slidergirl

Thanks for the reply back. You know, I'm not going to knock a free breakie!!! Makes a vacay on the cheap even cheaper

gottaluvNW

What can a Diamond member expect in terms of an upgrade for Christmas - New Year's?

edgewood49

I have been staying here for over 30 years and can tell you honestly it's the luck of the draw to a great extent.

The "back room" several days before ( NOT more) begin to assign rooms to elite status first then the regular guest. But that is always subject to changes at the last minute. This year with Ali'i Towers undergoing renovation ( Yea !) it's even more difficult for anyone hoping for a great bump.

IF you can get into Rainbow , any room your there! NO NOT take the International Tower. No way.

we are passing this holidays due to the Ali'i down and just what I said above. I opt for paying for the upgrade in advance that way I am not worried
Good luck and Maholo

wav3rider

Is the Diamond Head tower renovated or older? I am staying with the wife for 3 days and trying to figure out the best tower to try to be in.

Thanks

wildblueyonder

I've never stayed at this property, but am taking my wife and two kids (5, 2) in early December.

Rates are pretty similar and thought I would try to get a recommendation from FTers who've stayed at the property...

Rates for the Rainbow Tower Oceanfront 2 dbl beds are $309 during our stay, or $345 for a 1BR Diamond Tower Suite, or $375 for a Tapa Tower Junior Suite.

Also, the Grand Waikikian is $370 for a 1BR partial ocean view suite, or the Grand Vacations Suites are $388 for a 1BR ocean view... but it's not clear to me if these properties are "too far" from the beach or pools, etc.

We're fine with any of those rates... we'd probably prefer more room, but if the Rainbow tower is significantly better (or if the Diamond Head Tower is significantly worse, etc.), we'd prefer a nicer room with less space.

Would someone be able to help me better understand the differences between the towers? I understand the kitchen / no kitchen properties, so am looking more for help with location on the property, quality of the rooms / amenities, proximity to beach / pool, etc.

I am currently HH Silver, so am not expecting an upgrade, though if I'm more likely to get an upgrade in one tower or another, we would certainly consider that also.

Lastly, are all of the pools / waterslides accessible to all of the towers / properties?

Thanks!

azepine00

Check (by email in writing) what they mean by suite in each tower. Some are proper 1 br and some are just oversized rooms. With kids this makes a huge difference.

bdemaria

Diamond head tower suites proper suites - bedroom, sep. living room w/fridge. It is not as nice as the Rainbow Tower, "significantly better" is tough to determine, but the DH suites are significantly larger than the Rainbow oceanfront doubles.

Rainbow is on the beach, and Diamond Head tower closer to the beach than Tapa but neither of those are far from beach, or pool.

As a silver, the only upgrade option you will offered will be paid/NOR-1.

There is private pool in the Ali'i tower - but since that area is undergoing renovation, I"m not sure it is even open.

edgewood49

the Ali'i pool is restricted to Ali'i guest only. We are really looking forward to the renovated Ali'i rooms , the best tower to stay in and well worth the extra points/cash upgrade

abajibe

Hello,

I intend to stay few nights at the end of this month in the Hilton Hawaiian Village, and I regularly check the rates to see if I can get a better rate.
Today, I discovered that there is now the famous Hawaiian Resort Charge of 25$ for many rates.
I was positively surprised before that this Hotel in Hawaii didn't charge this famous fee. But it seems that this time is over.

2 Questions:
-Has someone else heard about the implementation of this resort charge?
-I checked my current booking, and in the booking confirmation eMail from Hilton, the Resort Charge is definitely not part of the "total stay" amount (while tax is part of it). Does it mean that I won't have to pay the resort charge?

PS: I got the answers to my questions:
According to http://www.onhotels.com/adv-hotel?ho...PWQODSYUSISHSH

missnd

I just noticed the resort fee too. That stinks. I'm on my way there now for a 2 night rewards stay and an additional 5 nights for work. I'm glad I booked the work nights on 10/23, but the rewards nights were booked 10/31.

I wish I had a screenshot from when I made the reservation because I really don't remember seeing the notice about the resort fee - however, my confirmation email does mention it, so I guess I'm stuck with it.

edgewood49

One can only hope that the hotel actually uses at some of the income to maintain or even improve the facilities. They are getting old and very very tired. I have been staying here for 30 years and this is the about as bad as it gets. Yes the RB has been renovated and thankfully my favorite the Ali"i is now as well, but the food operation is as always the weakness of this property, over priced and boring. Thankfully the "coffee shop" is across the street and in the mornings there is a steady stream walking over there !!

The "village" really needs some work. Ugh

Still for all these faults we enjoy the HHV every time we come over. Heck I remember " tiny bubbles" !!!!

chitownflyer

This fee should be waived for Golds & Diamonds whom already get free internet access. It is really unnecessary.

BrlDsguise

You sure they charge it for rewards stays? It is waived at Grand Wailea.

alfaman

believe it was waived....but had to talk to someone (manager)

slidergirl

Just got back last night. Work being done on Ali'i Tower now (still). The Tapa pool is still getting worked on. There is work being done on some of the shops area. You have a bit of a maze to negotiate from Tapa down to the beach with the work, but it's not bad.
I had a huge King room mid-Tapa. It was a corner room at the back of the tower. But, I had an ocean view, so it was fine. I never heard any of the construction noise from the room. The room was definitely tired. But, with a facility that huge, it takes time to get to every room. Rainbow done, working on Ali'i, so Tapa must be on the list. New furniture and a coat of paint in the room would suffice.
I picked up my breakfast at the VIP lounge each morning. Not much offered, but it was plenty for me. Three types of cereal and a granola with toasted coconut, walnuts, and cranberries to go with it. Assorted regular and sweet bread, 2 types of muffins daily. Guava and pineapple juice. I never had a problem finding a table at the varying times I went there. I was surprised at the low number of families using the lounge for breakfast - it was mostly couples and solos.
The one thing that irked me was the ubiquitous pool chair hogs. Not specific to HHV, but still worth mentioning. I just can't stand people who stake out chairs only to not occupy the chairs for hours at a time. One day, I had two chairs next to me with towels and newspapers on them. 3 hours later, they were still in their pristine condition!
I had nothing mentioned about a resort charge. I didn't have one accessed, either. My bill has $12 for my self parking (the website says $24 for self parking), so perhaps they've adjusted that in view of the resort fee. You have the unlimited free DVDs (helpful for kids). Having the Playstation 3 in the room (it was there in mine) would be good for families, too. HHV wouldn't be the first place to charge a resort fee and say it covers items already gratis for Gold/Diamond guests. There is nothing in the HH rules about waiving fees - it is up to each individual hotel. I will say that there were people always hanging around the HGV desk in the evening at Tapa, using the Internet there. Perhaps there was some "free" access there...