johnndor

For the luau... may be stuck based on availability. I waited too long and the only luau I could get was at the Marriott. Show was good, but I was very disappointed by the food.

As for the best bang for points, what are you seeing? Best bang will likely be a standard room, hope for an upgrade, but if location isn't critical just get the cheapest offered.

azepine00

Hilton Waikoloa - home of $60 pizza . Kids asked if that was one of those "most luxurious" pizzas youtubers highlight in videos - no it is not... https://qrcodes.pro/abnHDR#DINNER
Needless to say we did not get any meals from property beyond using up diamond credits (which can not be accrued over the course of your stay).
Aside from that it was a good value on points given the insane rates on BI. First stay at HWV in 10 years - we had realistic expectations going in and imo it remains a valid option with pros and cons.

tschwartz

The walk is 1.1 miles from the Palace Tower and took us 21 minutes ea way. The path is nearly completely flat with only a few feet over/through lava. The walk was worth it as A beach is incredible.

Weatherboy

FYI, the Waikoloa Hilton raised their parking fees to levels absurd by even Hawaii standards. Valet is now $55/day while self-parking is $39/day.

Visiting the Big Island requires a rental car to explore all the island offers. But if you're planning to be a beach/resort bum and never leave the resort, it makes no sense to pay as much if not more for parking as a rental does. And if you're planning to just explore the island for 1-2 days, it may make more sense to simply rent the car those days at the hotel and pay no parking.

bocastephen

$39 is just outrageous - not to mention the marathon walk from self parking to just the lobby, plus another marathon distance to your tower. This is what we started to do with the most recent trip to Honolulu. Uber from the airport to the hotel, and either walk or the The Bus to nearby locations, then rent a car for the final 1-2 days when we're out exploring and return it to the airport to save on the Uber trip back. Unfortunately this isn't so practical on the Big Island given the cost/distance of Uber out to Waikoloa, and the lack of public transportation, and the rental car office hours don't help with a same day rent-return unless you're ok just doing an after-hours drop and re-renting the next day to save the parking charge.

ChurnieEls

Paid $37 for it last May.

Given the price of transfers from KOA its honestly a toss up if you have a corporate rental code to keep the rental price reasonable.

Definitely was worth it even only for the runs up to the grocery store to buy liquor & mixers for our Yeti's by the pool given the egregious bar pricing. It's a long haul to walk and the shuttles weren't running then.

lasnowgirl

It's been awhile since I've been to the Big Island, but what's the going rate for rental cars? I priced 9 days in the summer and it's about $1k!!

Weatherboy

$700-$1,700/week is the ballpark average depending on what you want. Things like oversized SUVs, Jeepsz and convertibles will be over $1k while compacts will be close to $700.

Private car transfers from the airport to the Hilton are about $70 each way now. Uber hasn't bounced back since COVID, so I wouldn't depend on it. Especially for rides leaving the Hilton now.

ChurnieEls

+1

There was damn all Ubers when I was there.

dlaue

Book your car NOW. Yes, it's gonna cost you a lot, but at least you will have a reservation.

Rebook if prices go down.

Aterp2007

Stayed in the Ocean Towers earlier this month. One of the most disappointing "Hilton" stays of my life.

mpeterson78

Why is Hilton in quotes?

Qwkynuf

I have stayed in the Ocean Tower 4 or 5 or 6 times since 2017 or so. I guess it's a good thing that I am too dumb to know that I shouldn't be enjoying myself!

seawolf

Would be helpful to include some details.

Baze

Isn't the Ocean tower now part of the HGVC?