WDWLVR
<font color=green>DVC @ The Boardwalk</font><br><f
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2000
On the 2006 DVC Member Cruise my DH won an II trade-out to anywhere in the II system for a week. We had already planned a trip to Oahu so looked into our options there. There were two in the II system listed for Disney. One is Hawaiian Princess at Makaha Beach and the other was Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club. Neither was on Waikiki, but that didn't matter too much to us. After reading the reviews over on TUG we tried for Ko Olina. We gave a 6 week window and said we would accept either a one bedroom or a studio. Within a couple of weeks we heard back that we got a studio from Friday 2/23 to Friday 3/2. We just got back and had a wonderful time. Here is my review of Ko Olina:
The Ko Olina Beach Club - what a beautiful resort! There are currently 2 buildings and will have 4 when finished. There was construction going on both sides of the resort (one for a new building and one for some condos going next door). Neither bothered us at all (though we weren't at the resort during most of the day). We had a efficiency which to you DVC Members is a studio. All units at Ko Olina are 2 bedroom lock-offs which members usually trade out the studio part. It had a king size bed, sofa sleeper, chair, small fridge, microwave, toaster, coffee maker and a balcony with a table and two chairs. Plenty of room for us. We saw the master suite on the tour and it was awesome, but for free we were quite happy with what we had. We were also blessed to have an 11th floor ocean view! I head read on TUG that most trade-outs get mountain views so this was a nice surprise.
The grounds are amazing. There are 4 man-made lagoons that go from the Ko Olina marina on the south all the way to the JW Marriott hotel on the north. All connected by a wonderful walking path. The Beach Club is fronted on lagoon 3 which had cabanas, chairs, etc. We snorkeled over in lagoon 2 since we heard that had the best collection of fish. We also walked over to lagoon 1 one morning for a fish feeding they do every morning.
The Beach Club is located over on the West Side of the island. Far away from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki. I actually enjoyed that! We did have to drive a bit where from Waikiki you can get shuttles very easily. Ko Olina is very much a destination in itself. Every day you get a daily paper and a daily activity sheet much like on a cruise ship. They have activities for all ages. Twice a week they have people from the Polynesian Cultural Center come down for some demos like coconut palm weaving, Hawaiian games, etc. They also have lei making classes, and other arts and craft activities. Some are free, some with a minimal cost. Every afternoon they sell shaved ice in a variety of flavors out at the pool. Yummy!
There is a casual resturant right by the lagoon which we ate at for both breakfast (buffet) and dinner (off a menu). There is also a slightly fancier sit-down resturant called Chuck's Steak House that just opened a few weeks ago. We ate there our first night and enjoyed it. There is also the option of taking a shuttle over to the JW Marriott for thier resturants (we did this one night) or going to the golf course to eat at Roy's (we never did this). There is also the Marketplace that has food for sale much like at the DVC resorts and also has sandwhiches and salads available. Another food option are the gas grills on the property. There was one station of 4 and another of 6. They were always busy! They are also cleaned every day by the staff. Very nice. Of course those in the larger units also have full kitchens. This is a great option because eating out anywhere on Oahu is very expensive, but hey we were on vacation!
Speaking of cleaning. It is done very much like at DVC. Halfway through your stay you get a tidy day where they change out your towels etc.
One other thing I thought was great was the welcome packet. In addition to the coffee packages you would expect there was a box full of trial size goodies. Dove deoderant, Olay body wash and in-shower moisterizer, Fruitiese shampoo and conditioner, Tide detergent, Listerine breath strips and many other small goodies I can't remember. Very nice. Also even in the studio you got real plates, glasses, cups and silverwear.
We did go to a presentation on ownership (for which we got a $200 snorkel tour as our gift). If we had the money we might just buy in. As it stands right now we don't but who knows what the future holds.
Another thing that was different from DVC is that almost the entire area is no smoking. This is a Hawaiian law and not just at the Beach Club. You cannot smoke in the units or even on the balconies or at the pool. There is a very nice smoking area with benches and a nice fountain.
There was also free wireless internet access in the rooms and around the resort. It wasn't the fastest and for some reason we had real problems with it the last day but it was free.
