cmatthews11

$10/person/day... +$2 coupons daily (stackable) for the coffee spot.

bluedevils

Hello all. Some good info in the thread.

We are staying 5 nights here on points, 2 rooms for 5 people total. I’m Titanium status and wondering if it would be a waste to request suite night awards for this stay? There *are* some pictures of suites on the website but if we are likely to get an ocean view or oceanfront room via status, that would be plenty good for us. Perhaps I’ll call the property and see what they think.

Also saw on TripAdvisor multiple mentions of successfully requesting to waive / opt out of the $22/day resort fee. Considering asking them to waive it for one of the 2 rooms.

Haven’t seen anything in this thread recently regarding parking charges and if that is waived sometimes.

Really don’t want to pay $22+22+25=$69 a day right off the bat for a ‘free award’ stay.

Sounds like breakfast amenity at this property is typically $10 per person x 2 people per room, which is as advertised for Courtyard…any recent experiences on that?

We are excited about staying at a hotel right in town and being able to walk to shopping, restaurants, farmers market etc. Almost switched to the Westin Hapuna Beach Resort (for significantly more points), but decided to stick with the in-town Courtyard for some variety in our trip. We are staying 5 nights at Hilton Waikoloa after this, and the Westin seemed like a similar property to the Hilton.

Sam P. Goodman

It's been a couple of years, but when we were there, we were able to opt out of the resort fee and they didn't charge us for parking. BUT, no room upgrade (we didn't apply SNAs). So, standard hotel room with a partial ocean view, but fun location for walking town and great proximity to offsite restaurants.

dgoedken

I'll be staying there starting tomorrow, I used SNAs, so we'll see what I get for a room. I'll ask about waiving the fee for resort. Those annoy me, especially for lower quality amenities. Thanks STVR for the affirmation of free parking someplace, I'll look where the free parking is in the area, to see if worthwhile. I actually called the hotel earlier today, same price for the luau. An interesting note, is that the company who puts it on is: https://www.eventsbyislandbreeze.com/ (I went to https://www.islandbreezeluau.com/ first) The latter said it was 'sold out'. Apparently the former only allows so many seats by so many 3rd party providers...so the former is the one to find out...as when I called them, they had seats available. Annnoying, since the latter came up higher in google's results, but good info all the same.

Edit: trip advisor mentions potential free parking at the farmer's mkt. Wasn't clear about over night though. But will need to walk a bit. I'll just park on-site to save the hassle and enjoy the trip more

dgoedken

Checked-in today.

1. You get 1-$2 menehune bucks card for each day. I was told you can use up to 2 on a single visit. Not sure if that's a free coffee or not yet, but was something interesting I didn't see mentioned recently. Wondering if there is something else I can use them for since I'm not a coffee drinker.
2. Tried Billfish, T. Elite's get 20% off, I was able to get the below and told it was fully covered by the room credit (2x$10). Not a fan of their caesar dressing, could just be a local variety. Salad itself tasted a touch older/dry, but still looked pretty fresh. I added chicken for +$6 (salad was $14) and felt they gave a pretty good amount. Decent to good croutons and plentiful as well. A good lighter option.
3. Added a view from the SNA upgrade. Only 3rd floor (of 6), but overall happy. The gentleman at the front desk mentioned that "Marriott approves all these SNAs and we have to call people to tell them their upgrade may only be a regular room....b/c we only have so many full ocean view rooms". So, it seems corporate would be a bit to blame on the poor quality of some upgrades. Aside from beach go-ers able to look up into my room fairly easily/naturally, it's a good room. 4+ floor may be better. unless you want to people watch from the balcony. Room is updated. Bathroom is nice as well.
4. Received text shortly after arriving to my room saying noone would come to the room unless asked with a day's notice (and asking if the room was good). I was able to reply to text requesting they come to make the bed and whatever in bathroom. They were happy to do so.
5. I miss the free water bottles (from HNL hotel). I understand it's a Courtyard, so a different level overall, a couple bottles at check-in would have been nice to see, even if just at the counter Edit: I didn't check the fridge, they had 6(SIX!) bottles chilling in the fridge!!

dgoedken

Day 2 lunch - hamburger/fries and Pepsi.

