We spent a week at the Bay Club in June. The rooms were quite spacious with large balconies. Decor was Hawaiian which you will either like or dislike. It was very quiet and peaceful but a drive away from the beach. The pool there is nothing to write home about. If you want a pool with a waterfall and a bar, stay at the Hilton which was an incredibly large and impersonal hotel. If you want peace and quiet, and adequate space for your family stay here.

A couple of good things that we enjoyed included preferential green fees on the two Waikoloa golf courses. Hapuna State Beach is a drive away but far nicer than the local beach in Waikoloa. A real restaurant find is Cafe Pesto which in my opinion is much better than the highly rated Roy's restaurant in Waikoloa.

Stayed at the Bay Club in Waikoloa mid June 2005. I'll preface this review by saying that I am a Bay Club timeshare owner and not a HGVC member. The Bay Club was converted to a HGVC property around 2000 and owners were given the option of buying into the HGVC or staying a Bay Club Owner. This is my third visit to the Big Island and to the Bay Club.

I found the staff warm, inviting and professional. I had several conversations with Rei in reservations who worked with me to book my stay. We arrived with a SUV full of people, luggage and Costco necessities. We were able to check in quickly and within 10 minutes we were hauling our stuff to our two bedroom/two bath condo. I appreciated the fact that they accomodated my request for a room next to the front desk and pool.


As a mother of two, (8 year old son and 7 year old daughter) the most important reason I go for a condo/timeshare is for the space and the kitchen. The Bay Club has a fully stocked kitchen complete with the rice cooker (an appliance that is missing in most condo kitchens). The kitchen was clean with not a creature in sight. The ability to cook your meals brings the costs of the island vacation down. The stacked washer/dryer combo was conveniently located near the kitchen. Both the washer/dryer and dishwasher came with the required supplies of Tide and dishwasher soap.

The living/dining room was decorated with a Hawaiin Tropical feel. My room was slightly dated, however, my sister's condo (she rented a 2/2 during the same time period) was just redocorated (it still had the price tag hanging from the palm tree decorating the living room) which made it feel brighter, fresher and admittedly cleaner. Hopefully, the redecoration will be done throughout the property. The rooms still had a lot of space for a family of four and a stowaway. We were on the ground floor which meant that our lanai/patio was even larger as we could step onto the grassy area beyond the brick. The lanai was furnished with two chairs, a table and a couple of lounge chairs and an outside bar area/sink. We took the recoomendation of the front desk staff and set up an in-room massage. Since the lanai was so large (and the space between the lanai/second bedroom) was secluded and private, we were able to enjoy the message "outdoors". Nice to hear the sounds of nature while the stress brought with you to the islands floats away.

The bathrooms were well stock with all of the usual Hiltonesque amenities: Neutrogena shampoo/conditions, soaps, etc. The Bay Club provided beach towels which came in handy when you go from beach to pool and only bring one towel from home (poor planning on my part). The Bay Club has two pools for its guests. We frequented the one closest to our condo. It is on the smaller side, but we found that it was never crowded. Granted it's not the Superpool in the Hilton Hawaiian Village but it was never advertised to be that. Its clean and big enough to satisfy a 7, 8 and 20 year old (the stowaway). The grounds had two tennis courts (one of which was converted to a basketball court), an exercise room with the basic equipment and lovely manicured lawns, waterfalls and walkways.

If the pool and the grounds were not to your liking. We were able to hop on the shuttle and laze on the beach known as A-Bay (1-2 miles down the road).

The "restaurant" was not billed as "four star", but as a cafe for you to grab a reasonably priced quick meal or snack while you watched your children swim. The food is pure local cuisine: loco moco, fish, saiman, pork adobo. Very filling and again cheap for this area. $8 for pork adobo (filipino dish), rice, salace is darn good when you think about it. If you'd like you could spend $20 by going to the King Shops and getting fish and chips at the food court. This is filling and not as greasy.

