Westcoaster

Mostly the latter. The MVC isn't available but that's OK. I've never used MVC and would rather stick with regular Marriott reservations anyway. And truth be told the MVC for other dates is expensive enough that I'd be disappointed if it weren't perfect. We all know that just because a place costs a lot doesn't mean your stay will be more pleasant there than at more average properties.

Westcoaster

Spent 5 nights here and had a good stay. Booked ocean front and received corner ocean front, a larger room with a sofa and coffee table near the balcony door -- nice for relaxing and enjoying the view. Something new: At check in the agent mentioned that we were lucky we booked when we did because beginning September 14 they now charge separately for parking -- it's no longer included in with the resort fee. We got grandfathered in and didn't get charged for our self parking.

Edited to add: We got 2 cold bottles of water at check-in, although I'm not certain whether that happens all the time or whether a nice employee just took pity on us for having to wait so long in line. They also gave us a small box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts. I think this was due to Gold status but not certain about that either. We didn't have the problem that Rockyrat mentioned with light from the bathroom flooding the room at night, partly due to the configuration of the corner room and partly because both the inside and outside of the sliding door to the bathroom was covered with a full length mirror. Housekeeping did a good job and were nice about doing our room at a convenient time for us.

The place was fairly quiet so there were plenty of chairs available by the pools for those who wanted to use them. The one negative was that the hotel was testing their fire alarms for an extended time one day so we had to leave our room for several hours in the interest of retaining our ability to hear. Apart from that we appreciated the relatively close proximity of self parking (especially if you park back by the tennis courts) and the nice way that the grounds are maintained.

DELee

FWIW - Shots from our 1 night stay in May 2017

What the entrance looked like at mid-afternoon with a partially cloudy sky:



If I recall correctly, we received the bottles of cold water and the small box of chocolate covered macs at check in as well as F&B credits because of my PP status.

We were assigned room 3266 which is at the inner corner of the U for the Kamehameha Tower:





Also, the shades across the hall cover windows to the north and the parking lot which was being used for the MVC remodel of the non-Kamehameha Tower:




Room 3266 turned out to be an inner corner 1 king bed room. Note the frosted glass behind the bed - we'll get back to that...as Rockyrat mentioned in an earlier post...





Because of its size, a queen rollaway or two twin beds could have been accommodated in the unoccupied floor space.

Here's the closet as well as the amenities / mini-fridge area - complete with its own shell light:





Here's the map from the back of the entrance door (with translations for Japanese clientele) and span of rates for the whole hotel:




The door to the bathroom doubles as the part time door to the closet - when the bathroom is occupied, the closet is open:



and when the bathroom is available, it encloses the closet and reveals the bathroom:



More bathroom pictures:




So, while this bathroom's door is solid (unlike many newly remodeled Marriott hotel rooms), as Rockyrat commented earlier, the wall common with the bed's headboard is not solid and illuminates the bedroom when the room is dark:



Looking out to the scenery, here's the view out of the sliding door to the balcony, why they want you to keep the door closed most of the time, and our balcony's tunnel view toward the ocean to the west:





And, if you do decide to go out to swim and want a get a towel from the towel police, don't forget to bring your towel card (or they won't give you a towel):



A few external shots not shown previously:

Sunset after walking multi-hundred feet across the fish pond paths:



water bikes not available for rent after sunset:



Kamehameha Tower:



Non-Kamehameha Tower:



Nicer shot toward the non-Kamehameha Tower in the morning:



And the cool kids pool and water slide:





And, after our sunset walk around, we stopped in the bar and used the F&B credit for a drink:



Leaving the appropriate tip, went back to the room and were thrilled by a chilling bottle of Prosecco and slice of cake celebrating my birthday - which Marriott and the Waikoloa Beach Marriott remembered!



Fun had by all!

David

Westcoaster

Thanks for all of the photos, DELee. Those corner rooms have a nice layout with a little extra space.

When we get back from our travels I'm determined to learn how to post pictures so I can share a few of ours. The sunset shots make nice screensavers.