Burger was very good. Lettuce was fresh as well with the tomato reasonably fresh I declined the cheese/onions. I ordered it Medium and it was a bit past that, but no complaints. The aboslute mound-o-fries left it being elbigible to be classified as a 'meal-for-two'. I think it's an 8oz patty. The bun was very fresh, nicely toasted and was a good balance for the rest of the burger and didn't get soggy, etc The side is BBQ sauce. I prefer mine with a bit more bite than the one they had. For $4.00, it'd have been nice to have a bigger glass of soda....then again, w/ the heat, it very well could end up just more watered down in the end. For the whopping price of $0.47 after the daily discount, I'd call it a buy. Granted, that's taking someone else's $10

Thoughts: In comparison to the (HNL) Sheraton Princess they give $36 (2 bfast to go boxes) and it's $20 here(KOA) at the courtyard. There's a lot more choice here and can use it for bfast or lunch or dinner. Granted at SP, that's a meal for 2, and while it (hamb/fries) *could* be a meal for two, not sure all their options would be similar portions. But, the caesar salad above, I couldn't finish, so I'll call that a meal for 1.25-1.5ppl.

Night 2: No go on the luau. downpour of rain...such is being in Hawaii in Dec. At least even the extraneous fees were refunded as well. I could rebook for a future one, but being even closer to Xmas....they're booked solid.




Menu - food


Menu - drinks

txflyer77

I just booked five award nights here for February. Still debating if I should spend the extra 80k points to move to the Westin Hapuna instead, but I sort of like being in a hotel that's walking distance to other restaurants etc. Thoughts on the CY vs Westin for a solo traveler?

bobbybrown

Just finished a beautiful 10-night stay here using points. I'm only gold - politely asked before arriving but I could NOT waive the resort fee. Didn't even ask but parking wasn't waived either. No complaint here since I wasn't charged for the extra bed fee. Gold and silver get 10% off the restaurant. I heard somewhere online that all elites are likely assigned to a partial ocean view room which happened to me as well. $2 coffee store coupon could be used more than two coupons at once. As a history buff, the history tour (4 times a week) was interesting.

Ali'i Dr near the hotel is sort of dead but the other side of farmer's market until Royal Kona resort was always busy at night. I still enjoyed few restaurants nearby especially Quinn's and the billfish hotel restaurant. Kalbi was good at both of these restaurants but I'm biased ethnically.

For snorkeling, I would say the beach in front of the hotel is better than the famous beach park (when factoring in the convenience) but still cannot beat the two-step (haven't tried cook monument which is supposedly the best). I saw few manta rays multiple days during daytime near the port in front of the hotel. At night I saw people snorkeling with lights at the port to see manta rays. The port is the best place to enjoy sunrise and sunset and watch people doing various activities (fishing, canoeing, sea swimming etc). From the port, one company (body glove) operates various cruise tours which was convenient and not expensive.

Hapuna area looked really beautiful but could be boring as a solo traveler. Just my opinion.

rubbernyc

The Westin Hapuna is a much much better choice and one of the best beaches on the island. It is very isolated and you will need to drive to go anywhere for food, other than the expensive options at the resort.

small ring

only 80k points total for the 5 nights is a great deal.

the value depends on how you plan to spend time. For beach activity Hapuna is the answer. However, it is more remote. You must drive to everything.

-sr

dgoedken

Figured I'd try the breakfast to give a bit more variety to meals. They mentioned they were test flying a buffett for $28, some other comments on that below. The below meal was covered, again, by the 2-$10 daily credits to the room (not sure which elite levels receive that), plus $0.47. The juice was quality and she even brought me a 2nd (after my bill was given) as she asked "are you going to stay for the sunset?" That was very nice of her. It caps an overall high quality of service I received. I added the best shot of the menu I could get given the early hour, but I can read everything.

1. Orange juice - very good
2. Eggs, absolute rubber
3. Toast was ... toast.it was still crispy and fresh
4. The potatoes were really good, they've always been a consistent go-to at all the courtyards I've stayed at (more than I care to count)
5. Bacon. There's a group of folks who like pineapple on their pizza and probably also like their bacon extra crispy. Part of the reason I like a Marriott buffet (usually concierge lounge) is to be able to "choose your bacon" They make an absolute mound and some naturally gets more soggy/soft, some is just right, some is crispy as all get-out...presuming you're an early riser. Anyways, it was borderline burnt. Not for me at all.
6. Pineapple slice was bleh. Bleh translated from it's native Hawaiian is equivalent to being shamed for serving something so meh in the state known for their pineapples.

