Eujeanie

Why would slipping a 20 at a restaurant be ok - it would usually mean you would get ahead of those who were waiting, or get a better table to the detriment of those waiting, so how is it different?

I don't even do it in Vegas, if I'm upgraded that's great - but I'm not going to bribe to get it. I book the room I want, especially in a place like Hawaii where I want to be guaranteed the ocean view I want, not hope I'll get it on a whim or a bribe.

gbearbuck

Hi all,

I just received word that I was upgraded to the Ali'i ocean view corner... anybody stayed in a corner room at the Ali'i tower? Is it larger than the regular Ali'i rooms or same size? Two balcony's or one? Any info would be great... excited about the upgrade (we booked Ali'i garden view on points)...

edgewood49

Nice room and really nice that it's be renovated ! Tell us how it was, send pic's

we will return in the fall

gbearbuck

Will do (although I'm not the most technology savy person on this board.. so pic's might be a challenge... a review on the other hand will not be a problem). Are the bones of the room the same size as the other rooms or is it a larger square foot room? As far as I can tell you cannot book them (or they are sold out for every date I check) or they are just like any other room so it isn't a big deal and they are priced as a normal room (although the diamond desk agent made it out to be a big deal that not only was it an ov it was also a corner room)...

gbearbuck

Just checked into the corner ocean front room... It is basically a mini suite with some added space... I'm guessing it is roughly 1.5x the size of a regular room. Depth towards ocean is very, very deep, width towards the park is normal size... It is basically a crazy long room. There is a balcony facing the ocean and there is a balcony facing the park (separate balconies... Not connected. Due to the two floor to ceiling sliding glass doors, there is plenty of light and I must say a great view since there isn't anything obstructing literally the farthest corner of the resort facing the ocean...

I'm impressed with this diamond upgrade (booked a garden room in the ali'i tower... No clue if they will upgrade to this tower if you book into a different tower.

Eujeanie

If you are an early riser, go out on the balcony facing the park just before sunrise (this is not as awful as it sounds when you consider the time change most of us face).

The white doves wake up after sleeping in the trees all night, circle and circle to stretch their wings - I know it sounds dorky but I found it magical. Then watch the Zamboni clean the sand. Wow. My favorite time of day at the Alii tower.

gbearbuck

I'll check that out tomorrow morning... We're up at six each morning (that's 11:00eastern)... It's still dark at that time, so I assume that is early enough...

Westcoaster

We watched those birds from our Rainbow Tower room in December. They'd go back and forth between the park next to the Ali'i Tower and some trees on the marina side. I thought they were beautiful to watch as well.

As for the Zamboni, while we were there I read an article in the local paper about the terrible problem they have with cigarette butts on Waikiki. It said that the Hilton ended up paying to have the beach near the hotel cleaned as a result. Too bad those machines couldn't also deal with the HHV guests who smoked on balconies near us in direct violation of hotel rules. That would be fun to watch.

alohastephen

I've got reservations here next month as a Hilton Gold.

Very curious about free breakfast. Isn't it guaranteed for Gold?

According to Honors benefits website:

http://hhonors3.hilton.com/en/myway-benefits/faq.html

"Gold members will choose either 1,000 HHonors Bonus Points or complimentary Continental breakfast."


According to the flyertalk master thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...er-thread.html

"Hilton Hawaiian Village: No free breakfast for Golds."

Confused.

Also, am thinking of requesting the lagoon tower because of proximity to the newer water slide area for the kids. Any insight on rooms there?

Thanks.

whytravelsomuch

Lagoon Tower is part of the Hilton Grand Vacations not the Hilton Hawaiian Village. So its not an upgrade that would be offered to you if you are actually booked at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

slidergirl

I'm a Gold and stayed there the first week of November. I selected the breakfast option. Got access to the "VIP" lounge in the Rainbow Tower. If you can do breakfast with some pastries, bread, 2 kinds of cereal, fruit, coffee or tea, and some juice, you'll be OK. If you need something more, go for the points and buy breakfast across the street at the old coffee shop...

alohastephen

Thanks slidergirl.
Lounge access sounds nice. Did
they have a cocktail hour too?

gbearbuck

The VIP lounge closes at 11:00 for the day (which is unfortunate because they have two computers and a printer in the lounge... Although the conceirge happily printed our boarding passes last nigh)... No cocktail hour at the lounge.

Most of the bars have a happy hour, however drinks are a fortune marked down to a fortune. Across the street at the coffe shop there is a lounge with excellent prices (and even better prices during happy hour). Their normal price for a Mai tai is $3.75... Hhv charges $12.... Needless to say we walked across the street each afternoon for a few drinks...

Westcoaster

They also have kiosks for printing boarding passes in the main lobby area. No charge.

Zip

[QUOTE=gbearbuck;20221242]The VIP lounge closes at 11:00 for the day (which is unfortunate because they have two computers and a printer in the lounge... QUOTE]

You should be able to access the lounge "after hours" with your card key. The bad news is that I often find that those computers are not working (even during the "open" hours).