tk007

Thanks, for the update
We will be checking in on December 9th and we are also Diamond. Too bad about the lounge, I guess we had best get to the lounge early each morning or forget it : (

Hope they have some Suites open up!

PaulGQ

Yeah, the first couple of days, we didn't mind the 2 mile walks either, but it wears on later on once the novelty of the artwork wears off. Some cool stuff though.

Try driving for 5 hours, hiking 3 hours across a lava fields, then driving back 5 hours and then tell me how you fell like having a 15 minute hike to your bed.

Enjoy your time and Happy Turkey Day!

[This message has been edited by PaulGQ (edited Nov 26, 2003).]

tvelinsk

I felt during my stay that walking along the gallery was the "long" way - that it was quicker to take the path down to the water, then up to the lobby...

Tania

travlr

I'll be arriving on Monday staying on an ALON - but alas, I'm a lowly Gold...

PaulGQ

That's is some of the best advise I've heard on Flyertalk. I wish I had heard that sooner. It looks to shave a minute or two off one's time, at least on the map.

travelinmanS

My girlfriend and I figured out the shortcut after 5 days...a bit late but it helped up out none the less. It shaves almost 5 minutes off the walking time to the Ocean Tower!

wrigleyville

Not sure exactly how HH award availability works, but I wanted to advise any FTers out there interested in last minute travel that I just canceled an ALON stay at the HWV for a January 6th check-in.

I'm assuming that this goes back into award inventory. If so, it might make for a nice last-minute trip for someone. I will unfortunately be away on business and unable to use the award. Hopefully, one of you has better luck than I.

DC Wolf

Greetings! We just got back from our ALON stay about three weeks ago. I have written a full trip report on the Trip Reports board.

I’ve got a few more Hilton-specific thoughts about the resort to share on here.

These are in no particular order-

Upon check-in, we were offered an upgrade to a suite in the Palace Tower. We declined because we had already made our request for the Ocean Tower. We had a good view out of room 4086, but a little more homework on here would have told me to ask for a higher floor so that the palm trees don’t obstruct the horizon.

Previous posters have indicated that they didn’t like waiting for the boat or monorail. While both move at a snail’s pace, we didn’t really mind and found the boat to be relexing. The boat is really nice at night when you can look up and see the stars. Hawaii doesn’t have the light pollution that we do on the mainland, so the stars are really bright.
(One night an older gentleman got so moved that he decided to serenade us all with “Moon River” on his harmonica. )

The HWV may no longer offer the full breakfast coupons, but we found the Executive Lounge offerings to be more than adequate. Perhaps it is because we are not big breakfast eaters, but I could easily fill-up on the danishes, crossiants and fruit. The birds are kind of a pain though. These little suckers are everywhere and think nothing of coming right up near you to beg for food.

The pools by the ocean tower are nice, but I like the main pool by the lagoon tower better. We were surprised that there are no hot tubs by the ocean tower. The HWV shouyld definitely put one in so that you don’t have to schelp all the way over to the main pool.

If you want a cabana, they are first come, first serve and most of them are claimed by 8:30 am. In general, people get up early and go to bed early, there’s not a lot of nightlife.

At sunset, they have a kid who blows a conch shell and then runs around the perimeter lighting all of the gas tiki torches. It’s kinda cool.

Any other questions?

DH

To all those who stay at HWV -
Does HWV offer day rate? I have to catch 11 pm flight out of KOA and I don't think HWV offers late check out as late as 7-8 pm.

Thanks in advance,

Dan

seajac03

I was just at the HWV, and quite a few people were taking late evening flights back to the mainland. As best as I could tell, they were paying for a full day and checking out at 8 to 9 PM. Normal checkout is Noon, and Diamonds are given a 2 PM checkout. What I would suggest you do is to do a normal checkout, have the bellhop hold your bags, and then make arrangements to access the Spa facility and take showers and change in the evening prior to your flight.

