Thought Exercise: Ranking the Resorts You Have Been To

[90_Min_Sales_Pitch]

Newish owner, but this is my order so far:

1. Hokulani
2. Elara
3. Park City
4. BLVD

 

[pedro47]

Looks liked Hawaii resorts are the #1 destination for Hilton (HGVC)..

 

[ljmiii]

It's obviously something of a self selecting sample set since you ask for the resorts we've been to, but that said...

1 (by far) Lagoon Tower - I look at the price for a 2BR Oceanfront suite at a Waikiki hotel and shudder...
2 (tie) Kingsland and Bay Club - BI yay! And the tie is for pools vs size
4 McAlpin - location, location, location, and staff. But aside from the 2BRs on Ocean Drive, I find the rooms claustrophobic.
5 Tuscany (surprisingly nice...but in Orlando)

I have interest in Barbados and Cabo...but have never been. Great bHC properties in NYC...but I live here.

 

[TravelinJack]

1) It is a tie between the Bay Club and Parc Soliel. We alternate our February stays between the 2 properties. We like the size of the Bay Club rooms. Because my wife is a points hog and we get to use the Kings Land pool, we see know need to stay there. Parc Soliel, I like the location, the view of the Disney fireworks, and the parking. Started going there years ago and found that I like it over Tuscany & Sea World properties. I am not happy that is has really been built up around there but I still like it over the other Orlando properties.
2) Ocean 22. We like it better than Anderson and less expensive than Enclave. Thanks to smokers and potheads, I have learned to reserve ocean front rooms.
We have stayed at MarBrisa, Valdoro, Kings Land, Kohala Suites, The Lagoon Tower, Flamingo, Paradise, Ocean Oak, and Sunrise Lodge. While all of those properties have been nice, and some I would like to get back to, we have used most of our time to stay in the places in my top 2. We have owned since '04 and we are at the point where we will be using most, if not all, of our points to extend our winter time get aways.

 

[JIMinNC]

It's really hard to rank them, but here's my best shot, with my reasons for each ranking. I also included some that are now HVC, but we stayed there in the Diamond days:

1. King's Land Waikoloa - the best location and resort in the best destination
2. Kohala Suites Waikoloa - second best resort in the best destination
3. Charleston Liberty Place - the best furnished and appointed villa we have stayed at. Excellent location.
4. Tuscany Borgo alle Vigne - unique resort in a beautiful, unique destination. Lots of "vino"
5. Ocean Oak Hilton Head - great location on a great island
6. Lagoon Tower Waikiki - great property, but a somewhat lower ranking because I'm not a big city/urban guy
7. Fiesta Americana Los Cabos - great grounds in a great destination, but rooms were dated when we were there
8. Carlsbad Marbrisa - Fine location but unremarkable
9. Orlando Tuscany Village - it's Orlando. Meh.
10. Orlando Sea World - it's Orlando. Meh.
11. HVC Kaanapali Beach - owned here until 2014 pre-HVC. It's in Maui, but not really on the main Kaanapali Beach
12. The Point at Poipu, HVC - stayed here pre-HVC. A little dated. On the water but no beach.
13. The Ridge on Sedona - stayed prior to HVC. Dated rooms, but good location
14. Las Vegas Elara - it's Vegas, Double Meh.

Upcoming. We'll see where these rank:

• La Pacifica Los Cabos
• The Bay Club Waikoloa

 

[toontoy]

These would be my resorts of choice.

Shell Island Beach Club-Sanibel
Ocean Oak- Hilton Head
Park Soleil-Orlando Kids love the pool and firework rooms
Miami Beach
Kalia Tower
Bay Club
Sea World-Orlando
Sunrise-Park City
Valdoro-Colorado
Flamingo-Las Vegas, (mainly since the pool is open in the winter when I go to trade shows)
Hilton Club NY- would like a pool but only the crown plaza has one that I know of.


I havent been to Kingsland Yet or Maui but looking forward to those next year. Ocean enclave is in a couple weeks excited for that.

 

[jehb2]

The order would change depending on 1. Room 2. Resort 3. Location

Lagoon Tower
Bay Club
Borgo alle Vigne, Italy
Hokulani
Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre (not HGVC but I’m adding it anyway)
The District
McAlpin
Marbrisa
Tuscany, Orlando

 

[TUGBrian]

interesting to see how the list stacks up vs the TUG ratings...

