qlabdad

We traveled with another family to the Ko Olina beach club, we were on points and they paid. Being non-owners we both got lockouts which we're almost like a galley. Very small with no place to put our bags. We love the area but would not stay there again for this reason. Maybe we were spoiled by past JW stays but we found the room unacceptably small. Funny thing happened while there...Someone pulled a fire alarm in the wee hours of the morning and the announcement over the PA was in Japanese first, then English. Thought we lost the war...

frankhi

We been to HI many times and have stayed at all the marriott's, the hotels you mention are great, but IMO, their locations are not. I would try to get one of the timeshare conversions at the Maui Marriott Ocean Club, if not try the conversions at the Kauai Beach Club, and since you probably will not be able to get those (with points), I would go for the Kauai Beach Marriott Hotel.

pkincy

I, too, have run into problems booking award time at either the Maui or Ko Olina Time Shares. I do love the Ihilani. It is an incredible property with great rooms. My last stay there was in a room that was just fabulous and I had paid a regular room rate not a suite upgrade and was only Gold at that time.

If you can get into either Maui or the Oahu Vacation Clubs go for it, but availability on points seems to be pretty bad. I do admit I have not tried this year since blackout dates were removed.

Perry

Rupp2k

Let me first off say i greatly appreciate any help anyone can provide.

I have roughly 170,000 MR points and looking to use all of my points and pay for the remainder of our 13 day honeymoon as the points are exhausted.

We are looking at Kaua'i and Maui and wanting to get some suggestions (we are both 30):

1. Maui - is the Wailea property THAT much nicer than the Marriott Ocean Club?
2. If we are looking for a true relaxing honeymoon, with maybe 2 to 3 excursions, what would your recommend for the # of days on each island (13 total)?

I guess I'd like to hear any additional recommendations for use of MR points in Hawaii.

Thanks!!

skent7511

Both Islands are nice. Was at Kauai Marriot Resort last August and only the first floor was an updated room because of flood. Our room was outdated white wicker furniture and old TV set. Nice view though. The pool was nice, but nothing spectacular. Didn't see the other resort on the island, but one of the time shares is connected to this one. Stayed at the Kauai Grand Hyatt back in 2002 and think it is one of the best resorts ever. If you can afford it, you might want to pay $ for that one and I doubt you'd be dissatisfied. Also, depending on when you go you may be able to get a few free nights using their promotions. I just received e-mail for staying 5 days get 2 free.

To show our appreciation, when you book a stay of 5 or more nights between now and September 30, 2009, we'll give you 2 nights on us. Enjoy the free nights to plan a family vacation, arrange a weekend break, extend a business trip, design a romantic getaway or more. To receive 2 nights on us, simply request Offer Code B5G7 when booking via hyatt.com or by calling 1-800-233-1234 or your nearest Hyatt Worldwide Reservation Centre.

I would not do more than 2 stops. When was there in 2002 did 4 islands in 10 days and felt like we were in the airport all the time. Maui has more night life, so you might want to use that as the second portion of trip when you might not be celebrating the honeymoon as much as the first few nights. There are also more activities as a whole to do on Maui. To me, Kauai is more of a restful destination. However, Wailea is at the other end of the island than I have been.

Also, there are some shops / restaurants within walking distance of the Kauai resort if you don't want to shell out $20 a person for breakfast or lunch. Try going to Roy's when you are at either island, but book reservations if possible. Also, make sure you get the flourless chocolate soufflé. Order when you get your meal because it takes 45 minutes. Roy's was privately booked the night we wanted to go, so we did some Kauai plantation and it wasn't the same.

If you like beer, you can drive to the "Worlds Western Most Brewery" on Kauai where they sell "The Last Beer Before Tomorrow". It is on the way back the "mini grand canyon". A Helicopter ride is expensive, but can be worth the memory. We did the open air 5 seater and it was nice to have the fresh air. The pilot said the closed one usually has more people getting sick in it.

