Hilton HHonors - Which Hawaiian property would you recommend?

Which Hilton property would you recommend for a mellow Hawaiian vacation?

I'm planning a vacation for my family of four (spouse and two kids ages 3 and 9). We're open to a week long stay at any of the islands this summer, preferably August before the older child goes back to school. I have Gold status and 200K Hilton points. Since there is time, should I apply for the Surpass card for the AXON awards, etc?

Also, any advice on which airlines from SFO? I have sufficient Avios miles but see no RT availability for HNL and OGG in August; will probably have to pay for flights.

Any advice will be appreciated, thanks!

Which Hilton property would you recommend for a mellow Hawaiian vacation?

I'm planning a vacation for my family of four (spouse and two kids ages 3 and 9). We're open to a week long stay at any of the islands this summer, preferably August before the older child goes back to school. I have Gold status and 200K Hilton points. Since there is time, should I apply for the Surpass card for the AXON awards, etc?

Also, any advice on which airlines from SFO? I have sufficient Avios miles but see no RT availability for HNL and OGG in August; will probably have to pay for flights.

Any advice will be appreciated, thanks!

Hilton Hawaiian Village by all means !

Which Hilton property would you recommend for a mellow Hawaiian vacation?

I'm planning a vacation for my family of four (spouse and two kids ages 3 and 9). We're open to a week long stay at any of the islands this summer, preferably August before the older child goes back to school. I have Gold status and 200K Hilton points. Since there is time, should I apply for the Surpass card for the AXON awards, etc?

Also, any advice on which airlines from SFO? I have sufficient Avios miles but see no RT availability for HNL and OGG in August; will probably have to pay for flights.

Any advice will be appreciated, thanks!

we have spent our last two years going to the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island. both trips were for a week and we almost never left the resort. if you want a relaxing vacation where you can not be in a hurry this is it. many complain it takes 30 minutes to get the tram from the ocean tower to get to the parking lot and even longer on the boat, all i can say to that is whats your hurry.

Grand Wailea. Not sure how easy it will be to get favorable points deals, but it's worth it!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilton-hhonors/948461-best-hilton-honors-hotel-hawaii.html?highlight=Hawaii

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilton-hhonors/1005557-hilton-hhonors-properties-hawaii.html?highlight=Hawaii

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilton-hhonors/1105441-best-hilton-hawaii-property-use-points.html?highlight=Hawaii

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilton-hhonors/675097-hilton-resorts-hawaii-they-bad.html?highlight=Hawaii

Waikaloa Village for Family.

Hands down for the Hilton Waikoloa. Just booked our 3rd trip there for December. Doubt if I could bear one night in the Waikiki area. Search this forum and you will find all the information you need.

Delta runs a nice direct flight from LAX to KOA, so you may want to check routes thru there from SFO.

The OP said "mellow." I like both the HHV and the GW, but I would not use the word mellow to describe either of them.

Choose the HWV. You have more space. No fighting for pool chairs.

My vote is HWV too. Our daughter is 12 and we are heading back for our 4th visit this summer. Great spot for kids. I'm not much of a Waikiki guy.

As far as using Avios, have you looked at Alaska out of the bay area? I don't think AA flies direct to Hawaii anymore out of SFO - you'd have to use Avios for a segment down to LA and then another segment over to Hawaii. Alaska has flights to KOA out of OAK and SJC. If you choose the Grand Wailea, Alaska has flights to OGG out of OAK, SJC and SMF. And HNL out of OAK and SJC. This late in the year though, it may be tough to get seats for August. You and your spouse can each apply for the Alaska Visa card though and use the two $99 companion vouchers to save some money.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1280487-booking-alaska-airlines-avios.html

How far ahead do you generally book your reservation? I would like to stay there for around a week sometime next year, and could probably get to nearly 200K hilton points by end of this year. I was looking at availability online, and the rates during April didn't look that bad (is this a good time to go?). At this point, then do I call Hilton and try to get AXON discounts?

Thanks!

If the OP would like to ask about airlines TO Hawaii, the best place to post would be to search the airline and Hawaii forums first and then ask some detailed questions in the relevant forum.


Thanks

squeakr

co Mod HH

Thanks everyone for your responses! I think I know which place to check out...

Some great tips for airfare too, will post in the appropriate forum if I have additional questions.

Another vote for the Grand Wailea. Good luck with the points value though as they seem outrageous as of late.

I am not sure when you are traveling but wanted to pass on this advice if you are considering Hilton Waikoloa Village. We just returned from our second stay there. We visited 2 years ago and stayed in the Lagoon Tower. Had an nice visit. Came back May 31st this year and Lagoon Tower was under renovation. We were given an ocean view room in the Ocean Tower. While that sounded good at first, we were surprised to walk into the room and find the sliding glass door "open" and the room had a distinctive "smell". We closed the door and turned on the AC system. A nasty combination of "perfume" and "mold" came out of the AC System. I called housekeeping immediately. They said sometimes they will put air fresheners in the filter. A claim the front desk denied. We then went through hours of frustration finding another room. A number of the rooms smelled "musty" and the one room that didn't was right over the monorail, no view and noisy.

I will be the first to admit I am very sensitive to mold. I can smell it and have had to be careful with ocean view rooms. But even my husband, who is not sensitive said that all the rooms we checked out smelled "musty/moldy". And there was no doubt that the Hilton was aware of this and that someone is trying to cover these smells by putting some type of air fresheners in the AC system.

Since there is time, should I apply for the Surpass card for the AXON awards, etc?I think any American Express is valid for the AXON awards, (possibly including non-Hilton branded Amex). We certainly get them with our free Hilton HHonors Amex. If this is the only reason you are considering the Surpass, I would go with the cheaper card.

There are also a couple of airline credit cards (Virgin and HA, I believe) that transfer at a fair rate into Hilton points if you're looking for a large bonus.