TUG Search Results For Hilton Grand Vacation Club HGVC Points

TUG Resorts Search,, Hilton Grand Vacation Club HGVC Points

tug2.com

(also a good time to submit a review, some of the ones listed in the thread have review awards available!

 

[nvskier]

Have not been to that many but here are my favourites so far:
The Elara, Las Vegas
Tuscany, Italy (but must have a rental car as no eating/drinking facilities on site)
Lagoon Tower, Oahu
King’s Land, Big Island of Hawaii

 

[Nowaker]

Views/locations aside (because otherwise nothing beats Hawaiian oceanview...):

1. Sunrise Lodge (1P3 is INSANE, 1 BR with an upstairs loft, a regular bedroom, and a huge kitchen/living room. Easily 4000 sqft. Wild)
2. Elara, Maui Bay Villas
3. LV Trump, Kings Land
4. Parc Soleil, Charter Club of Marco Island (rooms are meh but bikes and sailboats do have value)
5. Grand Waikikian, LV Paradise, HCNY, Marbrisa (The Cove neighborhood)
6. LV Blvd, Las Palmeras, Marbrisa (The Pointe neighborhood)

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Perhaps a better question: Since there are so many nice resorts and people have their local favs, are there any resorts you would not return to and why?

 

[NOLA47]

I’ve enjoyed reading the posts in this thread. Thanks!!
Here goes for my family -
1. HGVC Sandestin - we actually started going here when it was club Intrawest. Loved it so much that we elevated our membership to elite status so that we could reserve our next stay the following year when we got back home. Then it became Embarc and now HGVC and there’s no access even for max members . Believe it or not we still go there my grandkids love it so much but we now pay to go.

2. Elara - just love the location and connection to the mall. Can’t wait to go when the pool is open.

3. Hilton club ny - for location. Room was small.

4. Tuscany - would be my first choice if going to Orlando.

5. West 57th ny - nice property and location. Rooms more spacious. Easier to book but I like the hilton club location better. Will actually be staying at the residences beginning this Monday. Looking forward to comparing the differences

6. Miami - McAlpin - my daughter in law and granddaughter stayed here years ago and loved the location and beach access. Even the two bedroom seemed cramped.

7. Parc Soliel - Orlando. We actually own here. Was so excited for the kids to see the big water slide but they wanted Tuscany.

 

[pacman]

Bay Club
W57th
Borgo alle Vigne
Kingsland

 

[ljmiii]

Perhaps a better question: Since there are so many nice resorts and people have their local favs, are there any resorts you would not return to and why?

The likelihood that we would return to Tuscany is vanishingly small...but that is not the fault of the resort. We stayed there many years ago on 'extra' points that came with one of the Lagoon contracts we purchased. It was perfectly fine...just not 'on-property' at WDW. The others we have visited - Kingsland, Bay Club, and McAlpin - we will happily visit again if we have surplus HGVC points lying around.

 

[dayooper]

Perhaps a better question: Since there are so many nice resorts and people have their local favs, are there any resorts you would not return to and why?

I love the question! Our resort we probably wouldn’t return to is The Boulevard. Not because we had a bad time (we bought HGVC resale after staying there). It’s just we like Elara that much more.

 

[holdaer]

Perhaps a better question: Since there are so many nice resorts and people have their local favs, are there any resorts you would not return to and why?

Really good question. I have my spreadsheet out planning future vacations, and we absolutely love all the resorts in the HGVC portfolio.

I would say the one resort we probably won't revisit is McAlpin Ocean Plaza, a Hilton Grand Vacations Club. Nothing against the resort but, for us, it's been there done that. We can revisit Las Vegas, Orlando, Big Island, Honolulu, and NY, and have a different experience each time. I think this is a credit to HGVC having locations that are easy to revisit and have a new experience each time.

 

[Nowaker]

Perhaps a better question: Since there are so many nice resorts and people have their local favs, are there any resorts you would not return to and why?

Las Palmeras - because Parc Soleil is better
LV Paradise - because Elara is better (location) or Blvd is better (pool)
Marbrisa - because driving in California makes me hate my life, 2 times is enough

 

[letsgobobby]

funny we own at MarBrisa and have never been, but going this fall. Going to take the train from Oceanside to Irvine to meet a friend who lives on the westside because neither of us want to make the full drive Carlsbad to Santa Monica!

