ksyrah

You get $20/day in coupons that you can use anytime during your stay. Some places will only take one or two at a time, others you can hand them 10. Really up to the server at the time. Breakfast is expensive. We normally walk down to Starbucks in the morning. Someone mentioned the food/drink discount card. They do not offer that anymore. It was a great deal.

Room upgrade. Depends on what you expect. If you book a resort view, you generally will get a partial ocean or above. During July, don't expect an upgrade to a suite.

I have never had trouble with getting a late checkout. It probably depends on the current occupancy rate.

twoner32

Thanks for all of the great stuff about this property.

I normally stay at the Marriott Vacation Club when I visit HNL.
I am Diamond with Hilton and this fits out budget better this time, so we'll try it.

thoughts on I might like/dislike from Marriott Vacation Club?

Thanks

BrlDsguise

You may dislike the fact it isn't in HNL or even on Oahu.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

Thanks for the update ksyrah!^

I am going with my mum for 8 nights in mid July.

It is a shame about the dining card no longer being available. It was a great deal especially for longer stays


Regards

TBS


ps Also cannot see the Kirin restaurant in the dining guide .I liked this restaurant as it offered good service and good value for money.

Filthy Monkey

The last time we were there, we kept the 2x10% daily vouchers, lumped them together and using them for a beautiful sunset dinner st KPC. With the 11 hour time difference, I generally found we were up and out doing something before breakfast started anyway and most activities at that time of the morning included breakfast. For most people travelling to the island, the time difference will be significant, so that's worth bearing in mind.

With regards to the debate of the hotel or Kings' Land, I stayed in both a couple of years back - 2 bed deluxe apartment in Kings' Land and the Presidential Suite in the Dolphin Tower at the hotel, thanks to a deal they had offering it for 90,000 points per night.

I was impressed at just how nice the Kings' Land apartments were and the pool area is lovely. It's a little isolated, but most people staying there will have a car, so shouldn't be an issue.

The Hilton itself was also nice, but felt a little run down. The suite was gorgeous, but again, felt like it needed some attention. The one thing that sticks in my mind is just how big the place is! Going anywhere took 20 minutes just to get off property, by the time you got back to reception and picked up your car. I did love the lagoon area, though. It felt quite natural and it was great to be able to snorkel with fish and turtles.

My favourite place, mentioned already above, was Lava Lava. Get there early for happy hour, get an ocean front seat and just chill for the evening, drinking cocktails, enjoying snacks, listening to the music and watching the sun go down. Heavenly!

We're heading back in early August with some friends and couldn't get into the Waikoloa as it was sold out. However, I managed to get a 2 bed place at Kings' Land, which I'm perfectly happy with.

sophiashi

Good to read this. I debating between King's land and this one. King's land is better on price with free parking. How often is the shuttle between the two hotels? Is it worth paying the extras to enjoy the village?

BlondeBomber

There is more discussion starting at
King's Land or Waikoloa?

If you have a car there is free parking (or used to be) for King's Land guests at Waikoloa. Shuttle is pretty easy though and frequent enough. You can also walk if you are not in a rush (about a mile).

We preferred King's Land as it was away from all the action, more roomy and less costly (parking and resort fees alone charged at Waikoloa conflate the cost significantly), others may prefer being near the action and willing to pay the extra.

ConstructionGuy257

Kirin is closed. I'm in the middle of a two week stay here, checked in on 6/30 and leaving the 13th.. I'll have a long review to share but figured I'd post while I'm here if anyone has questions.

Couple of quick notes:

Makai rooms claim to be "premium size" of 530sf but some are much smaller. If you don't book Makai you have to trade cards for towels and hope to turn them in before the towel guy leaves which is before 6pm.. maybe this is something Motel 6 came up with?

Ali'i seating at the Luau has been downgraded. The entire front half of the Luau is Ali'i and they don't serve food, you just get up for the buffet before the back half. No round tables, no server, no "special" food, nothing. Not worth it. Mariott luau was better, cheaper, more fun and the same performers.. even though it rained a little on Monday night.

Exec lounge is closed and unused just sitting empty in the Ocean tower.

My wife has found 3 cockroaches so far, 2 alive, one dead (inside our "fresh" towels)

Be prepared to beg for the $10 vouchers, 2 per room even with a family of four, they kept telling me my preference was for 1000 hh points which was a laugh but even when I showed them my app they acted like they were doing me a favor giving me them, then shorted me 4 nights worth.

Anyway, more to come but I'm here for another week if anyone has questions. The GVC sales pitch gave me $100 hilton funnymoney and a Holo Holo card which did discount the luau.

Aloha

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

Thanks for the update ConstructionGuy257 and welcome to flyertalk!^

8 days until Hawaii!!

Regards

TBS

romsdeals3

Stayed 4 nights and got $80 of food vouchers, 2 free drinks, and 2 buffets. Not bad for Hilton diamond. However the valet parking was $30 a night so ended up being a wash. The hotel was too big and just okay. Can't complain cause great deal 4 nights 145K points with axon.

tbeard

Greetings, my wife and I will be staying At the Waikola Village for a week in Feb. I am Diamond with Hilton if that matters. We have a choice between an ocean side view Makei at the Lagoon or an ocean front room at the ocean tower? Any thoughts on which is better? Thanks

Baze

Depends on what you want. Do you want to be near the lagoon and all the lagoon activities stay at that end. There are good ocean view rooms down that end. If you want a quieter area stay in the ocean tower at the far end with the ocean view. I stayed in the Ocean tower all the way at the end with a phenomenal view of the ocean and sunsets and Buddha point. And I thought it was a lot quieter there. Is a lot farther away from everything but that didn't bother me or my wife at all. The sunset views more than made up for it.

tbeard

We are there for a conference and will not have our kids. Quieter is what we are looking for. Don't mind the walk to the ocean tower at all. Sounds like the Ocean tower is what we are looking for. thanks

ksyrah

I Agree, quieter in the Ocean tower but much further away from most of the hotel. The sunsets can get overwhelming sometimes. The Makai rooms are closer to the action. It can get loud on weekends when all of the kamaaina show up. The pools can get wild on weekends.

PHLGovFlyer

Any recent experiences with stays using this flash sale deal? We're headed to HWV on this deal in a few months and wondering what to expect.