aww3583

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aww3583

When does the pre-arrival email arrive with respect to your check-in date?

Due to flight issues, we won't arrive to the hotel until around 8:00PM local time.

If we do the e-Check-In like the email suggests, at what point do we request an upgrade?

Has anyone done the luau on Sunday/Tuesday nights? The price is kind of high, but it looks like it's pretty neat with decent food. Any thoughts?

aww3583

I've been seeing a lot of reviews saying no free wi-fi is available in the rooms.

Is this correct?

As a diamond, I've always had free internet in all areas of all Hilton hotels.

Also, at booking, the website says the resort fee includes "guest internet access". I assume this means in common areas.

linsj

Golds and diamonds get free wifi in the rooms, as well as around the resort.

aww3583

Just got back from a 6-night reward stay. It was tough for me to write this review since I wasn't paying to stay there. We paid 40k points/night. The review below is copied from my TripAdvisor review.

As HHonors status holders:
The resort fee was waived;
We received one $10 food coupon per person, per day;
Free property-wide wi-fi access for each of us (two separate access codes);
One free DVD rental at the Hilton "Red-Box" style machines;
Two coupons for a free bottle of water.

For planning purposes, here are some of the prices we witnessed: Valet Parking ($22/day); Self parking ($17/day); Breakfast sandwich ($9); chips and guacamole ($12); 12” pizza ($26); luau ($112); 3-oz Mai Tai ($12); 12-oz Budweiser ($6); 8” x 11” photograph of family at luau ($40);

Check-in: We valet parked the car ($22 per day) and checked-in. Check-in was smooth and the front desk agent was very efficient, cheerful, and helpful. We waited 8 minutes for the tram and were delivered to the Ocean Tower about 5 minutes after that.

Room: We were in the Ocean Tower facing Buddah Point. The room was nicely sized, not small, not big. The Ocean Tower is definitely dated. Popcorn ceilings, small bathrooms, worn wallpaper are the norm. But, we had a beautiful view, a comfortable bed, and A/C that blew cold.

Day 1: We had a very early breakfast at the coffee shop in the Ocean Tower. Two small breakfast sandwiches, coffee, and an ice water rang up at $20. We grabbed some chairs near the pool and were relaxing by 8:00AM. Oddly, pool food/drink service doesn’t open until 11:00AM. It was a minor inconvenience, but c’mon Hilton. You have a pool deck full of relaxing and vacationing customers. Don’t make them wait until lunch time to grab snacks.

Lunch at the Ocean Tower Cantina was nothing special. The restaurant opened at 11:00AM, but we were told the kitchen didn’t open until 11:30AM. Really, Hilton? We split an order of chips and single guacamole ($12). We were charged $17 for a “double guacamole” which, on the menu, is $15. The server was playing games with our ticket and we caught her. She promptly removed the incorrect pricing.

We discovered that the adults-only pool in the Ocean Tower closes at 5:00PM every day. It’s a small pool located in a quiet corner of the Ocean Tower atrium. I can’t believe it closes before dinner each day. It must be a noise issue or something.

Day 2: We spent much of the day out on the island.

We had dinner at Dona and Toni’s Pizza. Service was slow and inattentive. Our glasses of water were frequently empty. We ordered breadsticks ($8) and a 12” pizza ($26). We appreciated that the server warned us that pizzas take 25 minutes. The breadsticks were microwaved lukewarm and covered in butter. The pizza arrived in about 12 minutes, which means it was heated from frozen in a toaster oven. There were no bubbles in the crust, golden-brown cheese, or other signs of fresh ingredients cooked-to-order. The waitress apologized for the slow service because they were “slammed”. Oddly, eight of the 12 tables in the dining room were empty. Five of those eight remained unbussed and covered with left-over food and dishes throughout our dinner.

Day 3: We spent much of the morning in the shade near the big waterslide. There are a ton of nooks and crannies where you can relax in/around the pool and waterfalls. We each had a sandwich for lunch, and I had a Mai Tai. The total for two sandwiches and one drink was $39. The food was pretty good and I would consider it one of the better meals at the property.

We attended the luau that evening. The luau costs $112 per person and includes an open bar, buffet of local foods, and a show. The food was good, but felt very much like a banquet. There was salad, steamed vegetables, chicken, ribs, etc. I enjoyed the local foods which included poke, pork, plum sauce, etc. The show felt like a review on a cruise ship. It was very touristy, but the families and kids around us enjoyed it. Was it worth $112 a person? Probably not. But, we can say we’ve enjoyed a luau in Hawaii. On the way into the luau, your picture is taken with a plastic lei around your neck. You can purchase a single copy of the picture for $40 when the luau is over. Forty. Dollars. That’s double what a cruise ship charges.

Day 4: We had all meals and events planned outside of the hotel.

Day 5: My wife indulged and had a wonderful facial at the spa. We had lunch at the Lagoon Grill which overlooked the DolphinQuest pool. I had a fish sandwich that was pretty run-of-the-mill. My wife’s burger and fries were very good. Two sandwiches and a glass of tea was $41.

Day 6: Check-out was quick and efficient. You can dial the front desk and used Express Check-Out. We didn’t have to stop by the front desk or wait for an updated folio statement.

Overall Impressions:

You really can’t beat the location and the sheer quantity of things to see/do at the resort. However, make sure you’re financially prepared.

Yes, the property is huge. The trams run on an odd schedule. Walking from the Ocean Tower to the main lobby is about 1-2 minutes longer than riding the tram. The tram is air conditioned, though.

The boats are quicker, but they run on an even more sporadic schedule. There are screens that tell you how many minutes until the next tram/boat arrives. Sometimes, it said 30+ minutes. Why anyone would wait for that is beyond me.