But I figure hanging out there for the weekend, maybe shooting into San Diego for some great food in the evening won't be so bad. We're too old for LegoLand and so on but our younger relatives may do that.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

@dayooper I have the same approach to BLVD. Nothing wrong with it. We prefer Elara.

We will not return to Point @Poipu for the foreseeable future. Great location and views. Friendly staff. Great pool bar. Well appointed landscaping. Furniture recently updated. Rooms were clean. However, the buildings are in dire need of complete renovation. New paint outside e.g. there were rust marks running down the entire side of one building, dirty faded green roofs, replace floor tiles, worn aged counters, worn cupboards. Elevators need to be updated from 1970s mod style. AC not installed in all rooms - only 2 out of 3. We experienced several maintenance issues with our rooms. Nothing terrible but inconvenient to deal with while on vacation e.g. leaky faucet, worn toilet seat, screen door falling off hinges. Staff came right away when we called but it was clear that the age of fixtures and deferred maintenance have taken its toll. Currently, too many points for the quality compared to other HGVC resorts. When it is fully renovated, we will return for the reasons stated at the beginning of the paragraph. It's okay but there are better options for the money.

 

[ghgecko]

Our list of places visited is long but I’ll put our favorites on top:

1. HVC Lake Tahoe (we are deeded Diamond owners)
2. Valdoro
3. Marbrisa
4. Grand Waikikian
5. Lagoon Tower
6. Koala Suites
7. Chicago
8. Elara (to bedroom corner suite)
9. Parc Soleil
10. Flamingo
11. The Boulevard

We are looking forward to staying in Maui later this year.

 

[JTurner538]

My current ratings, but there’s not a single one we wouldn’t stay at again.

• Kingsland
• Ocean 22
• Ocean Oak
• Grand Waikikian
• Elara
• Ocean Enclave
• Parc Solie (spelling?)
• Tuscany (would’ve ranked higher than Parc before the waterfall was removed)
• Anderson (the resort is lovely, but the pool is kind of crappy)
• The District (a nice Embassy Suite’s room, but just an Embassy room that costs a crap ton of points)

 

[ljmiii]

We will not return to Point @Poipu for the foreseeable future....

Good to know...thank you. We LOVE Waiohai (it's our favorite MVC Hawaiian resort) and the Point at Poipu has always been in the back of my mind as an alternative.

 

[muscae]

My rankings are based on my perception of value per point costs and comfort. I almost always stay in 1BR units:
1. Tuscany Village (except when SeaWorld is in Silver season)
2. Bay Club
3. Hokulani (two minutes from car drop off at valet until I am in my unit!!! Valet parking is less than half the cost as at HHV.)
4. Flamingo
5. SeaWorld (swaps with #1 when in silver season)
6. Grand Waikikian (was my favorite on Oahu until I discovered Hokulani during COVID restart)
7. West 57th
8. Paradise
9. Marbrisa
10. McAlpin
11. Kings Land
12. Elara
13. Trump
14. Grand Pacific Palisades (would be higher if it had in-unit washer/dryer)
15. Cancun LV (My only HVC Max reservation to date)
16. Grand Islander (do not like the high table with bar stools. do not like the distance to self-parking.)
17. Boulevard (why the smaller unit size and higher point costs than Flamingo????)
18. Las Palmeras (why the smaller unit size and higher point costs than Tuscany/SeaWorld????)
19. Parc SO LAME (spelling??? - just kidding I know how to spell it. I got turned off by the gaudy color scheme when I first visited...the units now are more pleasant. Not a fan of parking here. Don't tell the sales center staff because apparently I am known....)

 

[brp]

Perhaps a better question: Since there are so many nice resorts and people have their local favs, are there any resorts you would not return to and why?

So far, no. While we like some better than others, none have been bad. For example, we're unlikely yo stay at Boulevard (even though we own the bulk of our points there ) simply because of the location. But it's a very nice place with no other reason not to stay.

Cheers.

 

[Zenichiro]

1. Casa ybel
2. Parc Soleil penthouse
3. Tuscany
4. Anderson OC
5. Sunrise Lodge only place we disliked so far. Pool is small, doesn’t function. A/C is terrible.