cswusd

But Budget's one-way charge made the rental rates unattractive.

MeLike2Travel

Sorry, but I'm not sure I understand the response. I asked if Hilton had onsite rental car. You said no, but then that they have Budget. Do you mean that Budget rental car is onsite?

cblaisd

Uh, sorry, but I'm not sure how I could re-word it. Onsite at the HWV: No Hertz, yes Budget.

Agree. Hertz and Avis and National and sometimes Alamo (shudder) tend (not universally, but tend) to be best for one-way rentals in the Islands if you're looking for no one-way charges.

Weatherboy

The best way is to get a rental car.

I'm staying at HWV for the next 2 weeks and while I'm usually loyal to Avis or Hertz, some checking around found a $220/week all-in rate for a convertible from Dollar! It looks like there's some other great rental car bargains to be had on the island.

I think having a car is a must on Hawaii --I wouldn't bother with taxis and shuttles. And as beautiful as I know HWV is, if you're only going to stay there and not explore the island, I think there's far more affordable and comparable places closer elsewhere than on the 'Big Island.

cblaisd

While I agree with you, for folks thinking about the pros and cons, don't forget to factor in that the HWV now charges for parking. On a two-week stay, that can add up (even on a week's stay!)

MeLike2Travel

The Hilton Waikoloa site says parking is $15/day. Is that correct? That's steep!

jmd001

Don't know if it is true (strikes me as a bit ominous that the web site I looked at says "Please call to confirm the current rate" rather than actually quoting a rate), but I know that in Dec 2005, self-parking was FREE!

Seems hotels are learning about "unbundling" just as fast as airlines are.

cblaisd

On my two stays there in July, the parking, iirc, was $15/day for self-parking and $18/day for valet.

asiatravel888

Just checked in to the Hilton Waikoloa on a 4 night stay. Self-park is $15/night and valet is $21/night. HHonors members do not receive any discount.

On a positive note, our room was upgraded from terrace garden view to exec level ocean view in Ocean tower. A considerable walk from the main lobby but well worth the view and privacy.

Markieg

for free? They are only 5 mins walk aren't they?
7 nights at 15 $'s is a bit steep for something that was free not so long back. Nice earner for them.

cblaisd

I would say it is more like a 15-20 minute walk to the Kings Shoppes.

Iirc, there are signs posted there that say no overnight parking.

flyermatthew

After a full day driving around the Big Island, I came home to a Wheel of Fortune taping. Given that the island shuts down at 9 or so, I didn't think they could possibly tape late. The clock reading just past midnight tells me that I'm a fool for thinking they'd keep to an "island schedule". (Or, for that matter, even their promised schedule of ending at 11:30.)

Lesson learned: ask about special events when making a reservation, and remember to do so again when checking in to make sure that my room is near loud events.

Weatherboy

Wheel of Fortune mania is in full effect at the HWV.

For those of you familiar with the grounds, the Wheel of Fortune crew took over a good chunk of the Ocean Tower and the area surrounding the tower.

The stage, a rather elaborate one at that, is set-up on the lawn between the Ocean Tower and Buddha Point, completely covering up the putting green that's normally there. During the evening tapings, hotel guests are not permitted beyond the swimming pool region of the Ocean Tower (which includes sunsets at Buddha Point.)

The set lighting is intense: you can see it from Maui and you can clearly see it from KOA airport. (The lighting is so bright I'm surprised the observatories that are light sensitive up on the volcanic peaks hasn't shut them down.)

Pat Sajak and Vanna White's dressing rooms are in the 1st floor of the Ocean Tower (xx77 and xx76). A "green room" and make-up area for contestants is located in the lounge area on the 4th floor below the Executive Lounge. There are over 200 crew associated with the show, and they're housed throughout the Ocean Tower. (More than 1/2 the guests in the Executive Lounge seem to be Wheel of Fortune employees.)

Wheel of Fortune employees aren't the only ones in the Ocean Tower though --there's still a sizable number of "regular" guests, a handful of which overlook the Wheel of Fortune set. I knew what I was getting myself into coming here... but I can imagine the dismay of people checking into the ocean-facing executive floors of the Ocean Tower seeing the Wheel out their window instead of the Buddha statue.

Hilton says there's about 200 guests who booked here specifically for the Wheel of Fortune event.

There's several hundred audience members, most of which are Island residents. The audience has been parking in the lot next to the Queens' Shops mall and Hilton has been busing them in to the resort bus entrance. The Hilton & Wheel of Fortune have also been providing free entertainment for the audience in the hotel's ballrooms. The "after" party there features local acts from the island. Those not staying at the resort... but partying a bit too much at the after-taping after-party can stay at HWV for $159.

They've been shooting vignettes around the grounds ...from the Hilton sign at the front portico to the various bridges, beaches, and sites around the resort.

Shows taped at HWV will begin to air right after the election in November with a bonus round of shows airing in February 2009.

Weatherboy

The resort, even with the Wheel of Fortune event ongoing, is fairly empty.

They now dropped room rates down to $139 this week hoping to fill it up and make it look a little more lively for the Fortune show ...and all the media in tow covering the show.

Jaimito Cartero

I won a traveling version of WOF about 10 years ago, and got a trip to Hollywood to try out on the real one, studio tour, sit through a few shows, etc. The test was fairly hard, but I didn't even try very hard, as I'm more of a Jeopardy type guy. I'd guess there would be some good study guides on the internet these days.