vacation options as the kids get older (they are now 12 and 8). We are thinking we can alternate years between DVC and MVC vacation and effectively double our points for each program.

Ultimately, I feel both a quality programs. They have different target audiences and each has its own pros and cons. The major difference I see, is that with MVC there is no Home Resort so everyone can book at 11 months. It also looks like you can book further out than 11 months at a higher point rate. As a Disney fan boy there is no way Marriott is going to measure up to DVC so it isn't fair to compare apples to apples. I've added Marriott VC to diversify our vacation options. We do intend to visit HI again and probably a few more times, I see us either staying at Oahu and using MVC for our base for sightseeing whereas Aulani is its own destination or staying at another island with MVC and Aulani for Oahu.

It's really hard to compare a higher end resort like Marriott with an immersively themed resort like Aulani, Aulani will win every time. I will say just comparing the two resorts, Marriott had a bigger 1 bedroom villa and the kitchen was better equipped (i.e. utensils, cookware, etc). I don't think there was any comparison between Auntie's Beach house and the recreation center at Marriott. DVC also has a better pool and slides for kids. Both had ample actives scheduled throughout the day.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. In the end, I don't think you will go wrong with either.

 

[msabol01]

How hard is Aulani to book at 7 months out? If it is not super hard then maybe buy a 400 point SSR add on.

I've been able to book 7 months out two years in a row, maybe had to adjust a few days here and there. Since there isn't a weekend premium like at other resorts helps with smoothing reservations instead of a bulk of Sunday through Friday stays.

 

[dianeschlicht]

With your exact situation, and it may be an unpopular suggestion here, I would go with Marriott.

Because the two resorts are next to each other, it is hard to justify the 2-3x price difference for DVC.

But my suggestion is only if you intend to use Marriott Hawaii every year and not trade it as most of your trades will be a downtrade as Hawaii is more expensive than others.

I used to own Marriott and liked it, but sold it after a few years as I found I could rent the same week at the same price or cheaper than owning.

Also, I think the DVC system is far superior to Marriott.

Easy to say if you are thinking with your head and not your heart. EVERY person we talked to when we were there who was staying at the Marriott said they are so in envy of the Aulani members and guests. The amenities are unparalleled.

 

[tbay]

we have stayed at both and had owned at both
we found Aulani far superior to the Marriott Ko-olina
We had owned odd years at ko-olina but sold our ownership
we have had no trouble booking at the 7 month window for the summer
I found most activities at Aulani were included in your stay Ko-olina you were
paying for activities the lifeguards at Aulani were everywhere and if you have
children there is lots to do. Guess it depends what your expectations are.
we very much love Aulani

 

[MagicJourney]

We wrestled with the exact question ourselves. We stayed at Aulani as part of a two week visit to Hawaii which included a hop over to Maui and two nights in Waikiki prior to leaving. It was a combined DVC points and Marriott Rewards points vacation since I used to travel 120 plus days a year. While at the Waikiki Marriott (great property btw) we were offered a comeback visit at the MVC for $399 for five nights the only requirement was to attend a 1 1/2 sales presentation. We could also upgrade to a 1 bedroom for another $150. We fell in love with HI and the thought of coming back was easy.

So last summer we made our second trek out to Hawaii stayed at the Marriott Ko Olina Beach Club first then Aulani. Our intent was to check out Marriott and beat the system with an affordable stay. The sales presentation is on par with the DVC presentation, it was professional and low pressure. Marriott is a quality product and operates much like DVC with a point system that was introduced about 4 years ago(although some older owners prefer the weeks system).

In the end we decide to purchase at Marriott rather than add points to our DVC membership. It was a tough decision as we love our DVC membership and use it extensively. Ultimately, it came down to a financial one, we've seen over a 60% increase in DVC points since we first purchased. Also, we wanted to diversify our vacation options as the kids get older (they are now 12 and 8). We are thinking we can alternate years between DVC and MVC vacation and effectively double our points for each program.

Ultimately, I feel both a quality programs. They have different target audiences and each has its own pros and cons. The major difference I see, is that with MVC there is no Home Resort so everyone can book at 11 months. It also looks like you can book further out than 11 months at a higher point rate. As a Disney fan boy there is no way Marriott is going to measure up to DVC so it isn't fair to compare apples to apples. I've added Marriott VC to diversify our vacation options. We do intend to visit HI again and probably a few more times, I see us either staying at Oahu and using MVC for our base for sightseeing whereas Aulani is its own destination or staying at another island with MVC and Aulani for Oahu.

It's really hard to compare a higher end resort like Marriott with an immersively themed resort like Aulani, Aulani will win every time. I will say just comparing the two resorts, Marriott had a bigger 1 bedroom villa and the kitchen was better equipped (i.e. utensils, cookware, etc). I don't think there was any comparison between Auntie's Beach house and the recreation center at Marriott. DVC also has a better pool and slides for kids. Both had ample actives scheduled throughout the day.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. In the end, I don't think you will go wrong with either.

