FoundInRNO

Things must be slow at the Waikoloa Village--

I got a call last night that the upgrade I selected for the Presidential Suite was available for the duration of my 10+ night stay, starting later in the week. I was floored. Total cost of the upgrade was only $269/night additional. I was under the assumption that these rooms were ~$4,000/night. With the increase, it could have been mine for ~$1,050/night.

I politely declined the $2,700+ upgrade since I already had a nice room to begin with.

wbl-mn-flyer

A few years back, while on an award stay and also a Diamond that year, we got one of these. No extra charge. VERY nice digs. Would not have sprung for $270 a night extra however. For $3,000 you should be able to rent an ocean side house with swimming pool, for 10 days, on the Big Island. Got to keep things like this in perspective.


Presidential Suites
Each of the five Presidential Suites - Duke Kahanamoku, 'Iolani, King Kalakaua, Monarchy, and Waiulua - is over 3,000 square feet, featuring two bedrooms, and two and one-half bathrooms. Suites offer living, dining, kitchenette with microwave and mini refrigerator, sauna, bedroom and dressing areas as well as spacious lanais and spectacular ocean views

Duke Kahanamoku Suite:

Lagoon Tower and Ocean Tower Presidential Suites
One suite located in Lagoon Tower on the top floor on the front side of the tower, and one suite located in Ocean Tower on the top floor of the center ring.
Waiulua-6315 (Lagoon Tower), Duke Kahanamoku-7099 (Ocean Tower)

FoundInRNO

I'm not sure where you find a ocean front house in Kona for $300/night during Christmas. I looked and everything was booked solid for the period Dec 10-Jan 5.

On a side note, thanks to the double base points promo, I'll make Diamond on this one stay at HHV. Something like 130,000 base-points for a 10-day stay!

[Hopefully, I'll get the upgrade anyway. I'm interested to see what they actually give me!]

wbl-mn-flyer

high season could be a problem but here you go

150/nt condo:
http://honolulu.craigslist.org/big/vac/1511327704.html

210/nt house:
http://honolulu.craigslist.org/big/vac/1511285048.html

135/nt house:
http://honolulu.craigslist.org/big/vac/1510877417.html

craigslist is the way to go it seems, compared to the $500/nt+ middle-man web sites...

iahphx

Interesting. I'll have to take a look at Craigslist next time I'm headed to the Big Island. I actually like to combine a stay at the Hilton with a house rental on the east side of the island. I recall significantly higher rates from the realtors. Of course, you do get a degree of protection dealing with a realtor is something goes wrong. Like would you really want to pay a deposit to an individual?

cblaisd

I have a friend who rents out a vacation home in Pepeekeo. If you're interested, PM me.

sbaldr

I'm going to the HWV next week - what is the coffee situation?

Thanks!!

iahphx

Thanks, but my family really likes the houses south of Pahoa where you can get your own volcano-heated swimming hole!

mnredfox

Trip report of AXON stay from 20-24 Dec 09.

1. Room
Very disappointed here (not in the room, but more so service and expectations given). I wrote to the GM prior to arriving and were told we "would be taken care of", that we had an ocean room and could possibly get a suite UG. When we arrived we were told by the front desk that we had a high floor with no ocean view and could move to a room on the ground floor with an ocean view. Both in Ocean Tower. We agreed to take it as the desk clerk indicated that better rooms would be available the next morning. The room we moved to did NOT have a good Ocean View, was on the wrong side of the tower the clerk told us. The next morning we talked to the concierge who moved us back to a high room, with an even WORSE ocean view. We stayed in our room. Went to the front desk and talk to the front desk manager who said she would "take care of us" and get back to us that afternoon. Never heard a word and our bags weren't moved after we were told to pack and leave them in the room. That afternoon we asked the concierge at the Ocean Tower and he said someone would contact us shortly. Never got a call back. We simply stayed there.

2. Grounds & getting around
Hotel grounds were lovely, lots of beautiful artwork and liked the motif everywhere. Things were clean and well kept. Ping Pong table at the Kona pool, but they ran out of balls on day 2. I agree with all the comments on the trams, they are very slow so take the boats they are fast. Even faster to walk - especially if you walk towards the ocean side of the resort and take the paths on that side. We did this every time and could get from one side of the resort to the other in less than 10 min. Another quick tip, fastest way from the Ocean tower to the parking lot is to cross to the ocean side, walk on the ocean side of the lagoon, and then cross back at the Kona pool into the Kamehameha court area and cut through the tennis courts.

