bdhaliwa

What's the best prop for spending a week before Thanksgiving on points? Thinking of JWM but location seems too remote. Also, little chance of UG to suites?

LKO

For a family I really like the vacation club properties, located on Oahu, Kauai and Maui. Your choice depends on the ages of the children and what activities you prefer. Maui is great for teens and older children who love the option to walk down the beach to shopping and restaurants. The lagoons at Oahu are perfect for young children who want to swim in the ocean without a lot of waves. Oahu also give you the option of seeing many different attractions on one island; Pearl Harbor, Waikiki, North Shore, Polynesian Cultural Center, hike up to Diamond Head, etc.

Some of these properties have a full kitchen and washer/dryer in the 2 bedroom unit. If this is important to you try to find availability at Ko'Olina (Oahu), Waiohai (Kauai) or Maui- Lahaina & Napili towers. There are older units on Maui and Kauai that were converted from a hotel and don't have the full kitchen and washer/dryer. So make sure you know what you are booking.

TravelersWife

When going all the way to Hawaii, we always stay at the JW Ihilani and we book no less a room(s) than we will be happy in. That said we have been upgraded to deluxe ocean view at the JW, but from the regular ocean view as opposed to garden. We would not like to end up with a garden view so we don't book one. The JW has wonderful suites. We have talked to them in advance and at check-in and if a Naukapa Junior Suite is available we have paid $275(?) a night to upgrade into one. I am attaching a wonderful link I found years ago showing floorplans for each room type. It is very helpful. My kids loved this place when they were 4-9 until they were 12-17. After that the pool seemed too small and the lagoon waves were way to small.

http://www.ihilani.com/Hawaii-Resort...arriott-2.html

hungarianhc

I don't like the JW's pool... it's really small. They have a nice beach there, but the construction next door from the new disney resort is noisy. The island of Honolulu has a lot to do, but the Ihilani is pretty far away.

I think Maui is a better place to go w/ a family. The Marriott Waimea there is really nice. There's an adult pool, a kid pool, and I think a third pool as well. Very nice layout, and there's a lot do on Maui. You can go up the volcano, you can do the road to hana, you can head over to kaanapali and lahaina. So... my vote is for Maui. Big Island has a lot to do, but I've never stayed at a Marriott there.

One of the first posters had a good suggestion about the vacation club.

happymommy

For a family, I think the best choice is Marriott's Ko Olina. It's right by the JW, but as the PP said, the JW's pool is not so exciting (just a round hole with water). The Ko Olina has 3 pools, waterslide, lots of families, some activities from time to time (like my kids made some crafts and got ukulele lessons in the lobby). Plus, you can have a condo with a full kitchen and washer/dryer. That helps a lot for breakfasts, even dinners (we grill a lot), and packing light. The lagoons offer nice snorkeling right there, and it's just so relaxing. Oahu is a good first visit island for some sightseeing, so I'd definitely recommend this place (I'm biased, as I own there, but also used to live on Oahu and plan on retiring there in 15 years or so).

Also, right nearby, there is a super Target and Costco, so you can get wonderful items to grill, like fish, breakfast foods, beverages, etc. We get wonderful sashimi at Costco, plus salad and fruits, for nice lunches.

We can't stay in one hotel room now - my kids are 11 and 13 - so that is just no fun for us. A 2 bedroom condo is so much better!!!!

SacTownGuy

Ko Olina timeshare is awesome for families. We just booked our second trip through redweek.com. It's isolated but there is a town very close with stores, movies, etc.... The pools are nice but the lagoon is totally awesome. My kids are 6 and 7 and they just play at the lagoon all day. It's 45 minutes to Waikiki, Dole, North Shore, etc... but the resort itself is so nice there isn't a need to leave much. Also, they recently built a small shopping center with stores, restaurants, etc... which make the area even better. Disney is being built right now so in a year or two it will be more crowded around Ko Olina but right now it's great! I have stayed throughout Hawaii extensively and like Ko Olina the best with the Marriott Maui Ocean Club a close second.

Justin23

Hello, some of you might remember me from when I asked the FT community earlier this year for the best NYC hotel for my engagement weekend. Well we have set a wedding date of November 2011 and are starting to finalize the plans for our honeymoon which will immediately follow.

We decided on Hawaii but once again I wanted to come to the experts here for some help on which resort to select? I have my eye on the 'JW Marriott Ihilani Ko Olina Resort & Spa' and wanted to see the feedback from the group here. We are looking at early November 2011 for 6 nights.

Some questions I have:

-I am Platinum Premier, do they upgrade?

-Will they take into consideration that it will be our Honeymoon?

-I read on another site that a Disney property is under construction nearby and there can be some noise?


Thanks in advance!

Justin

SacTownGuy

I would say JW at Ko Olina if you are going Marriott. I do not know the answers to your questions but it is a nice property.

We went Hyatt Kanapali and it was awesome.

The only downside of Ko Olina is not a lot of food/shopping options near by. Of course, being your honeymoon you might have other activities in mind....