Thanks for your informative comparison! Before reading your reply, we kinda decided to buy a biannual Marriott week + 200 BWV pts as in my last post. But now you brought up another interesting choice: Marriott points.

I did some quick googling, and found a 2 bdr ov @ Ko Olina requires 5000-6000 pts, and Marriott charges ~$15pp for direct purchase. So the cost is almost on par with direct DVC purchase. Am I correct? I also searched the resale of Marriott points, but didn't find many. And some people mentioned Marriott put restriction on resale points, which can only be used for reservation within 60 days. I guess resale point is out of choice. So if the direct purchase is the only way to buy into Marriott point system, and the calculation I did isn't wrong, I think we will stick with Marriott week for financial reason.

ps. People here are so helpful and really take time to answer questions! I hope we could return the favor one day!

 

[msabol01]

Thanks for your informative comparison! Before reading your reply, we kinda decided to buy a biannual Marriott week + 200 BWV pts as in my last post. But now you brought up another interesting choice: Marriott points.

I did some quick googling, and found a 2 bdr ov @ Ko Olina requires 5000-6000 pts, and Marriott charges ~$15pp for direct purchase. So the cost is almost on par with direct DVC purchase. Am I correct? I also searched the resale of Marriott points, but didn't find many. And some people mentioned Marriott put restriction on resale points, which can only be used for reservation within 60 days. I guess resale point is out of choice. So if the direct purchase is the only way to buy into Marriott point system, and the calculation I did isn't wrong, I think we will stick with Marriott week for financial reason.

ps. People here are so helpful and really take time to answer questions! I hope we could return the favor one day!

The Points program at Marriott is relatively new, so there may not be much inventory on the resale market. Also, any weeks ownership that is on the resale market cannot be converted to a points membership. Original weeks owners are able to convert, the value of doing so varies greatly with which property and week they own.

As for our purchase this summer, I think we paid just under $12 per point before some additional discounts etc. I figure MVC is roughly a 10x factor of DVC so 100 MVC Points gets you roughly what 10 DVC points.

So, I think depending on where and what we you can get you probably can get a great value. As with everything, how you vacation or plan to vacation also determines which is best for you. For me, I wasn't interested in learning a new system (i.e. trading weeks etc) and very much like the point concept. Best of luck!

B

 

[msabol01]

we have stayed at both and had owned at both
we found Aulani far superior to the Marriott Ko-olina
We had owned odd years at ko-olina but sold our ownership
we have had no trouble booking at the 7 month window for the summer
I found most activities at Aulani were included in your stay Ko-olina you were
paying for activities the lifeguards at Aulani were everywhere and if you have
children there is lots to do. Guess it depends what your expectations are.
we very much love Aulani

Yep, I can completely agree that there is nothing that Marriott has that can compete with Aulani. Ko Olina Beach Club is a very nice standard resort, when we stay there our expectations are always properly aligned (it also helps to know we will also be staying at Aulani:good vibes

I would also state strong, nothing in the DVC inventory compares to Aulani either. It is hands down the best DVC property and is an experience and destination onto itself. While we don't own there, we plan to visit often.

 

[MagicJourney]

The Points program at Marriott is relatively new, so there may not be much inventory on the resale market. Also, any weeks ownership that is on the resale market cannot be converted to a points membership. Original weeks owners are able to convert, the value of doing so varies greatly with which property and week they own.

As for our purchase this summer, I think we paid just under $12 per point before some additional discounts etc. I figure MVC is roughly a 10x factor of DVC so 100 MVC Points gets you roughly what 10 DVC points.

So, I think depending on where and what we you can get you probably can get a great value. As with everything, how you vacation or plan to vacation also determines which is best for you. For me, I wasn't interested in learning a new system (i.e. trading weeks etc) and very much like the point concept. Best of luck!

B

I agree points are more flexible. In our case, we wanna use Ko Olina as a family vacation destination. So we gonna use the week, don't care too much about their trading system. More important, it can save us money to buy BWV. If we like Marriott resort after a few visits, we may consider add some points in the future. Thanks for your suggestion!

 

[WDW_Diane]

Sounds smart. I think you'll be able to do 7 months at Aulani if you want most times. We did it over Christmas and New Year's, we stayed 12/21-1/2 and did pay cash for two nights (12/30 and 12/31), but got points the other 10 nights.

So were you able to book at Aulani pretty easily and own your week at WDW? I've considered buying at WDW but would want to be able to trade to Aulani. If I bought on the resale market, could is trade to Aulani?

We were there last June, sure miss the Ko Olina lagoons!

 

[msabol01]

So were you able to book at Aulani pretty easily and own your week at WDW? I've considered buying at WDW but would want to be able to trade to Aulani. If I bought on the resale market, could is trade to Aulani?

