Hawaii Timeshares

tyatnu82 · May 24, 2016

I wanted to wait until April or May to go, because I read that it is the least busiest that time of year, but my wife said she couldn't wait that long in between vacations (we're going to Atlantis in September), so we booked 10 days at the WKORV for next January.
What should we expect visiting that time of year? ie. Is it busy? Do we need to make reservations way ahead for restaurants, car rentals, etc?
We also want to visit Honolulu for the day? Should we book the flights for that ahead of time, or is that something you can book the day before?
Are there any boat tours you would recommend that show you all or most of the other islands?

DeniseM · May 24, 2016

I wanted to wait until April or May to go, because I read that it is the least busiest that time of year, but my wife said she couldn't wait that long in between vacations (we're going to Atlantis in September), so we booked 10 days at the WKORV for next January.
What should we expect visiting that time of year? ie. Is it busy?

January is a popular time of year for snowbirds to visit Hawaii, so yes it will be fairly busy.

Do we need to make reservations way ahead for restaurants, car rentals, etc?

Restaurants - no. Car rental - absolutely. Car rentals are expensive in Hawaii, you should start looking for the best deal online, now. This is who we use: http://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com

We also want to visit Honolulu for the day? Should we book the flights for that ahead of time, or is that something you can book the day before?

You want to book ahead of time, so you can get your desired times. Hawaiian airlines is your primary option for inter-island flights.

Are there any boat tours you would recommend that show you all or most of the other islands?

The other islands are far apart (like 30-50 min. by air) - the only islands you can visit by boat are Molokai and Lanai. Each would be a separate day trip - there are ferries to both islands, and catamaran trips to Lanai. We like Trilogy: https://www.sailtrilogy.com/tour/lanai

eagle29 · May 24, 2016

A bit off subject but has there been any recent updates on when we can expect the conversion of the Sheraton Kauai to VSE Timeshare?

DeniseM · May 24, 2016

eagle29 said:
A bit off subject but has there been any recent updates on when we can expect the conversion of the Sheraton Kauai to VSE Timeshare?

I think they are building a new building - not converting, and to my knowledge, it hasn't been started. I think it will be garden view - on the other side of the street from the hotel.

elleny76 · May 24, 2016

Following this post:
I would love to go to Hawaii (Oahu) in 2017 and would love to go when the sun is 80+ I don't like the cold while close the the beach.

I wont lie but I would love to go in December for new year ( but....difficult to book I know)

May is good but I have read that Japanese has a big holiday .

What is the best month to go( gold_silver season) that is hot, no much raining?

We just bought VSE_Starwood and have a lot of points for using

thanks

DeniseM · May 24, 2016

By points, do you mean you want to use your Staroptions or Starpoints?

July - Sept. are the hottest months. However, Hawaii is tropical, and it is normal even in dry weather to have daily showers. Each island has dryer areas and wetter areas, so you want to pick the dryer areas. On Avg., Hawaii is only 7 degrees cooler in the winter, than in the summer.

There are only 2 VSE properties in Hawaii and none of them are on Oahu:

Maui (3 resorts all adjacent to each other) -
Westin Ka'anapali
Westin Ka'anapali North
Nanea (under construction)

Kauai - Westin Princeville

Of these 2 resorts - Maui is the dryer area, but Christmas and New Years week were sold as event weeks, and cannot be reserved with Staroptions. All the VSE Hawaii resorts are platinum season year round - no gold/silver season.

Just so you know - Christmas/New Years are just about the most expensive weeks of the year for airfare and accommodations. I would go in May - less expensive, and less crowded.

*If you want to go to Oahu, you can go to the SPG website and see what is available using StarPOINTS at hotels. Unfortunately, the points don't go very far.

vacationtime1 · May 24, 2016

elleny76 said:
Following this post:
I would love to go to Hawaii (Oahu) in 2017 and would love to go when the sun is 80+ I don't like the cold while close the the beach.

I wont lie but I would love to go in December for new year ( but....difficult to book I know)

May is good but I have read that Japanese has a big holiday .

What is the best month to go( gold_silver season) that is hot, no much raining?

We just bought VSE_Starwood and have a lot of points for using

thanks

"Summer" is a few degrees warmer than "winter", but it is pleasant any time of the year. That said, there is more rain during the winter months than during the summer months and there is more rain on the north coasts than the south or west coasts of each island.

The Starwood/VSE properties are platinum season year round.

