We were surprised that we found savings as much as 49% in one case. But there’s much more to consider, so buyer beware.
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26 thoughts on “Does Costco Travel Save Money On Hawaii Vacations?”
We were surprised that we found savings as much as 49% in one case. But there’s much more to consider, so buyer beware.
Just booked Royal Hawaiian suite promotion. For 6 nights, deal came out roughly $4500 total for Historical ocean view suite (730 sq ft) . But on marriot.com and other hotel booking sites, it’s quoting $3100/night for the same room!
Is the deal too good to be true or is it a system error or glitch? Should I be worried?
I used Costco for a family trip to Maui recently. It was a package deal inclusive of airfare, hotel and car rental. We had a great time but I never received the advertised ShopCard after our return. When I inquired, they said no, not all of their vacation packages include this. So I feel that was misleading and disappointing.
The savings work for mainland visitors. Same cannot be said for Kama’aina looking to travel to Fiji for example. The price included airfare from LA. When I asked for a stay-only rate, the rep. said that it could not be unbundled. He even expressed frustration because they get this request a lot.
As for booking hotels, when we fly to Oahu, we book ahead. Then a day or two before departure we’ll go through a third party source (eg. Booking.com) to check on last minute price offers. On our last trip the rate went from $267 to $99. That rate waived resort fees and gave us club privileges. Those were access to a private breakfast room, free breakfast and free drinks. This tactic has worked every time.
Costco is a great tool for booking travel.
Pricing isn’t the only reason I book travel with Costco it’s also their exclusive perks that attract me to their packages. I look for no resort fee’s, free parking, resort credits, free breakfast & no additional charge for room upgrade.
The ability to cancel and re-book is a real plus for me.
I also like the small upfront refundable deposit fee, usually 200.00, and how they layout the cancellation policy for your trip. As an executive member that 2 percent kick back is nice.
Over the years I’ve learned some really neat tricks that have secured me some awesome resort stay deals using Costco, none that I’m willing to share.
Mahalo for the info. It’s not the way in which we go or rent in Hawaii. However, it could work for Tahiti. We plan to be in Maui later this year.
Aloha
Hi Roy.
Most welcome. Happy travels to Maui and French Polynesia.
Aloha.
Have you tried seeing if Costco cruise packages were cheaper? Thanks.
Hi Donna.
No we did not.
Aloha.
Thank you for doing all the work to save us money. Good information.
Hi Lynn.
Thanks. We’re very happy that you found it useful. We were pleasantly surprised ourselves.
Aloha.
Great Hawaii travel info!!!
My observations:
1-On Costco hotel/resort offerings, many properties that charge a “resort fee” to the general public often do not do so when the property is offered by Costco.
2- The Sonesta Kauai Hotel should be distinguished from most of the accommodations on this property which is known as Marriott’s Kauai Beach Club and shares the property’s common areas (pools, garden, beach access, etc.). Aside from the Porte cochere and 3-story escalator entrance, the entry for Marriott timeshare owners is the tall oceanfront building near the entrance to Dukes Restaurant.
Jim E
I recommend checking Costco Travel frequently. We got a fantastic deal on an upcoming club-level stay at Outrigger Reef that includes resort credit and (as always with Costco) no resort fees. It was only on the website for about a day and a half before the offer disappeared.
I got the deal of a lifetime through Costco last year.
$4500 for 12 nights at Westin Hapuna, premium ocean view, resort fee, parking, rental car and get this $200 a day resort credit, so $2400! I felt like they were paying me to come. Those days are gone though. Paid almost double this year for much less but still got a good deal through Costco. The beauty of Costco is if you book and a better deal comes up you just cancel and rebook (Hapuna has a very generous cancellation policy via Costco).