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HWV obscure facts and tips

Bonny31

Thanks all for the info I am booked for the last week in JAN/06

jml1124

Does anyone know if there are promotions or is it possible to use points to get breakfast at the Waikoloa village? Or if there is someplace close by to get it?

JT_BOS

You can exchange 25000HH points for $50 Hilton Hawaiian Dollars, but the exchange rate is obviously very poor.

Or, you can go to the near-by King's shop. There is a grocery store there.

pinniped

I believe there is an HHonors award where you can redeem points for Hilton gift certificates. But I seem to recall that the redemption rate was very disadvantageous, as it typical with just about any program that offers a way to turn points into something cashlike.

We found the food at HWV to be so-so. Overpriced, bland hotelfood. Nothing truly inspiring - even at the nicer restaurants on the property. I can't say that we had any bad experiences with our meals there - just no memorable ones. I know the thought of driving a half hour to dinner sounds like a headache, but I'd rather do that before spending a LOT of my HHonors points to get simply average food at very high prices.

pinniped

Yikes. I didn't know it was that bad. My guess would have been 25k -> $100, roughly half of what most people would value the points at in terms of free hotel stays.

cblaisd

The grocery at the Kings Shops is pretty limited; more like a convenience store. There's a real grocery story in the village of Waikoloa (about 15 minutes away) or in Waimea (about 25 minutes away).

There's some very good breakfast choices to be had in Waimea.

J0HN

I was there a few months ago and they had a promo that if you went to the timeshare presentation they would give you $100 in food credits. If you have a car, you can always stock up at Costco/Wal-Mart.

Also, if you are looking for light food items (and are near the Ocean Tower) they have Kimo Bean Coffee Bar. The food court at the King's Shops may have some breakfast food items.

If you are paying for your stay, they often have rates that include breakfast -bounceback weekends, perfecting paradise, etc. - which may be a good deal or not depending on the situation.

Macken7

[QUOTE=J0HN]I was there a few months ago and they had a promo that if you went to the timeshare presentation they would give you $100 in food credits.

For the timeshare presentation can you also receive Hilton points and if so how many points?

For my last visit to HHV I was unable to get Hilton points because the wife was not with me

pinniped

We're sort of getting off topic here, but at HWV we did a timeshare presentation that netted us 50% off of a bunch of activities. Three or four of them were activities that we knew we wanted to do and for which commonly-available discounts (e.g., Entertainment, etc.) were hard to find. So I figured we got quite a bit of real value there - several hundred dollars' wroth. Golf (at the best courses, with prime morning tee times), guided hikes, helicopter tours, snorkel trips, etc. We were given a long list of things we could do - unlimited during the length of our stay - at 50% off.

So if you like several of these kinds of things, look for this type of deal as your timeshare reward. If you only like maybe 1-2 of these things, then it's probably better to spend time ahead of your trip researching non-timeshare discounts and - if you choose to do a timeshare tour - get points or credit. $100 seems way too low though...I've done tours at properties in Orlando that always yield $200-250 - usually in the form of Marriott Gift Cheques, which spend like cash. Those properties are not as high-end as a Big Island Hilton property, so I would expect at least that ballpark amount in exchange for 90 minutes of my vacation time.

loomis

Instead of starting another thread, I have a related points redeeming question: How do you find the black-out dates for the HWV? Most Hilton hotels have a direct link to what the point stretcher and black-out dates are, but both the HWV and HHV have these elaborate websites in which I can't find that info.

J0HN

My suggestion is get the HH AMEX. Do a search for AXON award - 125K points for 4 nights.

As far as blackout dates are concerned you can always call Hilton and ask, but (unless you are Diamond) the problem you are going to run into more often than not is a lack of available award rooms. That being said, you can always search for award rooms online using the flexible option (although you may get better results by calling) and the results will yield point stretcher dates and availability.

silver springer

Hi I agree with John that you should consider getting a HHonors AMEX card. I have one and really like it--getting 5 points per dollar for groceries, hotels, gas etc and then only using 125,000 for a four night award. Also AMEX only charges 2% instead of 3% that other cards do for currency conversion. Plus I think you get 20,000 HH points after your first purchase.

My husband and I had a 6 night award at the HWV last year. While it was really nice, I think 4 nights would be enough.

cblaisd

Just back from a two night stay at the HWV.

Had only stayed there once (as a Gold) during the summer a couple of years ago on an ALON stay.

This time was there for two paid nights (kama'aina rate) as a Diamond.

Was given choice of an upgraded ocean view room in Lagoon tower overlooking the Dolphin Pond/Dolphin Quest, or mountain view room in the Ocean Tower. Mrs. cblaisd liked the former so that's where we ended up (and it was very much fun to watch the dolphins from the lanai and to have the ocean breaking/roaring so close by)

Took the loooooong hike over one morning to the Diamond Executive Lounge in the Ocean Tower. Very nicely done. Good pastry and drink selection. Not crowded at all. (My sense is that the resort was not anywhere near capacity but I didn't ask). Also went one evening for drinks and pupus. Again, very nicely done (two very tasty hot items, plus cheese/fruit/crackers/veggies) and not crowded at all.

Was sent a complimentary fruit plate and bottle of champagne by the manager. Everyone we encountered on the staff was helpful and gracious.

We were going to go over to A' Beach but ended up doing just the on-property lagoon (which was very, very cold!) and the pools. It was uncrowded enough that we had the pool where the waterslide and jacuzzi is (makai end of the pool) pretty much to ourselves for a couple of hours.

Bonny31

I am here as we speak. So far everything is going well. I had requested an ocean view in the Ocean Tower when I made the resv. being a gold I was told
no problem. resv were made a month in advance. Of course when I checked in NO ocean view, but a quick call to manger office and the ocean view was 5 minutes away.
The food is way over priced. And not that good either. The best food we have had so far was in Hilo
The staff is very nice, but for a couple.
The grounds are well kept and clean.
If I had to pay to stay here NOT going to happen. This place is way to big and to many people for me. The ocean tower is not as bad as the other towers. Ocean is more middle to older people, not many kids. And there is not a sandy beach to take a walk.
And the internet service is $15 a day. A rip even there staff said that.
Went on the going to sell me a time share (NOT) but got the 20,000. They tried to get me to take the $100 Hilton dollars. The Hilton $ are not a good deal.
I enjoyed the stay. Nice to sit and watch the whales play.