Was supposed to do Maui Wailea Memorial Day weekend, but was canceled due to federal intervention. My suggestion would be book that for a length of time and then look at Kauai using $ and leftover points. I hear it is nice from people who have been there before. Was at Lahaina back in 2002, but haven't seen it in 7 years so don't want to give opinion.

miles_navigator

Wailea in Maui is one of the top places to stay in Maui. The Fairmont, Four Seasons, and Grand Wailea (now a Hilton Waldorf collection hotel) are down the street. If Category is the same then go for Wailea. This is a good honeymoon destination.

I personally wouldn’t recommend/we didn’t like Kauai. We stayed at the Marriott in Lihue. In looking back I think we may like this property with the kids now but don’t recommend this property for a honeymoon. If you want to go to Kauai for your honeymoon, stay in the Poipu Beach. The Hyatt is the really nice. They have a Sheraton there and I think a Marriott time share property there now as well.

I wouldn’t do more than 2 islands on your trip if you want to relax. One year we did 3 islands in 1 week and we felt like we were carrying our luggage around every other day (probably were).

PHLGovFlyer

Just returned from a week at the Marriott Wailea. We really enjoyed our stay, largely beacuse the property was not very crowded. The facility is a bit dated, but the pools are very nice. We walked all up and down Wailea, and all the other resorts except the Maui Prince were very crowded with chairs pushed right against each other and tons of little kids running around. The Marriott had room to spare and most of the kids stayed in the kids' pool. We also checked out all the hotels in Kaanapali and they were all fairly crowded as well.

jisaac

Not the best recent stay at the Ihilani, perhaps my experience was isolated?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawai...hu-hawaii.html

aaupgrade

jisaac,

Thanks for the link to your review. I have stayed at the Ihilani about 8 times over the past 7 years. My last stay in June 2008 I noticed that wear and tear was taking its toll on the furnishings. It is still a nice hotel IMO, but I would expect renovations sometime in the next couple years in order to keep it up to par.

Regarding earlier posts where 2 posters had opposite opinions on Roy's. I have eaten at the Ko Olina Roy's at least 8 times, my last was this past Thursday. Roy's is hit or miss. I have a few incredible meals there, one very disappointing meal and a couple that were just OK.

I am staying in Waikiki for the second time in my visits to Hawaii. The last was years ago at the Ren Ilakai which was a huge mistake which was validated by them being deflagged. This time I stayed at the new Courtyard and the Waikiki Marriott, 4 nights at each.

The Courtyard is a bargain, but the lobby area is small but nice, the rooms (I was upgraded to a deluxe room) were basic but did have an LCD with HDMI connections which works great for playing movies from my laptop, although I usually put a movie in when I went to bed and never made it past a few minutes. The Courtyard has a small pool between the hotel and parking lot. There is a small fitness center which is very crowded with exercise equipment.

The Waikiki Marriott is a lot nicer than I expected. I was upgraded to a junior OV suite with 2 balconies. It is very nice, but not as nice as the JW Ihilani. Bathroom is relatively small with toilet and tub/shower combo in same room with pocket door, and vanity out in open area not separated by a door from the rest of the suite. We ate at DK Steakhouse which was by far the worst steakhouse I have ever frequented. Steaks were utility grade at best as there was little marbling and they lacked flavor. Appetizers were very good. I did use the pool a bit and it was OK.

The Waikiki locations were much better for me since I have more friends living here now and they are scattered in various directions, so Waikiki was much more centrally located for my purposes. They are also a lot less expensive than the JW, which is an added plus. I still prefer the solitude of JW Ihilani. I tried Ko Olina once, but being single I didn't care for it. I like kids, but a steady diet of screaming kids around the pools didn't appeal to me. The MVCI is geared to families, so that is part of the deal and is awesome for families. However, for singles and childless couples, this may not be the most appealing environment. There is much less of that at the Hotel properties IMO.

ordflyboy

the bad....

