Hilton HHonors - Best Hilton Kid's pool in Hawaii?

We are planning a trip to Hawaii with our 3 kids. One of the major (if not THE major) determinant of resort we choose will be the children's pool. IN the past, we have stayed at the OUtrigger (now Marriott Wailea) with a superb children's pool/water play area. I am now a HHonors Diamond member and would rather stay at a Hilton chain hotel.

Does any of the Hilton resorts in Hawaii have a decent kid's pool?

Thanks

I imagine that all of them have good pools, but I think HWV (Waikaloa Village, if you are new here :)) offers the most in terms of a bunch of different pool areas that are kid-friendly, plus the small lagoon for some snorkeling. You could spend a few days trying them all out...

Plus, when I was there as a Gold, they took great care of me - upgrade to high-floor ocean view, a good lounge, etc. I imagine a Diamond will get superb treatment at this hotel.

The pools at HWV (Big Island) are huge and lots of fun. Slides, water falls, jetted tubs, sandy beach area, suspension bridge, etc. Snorkeling in their lagoon is also great especially in the morning before water gets stirred up by bunch of swimmers and becomes cloudy.

My kids definitely consider themselves "pool snobs." The Hilton Waikoaloa is nice, but it can't compare to the Grand Wailea's on Maui.

My kids definitely consider themselves "pool snobs." The Hilton Waikoaloa is nice, but it can't compare to the Grand Wailea's on Maui.

Grand Wailea is not affiliated with the HHonors program...at least not that I know of.

Hands-down, HWV has the best pools for children in Hawaii's Hilton hotels. And if your children are old enough to enjoy it, the Waikoloa Village also has the Dolphin Adventure ...so if your kids get bored of the countless pools, waterfalls, beaches, and waterslides here, they can always swim with the dolphins.

If you are talking Hilton, there is only HHV in HNL and HWV in KON. HWV wins hands down.

If you are talking Hilton, there is only HHV in HNL and HWV in KON. HWV wins hands down.

We rarely talk about them much, but aren't there a couple of smaller properties in Hawaii? An Embassy (I think) on Kauai and maybe one on Maui... And I'm pretty sure there's a DT in Honolulu as well. I remember it from doing my ALON searches.

(I can't think of a reason you'd pick a small DT over the HHV, but if you have your sights on one of those other islands, the ES might not be a bad choice. After all, in Hawaii you probably aren't going to spend too much time in swimming pools. :) )

just confirming what others have said. DT honolulu pool is small with nothing exciting about it. Just a rectangle maybe 25 feet by 50 feet (pure guess) with stairs on one end. Very boring for kids. Enough room so that more than ten people in the pool at once means crowded.

HHV's so called super pool is really nothing to write home about either. It is a pleasant enough place to lounge around and read and have a few drinks and it at least has a shape that allows you to think you are at a resort. But it is neither deep, nor are there slides or volleyball nets, or any of the other things that kids might like. I think I recall a small waterfall, but am not sure. otoh, Waikiki beach is just over the wall, albeit with a breakwater that reduces any chance of surf, but it can be a decent place to learn how to snorkel before heading out for Hanauma Bay and Waikiki beach proper is just a short stroll down the walkway.

Having said that, I am headed to HHV with two teenagers next month. Lounging is ok by them and surfing/snorkeling are close by so they will be happy.

it at least has a shape that allows you to think you are at a resort.

:D

In a way, you can apply the logic to all of Waikiki: "At least it has a beach that allows you to think you are in an idyllic Hawaiian setting."

I also recall that the super pool actually closes. i.e., they would actually kick you out of the pool really early - like 8PM or something. Contrast that to the HWV, where we went for a midnight swim most of the nights we were there. The pools probably had "Hours of operation" posted, but nobody minded if you went for a moonlight swim.

The family vacation in Hawaii is an annual event. The last 2 years we've stayed at the HWV, but have also stayed at the HHV. As others have said, the HWV pools are far superior to HHV. Not sure if you are looking for pools that are friendly for small kids or older. With a 2 and 3 year old we spent most of our time at the HWV kids pool, which is a 2 1/2 foot deep sand bottom pool with a sand beach. Main pool area has one large waterslide. There are three smaller water slides in the pool area by the Ocean Tower (where the diamond lounge is). HHV doesn't have anything like this, but does have a nice beach in front of the property. HWV also has a protected lagoon for snorkeling, paddle boats, kayaks, etc.