3. Food
Food was way overpriced. As a Diamond, we got 2 free water certs/day for their $6.50 Fiji water and $20/day to spend. The buffet at WEB was $26.95/person (no more $10 continental breakfast). We did the pizza special at Orchid for a pizza and fountain drinks which I agree was a great deal. We had two pizza dinners at the point on the Lagoon tower at sunset which was memorable since no one was there. We also did breakfast once at the Lagoon Spoon which was a good use of the $20, make sure you go there early though as they run out of food by 930am. There is no more ice cream special (used to be $1 from 3-4pm, then it was $2, now it's gone). And yes, exec lounge is not there.

Otherwise it was expensive so we bought food at Mauna Lani just up the road. We didn't shop at Queen's marketplace or Kings.

4. Parking
We coughed up the $15/day to park there. They essentially charged us at check-in, but sometimes the exit gate is broken and if you wanted to you could sneak in there. The parking trick of the art gallery could also work, but I didn't do that as I'd have to do that for 4 days and that isn't right. Stray cats everywhere at night though.

5. Internet
Was something like $11/day, so we went to Queen's shops at the Starbucks. I was able to iPass in via AT&T at Starbucks for free (via my work VPN), but if you have a Starbucks account it's free. The business lounge charges for internet, but you can print out BP's for free there if you're flying out.

6. Service
Folks were pleasant other than the non-responsiveness of the room issue. I'm going to write back the GM about this (again, not the room UG but the lack of follow-through in treatment)

6. Other amenities/services
Spa was nice, and is still free for diamond members. Art galleries were fun to walk through in the lagoon area. Great property, well worth the 125K AXON (booked before the change) but not sure I'd stay here again. We did the "welcome meeting" or "orientation" which Hilton Vacations runs, you're "free gift" is a little carrying bag which was nice and we saw lots of folks using to carry beach stuff around. It takes about an hour which is good if you want tips about different vendors to use for helicopters, jeep rental etc. We got a pretty good "things to see" sheet with driving directions which was worth it, but jetted out of the meeting early.

We didn't do the Hilton Grand Vacations 2 hour talk though. You can get $100 resort dollars or 20K HH pts. I heard though you could go there and play cards with someone while they talk....

wbl-mn-flyer

Amazing story.

So glad we ended up on Oahu this time.

The Blackstone Group has trashed the Hilton brand.

cbalaska

Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience, especially with the room. I was also at the hotel Dec 21-27 on an award stay and had just about the opposite experience.

1. Room -- I had only booked my stay 4 days out so was not expecting much of an upgrade during Xmas week. Without even asking, I was pleasantly surprised to be given a very nice Ocean Tower room on the top floor right on the point overlooking the ocean -- Buddah point was about 50 feet to my right as I looked out.

2. Grounds -- I agree they were beautiful and it was hard to tell this was a 30 year old property. Very well kept. Walking across property was pleasant and took about the same amount of time as the tram or boat.

3. Food -- I loved the free Fiji water every day (2 bottles) and the $20 f&b daily vouchers made for a nice sushi, salad, or sandwich and mai tai lunch or dinner at the Boat Landing or pool bars most days. I did go to the Queen's marketplace when I arrived and stocked up on fresh fruit, yogurt, juice, chips, nuts, cheese, sodas, etc for about $50 for the whole week. It fit easily in the fridge in the room and kept breakfast and snack prices low. I'm a tea drinker and had a few teabags of my own the first 2 days. The maid saw that and left me several bags of Earl Gray and Chamomile each day instead of coffee -- nice touch! The free shuttle to King's and Queen's made it easy to get good affordable dinner as needed. The Thai restaurant at Queen's was great and very reasonable (ie: cheap!)

4. Parking -- I didn't have a car so could not comment. There was a Budget car rental office onsite but they had no cars available any day of the week -- a bit of a disappointment but since I was there to relax and do nothing rather than play tourist, it was no big deal.

5. Internet -- I have a broadband card that I use for free (company pays) so that was not an issue for me.

6. Service -- Personally I thought it was above and beyond. As a single female traveler, it is a nice surprise to be treated so well -- I really appreciated it and felt they appreciated my business.

7. Other services -- yes, the spa was very nice. And I did go for the 20K HH points to spend 90 minutes on my last afternoon listening to the HGV pitch. It was easy to say no and took up time I would have just wasted waiting for my flight home on the last evening.

All in all, it was a great week and I definitely would stay there again and recommend it.

JetFumeJunkie

Overall
At a high level, my girlfriend and I really enjoyed the resort. I have stayed at several different Hyatt and Hilton resort properties throughout Hawaii and enjoyed this property just as much (if not more) as the others.

