Who's traded out for Hawaii?

[zulaya]

Looking for feedback from those who have traded out to Hawaii in the past few years?

Which property did you end up getting?
How long did you have to wait before you got it?
Any tips on timeframes to ask for or just say anytime during the year?

Thanks!

 

[Michelemouse]

We put our name on the exchange list for Hawaii back in October of '03. In March we got an exchange to Kauai, staying at the Hanalei Bay Resort, for a week in Oct. '05.

 

[zulaya]

Michellemouse - did you have any requests or parameters when searching for Hawaii? Or were you willing to take whatever came up first?

 

[rocketriter]

We posted about 16 months ahead of time for several resorts on the Big Island, but limited to one particular week (school break). Several of our choices were long-shots: fabulous resorts that rarely have openings. About 13 months out we got a call with a possible trade into the Kona Coast II, at 144 points for a 1-bedroom. This resort is considered one of the easier trades to score, with nice rooms but a 1-block walk to the beach. The family talked it over, we decided that we were going to the Big Island for volcanoes, not beaches, and we took the trade. The whole process was pretty straightforward.

 

[zulaya]

rocketriter, have you made that trip yet? If so, what did you think of Kona?

 

[Michelemouse]

Originally posted by zulaya
Michellemouse - did you have any requests or parameters when searching for Hawaii? Or were you willing to take whatever came up first?

We limited our search to a 6-week period in Oct/Nov '05 and to the islands of Maui and Kauai. I know we had the Marriott and Westin properties and, obviously, the Hanalei Bay Resort. I do not remember if we had any others on our list but were very happy with our match.

 

[rocketriter]

Originally posted by zulaya
rocketriter, have you made that trip yet? If so, what did you think of Kona?

Well, I love the coffee, but as you can see from our countdown timer the resort is still in our future.

Kona gets a fine rating on the TUG board. I doubt if it's a Marriott, which is hard to match for sheer spectacle, but I expect it's very nice.

 

[juju]

I almost purchased at the Kona Coast Resort about 10 years ago, it was very nice at that time. Overall, Kona is a wonderful part of Hawaii.