As Denise points out, all of the Starwood resorts are on Maui and Kauai.

The Japanese holidays have never been an issue for us.

We frequently travel in May, November, and early December when the crowds are sparser (i.e. kids are in school), although we use our WKORV-OF during January/February when we can watch whales from our lanai.

elleny76 · May 25, 2016

Thanks... I guess my best option is to transfer to II and look in Oahu. I have Staroptions. :ponder:

DeniseM · May 25, 2016

elleny76 said:
Thanks... I guess my best option is to transfer to II and look in Oahu. I have Staroptions.

Your best option (most likely to be successful) is to make a Staroption reservation on Maui or Kauai.

Oahu has relatively few resorts - the top II resort is Marriott's KoOlina, and the others are a big step down.
I don't know if you can get KoOlina without the Marriott's owner's priority. To get it, you will probably have to go for a studio, or one bedroom - and put in a wide range of dates. You definitely won't get New Year's week.

Be aware that you are trying to trade an Orlando resort for Hawaii - that is a big "up-trade," because in general, Orlando has lower trading power, because it is over-built with timeshares.

Before you make the decision - take a good look at what resorts are available in II on Oahu.

You will have a much better chance if you widen your search to other islands or use your Staroptions at a Westin resort.

Is there a reason it must be Oahu?

The Haileys · May 25, 2016

*** IF *** I understood correctly, and was given correct information in our owner update while at SVR, they were pushing us HARD to convert our WKORV to Flex, and the selling point that with the ILG merger, the Flex weeks will exchange in II not on subjective value of the resorts - ie., Orlando has a lesser exchange value than Maui - but all will have the same number of points assigned, and will trade on equal footing. My inner skeptic told me, though, that it would have the net effect of devaluing our Maui ownership, rather than increasing the value of Flex.

That said, getting to Oahu using Star Points is difficult, with properties starting at 20K per night, and no "free" nights or other perks. We're going to use our Starpoints on the Big Island where we will get a week at Sheraton Kona for 10K points per night, with one free, for a total of 60K for the week, then we will use our StarOptions at WPORV for a week.

For me, having few options for Oahu is not a big loss, as I am less than enchanted with the Honolulu/Waikiki big city experience of stepping over homeless people and fending off the sidewalk hucksters. If we ever go back, we'll look for a VRBO/HomeAway rental and stay outside the big city.

YYJMSP · May 25, 2016

The Haileys said:
*** IF *** I understood correctly, and was given correct information in our owner update while at SVR, they were pushing us HARD to convert our WKORV to Flex, and the selling point that with the ILG merger, the Flex weeks will exchange in II not on subjective value of the resorts - ie., Orlando has a lesser exchange value than Maui - but all will have the same number of points assigned, and will trade on equal footing. My inner skeptic told me, though, that it would have the net effect of devaluing our Maui ownership, rather than increasing the value of Flex.

That said, getting to Oahu using Star Points is difficult, with properties starting at 20K per night, and no "free" nights or other perks. We're going to use our Starpoints on the Big Island where we will get a week at Sheraton Kona for 10K points per night, with one free, for a total of 60K for the week, then we will use our StarOptions at WPORV for a week.

For me, having few options for Oahu is not a big loss, as I am less than enchanted with the Honolulu/Waikiki big city experience of stepping over homeless people and fending off the sidewalk hucksters. If we ever go back, we'll look for a VRBO/HomeAway rental and stay outside the big city.

Flex weeks having equal value may be as compared to the other Flex properties, no way it will be to the non-Flex properties...

They want you to trade in your WKORV unit so they can easily sell it again at full developer price and get monies from you for a Flex purchase.

If you're thinking of using SPG points to stay, it's always 5th night free. The Waikiki properties are 25K/nt so that would be 100K for 5nts...

serendip7 · Jul 2, 2016

Maui Whales

If going to Maui, I would suggest whale season (Dec-April). You may see them earlier or later but shoot for the middle and you can't miss. I go every February. The whales really are quite something in Maui. Unlike say Monterey, CA where you have to take a boat out 30 mins to see some tails go by, in Maui they're easily visible from the highway and breaching is very common.

I've come within 100' on multiple occasions by just snorkeling or paddle boarding from the beach and listening to them sing under water is surreal. Just find a calm beach, stick your head underwater, stop breathing for a minute and listen... it's pretty amazing when you hear it.

Hawaii Timeshares

TUG Review Crew: Veteran