There is a ton of info on both of these properties if you do a search on this forum.

Enjoy.

Thanks everyone for the really helpful insights. It's obvious that we need to head to the big island for the hilton there. I wish 1) the pool at HHV was much better than it is since we really like the island of Oahu and 2) there was a hilton on Maui.

Thanks.

I completely echo OBONe's comments. HHV's pool complex is certainly "expansive", and incorporates several pools, per se, but they were designed in the day of the basic, shallow pool...and when we went (back in '95) there was a single slide, not very long at that. Seems 10 years later....nothing has been improved or upgraded one iota. Let me be clear - this pool complex is certainly "sufficient"...and far exceeds your basic rectangular "Sheraton or Hilton domestic US" pool...its just not compelling to me and mine given better choice in the marketplace.

So...while pleasant enough, it is nothing that compares to the mega-resort pool complexes we have come to expect these days. After all - they have the space for a lazy river and yes, it would be a multi-million effort to emplace it in the HHV...but the concept wasn't even around 10-15 yrs ago when this one was built.

Would I return to HHV ? Not immediately, for three reasons:
1) massive devaluation of HHONORS points over a year ago means I don't accumulate HHONORS points any longer, thus don't stay a Hiltons much these days, so the award opportunity is now lost.
2) from reading in this thread...now I am extremely intrigued in the Grand Wailia's pool complex, which I believe was a top-rated POOL hotel on The Travel Channel's run-down of US pool complexes over 50 states (you ought to try to find a way to view that special show). Though that would involve a paid-for stay, while I've got boatloads of points across multiple programs, still...I and my family (three kids) give that much VALUE to the pool complex as yours does and would be very willing to pay hard cash for an extravagent pool complex and forego a points/award opportunity for my next trip. After all - we would rather have a truly memorable experience...than an lukewarm "award" stay.
3) we were not blown away w/ The Big Island so would target other islands first

Why HHV hasn't "caught on" yet and done a significant makeover of their pool complex is beyond me...except I figure that Hilton has concluded this property is forevermore destined to be a primary AWARD destination and not necessarily a PAID-FOR destination with so many HHONORS members...thus [they conclude] why should they spend a penny to spruce up the place ?

Mediocrity seems to be the hallmark in the mid-grade hotel business these days, even for Hawaii...once the building is built, I guess these owners are loathe to add on/spruce up just to bring "x" incremental business they can't justify or predict. So familes such as mine just pass them by the next time and do not return...and I guess Hilton is ok with this.

Not complaining at all...just stating the status quo as I see it.

We rarely talk about them much, but aren't there a couple of smaller properties in Hawaii? An Embassy (I think) on Kauai and maybe one on Maui... And I'm pretty sure there's a DT in Honolulu as well. I remember it from doing my ALON searches.

(I can't think of a reason you'd pick a small DT over the HHV, but if you have your sights on one of those other islands, the ES might not be a bad choice. After all, in Hawaii you probably aren't going to spend too much time in swimming pools. :) )

Curiousity got the better of me so I googled it: there are properties on Maui and Kauai that use "Embassy" in their name, but they are timeshare-only properties. (The one on Poipu Beach actually looks quite nice.) They are not Embassy Suites hotels and are unrelated to Hilton.

Thanks everyone for the really helpful insights. It's obvious that we need to head to the big island for the hilton there. I wish 1) the pool at HHV was much better than it is since we really like the island of Oahu and 2) there was a hilton on Maui.

Thanks.

I don't know...I don't think the HHV is bad by any stretch. If you like Oahu, I wouldn't avoid it just because of the swimming pools. After all, both properties are next to the ocean. I'm not a big Oahu fan myself, but if I were I wouldn't hesitate to go back to HHV. They provided upgrades & perks to me as a Gold, so I bet they treat their Diamonds very, very well. (Search this board - lots of big corner-room upgrades there for Diamonds.)

If you do choose to go to the Big Island and the HWV, I think you'll love it. Spend a day and an evening hiking Volcanoes National Park. Go to the observatories at sunset and then back down the ranger station for stargazing. Hike the rainforests on the northeast side. Lots of cool stuff to go on the Big Island... (But we don't mean to scare you away from HHV - it's really a nice place.)

No Hilton on Maui, but there are some nice Starwoods...