ffman999

Tommy Bahama happy hour is really great. Really good tacos, among other items.

wally5505

These three items were fantastic and basically filled up four of us (2 of "us" being an 8 and 10 year old at the time, but still). The Macadamia Nut Crusted Goat Cheese was fantastic! Anyway, I guess we probably sidetracked the thread into a dang Tommy Bahama thread at this point :-) Anyways, I highly recommend, but the Lahaina Grill, in my opinion is an absolute must! Now I will stop talking about food. Sorry about the tangent.

sopel

I tried booking 5 nights in October (4+1 free) with points and they want to charge me $1,150 deposit (or so). I tried researching this and didn't see much posted about it. Any ideas if they actually charge this?

jphripjah

I think this is a new thing by Hilton that yes, they are charging huge deposits now to hold points reservations.

BlueZebra

The "huge" deposit is their standard deposit according to their policy...2 nights room rate.

jphripjah

Well, I have never been charged it before and I have booked many award stays at high end properties, including here and at the Maldives. It is something they started doing in the last 3 months

BlueZebra

No. Have stayed there 10 or 12 times over the last 15 years. A deposit has been taken each and every time, with award stays, cash and points stays, and with standard bookings. As to other hotels, that varies by hotel, and really isn't a relevant comparison, as GW can do it if they so choose. I find it happens occasionally, but far from commonly, and have stayed in lots of resorts and hotels of all levels..

Cledaybuck

I have an upcoming reward stay this March that I booked last May. No deposit was taken.

azepine00

Does the deposit trigger amex aspire resort credit?

BlueZebra

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that sometimes the deposit is taken with a couple of days of booking, sometimes not until a week or two prior to the stay.

Cledaybuck

Here is what my reservation says:

Guarantee Policy

There is a credit card required for this reservation.

If you use a debit/credit card to check in, a hold may be placed on your card account for the full anticipated amount to be owed to the hotel, including estimated incidentals, through your date of check-out and such hold may not be released for 72 hours from the date of check-out or longer at the discretion of your card issuer.

Here is what is says if you try to make a reservation now (same dates):

Guarantee Policy

This reservation requires a credit card deposit of $1,006.90 USD which will be charged to your card.

If you use a debit/credit card to check in, a hold may be placed on your card account for the full anticipated amount to be owed to the hotel, including estimated incidentals, through your date of check-out and such hold may not be released for 72 hours from the date of check-out or longer at the discretion of your card issuer.

HawkeyeFlyer

Save money by going to ABC, Safeway, Costco etc and buying a cheap cooler and your booze. Maybe a few things of bread, peanut butter etc and keep that in the room. Put it in your own cups when heading to the pool as food and drinks there are extreme.

UsernameChuck

If you asked my daughter about Animal Kingdom Lodge she would tell you: "bagels for breakfast, bagels for lunch, bagels for dinner!" She thinks it's hilarious, her day alone with dad while her brother was on some school trip.

Tbc, my wife arrived the next day with son and more expensive consumption began.

We won't go full pbj but i hate to run up the bill on extraneous expenses.

iahphx

Some of these extreme cost-saving strategies strike me as a bit bizarre. I'm not a fan of overpriced Hawaiian hotel meals, but there are so many alternatives in Hawaii. As has been repeatedly noted, Hawaii has an excellent "plate lunch" tradition, where good local food can be had for about $10/person. For those who don't need gourmet food, it's a short (less than 10 minute) and pleasant walk to the Island Gourmet Market where you can get decent local and "American" prepared food for cheap. Their grocery prices are very high, but their hot food counter is cheap. With waste, I'm sure it would cost more to go to Costco and bring a panini press.

If you're willing to spend a little more, or have an Aspire credit, the hotel itself has an affordable happy hour with lower food prices at the beachfront bar and a deli that has reasonably priced sandwiches. There are definitely "normal" cost food options available here -- better than at many resorts..

UsernameChuck

Haha - I think you missed about how the cost-saving is aspirational, given wife and kids. I'm not sure if we'll have a car (tempting to use up some Hertz points but parking sounds complicated) - so it's good to know that there are some decent food options nearby. We should also have Aspire credit, I find it utterly perplexing trying to figure out when it starts etc. I'm hoping we can at least avoid restraurants for breakfast, snacks, and maybe another meal or two.