As everyone knows, this is a BIG resort. That size comes with with drawbacks and benefits. If you can find a way to minimize the drawbacks (which I think are minimal) and focus on the positives of this resort, you will have a great and relaxing trip. If you want to hang out in the huge pools and go down waters slides with the kids you can do that. If you want to find your own secluded area to read / relax right on the ocean (without any kids around) you can find that too.

The food is a bit pricey, but it is Hawaii. We had dinner at several other resorts and the Hilton was priced competitively to all of them.

As far as the food and water vouchers for Diamond members go, I thought they worked out pretty well. The complimentary in-room Fiji water was a huge convienence and nice perk. The $10 pp/pd vouchers let you use them how you want to you. I think I would rather have these than have to trek to a possibly overcrowded lounge room that imposes meal times on you.

Room
Since we arrived on 12/27, right in the middle of probably one of the busiest weeks of the year, I wasn't expecting much. We were given a partial ocean view room in the Ocean Tower. The view was very nice, but there was a tram bell dinging right outside of our window. I called the front desk to see if an alternative was available and they offered a partial ocean view / golf view on the other side of the Ocean Tower (it was a very quiet room, but not that great of a view). We declined and they said they would put us on a waiting list for an upgraded room. On 12/28 I followed up with Rick, one of the Ocean Tower concierges, but no other rooms were available. On 12/29 Rick called me and offered a strong full ocean view room at the front of the Ocean Tower. It was an amazing room, great view, and very close to the water. You could easily sleep with the door open and listen to the waves crash at night. Because it was such a busy week, I think they really did a nice job for us. I appreciate the concierge proactively following up for me and calling back to set up the room change. He also made several other dinner and activity reservations for us (inside and outside the resort).

Grounds
Like everybody else has posted, they are beautiful. The artwork is amazing, the flowers stunning, and the wildlife within the resort makes all of the boat rides and walks very enjoyable. We especially enjoyed all of the birds throughout the resort.

The ocean water lagoon was amazing. Multiple mornings we got up and took a snorkel in the natural area of the lagoon and saw good amounts of fish, turtles, coral, etc.

The free upgraded lounge chairs they have out toward budda point overlooking the ocean are an amazing way to spend the afternoon / sunset.

Transport
The boats are great. I really enjoyed using them to go to dinner in the evening. The tram is annoying and I personally think they should try and get rid of it. At a minimum they need to lower the volume of the bells that alert people of the oncoming train.

I used the valet parking for $21 day. I personally think this was the best $21 / day we spent on the trip. It was great to simply drive up, leave the keys in the car and walk away. I always called the valet before leaving my room and to go to the car and every time it was waiting for me. Nobody was even looking for tips every time you got in your car. Why anybody wouldn't invest the extra $6/day for this service compared to the hike down the hill to self parking is beyond me (especially while on vacation). I would highly reccomend getting a car while on the big island. Driving to some of the other beaches / attractions / shops was well worth it.

Entertainment
I wish they would have had more live entertainment throughout the resort. Like much of Hawaii (outside of Wikiki), the nightlife wasn't much. After dinner there were few options for listening to music and have a drink.

Their NYE party was pretty much a joke. We arrived at 10:30 and left by 11:00 pm. This was probably the worst $20pp we spent on the trip and I thought about asking for my money back. The band quit at 10:45 and the DJ that took over was aweful. I'm in my late 20's, and am a fan of many different eras of music, but I have no idea what the guy was playing

The Luau was very relaxing. The food was good and the live entertainment kept me occupied. The setting was also very peaceful. They should probably ditch the fake lei's and offer more than one complimentary drink though.

Golf
The golf course (which I don't think is owned by the Hilton) didn't really offer great value in my mind. We played the "Beach" course, which only ended up having 1 1/2 holes on the beach / water. Most holes were inland. The staff was definitely on 'hawaiian time' (except for the beverage cart attendant, she was good). The course was in so so shape. We planned on playing two rounds during the week, but only played once after the first experience.

Food
Overall I thought the food was pretty good. We ate at KPC, their top restaurant, on NYE and had a great meal right on the water. I thought it compared with the Canoe House (it terms of taste, view) and was less money. They had a pre-fixed menu, but let us order ala carte off the main menu. The itialian restaurant was a good value. Roy's was just down the street, and for the $, is a great deal. The cereal place in the morning was a great way to use the $10 voucher if you are set on using them for breakfast. Tropical drinks were a bit steep, but I'm not going to let $1-2 / drink ruin my vacation. On the upside, we were comped a couple of rounds of drinks throughout the week by the pool!