It was my second time on Oahu and DH's first so we did a lot of the touristy things. We did the Home of the Brave tour for the Arizona which I highly recommend. We also did the Explorers Tour of the USS Missouri, spent a day up at the Polynesian Cultural Center, and did the Ko Olina Cat snorkeling tour. All in all a great week.
We have never exchanged our DVC points for an II trade, but after this experience we may just do so in the future.
The Ko Olina Beach Club - what a beautiful resort! There are currently 2 buildings and will have 4 when finished. There was construction going on both sides of the resort (one for a new building and one for some condos going next door). Neither bothered us at all (though we weren't at the resort during most of the day). We had a efficiency which to you DVC Members is a studio. All units at Ko Olina are 2 bedroom lock-offs which members usually trade out the studio part. It had a king size bed, sofa sleeper, chair, small fridge, microwave, toaster, coffee maker and a balcony with a table and two chairs. Plenty of room for us. We saw the master suite on the tour and it was awesome, but for free we were quite happy with what we had. We were also blessed to have an 11th floor ocean view! I head read on TUG that most trade-outs get mountain views so this was a nice surprise.
The grounds are amazing. There are 4 man-made lagoons that go from the Ko Olina marina on the south all the way to the JW Marriott hotel on the north. All connected by a wonderful walking path. The Beach Club is fronted on lagoon 3 which had cabanas, chairs, etc. We snorkeled over in lagoon 2 since we heard that had the best collection of fish. We also walked over to lagoon 1 one morning for a fish feeding they do every morning.
The Beach Club is located over on the West Side of the island. Far away from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki. I actually enjoyed that! We did have to drive a bit where from Waikiki you can get shuttles very easily. Ko Olina is very much a destination in itself. Every day you get a daily paper and a daily activity sheet much like on a cruise ship. They have activities for all ages. Twice a week they have people from the Polynesian Cultural Center come down for some demos like coconut palm weaving, Hawaiian games, etc. They also have lei making classes, and other arts and craft activities. Some are free, some with a minimal cost. Every afternoon they sell shaved ice in a variety of flavors out at the pool. Yummy!
There is a casual resturant right by the lagoon which we ate at for both breakfast (buffet) and dinner (off a menu). There is also a slightly fancier sit-down resturant called Chuck's Steak House that just opened a few weeks ago. We ate there our first night and enjoyed it. There is also the option of taking a shuttle over to the JW Marriott for thier resturants (we did this one night) or going to the golf course to eat at Roy's (we never did this). There is also the Marketplace that has food for sale much like at the DVC resorts and also has sandwhiches and salads available. Another food option are the gas grills on the property. There was one station of 4 and another of 6. They were always busy! They are also cleaned every day by the staff. Very nice. Of course those in the larger units also have full kitchens. This is a great option because eating out anywhere on Oahu is very expensive, but hey we were on vacation!
Speaking of cleaning. It is done very much like at DVC. Halfway through your stay you get a tidy day where they change out your towels etc.
One other thing I thought was great was the welcome packet. In addition to the coffee packages you would expect there was a box full of trial size goodies. Dove deoderant, Olay body wash and in-shower moisterizer, Fruitiese shampoo and conditioner, Tide detergent, Listerine breath strips and many other small goodies I can't remember. Very nice. Also even in the studio you got real plates, glasses, cups and silverwear.
We did go to a presentation on ownership (for which we got a $200 snorkel tour as our gift). If we had the money we might just buy in. As it stands right now we don't but who knows what the future holds.
Another thing that was different from DVC is that almost the entire area is no smoking. This is a Hawaiian law and not just at the Beach Club. You cannot smoke in the units or even on the balconies or at the pool. There is a very nice smoking area with benches and a nice fountain.
There was also free wireless internet access in the rooms and around the resort. It wasn't the fastest and for some reason we had real problems with it the last day but it was free.
It was my second time on Oahu and DH's first so we did a lot of the touristy things. We did the Home of the Brave tour for the Arizona which I highly recommend. We also did the Explorers Tour of the USS Missouri, spent a day up at the Polynesian Cultural Center, and did the Ko Olina Cat snorkeling tour. All in all a great week.
We have never exchanged our DVC points for an II trade, but after this experience we may just do so in the future.
