Super Pool Plans

We are interested in trading or renting a week at Ko Olina at some point in the future. We have heard rumors that Marriott plans to build a new super pool at Ko Olina. Does anyone know the details, timing, etc? Have dates been announced yet when the super pool construction will be starting/be complete? We would prefer to visit Ko Olina after the new super pool is in operation.

i just exchanged emails with a concierge at Ko Olina as part of preparing for our trip this summer. she tells me "the 'superpool' is open there is a slide and a nice pool bar in the third tower that opened up in January."

The much hyped “Super Pool” opened in January 2009 with the Hale Nai’a tower (3rd Ko Olina tower). This is a very nice pool with many smaller pools interconnected through wide channels. There is a slide and pool bar as mentioned.

The initial information of this Nai’a pool was that it would rival the super pool at the Marriott Ocean Club in Maui and that the pool bar would be a swim up bar. The pool bar is not swim up and having experienced both the Ko Olina and Maui Super Pools, the Maui Ocean Club super pool is a superior pool, especially of kids...... of any age.

Following-up from my original post ...

We recently returned from our first visit to Ko Olina. The same pool designer was used for both Maui and Ko Olina, and you will find the same features at both pools (grotto, slide, waterfall, hot tubs). The new Ko Olina pool is nice to be sure - but I must agree that the Maui version is superior in all ways. Families can (and do) spend an entire day at the Maui pool. We were satisfied after an hour or two at the Ko Olina pool.

A big plus at Ko Olina was that the pools never seemed overcrowded. Lounge chairs were available at any hour during the day. This is probably because the adjacent beach/lagoon is very kid-friendly and draws many people away from the pools.

At Maui, the pool overcrowding is a serious issue. During peak season, people can be seen claiming lounge chairs at 6:00am (just ridiculous). At its worst, fist-fights have erupted over the lounge chair shortage. Marriott does very little to address the problem - they need to proactively reclaim unoccupied lounge chairs.

To summarize our experience: If you are a beach person, you will probably like Ko Olina better. If you are a pool person, then go for Maui (and brace yourself for overcrowding at the pool).