Info on Ko Olina Resort

We're staying in a rental unit at the Ko Olina Resort (see yesterday's picture for our unit). Today's picture features the hammock grove, one of the features of the Coconut Plantation, the housing community in which we're renting.

Following is what I know (or vaguely and inaccurately remember) about the resort.

First of all, it's really pretty. It's on the west side of Oahu and used to be sugar cane fields. Now it's got a couple of hotels (with Disney coming) and various housing options and a golf course (LPGA plays a tournament here annually; PGA also but not as often). Four man-made lagoons were carved out from the coastline, making great places to swim. In addition to the sandy beaches, each lagoon is rimmed with a grassy area that has palm trees for shade. Local folks will also come here and spend a day at these beautiful beaches.

The first hotel is now called the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa. But Marriott didn't build it - some Japanese company did that and Marriott took it over later. It has 3 restaurants, the poolside bar and the hotel bar, and hanging out there feels like being on a cruise ship. There's a little daily paper telling you all the activities, just like a ship, along with a brief digest of the New York Times.

The other hotel is also a Marriott, the Ko Olina Beach Club, and there are condos and time shares. The Beach Club has a restaurant and a nice ocean-side bar, which has GREAT salads. We think this place has a better resort pool, but we're not allowed to swim in either one. However, if we wanted a pool, Coconut Plantation has two of 'em, and we'd rather swim in the lagoons anyway. So there.

All beaches in Hawaii are public; no one can own a beach, not even a resort like this. But they control access in a couple of ways, largely by limiting the parking. We just walk over to the lagoons, but we hear the locals talk about showing up at 6am for a parking space. We've also seen cars just waiting at the entrance to the small parking lots (and I mean small - 15 cars?) for someone to leave. I felt so sorry for this one Honda CRV full of 4 little kids!

The resort is a gated community, with security at the entrance, and if all the lots are full, they will make cars turn around and leave. Of course, people can lie and say they're headed to one of the housing areas (which some do!), but eventually if they can't find parking, they have to leave. The housing communities all have gates, too, but no one mans them; the gates are automatic with a little magic gray fob. On the weekends, the JW Ilihani Marriott will advertise parking on one of its grassy areas for $20 for the day, but not many people seem to take them up on that...

Disney is supposed to break ground on their resort sometime this year, with completion in 2011. It'll be a hotel / timeshare / Vacation Club property. I can't wait to go snorkeling with Mickey...

Well, this is getting a bit long so I'll stop for today.