Congrats and have fun!

Justin23

Yes I am going Marriott since I am using points for the stay...

On the map, it looked like the JW wasn't too far from "civilization". That is one of the reasons my fiance and I selected the island of Oahu. We can get some of the big city sights/attractions, but still find secluded areas within a short drive.

Curator of Yesterland

The Disney property (called "Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, Ko Olina, Hawai’i") is scheduled to open August 29, 2011.

Aulani will open with all exterior work completed, but only a fraction of the hotel rooms and timeshare villas initially in use. Disney's contractors could be doing interior work on other guest rooms in November, but there should be no construction noise at the J.W. Marriott Ihilani from such work.

The good news is that the Disney resort will add additional dining options to the Ko Olina Resort.

qlabdad

We've stayed at Ko Olina several times and getting into the city from there can be very frustrating with a lot of traffic.
Are you limited to considering Oahu? If not I would consider the Wailea Marriott on Maui. It's in a quiet area, a great property and the view from the ocean front rooms is fantastic. About a 45 minute drive to Lahina and Kaanapali.

jerseygirl

traffic is bad only during rush hours, otherwise not bad to/from KoOlina to Honolulu, North Shore
Drive from airport to KoOlina is about 20 min when not in rush hour, about 45 min at most to Honolulu if traffic is not bad
KoOlina is my favorite hotel and resort area in the islands

aaupgrade

I think the whole nicest Hawaii property picture has changed a bit with RC in MR now.

I depends on what you want to do. If you want to see Pearl Harbor and downtown Waikiki, then JW is probably the "nicest" but not the most convenient property on Oahu.

If you want the nicest property and Pearl Harbor and downtown Waikiki are not big draws and/or exploring the island of Maui is a bigger draw, then the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua would probably be your best choice.

As a point of reference, I have stayed at JW 6 times, MVCI once, Waikiki Marriott once, and Waikiki Courtyard twice, the Ilikai Renaissance (now deflagged). The Waikiki stays were in the last few years due to 3 different sets of friends being spread throughout the island of Oahu and it is the most central for visiting them all. I visited Maui once, and stayed at the Renaissance (now torn down) and visited the Ritz-Carlton. It was very nice from the brief glimpse I had of it. I also stayed at the Kauai Marriott and found it to be nice.

It comes down to the JW or RC IMO. I would probably choose the RC for a special event and also because the island is a better choice if one desires something lower key (less commercialism) and more interesting from a hiking and exploring perspective. Also, few concerns in the way of traffic.

Personally I would love to hear from somebody who has actually been to both the JW and the RC as their perspective would be welcomed.

bhatnasx

Try the Edition out - http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...ikiki-edition/

happymommy

I lived on Oahu from 1995 to 1998, and stayed twice at the Ritz Kapalua - once for a weekend, which they screwed up royally, so the next year (new son in tow!) they put us in a club suite for a week that was larger than our house! That week was Thanksgiving, and it was cold and windy, which we loved, as we enjoyed wearing sweaters and all, but it does tend on the windy and cool side there, so keep that in mind. Once I also stayed at the (I think it was) Ren at Wailea - very nice and quiet!

Have to add: the Big Island is wonderful too!

We currently own at the Marriott Vacation Club at Ko Olina, and have stayed there 3 times. We used to love to go visit Ihilani, prior to really anything much being out there. LOVED it! Also, of course, stayed dozens of times at Waikiki for getaway weekends.

If you want a nice resort, small simple pool, go with the JW. If you want family atmosphere and waterslides, more pools, hot tubs, being able to grill some fresh fish from Costco (less than 10 minutes away), I'd go with the timeshare. For a honeymoon, and short stay, you probably don't want that, but it is an option. In a one bedroom, you'd have a living room, full kitchen, and a stacked washer/dryer (at the timeshare). If you book direct through Marriott, you do get daily maid service too.

As far as shopping goes, if you need any grocery items (wine, breakfast foods, or also some local items like poke and fresh fish) there is a Costco, Super Target, and Safeway about 10 minutes away. Otherwise, the most fun is the Aloha Flea Market - Wednesday and Saturday/Sunday at the stadium (also called the swap meet). Super fun - get dried fruits and nuts, homemade jams, tacky tee shirts for $2 each, sarongs, etc... It is larger on the weekend, but go early since it gets hot! I wouldn't ever go to Oahu without going to the flea market - we have two kids now (13 born on Oahu and 11 born on mainland) and we go at least twice for tees for friends and stuff.

Also, do not miss a visit to Genki Sushi! Trust me - very ono local sushi. My son will eat a ton there!!!!

Also, do NOT dress up!!! If you want a luau, go to Paradise Cove. It is right there at Ko Olina. I saw folks so dressed up, and trust me, they were not comfortable, and it's not necessary. Just be comfortable! I swear once I saw a couple - she was in a floor length gown! I do wear a nice sundress, but the looked so awkward.

Happy planning!