Marriott’s Waikoloa Ocean Club

I have been wanting to come back to Waikoloa for 20 years and we finally made it back. It is a beautiful older resort. Loved the refurbished rooms. We had a pool view room but were pleasantly surprised with a pool/oceanview room. Love A-Bay beach and how secluded it is. Thought we could snorkel but it was pretty murky. We felt the history of the kings ponds and loved the trail by the queens shops. Definitely will be back!

I really don't understand the negative reviews. We had a great stay. Our room was great -- we got the 1 BR, ocean view, clean, everything was in working condition, bed was comfortable, staff were friendly and helpful. Our room has no full kitchen --- but why do major cooking chore when on vacation?! It does have microwave, full size refrigerator, instapot, kettle, toaster, etc. There's a nice in-house restaurant and some great restaurants across the street at Kings Shops. And if on a budget, Queens Marketplace is a short walk from the resort. The Waikola Beach is a short walk from the hotel premises, is in a cove and kept the water calm even on windy days. Water is not that clear though during my visit, but we spotted some turtles while snorkeling. A great beach to watch the sunset. There's a petroglyph reserve also within walking distance. It's a great base to explore the Kona side of the Big Island. Now if you want to explore the Hilo side of the island, you may need to plan more time; there was a reason this was called the Big Island.

We are long time Marriott. Vacation Club members at the Chairman level as well as Titanium Elite Bonvoy members. This facility, as many other Marriotts is a commercial hotel and a vacation club. The problem here is that there are two separate departments being managed by one entity. Check in for both hotel and vacation handled by hotel. Requests for late check out (plane leaves at 1030pm) not handled by vacation club, but hotel, who wants to sell you use of a day room for $299 for 6 hours and price varies daily. The price of the day room is higher for vacation club members than hotel guests! There is no vacation club lounge, so you are on your own with your luggage for 6-10 hrs before your plane leaves. (The Kauai Marriott has a comfortable lounge). Most planes heading to mainland leave late due to 3 hr time difference. Couples can manage this but is terribly inconvenient for people with children. The only choice would be to spend points and book an extra day IF they have the availability and next time book the extra day when you originally book. Also be advised there is NO shuttle from hotel to airport. Too bad the checkout experience leaves such a bad taste to an otherwise nice week. We will likely not be back because of this.

This property is a little strange because half of it is a beach resort hotel with a lot of conference facilities. Then another tower is a timeshare - Marriott Ocean Club. Our one-bedroom unit was very well equipped and newly renovated. BUT there is no oven or cooktop; not allowed by the local authorities. But they do have a lovely outdoor grill area that we used a few times. Only one restaurant plus a coffee place. Three different pool areas, plus the ocean. Very convenient to have two little shopping/restaurant malls next door and right across the street. You definitely need a car to get here, though. It's about a half hour north of the Kona airport. Staff and management were impressive. We had one little issue with our room, and they immediately took care of it. Very well run property.

We have owned a Marriott Vacation Club Timeshare since 2008 and have been very pleased with the services provided at many Marriott facilities worldwide. However, we just returned from a 10-day trip to Marriott’s Waikoloa Ocean Club on the Big Island of Hawaii that changed that perspective. We booked the trip in January 2024 and received confirmation from Marriott that stated in the Summary of Charges that: • 10 nights at $0.0 USD per night per room (using 4.050 Destination points) • Taxes $ Fees (per night per room and Estimated Government Taxes & Fees INCLUDED On September 1, 2024 (ten days before we were to arrive in Hawaii), we received an email from Marriott saying that there would be a daily charge of $23.60 for Hawaii State Occupancy Tax—a total of $236.00 for our stay, and that many of Marriott’s Bonvoy benefits would NOT apply--classic BAIT and SWITCH! As Marriott Rules and Regulations concerning trip cancelation within 60 days of arrival puts a severe restriction on re-using the points (in this case 4,050 points) allocated for the stay, changing our minds was not an option given that we would have to use the points before the end of 2024! On our arrival at Marriott’s Waikoloa Ocean Club, I contacted the Resort Manager to inform him how upset we were with this chain of communications. His response was that it was out of his control--he did give us a $50 resort credit! My response was that I would be cancelling the 2025 family trip to his resort for 10 members of our family that I had just booked! While we have visited Hawaii many times, and I actually lived and worked in Hawaii for ten years, we hadn’t been to Hawaii since before Covid. It was a shock to find that a Happy Hour Pina Colada at the Marriott runs $19 plus tip, making it approximately a $25 drink (with very little alcohol). The property itself has seen better days and food and service in the restaurant was mediocre. We will not return