The Bay Club is located in the heart of the Waikoloa Beach Resort Area. It is almost 20 mils from the Kona International Airport, 30 miles to Kailua-Kona, 20 miles from Waimea/Kamuela, 10 miles from Hapuna Beach and 120 miles from the Volcano. For the Big Island, that's pretty central as everything is so spread apart that driving is like "death and taxes" on this island...you're going to have to do it no getting around it. The bay club is a good home base.

In order to be fair, I'll share my gripe. The Bay Club needs to update their technology. High Speed Internet Access should be available in all rooms and not just at the front desk area. The Access should be free to all clients and not billed at that outrageous rate of 25 cents a minute. Come on - it was cheaper at the Honolulu International Airport where I paid 15 cents a minute. Those who still have to keep in touch with loved ones at home or like my husband, with work need the access.

All in all - we enjoy the Big Island. It's diverse land (lava, ranch pasture, mountains, rainforest) and ocean views make it a wonderful place to visit. The Bay Club is not a mega-resort but a nice place to stay while exploring this island.

We are owners with Hilton and own in Florida. We traded our points to stay in Hawaii at this so called resort. Big mistake. Grounds are beautiful. Pool/Spa/Restaurant (if you can call it that) should be an embarassment to Hilton!! The pool is pathetic. With all the ground space, Hilton should build a pool with waterfalls and one where more than 15 can fit comfortably. How can you go to a Hawaiian resort of Hilton's calibur and not have a bar to get tropical drinks at? Limited overpriced beer is available, but only until 7PM. The restaurant is only open 5 days a week. What a joke!!

Now to the room. Good size. Nice Lanai. Rooms need updating. If you like ants, this is your kind of place. Cabinet doors fell off upon opening. Sinks and shower drains were all plugged up. Flushing the toilet is a joke here. Better be muscular to open the sliding glass doors. They are difficult to open. Our smoke detector went off at 2AM. Took forevever to get someone from security to answer phone. When they finally did answer, they said they would be right up. Guess what, they never showed up!! Went to find manager next morning. We told him what happened. At least he sent up maintenance crews right away to address. That didn't help us at 2AM though!! Next time, I'll call 911. The staff is not that friendly. It would be a huge benefit to be able to use the Hilton's water facilities at the nearby resort that is within walking distance.

The location is too islolated from anything. This is especially painful because there is nothing to do since there are few if any activities. Don't bring kids or they will drive you crazy with boredom.

All in all, for a Hilton Vacations Property, I would rate this a 2 out of 10. I have stayed at 3 different HGVC properties, and this by far is the worst I have seen. The two in Orlando and the Hilton Hawaiian Village are outstanding. Go there, but stay away from this resort. If you are smart, avoid the embarassing property. If you go to the Big Island, stay in Kona, and exchange via RCI or Interval. The Kona Coast 2 resort is outstanding!!

This property is well manicured and beautiful. The rooms were spacious and immaculate. The staff was professional, polite and helpful. Say hello to Blossom at the activites desk, she is extremely helpful. Kings Shop Center is a two minute drive with restaurants ( Try Roys), upscale stores and food shopping. There are other excellent restaurants about a twenty five mile drive. Two are Jamesons By The Sea And Huggo's. Also the Hilton Waikoloa is the adjacent property which is spectacular with a restaurant Provincial KPC which was also excellent. The property is not available to non-guest unless you are willing to pay a day rate of about $88.00. When you leave the airport if you are a Costco Member turn right about five miles and you can purchase any supplies you need. The Bay Club is about 18 miles the other way. Also you can purchase gas at Costco which is about 30 to 40 cents cheaper per gallon.@ $2.39. Alamo was a good deal for car rental. If you plan to hike or go to the National State Parks you need good running shoes or boots and bring water on daily trips. The Island is Big and you will do a lot of driving. We covered about a third of the island in three days and did more the 600 miles. This island is about getting out and doing things daily. The Bay Club does have two swimming pools and a beach. The pools are small and we didn't go to the beach. There are two golf courses minutes from the property and plenty of others to choose from. Get early Tee times. Its 86 degrees in the shade. This was our first time to this Island and we enjoyed it. This was our fourth trip to Hawaii and now we have been to four of the Islands. Depending on your interests each Island offers something different. We like Maui the best.