Tell me about using DVC to go to Hawaii

[westjones]

Anyone done this? Where did you stay? Was it worth it? Did you have kids (ours would be 12 when we want to go).

I would love to hear!
Thanks!
DJ

 

[Dean]

Do a search for Hawaii and my name and I think you'll find a lot of info.

 

[Michelemouse]

We haven't actually gone yet but we will be going in Oct. '05. We put our name in for a trade last November ('03) and heard back in March. We traded for a week in a 1BR on Kauai at the Hanalei Bay Resort for a total of 144 DVC points. Our DD will be 13 and our DS will be 10 when we go and they are beyond excited!

One bit of advice, you can put your name in for a trade up to 2 years in advance. The earlier you put your name in the better your chances of getting an exchange.

Good luck!

 

[mousefansmom]

If you put your name in, do you have any say as to when you want to go, or do you just take whatever they find?

Mousefansmom

 

[HarrietSLP]

Hi!

I started doing research on exchanges to Hawaii almost one year ago. Although Dean certainly is more knowledgeable about these exchanges, I'll tell you what I learned.

The island I wanted to stay on was Maui and I quickly found out that most of the Interval exchanges were less than exceptable to me. The primary reason being location and lack of air conditioning. The only one acceptable to me was the Marriott Maui Ocean Club in Kaanapali. So....I had them put me on the wait list for this exchange last July. In February they called me and told me they had it for the first week in July. I declined as I had already made other plans. Actually, I had booked in August of last year 6 nights at the Kapalua Bay Hotel in the Kapalua resort through Disney ( Concierge Collection) and booked 5 nights in the Wailea resort area at the Marriott Outrigger using Marriott Rewards points. I was surprised when DVC called me with the Interval exchange because I thought they had cancelled this after I made the ressie through the Concierge Collection. Anyway, we leave May 1 and I will try to report back on my stay at the Kapalua Bay Hotel. I

I've been recently researching the exchanges on Kauai and they seem to be better exchanges than those offered on Maui. I would probably choose the Hanalei Bay Resort Club or the Marriott's Kauai Beach Club if going to this island. I also suspect that the choices on the Big Island are better than Maui too. Please notice that DVC currently has no exchanges for the island of Oahu which is where Honolulu, Waikki, and Pearl Harbor are located.

I've learned alot from the folks on the AOL Hawaii Boards and you first need to know which island you would prefer and then what area on the island ( location) you would most enjoy. On the Maui boards, there is constant debate over West Maui versus South Maui. I finally decided to split my time between the two areas since I wanted to experience both.

MauiBound In Two Weeks,

Harriet

 

[HarrietSLP]

Originally posted by mousefansmom
If you put your name in, do you have any say as to when you want to go, or do you just take whatever they find?

Mousefansmom

I only gave them one choice as I knew this was the only resort I wanted through II. However, I did give them a 3 month period in which we could possibly go. 7 months later they gave me a call.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by mousefansmom
If you put your name in, do you have any say as to when you want to go, or do you just take whatever they find?

Mousefansmom

You can specify by dates range and by resort. You can just tell them an island or islands and then when they call, decide whether to take it or not. The minimum I'd list for Maui are the Marriott, Westin and Embassy. The Westing and Embassy have been added to the DVC list from what I'm told but not on the printed lists yet.

 

[rocketriter]

Our guide told me that an Oahu resort has been added although it doesn't appear on the DVC website yet. I can't remember the name, but I recall that it's away from Honolulu and highly rated. Call MS and ask them.

 

[Doug Wolfe]

Marriott Maui Ocean Club looks beautiful. I did find a note however that says major construction begins April 2005.

It looks like it will be going on into September 2005. I would love to stay there in the next couple of years.



(I have corrected the construction dates. Thanks for pointing out my mistake. The correct dates are now listed above. )

 

[dvc_john]

The Oahu resort that has been added is almost certainly Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club on Oahu's west shore. Near the J.W. Marriott Ihliani (sp?). This is a terrific resort.

According to the Marriott website, the next phase of construction at the Maui Ocean Club is to begin April 2005 (not 2004) with the most disruptive portion to be completed by Sept 30, 2005. I expect that they will be converting more of the hotel to timeshare. (Eventually, the whole thing will be timeshare only, as I understand it.)

 

[DisnutDave@work]

As that incredibly-slow-moving counter below shows, we are heading to Hawaii and Kapalua Bay in a couple of days. We'll post a report when we get back. We stay in Oahu first (Hilton Hawaiian Village- cash, not points), then will be at Kapalua 4/27 through 5/1.

Harriet, hope you also have a great trip!

 

[westjones]

So DisnutDave@work , you booked through the Concierge Collection? Was that easy to do? I am not sure about putting in for the World Passport trade and waiting to see if it happens. I think I might prefer to just book it and know we have it set.

Is that how it worked for you? You just called DVC and they booked it for you right then?