Waikoloa Marriott - nothing special.... I prefer the Hilton just up the road... when we were there in February this year, the Marriott was missing a bunch of pool chairs... guess they were out being repaired, but there was alot of empty space and alot of guests laying on towels on the ground ... unacceptable

Ko Olina timeshares - lots of kids and families... so this may be for you, but it wasn't for me... plus lots of construction noise ....

the OK ....

Waikiki Marriott - great location if you want to be in the center of it all ... VERY touristy ... they have a nice pool (nice great, but good for Waikiki) .... across the street from the beach - at the top end of Waikiki - so the beach is wider here than if you go down by the Royal Hawaiian, etc... close to the zoo and other attractions ...

JW Marriott - been a few years since I've been there, but the pool is kinda small.... rooms were nice but I can imagine they are in need of upgrade today ...

Wailea Marriott - good location but nothing special ... the Grand Wailea (Hilton Luxury Collection?) is in the same area and far, far superior

the BEST ....

Kauai Marriott (Lihue) - we go to Hawaii every year... we go to two islands... Kauai and somewhere else.... ALWAYS stay at the Lihue Marriott... lots of kids and families, but they seem much better behaved than those at the Ko Olina property... pool is HUGE and very, very relaxing... great views of the harbor and arriving aircraft to LIH... MUCH better than ANYTHING in Poipu ...

travelingmore

Our favorites: On Kauai, love the Kauai Marriott Hotel the best, for reasons already given - nice facility, large rooms, good restaurants, beautiful bay and ocean views, great pool.....And, we like it better than the Marriott Poipu property on Kauai.

On Oahu: Marriot Ko Olina timeshare - we trade into it 1-2 times a year as Marriott TS owners, and love the property, location, beaches and lagoons. We are retired and don't find it too full of kids - the voices and "noise" are pleasant. One of the most beautiful open lobbies, with a view of the ocean - we just love it.

We also like the Marriott Waikiki if we need to be in town - always had good service there.

bdhaliwa

For family vacation, plat member, 200k points to spend.

Anthemflyer

We stayed at the above resort in July on points. They are currently running a buy 2 nights, get 3rd free deal using points and each night is 35K, so 70K per 3 night stay. We had to book 2 seperate stays, but its a great deal. Its also a fabulous property. West side of Oahu. Its very quiet and has nice beaches.

We've stayed at the Waikiloa on the Big island and weren't impressed. Its an older property and the beach is crummy.

mdaecher

But, out of the way with lots to do for family (volcanoes, worlds tallest mountain) is the Big Island - Marriott Waikoloa was great for me, but I travel single and not sure about family restaurant around there

sely

Depends on the island you choose without a doubt. I would first pick the island you would like to go to and then decide where to stay.

My family stayed at the Waiohai Beach Club in May on points and it was perfect for us.

Outside of a few hotel style rooms everything else is a two bedroom which is nice when traveling with kids. Full Kitchen and grills made it convenient to cook meals in (and saved us a ton of cash). Grounds were awesome with three pools. One was a kid pool right on the water, one adult only pool and the main pool which was large and 4 feet deep at most. Great beach for kids (no waves) and excellent snorkeling right offshore.

This can be a negative or positive but you are right in the middle of the island so it is a little far to drive to see the Na Pali Coast and Waimea. Positive is you are half way between both.

The Waiohai is also on the sunny side of the island which worked out for us since everywhere else we went it was cloudy and misty.

Kauai was the perfect island for us. It was quiet with tons of nature. When we go on vacation we like to get as far away from the hustle and bustle as possible. With that said, I do see how it is not for everybody. It lacks shopping, nightlife, etc.

If you do choose the Waiohai my one piece of advice would be to ask for island/courtyard view rooms. We had an ocean view room that overlooked a parking lot and public park. The only room with an ocean view was in one of the bedrooms. We were not in the room that much so it really was no big deal.

Outside of the standard 500 points there were no extra benefits for Platinum (I did not try for late check out).

Long answer to your question but it all boils down to what you want in an island.