Westcoaster

deleted until I can resize photos. sorry.

DenverBrian

The Cabana rooms are now referred to as the Hale rooms. I believe there are either 10 or 20 of these total. Second floor has a true ocean view; first floor (where I was) has an OK view from the large patios and of course direct walkout to paths to the beach.

At least my Hale room had a unique double shower - an indoor shower that was gargantuan, with sliders leading to an outdoor shower useful for rinsing off sand and such.

twa777

Just back from a week at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott -- it was our first trip to Hawaii and we had a great stay at this property.

Certainly the nicest part is that they upgraded us from an oceanfront room (booked with points + money) to Na Hale Oceanfront Suite! We were exceptionally happy with the suite: tons on space, a fully separate living room and efficiency kitchen (with full-size refrigerator), a huge indoor/outdoor shower (my partner called it a "party shower" ), and a walk-out patio from both the bedroom and the living room. While the ground-floor rooms had an obstructed view of the ocean (there's a low hill between these rooms and the beach), for us that was an OK trade-off for the privacy it provided. Since these Hale rooms are in a small two-story building separate from the hotel, we could look out all day and never see a soul (other than the occasional bird or mongoose playing in the grass). The Hale rooms also have been recently updated and have a nice, clean modern style that we found quite comfortable.

Really the only significant problem we had with the room was that there wasn't much soundproofing between the floors, so when we had neighbors upstairs we could often hear them walking (and their kids running) around all day.

As a Marriott Platinum we were given the option of the breakfast buffet for two in the restaurant for each day of our stay. Overall it was "fine" -- a good selection of breakfast items including an omelette bar and occasionally an extra item like bread pudding or coconut pancakes. However, the food quality was just OK and it would have been nice for a Hawaiian resort to feature a few more special offerings. If I had been paying the $29 / person price, I would have been rather disappointed. Likewise, the one dinner we ate at the restaurant was nothing special.

We liked the rest of the property, with the lobby lanai being a nice place to sip a mai tai while watching the sun set. And the sunsets over the bay here can be picture-perfect gorgeous!


Waikoloa Beach Marriott sunset from Hale building

The resort fee and especially the parking fee felt rather excessive, though getting the room upgrade made that a little easier to swallow.

It's true the property is set back a bit from the ocean with historic fish ponds in-between, but we thought they were pretty interesting to visit on the walk to the beach to watch the fish and shrimp and crabs. Many families with kids seemed to stop to do the same.

The location worked great for us too: about 20 minutes drive from the airport, so away from the hustle and bustle but with two nice outdoor shopping areas just a short walk from the hotel. The Lava Lava Beach Club is also just a short walk along the beach; while it's mobbed in the evening for dinner around sunset (we were quoted a 2-1/2 hour wait :O ), it made for a great spot for lunch and afternoon drinks.

One restaurant recommendation for anyone staying here: Pueo's Osteria. It's about a twelve minute drive inland in Waikoloa Village so it's easy to miss, but really great Italian food with house-made pasta, breads, and desserts.

DJ_Iceman

I wholeheartedly second the recommendation for Pueo's. It was, quite unexpectedly, our best meal on the island.

highops

Intl359Widget

This Italian-American has something to look forward to for our May trip to Hawaii so I hope FT won't disappoint (as much as it does).

beagleflyer1977

Free breakfast for plat elites here? If traveling with spouse and 2 kids - do they extend to kids too or extra?

Intl359Widget

As it stands right now Bonvoy Platinum/Titanium/Ambassadors get Breakfast for 2 and Kids will have to pay the discounted rate for kids at the buffet.

I will be there with my +1 during Memorial Day Weekend so I'm looking forward to some Alohhaaa.

hockeyinsider

You mean the hotel is doing this over and above the Marriott benefits? Because under the Marriott Bonvoy terms and conditions, breakfast is offered as a choice at check-in.

Intl359Widget

DELee

Property map from our stay back in 2017:

David