Thanks!
DJ

 

[DisnutDave@work]

Hi DJ- Well, DW handled it for us. It was through the Concierge Collection. When she first called MS said that it appeared to be open, made the ressies right away, and confirmed within 72 hours. Written confirmation was received in about 2 weeks.

For us, doing it this way made sense because we are using frequent flyer miles to get there, so since those had to be booked way ahead of time we knew we could wait.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We did an exchange to Hawaii a couple of years ago. We started our search 2 years out and requested any 1 bedroom/2 bath unit or larger on any island anytime between Jan.1 and June 1. We were given a match of a 1 bedroom 2 bath unit at Kona Coast II resort at Kona. We had friends who exchanged their Gold crown timeshare for a week on either side, and that one was a 1 bedroom. 1 bath on Kauai at Princeville. There was an obvious upgrade in quality of the accommodations at the one traded through DVC. I think being very flexible with dates and location is the best for getting an exchange.

 

[wintergreen]

We stayed at the Kapalua Bay hotel on points through the Concierge Collection a year and a half ago. I would definitely recommend it! Getting the reservations for exactly what we wanted was easy, and we were offered a complimentary upgrade when we checked. The hotel is lovely, the grounds are beautiful, and the beach (although small) is one of the best on Maui.

 

[travelbug]

Two years ago, we spent 8 nights at the Mauna Lani (Concierge Collection) over Easter break. Since we were locked into traveling at exactly that time, getting a specific location booked and confirmed worked best for us. As I recall, I called about 8-9 months ahead of time and had no problem getting the reservation. It was a fabulous place, and we totally fell in love with it. It was a dream vacation for all of us.

To read about it, feel free to do a search with my name and Mauna Lani.

 

[niks81]

Originally posted by travelbug
Two years ago, we spent 8 nights at the Mauna Lani (Concierge Collection) over Easter break. Since we were locked into traveling at exactly that time, getting a specific location booked and confirmed worked best for us. As I recall, I called about 8-9 months ahead of time and had no problem getting the reservation. It was a fabulous place, and we totally fell in love with it. It was a dream vacation for all of us.

To read about it, feel free to do a search with my name and Mauna Lani.

This is why I like the concierge collection....its easy to book. High on points though. We had the same luck with the Sagamore, and it was worth the high points!

 

[melanieewr]

DVC_John is right about the Marriott's Beach Club at Ko 'Olina being available now, but I would think it would be VERY hard to book since it is new and I had heard awhile back that it was 90% sold. Marriott is supposed to be building two more resorts in the Ko 'Olina resort area and I believe that presales have begun...but not sure. When we were there in December, construction had really not gotten underway...just preparations were being made. Ritz Carlton is also supposed to be making plans to build a hotel here. If someone is wanting to go to Oahu, I believe the Marriott would be a perfect choice for a trade...it really is a gorgeous property and on a beautiful oceanfront stretch of sand. The Ko 'Olina resort is beautiful...of course I am a little biased since we own a condo there.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by melanieewr
DVC_John is right about the Marriott's Beach Club at Ko 'Olina being available now, but I would think it would be VERY hard to book since it is new and I had heard awhile back that it was 90% sold. Marriott is supposed to be building two more resorts in the Ko 'Olina resort area and I believe that presales have begun...but not sure. When we were there in December, construction had really not gotten underway...just preparations were being made. Ritz Carlton is also supposed to be making plans to build a hotel here. If someone is wanting to go to Oahu, I believe the Marriott would be a perfect choice for a trade...it really is a gorgeous property and on a beautiful oceanfront stretch of sand. The Ko 'Olina resort is beautiful...of course I am a little biased since we own a condo there.

I wonder how much he Ritz would be since they tend to sell much larger chunks of time. The Ritz do not belong to an exchange company though they do internal exchanges. I think Marriott still owns the Ritz also.

 

[melanieewr]

ahhh...maybe Marriott owning Ritz would explain them building in Ko 'Olina...Marriott could have bought a HUGE chunk of the property and are diversifying by adding a hotel. Now I wonder about the Ritz selling timeshares. I am sure it would be very expensive, but then again, the Ko 'Olina Beach Club is very expensive. We were given a brochure and I believe prices started at 58,000 for one week and I think the family income had to be in the 150,000 or better range??? I just can't remember the exact numbers, but I do remember it being pretty high. I wish that I had kept the brochure. The sales people were on the beaches, but low-key. One did come up to us as we entered the beach walk and talked to us for several minutes. When we told him we owned at Kai Lani, he reminded us that their facilities were available for our use and would we consider a Marriott timeshare at the Beach Club in addition to our Kai Lani condo as other Kai Lani owners had done just that so that family members that were vacationing during Christmas would have a place to stay close by. He definitely did not pressure us into even listening to a sales presentation...which was great since we were not interested...we are very happy with what we have.