Have you stayed at the AC? The views would be at best the same and in many instances inferior to RI. You're still nowhere near the beach. The AC's rooms mostly overlook either the parking lot or relatively busy Wailea Ike Drive. The RI is uphill from AC, and many of the rooms offer ocean views from a higher vantage point than AC.

I'll add that there's nothing old about the RI. It's a relatively new build (2016) and it's very well maintained. The AC will have a more spare, modern style, per the AC branding.