Zip

seajac03's suggestion is good. As Gold, several times I was offered (upon request) a 7 pm check-out for half price; of course only if abvailable.

ronamc

I just returned (and took the 11pm flight as well). They said that the latest free checkout (when available) for Gold/Diamond is 2pm. If you want to stay later it was a $159 fee. I was told that there were no exceptions to this. Given that the property was almost deserted, that seemed a bit harsh.

Should we return and be in the same late flight situation our plan is to get a cheap room in Kona (priceline $50 or $60ish!) for the last partial day to store our stuff and shower/change. The Spa is great, but it closes at 7pm.

gaugeguy

I will be there Feb. 21-27th 2004. Looking forward to meeting any FT'ers that want to for a Mai Tai!

toadman

Just wanted to add my two cents to this thread w/o starting up a whole new one on the HWV. We just returned from a 6 night ALON for Dec. 6-12th. I'm just a lowly Silver, so I wasn't expecting much. We had a King size bed in the Ocean towers with a garden view. The room size was just fine and we enjoyed watching the sunrises from the balcony. We were given two coupons for water at check-in. The resort was relatively empty save for a business convention that was taking place, otherwise it would have really been quite empty. No problems getting lounge chairs at any of the pools or by the lagoon. Staff was always polite and friendly, no complaints. My only complaint was the hot tubs are all located over by the lagoon tower and were woefully anything but hot, luke warm at best. Very disappointed in the fact that there were none by the Ocean Towers, if there were any, we didn't see them.

I did use the fitness center one day and was not billed for the use. We ate one night at the Japanese restaurant, Imari and had teppan yaki, which was quite good. Nothing fancy from the chef but the service was good but nothing extrodinary. The food was excellent, just the price as has been mentioned over and over agian was expensive. We did manage to get over to the Four Seasons for dinner and highly recommend it. Pa'hui, I believe was the name of the restaurant. Great views of the beach/ocean and good service and excellent food for the same price as the HWV restaurants.

Overall we were pleased with our stay. It's a shame they've raised the point redemption level, don't think we'll be back to this hotel again.

RedSandFan

I wanted to share highlights from our recent stay at HWV. Many other Flyertalkers have shared info with me and it was helpful in planning our trip. I would like to return the favor. My wife and I were at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on an ALON award.

Checkin/room assignment: As suggested in this forum, I sent an e-mail one month and one week before arrival requesting an upgrade to ocean tower with an ocean view, specifically a room numbered between XX55 AND XX75 if available. I became diamond two weeks before arrival but on many areas of the Hilton Honors website, it still listed me as gold. Upon checkin, they had us in a room in the Palace Tower but with access to the Ocean Tower lounge. I explained to the front desk clerk that I was diamond and that I would prefer to be in the Ocean Tower. She said there was nothing she could do because there was construction going on in both the Lagoon Tower and parts of the Palace Tower, thus causing space limitations in the OT. I asked to speak with the manager and then she began searching in the computer. She then went to the office behind the front desk and when she came back she said that she may have something. She put us in room 4035 and said that we would have to wait an hour for that room. I took the room but I was far from satisfied. Room 4035 was not a bad room, most of the view of the ocean was blocked and quite a distance away, but for the time being it was all they had. After getting into the room, I placed a call to the front office manager. I explained it was our anniversary and that I was hoping to get a better room. Shine, the front office manager, apologized for the inconvenience, sent us a bottle of champagne and put us on a waiting list for a better room. The next day I wrote a note thanking her for the champagne and I asked her again for a better room. I included in that note a printout from the first page of the Hilton website that showed I was diamond VIP. The following day she put us in room 6077. The view was fantastic(we were able to see whales). Believe it or not, some views from rooms on the 5th and 6th floors are blocked by palm trees. Room 6077 has a wide open view of the ocean as well as views of the lagoon and the mountains. I noticed that rooms on this level also get extra Kohala Spa products compared to our first room(a special thanks to littleleaguemom for the tip on getting extra spa products-it works!). I looked at the layout of the OT and I believe that rooms from XX50 to XX80 have very good views, as long as you are on the 4th floor or higher.

