Priceline Hotel: 4* Hawaii (Kamuela) Waikoloa Marriott Resort

[thesqueegeekid]

Got this for my honeymoon...

I bid for resorts up to $140 hoping for the Hapuna Prince. I than tried $90 for a 4* and got a counter-offer to add $22. I also was not able to get additional nights here. I was hoping for 3 nights.

Kamuela

69 275 Waikoloa Beach Drive

Waikoloa, Hawaii 96738-5711

808-886-6789

Your Offer Price: $95.00

Number of Rooms: 1

Number of Nights: 2

Subtotal: $190.00

Taxes & Service Fees: $32.40

Total Charges: $222.40

[ramilhanna]

hi squeegeekid!

when are you going to be there? i'm considering going to Hawaii also but have only been to Honolulu. I'd like to try the Big Island maybe??? please post and let me know how this hotel turns out.

thanks,

ramilhanna

[thesqueegeekid]

please post and let me know how this hotel turns out.

will do ramilhanna, I'll post as soon as I get back.

[LoneStar]

FWIW, Squeegee, I think you did alright for yourself.

I've been studying this zone for a while now (I'm going too!), and from what I can tell, you only get the Prince if the Hilton is sold out at its priceline rate. The Hilton seems to almost always accept $135 IF its regular rate of $209 is available for that date (you can check hilton.com to see). The Prince seems to still be participating (I see them come up on priceline vacations), but I think they're looking for more than $140 (I'm not entirely sure, but they're likely north of $150).

So the bottom line is that if you bid in the resort classification for the Big Island, you're far more likely to get the Hilton than the Prince. And that's a good thing for SOME bidders -- particularly those with families. Reading the reviews, it seems that most families are happy with the Hilton, because it's like staying in a Hawaiian Disneyland. The reviews of non-families are decidedly more mixed -- my guess is that if you're a newlywed who likes Vegas or Disneyland, you'd like the Hilton. If you're looking for something more low key, quiet and relaxing, you won't.

On the otherhand, most people like the Marriott (although they acknowledge it might not be as much "fun" as the Hilton, particularly with kids). Among all the professional reviews, I trust the authors of "Hawaii The Big Island Revealed" the most (btw, I'd recommend buying a copy for your trip, it's pretty cheap on Overstock.com). They recommend the Marriott, and don't particularly like the Prince (they find the overall physical appearance cold). So once the price diffential between the Marriott and the Prince is over $40/night, I don't see how you can go wrong with the Marriott.

I also would appreciate hearing your opinion when you return. I may wind up at the Marriott for a couple nights, too!

[LoneStar]

BTW, if you're still looking for that additional night, you can always look on hilton.com and see if its comes up at $209. If so, a $135 priceline bid will work. A pain to move for a night, but the Hilton might be fun for a night (kind of how I like Vegas in small doses). You can then be our resident "compare and contrast" expert on Kona coast priceline resorts! :)

[thesqueegeekid]

Thanks for your input ... I will indeed order the book and others, hadn't thought about it before but it would be great for the long flights and inter-island hopping.

I bid for three Islands and pretty much used PL vacations to determine availablity. I should have waited longer because PL/Vac now shows the extra nights available at the Marriott and the Hilton and Prince are now available.

For Waikiki, I would have spent the whole trip if I could have gotten the Renaissance for the week ... and now, it is available.

My lesson for next time, bid during the last month.

I will write back and add pictures... I hope I have time to tour the Hilton and Prince to know for next time. It really was a toss-up between the two.

[LoneStar]

My lesson for next time, bid during the last month.

I'm not sure that's ALWAYS a good idea. It is good to check regular availability at the properties that usually pop up on priceline. If the cheapest rates are still there, waiting is probably a good idea. If the rates are starting to rise and -- especially -- if places are starting to sell out, I think it's better to bid as soon as your plans are firm.

I saw your post on the Waikiki Renaissance. I'm stopping in Honolulu for a few days too, and may stay there, too. Personally, I think you'll enjoy going to the Big Island as well. I have a love/hate relationship with Waikiki (vacationing in a big city?), but I must say in recent years it's more love and less hate (they've been doing a nice job restoring Waikiki). That said, I would never fly all those miles and JUST go to Honolulu.

The last time I was there, about 2 years ago, I stayed in the Princess Kaiulani and must say I liked being right in the middle of Waikiki. As you probably know, the Renaissance is on the western edge. Pluses and minuses of that -- it's a matter of individual choice. Since Priceline does seperate the Waikiki zones, you do sort of get a choice -- assuming some three stars come up at a fair price in the other zone.

I'm also looking at some frequent flyer deals, particularly the cash& points deal offered by Starwood. I could also use frequent flyer miles to stay at the Renaissance -- 10,000 onepass miles "laundered" through the Amtrak Guest Rewards program would get me a weekend night at the Renaissance with breakfast for two. A good deal -- but probably not as good a deal as $57 on priceline (admittedly without breakfast, and with likely a worse room).

So let me know how you like the Reniassance. So far, the reviews I've read are quite favorable about that property, particularly from a value perspective. My own view is that, as long as you're relatively close to the beach, Waikiki is not the right place to blow a lot of money on a "resort" level property, especially if you're going to do that on a neighboring island.

[thesqueegeekid]

I mentioned my honeymoon at check-in ... and they upgraded me to a full oceanview. Very nice hotel, prime location, beachfront ... totally exceeded my expectations. I'll definitely post a review.

I actually got lucky at all 3 of my stays ... and got full ocean-view upgrades at the Radisson in Kauai and the Renaissance in Waikiki.

[Shingwedzi]

I actually got lucky at all 3 of my stays

Well, you did say it was your honeymoon...

:)