All in all, it was a great trip / stay. I walked through the Marriott next door and found the Hilton to be 100% better in terms of resort grounds quality. If you can't have a good time at this resort, you should probably rethink your expectations. There is a Four Seasons down the road, for $750/night, I'm sure they can meet all of them (and remember, you can't use points to stay at the Four)!

denvertraveler

Just returned from 12/25-1/2 Rewards Stay at HWV.

1. Rooms--We were given two partial ocean view rooms in the Ocean Tower. Found them to be very comfortable and sufficiently roomy for our needs.

2. Grounds--Yes, this is a large property, but we mostly navigated on foot unless the boat or monorail happened to be at our point of departure (either Ocean Tower or lobby). Walking was not too much of a trek, and taking the outside, ocean path was very scenic (and helped burn off a few of the Pina Colada calories). We found the entire property to be very clean and well-maintained.

3. Food--We used our coupons to offset the cost of the breakfast buffet our first morning. Yet, even with the $10 savings, it still seemed very pricey for what they offered. For the balance of the week, we stocked up on cereals and yogurt purchased at either the market at the Queen's Shops or the one in Waikoloa Village. Interestingly, prices were better at the Queen's Shops location. The only hotel restaurant we dined at was the Japanese teppan style (ala Benihana). Food was not exceptional, and the price was on the high side (but, as noted by others, such is the case with most hotel restaurants on the Big Island). We had a very good, reasonably priced dinner at the Thai restaurant in the Queen's Shops. Would also highly recommend Pau, a very small, casual place in Waimea, across the parking lot from Merriman's. Mostly pizzas, salads and sandwiches, but food was very tasty and service was down-home friendly. We used the $10 coupons for drinks and lunches, without any problems. Finally, as to the Fiji water, we were told by the front desk that the coupons only entitled us to a total of 2 bottles/room during the entire stay, not 2 bottles per day. No problem, since we bought large bottles for 99 cents at the market.

4. Parking--We used valet the first night (and were charged $21). Thereafter, we did the self-park, and there were no charges for this on our bill when we checked out. And contrary to what some have said, it's a very short walk from the lobby driveway to the self-parking lot.

5. Service--Overall, I give high marks to the staff, including front desk, shuttle drivers and housekeeping. As to the latter, our room was always made up when we returned from our morning outings.

6. Other amenities--The pools were too cold to be comfortable/relaxing, and of course there is no beach. So on a couple of occasions we 'vistited' the pools and beach at the Marriott and the Mauna Lani. Perhaps because those properties were not extremely busy, we had no problems at either hotel (a suggestion--if you go there, take the white bath towels from your room, since they'll blend in with the towels handed out at the towel sheds at those two hotels). We utilized the spa, which came in handy on our last day, since we checked out of the rooms at 2 pm and didn't have to leave for the airport until much later. We showered and changed in the spa after spending the last day at the pool, and there was no charge since we are Hilton Gold.

All in all, it was a positive experience, especially considering that we saved substantial dollars by utilizing points for two rooms for the week.

ExPlat ExPat

Just returned from a great family trip (wife+2 kids), our third visit to HWV in two years. Just can't get enough of this place. Used a GLON 205K award.

I had checked prior to check in on the status of suite availability, but they were all sold out so wasn't expecting much; was able to secure UG to Lagoon ocean view though as Diamond. Was also given free rollaway bed and self-parking. Some day they will get a card reader on the exit gate that will work and doesn't need 3 or 4 swipes, or rocks back and forth. The kids always enjoyed guessing how many times it would take.

Down at the cat wash - Lots of feral cats in the parking lot as previously reported, but they do now provide the free service of licking your number plate clean (I kid you not). They have learnt to eat the various bugs that get impaled on the front of your car.

Standard $20/night coupons, which are convenient, but don't go far for a family of 4. 2 coupons/night for Fiji water in-room worked out well. Guy bringing the rollaway also brought in some extra Kona coffee, and they were not shy about refills all week.

The restaurant (Palm Court?) in the Ocean tower is being "reconcepted" so is closed, which added to wait times at the Waterside buffet in the mornings. But the quoted wait times (40 mins or so) were usually around 10 to 15 mins so no big deal.

Enjoyed eating at Tommy Bahamas at the Mauna Loa shops - not cheap, but was always satisfying. Prix-fix menus were a reasonable deal.

My wife also managed to sprain her ankle whilst looking over at a whale on the ocean path; security were kind enough to supply a wheel chair (which we just had to turn in at the end of the stay). We bought some crutches at the pharmacy in Waimea, and left those with security as well.

The new trams are slow, we much preferred walking (or hopping in my wife's case) or riding the boats.

It is still a great place to visit, especially with kids. Can't wait to go back.

naroowal

Does this property not have a beach? I read in one of the other threads that this does not have a beach. Can somebody please comment on this?