Hawaii- Been to Maui. Chance to go to Honolulu.
 

My husband and children that are in their 20's, have the opportunity to use a friend's Marriott timeshare week in Jan. 2014 in Honolulu. We want to make sure that we are not stuck in a "city" atmosphere and that the beaches in Honolulu are not overcrowded. Will we be disappointed after traveling to Maui in the past? If we do not use the week in Honolulu then there are Caribbean islands that we can choose to visit. I need to decide and make reservations by Jan. 2013 so I appreciate any input you have. Thank you.

Is it at the Marriott Ko'Olina? If so, that is about 40 minutes drive from Waikiki - it's not a highly developed area, in fact, if you've been to Kaanapali in Maui, it's somewhat like that, but smaller. Tthey picked a new area to develop and put in 4 or 5 resorts (including the Marriott timeshare, a JW Marriott, the new Disney Aulani, a luxury condo, on 4 man-made lagoons, a golf course, etc) you do have to drive through some areas that I personally didn't like (industrial) to get there. It's also near some suburban-like areas (Kapolei) with Target, strip centers, etc). The resort itself is very nice - look at the pix on Tripadvisor. It's not crowded. Again, however, the beaches are not natural ocean beaches. It's not where I'd want to stay if I were in my 20s.

Ditto sf7307. I think they'd want to be either in the 'mix' on Waikiki or east of Honolulu. Could be pretty breezy to the west. OTOH, where did you favor on Maui?

Which Marriott are you considering in Honolulu?

Honolulu is a "city" atmosphere. Most of the rest of the island is not. There's plenty of people on the beaches in Waikiki/Honolulu, but it's still really really nice imo. There are plenty of other beaches around the island that are not crowded.

Next question, which Caribbean island would you be considering? Hard to vote when we don't know the options (lol)!

The only Marriott timeshare property that I know of on Oahu is located in Ko Olina on the Leeward shore of West Oahu as previously mentioned. It's a resort area that reminds me most of Wailea on Maui if you're familiar with that. The 4 lagoons there are man made and offer protected swimming/snorkeling year round. It's definitely not a city environment. The nearest city, Kapolei, is fairly suburban. The least crowded beach is probably lagoon 2 (appropriately named Honu as there are usually a couple of resident turtles here) in front of the Beach Villas condos or lagoon 4 on weekdays but none of them are really crowded compared to Waikiki beaches. There's not much to do for 20 somethings in the immediate area and heading to Honolulu, North or Windward shores requires at minimum a half hour drive if there's no traffic. A lot of people live in West Oahu and commute so traffic is very heavy heading into Honolulu in the morning and heading west in the afternoon.

There are also Marriott and Courtyard by Marriott hotels in Waikiki but those aren't timeshares.

If it's Ko-Olina, then go for it! I love it there. Just spent a week on Oahu-and we've been to Maui many times. Great island!
North Shore beautiful beaches, and nice snorkeling at Sharks Cove. We love the mountains on Oahu, the Polynesian Culture Center was great! Waikiki was fun to go into for the day and the nightlife is great too. Love the swap meet! Spent hours there shopping. We stayed at Marriott twice and Disney's Aulani this last time. Marriot just as nice! Hawaii is nicer than the Caribbean in my opinion

I was just, it was bad! The Marriott accommodations were good, but everything else2was terrible. there's even a refinery next to it. everything was expensive, the food was lousy. go stay"any where else!

Thank you for all the replies. The other option would be going to Aruba and staying at the Marriott Ocean Club . The Marriott resort is the Ko Olina. I didn't realize it was so far from Waikki. I don't think that will work for us although I am sure it is beautiful. Thank you again for your input!