There use to be 2 trams working when I was last here in February 2002 and now there is only one which means the wait time has increased dramatically. I've waited 15-20 minutes, several times during my trip. I've opted to walk many times when the tram has already headed out towards the Ocean towers.
I wonder if I should've just asked for the Lagoon tower since it is the fastest way out and the walk itself isn't so bad. Any comments on this? My friend is staying here in 2 months and wanted me to suggest the best tower but I've only ever been given the Ocean tower during my 2 stays. The Palace tower is also closer than the Ocean tower but it seems virtually all of their rooms face the golf course. Nice lobby in the Palace towers though.
The first night I got in (last Saturday), this place seemed to be quite full but now, it almost seems like there is much less people on the resort.
I've read a lot of criticism here about the HWV and I've read where many people enjoyed it. To be honest, there are many other Hawaiian hotels which I've stayed in which I would rate above the HWV.
I earned my Hilton points and think that the ALON award (pre-inflationary) is (was) a good value and simply enjoy the HWV for the mega hotel that it is. There is no doubt that there can be many improvements made though as it is clearly evident by all the complaints.