Thinking of making a bid on an Imperial Hawaii timeshare unit?  Here's the scoop.  You can get the basic information by reading the listings.  This will cover many attributes of Imperial Hawaii that many resellers have no clue about. 

First the shortcomings.  This is a building that shows its age - dating back to the 1970's or so.  The rooms are fairly small.  The bedrooms have barely enough room for a small dresser.  The bathrooms are adequate at best, and the plumbing and fixtures show their age.  The elevators are sometimes a wait.  The swimming pool is located on the top floor of the building and the swimming pool deck is often windy.

Now for the benefits.    Location.  Location.  Location.  Great staff.  Modest Price.

Location:  Imperial Hawaii is on Lewers Street right across the street from the world-famous Halekulani hotel on the beach at Waikiki and a long block or two away from Fort DeRussy, an army military reservation and park that is open to the public.  Higher floors have a clear view of the ocean, a view that is enhanced by the open spaces of Fort DeRussy.  Waikiki Beach is a very short walk across the street.  After a mulit-year construction project on Lewers Street, the Imperial Hawaii is now in the midst of the totally renovated Lewers Street, and the new Waikiki Beachwalk project.  Construction is now ongoing on the sold-out Trump Towers project just a block away.  The neighborhood is becoming first-class (see below).

Great Staff:  We have found the staff to be most helpful and truly concerned that the visitors enjoy their Hawaii experience.  They do a great job of maintaining the rooms and the common areas.  Although there is only twice-weekly maid service, all the extra towels you want are available from the third floor housekeeping area. 

Modest Price:  For less than the cost of a one week stay in a hotel room at the Halekulani (minimum of $500 per night), you can purchase a two bedroom timeshare!  Comparison to any other timeshares currently being offered confirm that this is a bargain, even after consideration of the small rooms, aging building, etc. 

Ownership is deeded, although the property is located on a long term lease.  The lease rate is to be renegotiated in 2012, so it is likely that the lease rent component of the maintenance fee will increase appreciably after 2012, although my recollection is that the lease rent is only a fraction of the maintenance fee.  Because the timeshare is deeded, change of ownership is more cumbersome than the more modern "club" timeshares, where you purchase your seller's membership in the club and the club owns the real property.  Thus, you have to deal with real property deeds, recording fees, title insurance (if you really feel that you need it), etc. 

The deed will show a specific unit and a specific week, however, reservations are on a floating week basis so you can reserve any week of the year that is available.  The higher floors are more desirable because of the better view, but units are not assigned until shortly before arrival.  Management says that if you get a low floor one year, they will strive to get you a high floor on your next stay.  Our experience (two years only) is that units are generally available even during the busy summer and winter months if you reserve six months or so beforehand.  You can take advantage of an internal program allowing you to bank your week if you know that you will not be using it for a given year ($75 fee and deposit must be made before your use year begins - not a month before the use year expires). 

Unlike other timeshares that have Saturday to Saturday stays, or Monday to Monday stays, you can check in any day of the week to the Imperial Hawaii.  Because many of the units are rented on a hotel basis to non-owners, it is very easy to extend your stay by booking extra room nights (owners get a 30% or so discount from the rack rates).  Valet parking is provided, as is baggage handling and storage.  You can rent current release DVD's from the front desk (all the units have a DVD player), as well as beach equipment.  There is an activities booking service off of the lobby.  An exercise/weight room is located on the third floor, as is a sauna.  Max Brunk of Manini Dive Company is at the pool every Monday at 3pm or so offering scuba tryouts in the pool.  Our three kids took his three day scuba certification course and had an absolute blast, booking several dives after they were certified.

Perhaps the best feature of the property is the 26th floor lounge.  About a third of the second highest floor is configured as an owners' lounge with billiards, a big screen TV, internet access (through four limited access computers and through a free high speed wireless connection you can use with your laptop), tables and chairs and two lanais with views of the ocean (over the low-rise Halekulani Hotel and through Fort DeRussy) and Hawaiian sunsets that can't be beat.   The owners' lounge is most active just before sunset when people gather for BYOB happy hour to watch the sunset.  Some families bring in outside food and enjoy dinner with the sunset.  The owners' lounge also has two bathrooms with showers, so if the closeness of the units or a shortage of bathrooms after returning from the beach becomes an issue, the 26th floor lounge is the solution.  And, if you end up with a lower floor unit, you can soak in the gorgeous view from the 26th floor.

Convenience:  ABC store on premises and Denny's restaurant on premises.

The Trump Hawaii five star hotel/condominium development (prices starting at $500,000 for a low floor mountain view studio condomium) is currently under construction about a block away, on the edge of Fort DeRussy (but far enough mauka that the view from the Imperial will not be obstructed).  This project and the Waikiki Beachwalk improvement project demonstrate that the Imperial neighborhood is improving at a rapid pace. 

If you are looking for the finest in luxury accomodations for a timeshare in Waikiki, you should try the Hilton Hawaiian Village timeshares or the Fairfield timeshares, but if you plan to spend your time in the Hawaiian sunshine and are looking for good, but not great, accomodations at a very reasonable price, consider the Imperial Hawaii.

For floor plans of the studio, one bedroom and two bedroom units, annual maintenance fees, amenities and other detailed information, visit the website at imperialofwaikiki.com.