We stayed for 2 weeks at Marriott Waikoloa on the timeshare side. We had a wonderful visit!! I know there was recently construction, but the lobby, grounds and rooms were beautiful and very well maintained. We have traveled extensively and been to the MVC in Maui, Kauai, and at Ko Olina and many other properties. This a smaller property, very well maintained and the staff was phenomenal- so kind and helpful with whatever we needed! The pools were great, the beach was gorgeous, and loved walking through the ancient fish ponds. Very nice and convenient to have the king and queens shops just a few minutes walk from the resort. We loved, loved our stay, a few things that could be improved: -Pool food menu was lackluster, nachos were not good. -My kids loved the activities, a few more activities would have been great! -We loved the Buffet, a few days they were out of yogurt and some cereals. Things you need to think of when coming to the big island: -It’s very, very laidback. This is a place to chill, it’s not a party place at all, you come here to relax and see the amazing things on the island. -You are on an island- everything is expensive. Come here knowing that! Remember workers have to live in the island- it’s expensive for them too! -things are far. When you leave Waikoloa or go from A to B anywhere on the island it’s a bit of a drive, but the drives are interesting, easy and beautiful! -All beaches are public- no resort owns the beach. I saw complaints about not enough chairs at the beach- they are lucky they can have any! Had a great stay and hope to come back one day!

Food - breakfast buffet - underwelming. Salad, fruits, and pastries for continental. Add omelet and same warm options- 45 USD pp. not worth the price. - lunch- one option at resort. Mediocre food, limited options. - dinner - one option. Room Tiny. It worked for 2 adults and one child. But, wow, so small. Had to rearrange move tv just to be able to fit our suitcases Stayed 2 weeks- so we felt the small space. The balcony had 1 small table that was really not usable for anything. Positive/ beautiful location. Beautiful beach. Calm water - atleast in July . Not best visibility for snorkeling, but great for swimming. Short drive to some other nice beaches and hikes

We stopped in the restaurant because there was “live music” but the music was above the restaurant and advertised incorrectly. It said listen to live music with dinner. We could not hear the music at all, and the dinner was not worth it. The menu was blah and way over priced. The space and amenities were gorgeous. People were kind, but not worth is to go to that restaurant and spend that kind of money.

We visited the vacation club side of the Marriott Waikoloa Ocean Club over the Easter weekend. Our experience was largely positive. Despite the size of the resort, it maintains a very relaxed feel. The ***** areas are spacious and open with many places to sit and look at the ocean (both outside and semi-inside). The pool area always seemed to have seating available, though there was a shortage of umbrellas. The ocean is a short walk across a lagoon. Contrary to what some other reviewers have said, there are loungers available for free on the beach. They are a short walk to the right, bypassing the more elaborate ones for which there is a charge. The ocean itself was quite calm, but very rocky (bring water shoes!). Our room was nicely appointed. The limited kitchen is a modest negative, but the property is clear on what you are getting. Despite the absence of a range top and oven, the room came equipped with all the usual Marriott Vacation Club kitchen supplies. The balconies were small with just enough space for two chairs and a small table, so it's not easy to eat on the balcony. We had a one bedroom unit, so we had two of the balconies, a nice feature. The bathroom was dated. Our one complaint during our week on the property was the occasional absence of towels at the pool. Twice, late in the afternoon, the towel hut was out of towels. They had a pre-printed sign to announce this, so it must not have been an exception. One of the times, we were told that some were available at the bell stand, quite a walk from the pool. Another time, we were told that the delivery was late and that it was on its way. A couple of hours later, the towels were still "on their way." This is inexcusable at a resort. Management needs to remedy this problem. Having an emergency reserve that can be tapped seems like a obvious solution. The towel issue was annoying, but luckily the many other positives of this property leave us with a positive assessment of this property.