Ocean Tower Lounge-6th floor: overall I thought this was pretty decent. I know some of you have not been happy with what is offered there. I am not a big breakfast eater and what was available was perfect. Fresh fruit, papayas(they were great), various melons, pineapple, guava and orange juice, bagels, croissants, good danishes, coffee, tea, cereal and yogurt. Lunch was just drinks and cookies. The dinner offerings were things like shrimp, coconut chicken, vegetables and dip, pate biscuits, crackers and brie, etc. All of it was good. This lounge did save us money (which of course allowed my wife to feel less guilty about the amount spent on shopping).

The grounds: what a place. I fail to see how walking in that environment could bother anyone. Exotic species of flowers, flamingos, various wildlife, bridges, scenic overlooks, you get the idea. It is large and can be overwhelming at first. My advice to anyone is to spend the first day or two and walk the area, use the resort and find out what it has to offer. The Ocean Tower area does not have hottubs, but it does have various pools, water slides and hammocks along the water which provide a very relaxing scene. I have read in a previous post that there are no hammocks near the Lagoon Tower. I counted at least three while walking the Lagoon Tower area. I did see some construction in the Palace and Lagoon towers but it was very minimal. It is a Hawaiian Disneyworld. It has water slides for the kids, Dolphin Quest where you can pay to swim with and touch the dolphins, and trams and boats to transport people around the resort. The resort only runs one tram during the week and they have two running on the weekends.

Restaurants: in a word, Roy's. Go to this place at least once while you are there. It is in the Kings Shops nearby. It is not a quiet restaurant. There is lots of energy in that place and the food is fantastic. My wife and I tried Donatoni's, the Italian place between the OT and Palace Tower. The food was good but way overpriced for what you get. The atmosphere is nice, it has more elegance than Roy's but if I am going to spend $150 on dinner, I would rather be enjoying an entree at Roy's. Peter Merriman just opened a restaurant in the Kings Shops and it is a nice place for lunch. They have outdoor tables and a fantastic blackened Mahi mahi sandwhich. A few of the restaurants were closed at the resort during our stay.

Our excursions: Volcano, Akaka Falls, South Point and Green Sand Beach(do not do Green Sand Beach unless you have a 4WD, 4WD experience and a strong constitution. I am very serious about this), Onizuka Visitors Center on Mauna Kea, Hapuna Beach, Greenwell Coffee Farm, sight-seeing/shopping in Kailua-Kona, and snorkeling at HWV(if you are interested in more details on these topics, I am posting a summary in the Travel section).

Gas: at Costco(members only--get a membership, it is worth it) which is 5 miles south of the airport=$1.99/gallon. Shell station in the Kings Shops=$2.32/gallon. Contrary to what I have read, there were gas stations in Mountain View, Hilo and Waimea on the return trip from the Volcano. They were open at 9pm at night.

Webcam: there is a webcam just behind the gazebo which alternates views every 30 seconds. Have some fun with this with people back home. We called home and had my parents bring our 2 1/2 year old daughter to the computer. She loved it. Website is available through the HWV main page.

Bugs: absolutely none the entire stay(in the rooms).

Current Hilton Grand Vacations Timeshare presentation offerings: 20,000 Hilton Honor Points or $100.00 resort credit. I talked my wife into going. I used the sales pitch that these points will help us bring our kids back when they are old enough. It was not bad. You can be in and out in an hour.

Checkout: received late (2pm) checkout and our final bill had no errors on it. They are a little stingy when it comes to late checkout. I asked the night before and I was given the reply "please call us in the morning and we will make a determination then". Give me a break, there was hardly anyone at the resort.

Overall, this is a great resort and an excellent value for 100,000 points. The size of the resort is part of its grandeur but also causes the bulk of the complaints. I will be bringing my children back when they are old enough to deal with an 11 hour flight.

Please feel free to ask me any questions. Take care and sorry for the length.