Yes, there are feral cats and mongooses (mongeese?) running around. But, they manage the pest population. They're maintained and cared for by a local agency and are not a nuisance.

There is a great little grocery store in the King's Shops about 1/4-mile from the hotel. Stock up on bottled water and snacks before arrival.

BrlDsguise

For the record the resort fee wasn't waived due to status, Hilton does not charge resort fees on points stays.

ckccan

Checking in tomorrow and have a suite booked, looks like Ocean Tower, with room ending in 99 - have searched this thread, found some maps etc., but nothing that tells me where that particular suite might be facing.

Thanks

Need

Not sure where 99 is, but 31 is just above the Coffee/Gift Shop about 10 to 15 rooms toward middle of the last circle. It was golf course facing and can see the ocean to the left. I think the rooms facing the resort and the swimming pools probably got the best views.

aww3583

Just stayed in a __75 room. It faced due west toward the water with Buddah Point and the mini golf course to the right.

The rooms in the 50's and 60's face north in the western "lobe" of the tower.

I would think the rooms in the 90s face south towards the pools.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

I am at the pool right now.

It looks like room 99 looks over the boat canal, pools and the bay between the ocean tower and the palace tower. You might also be able to see the lagoon.

I have a _28 room with a partial ocean view and a view over the golf course

It is slightly overcast today with a light breeze but still nice and warm.

Regards

TBS

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

Following on from aww353's comments , here are my comments on the hilton waikoloa village resort;

Check in: At 2pm on Monday my room was ready and had a minimal wait to check in ( at other times the queue was a bit longer)
I took the tram to the Ocean Tower ( my room was 7028 with a partial ocean view and overlooking the golf course. If you leaned over the balcony you could get a partial view of the sunsets.

I found the room to be excellent with a good fridge and good a/c. The tv had a lot of channels. The room was fairly quiet but you could hear the birds outside the room in the early morning.

I bought the dining card ( $30 but came with 2x $10 coupons and gave you 10% food and beverages)

My daily routine was;

Breakfast at the Water's edge around 730am ( the staff recognised me from my previous visit last year). The buffet was $30 but was very good.
After breakfast I walked around the resort, down to the shoreline with beautiful lava rocks on the shoreline and past Dolphin quest ($350 for a 1.5hour session) before going to the Kohala pool for the morning.

After showering I took the shuttle bus from the lower lobby to the Queens Market place ( every 20 mins for $2) where I had a burger, fries and cola at the food court. I bought soda/ water at the Island gourmet foods and then went to the Hawaiian petroglyphs by the Kings shops and stopped at at King's Coffee for an iced latte.

Back at the hotel I grabbed an icecream at the Shaka shakes stand by the lagoon grill ( $6) and then watched the dolphins.

After watching the sunset I went for dinner and tried over several days;

Kirin- The chinese restaurant was good with a sizeable portion of orange chicken and the banana fritter portion was very large

Boat Landing Cantina- The fish tacos and the churros were very good.

Lagoon Grill- The Burger and fries were ok.

My rate had the 7th night free and a free luau ticket so I went to the luau and paid a $26 upgrade for Alii seating. The hula dancers and the fire show were very impressive and the buffet food was good.

The fitness centre in the Lagoon tower ( open to 11pm) was good.

I did the Hawaii forest and trail tour to the Volcano National Park which was excellent. On the tour by the crate, one of the fellow tour members proposed to his partner!. She said yes^

I hired a mask, snorkel and fins for $10 for an hour and swam in the lagoon. By the waterfall I turned around and I was surrounded by 5 or six turtles which was beautiful. Walking around the resort you saw them on the lava rocks so you could get reasonably close to them and take photos.

There is a pitch and putt course by the ocean tower and a few days a week they have twilight golf with glowing balls.

Some nights were quite windy and though I thought I had secured my swimming shorts against the chair , the next morning they had gone. I looked over the balcony and they were in the bushes below.

I found that even if I had just missed the tram I could beat the tram from the ocean tower to the lobby at my walking pace- which is on the quick side). The walkway has lots of beautiful art works and statues.

Sometimes there was only 1 boat running so if you missed it the next one would be in 30mins.

The Waikoloa coffee shops at Ocean and Lagoon Towers were good ( iced coffee lattes) but closed relatively early at 5pm.

The laundrette in the ocean tower was good ( the dryers and washers took credit cards)

I did get an invitation to an Hhonors reception on Thursday but I could not go as I was on the Volcano tour.

The hotel did get busier at the weekend especially Saturday/sunday but the kohala pool at the ocean tower was quieter than the kona pool.

Wifi in the rooms ( included in the resort fee) and the pools was pretty good for surfing the net.

It was an excellent stay and I think the landscaping is one of the best that I have seen at a hilton hotel.

Regards

TBS

RoadWeary

Does anyone know if the HWV allows you to buy a day pass to the pools? I am staying at one of the Hilton timeshares that allow use of the hotel pools, but have friends staying elsewhere that may want to join us at the pool one day...

ksyrah

You could in the past - probably still can.

jimmyrules712

I could use some advice for a stay I'm planning here in January.

I'm looking at doing one of these 2 rooms, paid with points. The costs are similar, the palace tower suite is about 10k points extra per night.

MAKAI-OCEAN SIDE AT LAGOON TOWER 1 KING BED
1 BDRM ROYAL SUITE W-1 KING BED IN PALACE TWR

From what I've read in this thread, Lagoon Tower is recently renovated and closest to parking, which would make it easiest to leave the resort and explore the island. I haven't seen a lot of information about Palace Tower. Does anyone know how nice these resort rooms are?

loomis

The Lagoon Tower is where you find the concentration of kids, since it is near both the biggest water slide and Dolphin Quest. If I was traveling with kids I would chose the Lagoon Tower, but without kids, Palace Tower.