My overall thoughts on the stay:
The good:
"For a courtyard"....
1. The service was really good. Everyone was nice, everyone was helpful. Any issues were taken care of fairly easily. pro-tip, stay away from the from desk from 12-4ish? Could be longer, but it's a madhouse w/ ppl checking out, checking in, etc. aka the line is long. They had 3+ ppl workig the front desk (at least) the times I walked by and saw that. The line flowed, the staff seemed well trained and handled the glut of folks the best possible
2. I didn't partake is any of the free rentals and only debated a cabana, but those seemed largely filled, so other than to sit in one to say I did, I let it be someone else's joy. You can see my daily view above and was enough for me. If you had to rent all of those during your stay (espec. w/ kids .. i.e. probably most every day), it'd outweigh the resort fee/cost on a shorter (< 4 or 5 days) stay.
3. I'm here just before Xmas time and while the beach is generally busy, you don't have a problem finding a place to setup. The water doesn't have you concerned about rip currents, can keep an eye on your kids and don't have to make a big deal about packing up (forgetting something) and going to a beach. Especially if you don't have a vehicle.
4. The food at the restaurant was overall, pretty good. Sans the rubbery eggs and bacon which just needs a better chef/cook for the latter. The former probably requires a different vendor....it was pretty good food, not just good hotel food. The BillFish at the pool has some good seating options. I prefered the 'low' tables (they have hightops overlooking the beach) as they were covered by a large roof .v. an umbrella for the HTops. At the 'low' tables, you tended to get a lot of families eating one or two things, while they camped on the table watching their kid in the pool. A bit annoying, but I was lucky enough to always snag a table (think there were 6-ish? that were fully covered from sun, I don't include 2 smaller 2-person tables which would get sun)
5.Location. Really depends on you. If you don't want the cost of a car, but want to see more of the area, it's a great location. If you want your vacation to largely stick to one place, but be a higher quality hotel (and higher price) get a hotel north of the airport, where the higher rent district is. The CY has most everything you could want with a LOT of restaurants/cuisines nearby. I tried Thai last night and was fairly good, service was OK (took orders as ppl arrived, even though 2 tables before me were more interested in chatting/catching-up than looking at the menu). Price, for Hawaii was good and if you are able to hit a lunch special, quite good pricing. I dined in evening. Back on topic....You can run along the waterline, kick back at the beach in only steps, schedule multiple rentals. etc either at hotel or in short walking distance,etc. It fit my style of vacation travel this time around.
6. There is Hertz if you wanted to rent a car and with a bit of a walk, an Enterprise location too. So, you could rent for the day and get out on some day trips w/o having to pay for parking. Options. I personally opted to Lyft back to airport to partake in a better selection of cars w/ my free National days. I wasn't disappointed, they had me in a Chevy Colorado 4x4. Which would have allowed me to get up Mauna Kea to the observatories, had it not been closed due to snow up there waa waa waaaaaaaa! That isn't to infer you are allowed to go up...When I asked the attendant when picking up the car her response was "you're not allowed to, but people still do"

Cons/Bad/Constructive criticism:
1. I'd rather they give a card for a 'free muffin' or 'free X' in lieu of the $2 menehune bucks cards. The place is overpriced. I tried to use TWO of them for a single, small, muffin and still they wanted $0.45. I only had my CC with me and their solution was to offer to charge me a $1.00 instead since they don't accept CCs < $1. Actually, I'd rather they give you $2 cards to spend in the ABC store instead!! You can actually get something worthwhile for that and also would go a long way for those who didn't/couldn't pack something or just plain forgot it and have to buy the sunscreen, etc at the ABC store.
1a. Side note, in the texts you get asking about your stay, they actually replied to me that I could get a cup of coffee w/ 1-$2 menehune bucks card. (I offered to buy him and I a coffee each w/ my 2 remaining cards...not sure if he works before I check out today.)
2. Received my bill this morning and thought someone was charging a bunch of stuff to my room. Turned out instead of crediting me the $10, they were billing it to my room, inidividually. The front desk was empty (4am), figured out what was going on and took care of it for me
3. I only used a car for 2 days of my stay and was told it was $25. I quipped "is that the elite pricing?" and she offered $10/day, but would have to put a note it to make sure it stuck...then quickly just said she'd comp it. That and a 3rd day (@$25 each) were all on the bill. The front desk took care of that during #2, so annoying, but fixed easily