We were there last June, sure miss the Ko Olina lagoons!

Hi Diane,

So far, I've been able to book a week or more at Aulani at the 7 month window. Both times was during the summer which tends to be a busier period. You may have to play around with dates by a day or two or JWG mentioned pay cash to cover nights that don't have inventory for points.

I am guessing you are not currently a DVC member. If that's the case, here's a high level overview. When purchasing DVC you buy an allocation of points at your home resort. These points can be used at any DVC property. You can book 11 months in advance at your home resort and 7 months for all others. Points can also be traded in to do other disney vacation options such as cruises or ABD. Resale points can only be used at DVC properties. Aulani is a DVC property so you can stay there regardless of home resort.

 

[JWG]

So were you able to book at Aulani pretty easily and own your week at WDW? I've considered buying at WDW but would want to be able to trade to Aulani. If I bought on the resale market, could is trade to Aulani?

We were there last June, sure miss the Ko Olina lagoons!

You don't have to trade for DVC with DVC. Our home resort is Boardwalk Villas and Bay Lake Tower. We can use those specific points (those purchased for BWV at BWV and those purchased for BLT at BLT) to make reservations 11 months out. At 7 months, we can book any of the DVC properties (based on availability).

I've never had an issue getting my home resort at WDW at 11 months. Once, at BWV during Food and Wine, we had to waitlist a night for a standard view studio - but it came through the next day.

At 7 months, WDW can be hit or miss depending on time of year. Certain rooms and views will not be available (i.e. Animal Kingdom concierge or values, Bay Lake Tower standard view, Boardwalk standard view, Grand Floridian, etc.). But we've always been able to get something at 7 months, even if Saratoga Springs.

Aulani can be tough at 7 months at peak times, but we felt we did pretty well getting 12/21 - 1/2 at 7 months with the exception of the two nights cash (12/30 and 12/31). We were in an Island Garden View, couldn't get standard view. It would have actually been easier to get Ocean View, but didn't want to spend the points.

 

[Dean]

You don't have to trade for DVC with DVC.

Every non home resort reservation is technically a trade or exchange internally though I know most members don't think of it in those terms.

 

[MagicJourney]

A quick update. Our offers were accepted:
1. 200 BWV pts @ $75pp
2. Marriott Ko Olina 2bdr OV Odd year usage @ $7000
~$23k for both includes closing fees.

Very excited, keep fingers crossed for the ROFR. I am sure we will enjoy our purchase, and we do like Ko Olina as a layback resort area (kinda like Ka'anapali Beach), with easy access to the city, if DW decide to do some shopping during vacation.

Again, we really appreciate all the helpful suggestions and comments. See you guys in Aulani!

 

[Dean]

A quick update. Our offers were accepted:
1. 200 BWV pts @ $75pp
2. Marriott Ko Olina 2bdr OV Odd year usage @ $7000
~$23k for both includes closing fees.

Very excited, keep fingers crossed for the ROFR. I am sure we will enjoy our purchase, and we do like Ko Olina as a layback resort area (kinda like Ka'anapali Beach), with easy access to the city, if DW decide to do some shopping during vacation.

Again, we really appreciate all the helpful suggestions and comments. See you guys in Aulani!

Congratulations, enjoy both. It is my opinion that for many, a combo of DVC points and another timeshare is the best option. If you're planning to go to HI every 2 to 4 yrs and want to stay on 2 islands, I'd suggest you consider an EOY matching odd Marriott for Maui or Kauai. Which is best depends on your situation. Or you could deposit the Oahu week at times and try for an exchange at one of the other resorts.

 

[msabol01]

Congrats!!! Enjoy your new Homes away from homes. Keep the proper expectations and will find each wonderful in their own way.

 

[frank808]

A quick update. Our offers were accepted:
1. 200 BWV pts @ $75pp
2. Marriott Ko Olina 2bdr OV Odd year usage @ $7000
~$23k for both includes closing fees.

Very excited, keep fingers crossed for the ROFR. I am sure we will enjoy our purchase, and we do like Ko Olina as a layback resort area (kinda like Ka'anapali Beach), with easy access to the city, if DW decide to do some shopping during vacation.

Again, we really appreciate all the helpful suggestions and comments. See you guys in Aulani!

Congrats!! I think you made the right decision. If you are definitely going to Oahu every other year then buying MKO was a no brainer. Now with more DVC points you can add on a few days at Aulani after your MKO stay. Will work for your Aulani stay booking at 7 month window as long as you are flexible with what unit is available. Though with the new lower point hotel room option I really think you have to own at Aulani to book it. Just like the value rooms at AKV.

My advice is MVC points are not worth what you are planning to do. The point cost is high in both buy in and maintenance fee wise. Marriott points work if you do not like spending more than a week at one resort and are going to multiple locations. For essentially going back to the same home resort with marriott buying a legacy week is a better deal.