Originally Posted by kyushuman

We had the $649 for 5 nights- timeshare presentation and stayed at the Ocean Tower... (the actual presentation is at Kings Land, ironically) last July.
We were very uninterested in the wildly overcrowded pools and hotel, so we used it as a base and spent every day but one outside the hotel. For the price, this was great, so we had no complaints. Big (not fancy or renovated) room with great view over golf and toward the hills) and a nice big balcony. Forget getting a kitchen unit at Ocean Tower, I guess you might get lucky but absolutely don't expect it. The inventory for timeshare bookings is different and so they really had no power to put us into a kitchen unit. Even though we were told we'd get one if available by the timeshare salespeople (keyword: salespeople, who likely had no idea).
Agree 100% with the poster above that if you won't be just using the pools and beachside services and you'll just be using it as a base, Ocean Tower adds AT LEAST 30 minutes each way to/from your car. At least. Even if you think you'll be quicker, a brisk walk in the heat (so you're getting sweaty too) it's a good 20-25 minutes. If you time the monorail right I'd still say 20 min. and there is NO WAY to get to the Ocean Tower other than monorail or long walk (or maybe the even -slower gondolas).
Again, we don't regret it as the 5 nights were pleasant, but Kings Land is literally outside the parking area. Not near ocean, at least a 10-15 minute walk to a beach (more?). I would assume more (or all?) Kings Land rooms have a kitchen and parking is nearby.
Best thing about the timeshare presentation: We got there about 20 minutes late as we'd assumed it would be in the Ocean Towers and had to hustle over to Kings Land.... when we arrived they were sorry but had no salespeople available for a presentation. Then after we waited 20 more minutes, the Manager/General Manager brought us into his office and said he could get us a tour if we were interested (we weren't!) so, since he was short staffed and was interviewing salespeople in 10 minutes(!), how about he just gives us our $200 voucher and the 20K Hhonors points and we call it a day? YAY.
Day trips we LOVED -- and with just these 5 days on the Big Island, we were going from dawn till dusk, with a ton more we need to do next time. Here's what we accomplished: 4-5 farmers markets all over the island; a snorkelling trip to Captain Cook Bay (saw a group of 5 sharks even!) ; Hike down to Wai'Pio Valley; Volcanoes National Park is a stunner; the Octopus Farm (!) near the airport, and Greenwell Coffee Farm -- private tour-- fantastic. Feel free to message me for more info.