In short, pretty positive on the stay, hotel, etc. For the price, convenience, amenities (as T. elite), location, et al...I'd return. I may have been swayed by the true ocean-view room via SNA. Membership truly does have its privileges.






edit: Buffet. They mentioned it as I was walking in for breakfast. Mentioned it was $28, as we walked to a table. It had the usual conciege lounge fare for a breakfast although with TONS of fruits. And they all looked amazingly delicious (as opposed to the pineapple slice I was given) They only offered 1 type of meat (Portuguese sausage...no bacon or links), cheesey eggs. and random other warm items. So, none of the 'grab and go' items like cereal boxes, full apple/oranges, granola bars, et al. Even the guy monitoring it said "the other food is much better"....at least twice, in the < 60 secs I checked it out. I'd probably agree for many of the items, but not the fruits. They looked great.

LSB

When I stayed here last year I used my $20 for the poke (lunch/dinner menu) and it was *delicious*! So much so that I got it every day 😁 I also found the 2 chairs + umbrella benefit from the resort fee to be very useful, as far as having guaranteed shade on the beach. The beach is open to the public and there's a nice feeling of being a local. It's on a calm protected little mini-bay, ideal for lounging in the water and easy snorkeling (a surprising amount of fish right there inside the mini-bay). Head outside the protected area for more adventure, if the water is calm enough. I only made it a bit outside to the right, but saw plenty of people heading far out to both directions (to the right along the coast, to the left out into the main bay where there are bouys marking the Iron Man course, or at least that's what a local told me). I'll be back in January and plan to rent a kayak to venture out further, weather permitting. I enjoyed being right in town and having lots of restaurants/grocery stores walkable, but I will also say that we spent a few days at the Mauna Kea afterward and that was truly wonderful, worth the splurge. We went to the Westin for a couple meals while we were up there and while the food didn't overly impress us the pool was much nicer with more louge areas than the MK (MK beach is the best, though). Very remote though, car needed!

zerolife

Would it be possible to view the Island Breeze show from an ocean front room?

dgoedken

No. I'd say my balcony would likely have had THE BEST possible view of it and it was dark by the time much of the show began (winter time sunset) and could only make out the fire guys twirling in the distance / thru the palm trees, hut roofs, etc. As I was as far 'left' as possible to get the best angle past the huts/roof lines Perhaps the 6th floor MAY be able to see something if they can see from above the trees, but it'll be nowhere near like being there. It isn't cheap, and I was actually taken aback at how quickly people were leaving (by 7/7:15) I guess no extra trips to the food I would have expected for the cost it would have gone until 8pm or so (arrive by 5.30). The start of the show for mine, which was cancelled, was held indoors (waiting/hoping for rain to pass) and was 3 different age groups doing different hula's to music. From 5-8yrs old, 9-14ish, and 15+ (rough ages, but you get the idea). Not sure what other than the fire dancing they did. And the 'King' arriving on his floatilla.

Bite the bullet on price...it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing...but also, temper expectations, as I said, I was surprised how soon I saw people filing out. And the weather that night was fine. Now, if you have a larger group...that's going to be REALLY expensive...so perhaps would sway my opinion of it, but if just you & the SO, go do it.

havenyoung

Have an upcoming reservation for two nights.
Found out today that it was cancelled. Called Marriott and they also said that it was cancelled from their end.
then called the hotel front desk and was told everything was fine. Apparently a lot of people have been calling with the same issue.
It is still showing cancelled on my Marriott account. I even got the reward certificates back.
but I got double confirmation from the front desk and they even sent me a screenshot of their system showing my reservation is still okay.
Wondering what happened…