loomis

When we stayed in December our Lagoon Tower room had one king bed and a single bedded sofa sleeper. There is no way that you are going to sleep two people on the sofa sleeper.

I second the suggestion to bring a blow up mattress. Our room had pleny of floor space. It seems like there was an extra blanket and pillow in the closet.

AGS

We have stayed in those room as well. We request a rollaway bed when we arrive. The bed is actually quite comfortable, and stands upright during the day so doesn't take up much space in the room. It's a bit tight at night with the sleeper sofa pulled out and the rollaway bed set up, but when all is put away it's fine.

AGS

flyforever

This is exactly what we did. We used the vouchers for other things and went to grocery store nearby to pile up breakfast stuff for our room and family of four.

Tommyhob

One other option to consider is to upgrade with points. We stayed in late March and could upgrade to a Palace tower suite for an additional 20k points per night. So, it wasn't a "cheap" use of points, but our suite was awesome. Could have easily slept 5+. No kitchen in the suite, but it did have 1.5 baths, 5 balconies, and a great view no matter where you looked out. Would recommend it if you have the points. If you do, reach out to the GM in advance, she was quite helpful to us.

particlemn

We just got back from a 6 night award stay. we were upgraded to a dolphin view in the lagoon tower just as a gold. I would agree that the sofa sleeper was small it was ok for my 3 year old but you could not put two kids in it.

as for the pool i have to disagree with all the posts above. it was a pleasent 75 degrees not freezing as posted. yes some pools in HI can be upwards of 85 degrees and feel like a bath tub. but if i wanted a bath i would goto the room. it was slightly cold when you first go in but within 5 seconds it feels quite refreshing.

other recommedations listed before the breakfast sandwich at the lagoon spoon for 3 bucks( it takes 2 to fill you up) was a great deal but i prefered spending the extra 15 bucks and getting the buffet with the omlett bar. (its 25 but with the 10 dollar coupon its only 15 and sometimes on vacation you need to have a nice meal.

make sure if you go look for timmy at the kona pool bar, he makes a killer blueberry mojito worth the 11 bucks.

best advice i got from this thread before going was to never be in too much of a hurry not to wait for the boat. slowing down like this was great for my relaxation(the mai tai's helped too)

HI is expensive and this fine resort is no exception. but the service here was worth paying for. my rule of thumb is when going to a resort in HI expect to pay in addition to room and airfare 100/per day / per person(this counts small children). remember that the 85 dollar 10 minute swim with the dolphins for your 3 year old plus the 20 dollar picture plus the 35 dollar dvd will be a memory that you will keep for a long time and in proportion to the airfare/hotel rack rate its actually pretty cheap.

mreed911

wife. She can't wait. We go in June.

bocastephen

Or skip the over-priced orchestrated dolphin swim with captive, uncomfortable dolphins (who are baking in the shallow hot water and often get sunburned and need to be coated with zinc oxide), and PM me for contact information for my friend/guide who will take you to swim with wild Spinner dolphins....a fare nicer, interesting and rewarding experience.

iahphx

Hey, that sounds like fun. I've seen the spinners from a boat (they love drafting on the boats), but never swam with them. Is it legal to do so?

And, as I think I previously mentioned, drive up a few miles to the Mauna Kea resort and snorkel off the left side of their fabulous public beach. A couple weeks ago, I swam with some turtles there.

bocastephen

You are required to be 100 yards away from the dolphins...but of course the dolphins are not required to be 100 yards away from you

My friend is in the water with them all the time, and even knows specific dolphins and their personalities by sight...and they know her. There are rules, i.e. no chasing the dolphins, no splashing, no big movements with your arms, etc. Also, because the dolphins need to rest after returning from the nightly hunt, you have a relatively short window to swim with them before you need to leave the area and let them rest...which means the swims are early morning (about 7am).

I've had the best experiences and received the most interaction by just floating on the surface and swimming slowly alongside their circling patterns with my arms folded in front of me...even a brief visit from a wild dolphin taking the time to swim over and check you out is more meaningful than a captive dolphin towing you around a pond in exchange for a chunk of thawed-out bait.

mnredfox

Not on my visit to HI, I averaged $35pp/day.

cupps

I know that most here have gone on points which I have in the past as well. However, I am trying to find if there is an updated link for the Timeshare preview trip here as the last one I could find expired on January 31, 2011. Anyone know of an updated link? Thanks.

PriceIsRight

Tommy, spoke with Diamond desk today, and they said 37.5k point standard room was only option available.
How did you find out about suite option?

Tommyhob

I found the offer on the HWV website earlier this year, and it said that up to 15 such upgrades were available at any time. I set it up 2 months in advance and was apparently within the first 15 requests.

It was 20k extra points per night to get a palace suite. It was very well worth it.

All of my dealings on this were with Jennifer Bolstad [[email protected]], Director of Revenue at HWV. She was tremendously helpful. I'd recommend reaching out to her.

Have a great trip!

milesrus

I am just finishing my 11th stay here in the last 15 years. the property as always is fabulous and I had the opportunity at the Managers reception to visit with Scott Ward and Debi Bishop the Resident Manager and General Manager, they are passionate about making sure your stay is a great experience. As always the restaurants and the service is above excellance.

loomis

I have stayed there a few times and read this thread actively. I don't think that I remember ever hearing about a manager's reception.