Hilton HHonors - HWV ALON Gold questions

I have been reading all the posts, especially a very good one by Pakse.
But my question is exactly what to expect in "upgrades" being HH gold? We leave next week, and some people seem to have emailed the hotel to request specific items.

Which is better upgrading to the executive level with the lounge, or getting the breakfast? (BTW: last year when we were in the HHV somehow we got both.)
My wife and I like bigger rooms, and would give up view for size. With this in mind, what tower should we be looking for?
What tower is closer to parking?



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Joe

I just checked out of the HWV this morning (sadly), and am doing a quick e-mail check from our overnight at the Doubletree Alana on our way home to Atlanta. I'll post a full trip report once we've returned and recovered, but I'll tell you what you can expect in "upgrades" as Gold at HWV.

I called the day before we arrived and spoke to Reservations to request an HHonors Gold upgrade. I requested oceanview, Ocean Tower. Upon check-in, we were given an oceanview room in Ocean Tower (though not a high floor...more on that in upcoming trip report).

We were also given two breakfast certificates for each day of our stay. Those certificates were good for either continental breakfast or could be upgraded to the hot buffet at the Palm Terrace for $6.25. We upgraded all but one morning. The continental breakfast at $0 (the certs include tax and gratuity) is a great value (the continental breakfast spread is among the best continentals I've seen), and upgrading to the full buffet for $6.25 is also an excellent value, considering the retail is around $23.

We also got a list of other free goodies. This is what the list says:

================

Aloha and Welcome to Hilton Waikoloa Village

As a valued Hilton Honors [sic] member we are happy to extend to you the following courtesies:

+ Two bottled waters
+ First pot of in-room coffee, complimentary daily (excludes Room Service)
+ Daily delivery of a condensed version of the New York Times
+ Nightly turndown service upon request
+ Airline mileage with participating carriers
+ Zip out check-out
+ Extended 2:00 pm check out, upon availability

Additional privileges for our VIP members:
DIAMOND MEMBERS receive complimentary use of the Facilities, Locker Rooms and Workout Room in our Kohala Spa.

SILVER AND GOLD MEMBERS there is a discounted $10.00 facility fee for use of the Locker Rooms. The Workout Rooms are provided complimentary for your enjoyment.

*Please present your Hilton Honors Membership card at the Spa reception desk.

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The way the water worked is that they gave us two coupons for our first day, and one coupon for each additional day of our stay. We could then leave those coupons in the minibar whenever we wanted to take a bottle of water, and there was no charge. Pretty convenient, but they ran out of water for two days, if you can believe that!

Anyway, I hope this helps...and I am looking forward to writing a detailed trip report so I can share my experience on the Big Island and at the HWV. I know that I've learned so much from other posts...I want to give back. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

-Sabrina

Maybe I can address a few of the other questions too.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">My wife and I like bigger rooms, and would give up view for size. With this in mind, what tower should we be looking for?</font>

I don't know what the other towers' rooms are like, but we were pleasantly surprised at the roominess of our deluxe room in the Ocean Tower. King bed, desk, sofa bed, coffee table, armoire...and still plenty of room to move about and spread out. And I wouldn't have traded the whale watching every morning from the comfort of our own lanai for a bigger room.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">What tower is closer to parking?</font>

The Lagoon Tower and the Palace Tower are both one tram/boat stop from the Main Lobby. The Ocean Tower is the farthest. If you are not in a hurry (which you hopefully are not, on vacation), waiting to catch a tram or boat is not that bad. If you are only a stop away, walking is not bad. But the walk from the Main Lobby to the Ocean Tower is longer than it looks (it's actually three stops away).

Valet parking ($8/day) is right at the Main Lobby (of course), but self-parking can be a bit of a walk since you have to walk down into the lot and then across two or three rows that are valet-only. We decided to save the money and walk, but there was one evening when we'd been gone all day exploring the Hilo side and arrived back after midnight, and I HATED the walk from the parking lot and down the Museum Walkway that night. The boats stop running at 11pm and the trams stop running at midnight.

If you do have to walk from the Main Lobby to Ocean Tower, and you're not in a major rush, I recommend walking through the property (cross the bridge at the Main Lobby and wind your way behind the lagoon, past the pools, etc.) -- it's a much more interesting walk and actually seems shorter than the mile-long Museum Walkway route.

Hope this helps!

-Sabrina

So you weren't offered a floor with the lounge (or access to the lounge) as an alternate to the free buffet?

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Joe

I checked in as a guest of a gold member..
his membership acct number is entered in
my reservation . I was given a room in the
Tapa tower , 21st floor..partial ocean view
Free continental breakfast every morning...
Free water every day . ( for 2 )
Ooops..forgot to say that it's an award
stay .

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">So you weren't offered a floor with the lounge (or access to the lounge) as an alternate to the free buffet?</font>

No, I wasn't. That was okay with me because I wanted the breakfast coupons instead, based on some of the posts I had read here. If I had wanted the lounge access I probably would have requested that when I called to request my upgrade...my guess is that they would have accommodated my request if possible.

-Sabrina