DCAhome

Really good point -- there's a lot of walking in that building!

worldiswide

one more question.., we are renting a car at the airport, - we are trying to decide whether to take an 8pm flight from HNL (we will have been there several days) or one the next morning. It's an hour and half drive from the airport, correct? and is it better to drive during the day? easy to find at night? and when you say its a big walk from the lobby to room around the tower.. how long are we talking?

The _Banking_Scot

hi

I have done this kona to waikoloa village in just over 30mins usually as it is only 19 miles once leaving the airport. This excludes any time needed to collect a rental car
however it is 1 lane each way and is difficult to overtake so if you travel at peak times it could take an hour or so.
from the lobby to the furthest room in the towers I would say 10 to 15 mins walking quite briskly ( I stayed at the ocean Tower which was about a 15 to 20min walk from the lobby to the elevators in the ocean tower but was taking my time and
admiring the art work along the walkway
the car Park can be another 5 to 10 min walk from the lobby

Regards

Tbs

PS a pdf map of the property is here
https://qrcodes.pro/map

Qwkynuf

Hour and a half??? It's less than 20 miles. Plan on 30-35 minutes, unless you are doing it during morning rush hour, or if there's a bad wreck on Queen Kaahumanu Hwy.

Regarding the walk, I usually stay in the Ocean Tower, which is as far as you can get from the lobby. It takes me a little less than 10 minutes to walk that distance. The full length of the property, from Ocean Tower to Kamelua Provision Company takes 15-20 minutes. Those are at a reasonable walking pace - not hurrying, but not strolling either.

There is a canal that loops through the property, with boats that you can board at stations near the lobby, each of the towers, and several of the amenities. These run at a slow walking pace, and I will usually beat one if I am on foot. They are great if you just want a relaxing tour of the property. There is also a train/monorail kind of shuttle...thing that runs the length of the property with similar stopping points. This one moves at a fast walking pace, and with its stops I tend to get where I am going at about the same time. Both go down for maintenance periodically, though I believe that they try to keep one or the other operational during business hours.

worldiswide

Great to stand corrected that it is a shorter drive than I had heard/thought. I was more concerned about the road at night but seems like that is not a problem either so it might make sense to get there at night and be situated for the next morning. As for walks within the hotel, just adds to the step count for the day., doesnt sound too onerous.

Eujeanie

The Big Island is, well, big...we started with several days at the HWV, then drove across the island to stay in Hilo for a night (Doubletree) (not a resort at all, strange place, but served the purpose)...then back to Kona and stayed at the Marriott which was very close to the airport for our earlyish flight. Again, not a fancy resort but also served its purpose.

azepine00

Does anyone have email contact (via pm) to inquire about upsell prices?
Interested in confirmed suite with family so nor1 is not an option.
Thx!

kmandrew

6 of us arriving 11/10 for 7 nights in the 2 bedroom condo - booked Kings Landing for $4200 all in. Now I see Kohala Suites for $3557, I think I have a 3 day cancel so have to decide by this weekend.
I thought I read Kings has better pools + Hilton pool access (which I doubt we would use) - anything else?

BlondeBomber

Kings' Land is newer and has a bigger pool complex as you noted. Kings' Land a bit further from the "village" but not a big deal. Depends how much pool time you envisage. Fun environment in pools at Kings' Land for families.

Kohala allowed access to main hotel pool but, unless you had a HGVC Elite membership, you did not get complimentary access to Kings' Land pools (there used to be a $15/day charge per person--check with HGV or Kings' Land directly). By my figuring, if you wanted 5 days access X4 people, that would be $300, so still cheaper at Kohala overall , but you might like the convenience of Kings' Land to the pools and the newer facility. Likely you would be happy in either.

johnndor

I may be one of the rare people that like this place... fond memories of an award stay in 2003... of course only 100k points for 5 nights!

Just used 480k points for 10 nights, plus 420k for 8 nights for my daughter and her husband, but I've been saving points up for this big family trip. and wanted to minimize spend on hotel since food (there and everywhere else in Hawaii) is so expensive.

Note that if you stay in the Maki tower, you can park over by the tennis courts, and enter via the spa. Saves some steps.

Baze

My wife and I enjoyed our stay in August 2014. We were in an Ocean Tower room with a view of the point. We actually enjoyed all the walking required to get around and rarely took the tram and did not use the boat. We rented a car and again, didn't mind the long walks to get to it. Got lots of steps in multiple times a day. Used points too and they gave us a food credit every day we were there . We didn't use it all as mainly ate off resort. And any food credit not used was directly applied to the final bill. Being on points also meant no resort charge. But did pay for the parking.

Abidjan

Agree with the most recent posters - - I actually enjoyed my stay in September. Stayed in the Palace Tower, with a view of the golf course (declined the buy-up upgrade offer at check-in). Yes, Diamond recognition was pretty much non-existent, the rooms/furnishings/decor are stuck in 1987 and the $40 daily parking fee stung a bit. But, the property was well-maintained and with me grabbing groceries/spirits from the local Walmart, the daily credit came in handy for the various food/beverage charges throughout each day. The walking to/from the Palace Tower was not an issue and was quite refreshing. The hotel location is superb for exploring the whole island and I'll most likely return.

kmandrew

Do we earn 30 (Diamond) + 14 (Aspire) at Kings Landing, arrive today?

Ilove2fly

My son is getting married in Kona. I offered to pay for the room for him and his bride. I have booked 7 nights at the Ocean Tower at $260++ on Hotels.com because the rate is refundable. Now I have enough points to book the HWV on points. The cost is a wash. The Ocean Tower is a partial ocean view. The HWV is a resort view. I am gold. So there is slight possibility of upgrade if booked with points and maybe some credits for breakfast. For those who have stay at these properties, which would you recommend? I couldn't find any recent reviews for them. Things are so fluid in the last couple of year. It would be wonderful to get some feedback on recent stays.

flyupfront

My wife and I just returned from a week at the Ocean Tower (we visited other island for a total of a month). I think most people will say they prefer the main resort but we like the Ocean Tower better. Yes, you have to walk more but that's a plus for us. There are older rooms in the Ocean Tower that are good sized but definitely dated. In the Ocean Tower


View from our renovated Ocean Tower Room.

there are renovated rooms (more all the time) that are a part of the Hilton Grand Vacations. We managed to move after two nights to a renovated room (just asked the front desk folks) and loved the newer style room. Very modern and a big upgrade (in my opinion) over any other room on the entire HWV property. We got an ocean front room that was spectacular.

Though not overly scenic, we also appreciated some time in the adults' only pool that's located in the inner area of the Ocean Tower.

You can't really go wrong. The Big Island is a wonderful place to visit and the HWV is a great property (if you are willing to walk).

P.S. Make sure the newlyweds have a dinner at the Kamuela Provision Company (at the HWV) and the Canoe House (about 10 minutes away (by Uber).