Very happy with the Grand Naniloa (but book a balcony room).

Have always wanted to stay on the Hilo side of the island so jumped at the chance to try out the 'new' Doubletree Grand Naniloa.

Thanks to everyone here who posted reviews which helped me decide what type of room to book. Originally booked a king ocean view (no lanai) with the hope that as Diamond we would get an upgrade. But with this hotel being so new to the Hilton portfolio decided not to risk that (especially since we were staying five nights). It was so inexpensive to select the room type that I wanted using a promotional rate that I canceled my original reservation and rebooked a room with a lanai.

The bay facing lanai rooms are only the even numbered rooms in the Mauna Kea wing.  It appears that all the rooms in the Mauna Loa wing face the bay but they DO NOT have lanais. Hoped for an upgrade to a corner room but that didn’t happen so I’m really glad I chose the room we wanted. Would NOT have been happy if we couldn’t sit outside our room to enjoy the fabulous view.

Evening view from our lanai.

I used the on-line check in option and the floor maps it was easy to select my preferred location on an upper floor, near the end of the hall, far from the elevator. Since I had pre-checked I just stopped at desk to pick up the keys. I didn't have to wait in line for more than a couple of minutes either at check-in or check-out. 

Mauna Kea wing floor plan, 7th of 9 floors. Only the even number rooms have balconies and those overlook the pool, grounds and bay towards Hilo and Mauna Kea in the distance. Higher floors have the best views. 

We had mostly sunny weather so we spent lots of time on the lanai or under a shady palm tree near the pool. This side of the island is more laid back and it was very relaxing to hang out at the hotel and in Hilo town. We picked up Mai Tai supplies at a grocery storso we didn’t use the hotel bar. But did enjoy listening to the live Hawaiian music which we could hear from the pool area in the evenings.

Yes, this is a hang out for local Hilo folks to enjoy the bar and live music (including hula some nights) so the parking lot can get crowded in the evening. The hotel is used for local conferences and events (and several took place while we were there). We were usually back in our room before the evening events started so we didn’t have issues finding a parking space in the main lot next to the hotel. Only once did we have to park across the street in the overflow lot but we moved our car back to the main lot before we went to bed that night. I agree that they really need to address the parking issue so hotel guests get first dibs of the spots in the main hotel lot. I didn’t feel unsafe in the overflow lot but it isn’t the best idea (in the dark) to walk from there.

Otherwise we liked the location of the hotel with the historic banyan trees, close proximity to walk to Liliʻuokalani Park and Coconut Island. We also walked into downtown Hilo several times. Its pretty easy to get to the volcano and to sightsee up and down the east coast of Hawaii Island (beautiful waterfalls!) using Hilo as a base. The Hilo airport is small and easy to get to. Very close to the hotel and on-site rental cars make it quick and easy to get in and out of the airport. 
 

View of the Mauna Kea wing (left) and Mauna Loa wing (right) from the lawn. Notice that the Mauna Loa wing has floor to ceiling windows but does not have balcony rooms

Grounds are expansive and nicely kept. 

Watching the cruise ships from our lanai and from the pool area.

Local March of Dimes event on the hotel lawn 

Our room was clean (the housekeepers were friendly and even left us daily notes thanking me for leaving them tips). We would have preferred a king bed but the queen that we slept on was comfortable. The room furniture is a holdover from the previous incarnation of this hotel and is ready for replacement. But it wasn’t bad and the bed seemed new. Our sliding door to the bathroom worked fine. AC worked fine also, just be sure to close the drapes when you leave for the day since the room can get really hot in the afternoon.

Spartan furnishings but updated with Kim Taylor Reece photo art. 

Fridge, microwave, coffee maker. Plenty of plugs for devices. 

Small but adequate closet.

The bathrooms need a complete remodel as the fixtures are older and yes, the tub faucet is totally weird (but it worked fine). But the bathroom was pretty large (bigger than many hotel bathrooms) and had plenty of space for our things. I liked that the room had a microwave and refrigerator (empty, not a minibar thank goodness). This made it easier to enjoy our cocktails and snacks.

The lanai was small but comfortable and the view was great. We loved seeing the sunrise, the rainbows, the cruise ships, and hearing the waves.

Bay View

Hilo in the distance. On clear days we could see Mauna Kea.

We could see honu in the waters surrounding the pool area.

One of the best things about Hilo are rainbows. We saw this spectacular full double rainbow while having our morning coffee on our lanai.

Nighttime view of pool from our lanai. Could hear the waves and cocqui frogs. 

We were given vouchers for full breakfast daily. The breakfast staff did seemed unsure of how/when to take the vouchers, it seemed like it was a different process every day. But no upcharge was ever added to get the full breakfast. Hot items were okay. There was almost always someone available to make fresh waffles. Fresh fruit was good. Cereals were the small boxes of mostly kiddy stuff but the waitress had no issue going to the back to bring me a box of granola when I requested it.

The location of the breakfast room had a very nice view of the grounds. Overall the grounds were lovely and uncrowded. Wish they could do something to renovate the tiki bar restaurant and attached swimming pool on the grounds adjacent to the parking lot. It looked like it was pretty cool back in its day. Now it’s just a a derelict mess. But change comes slowly to this side of the island.
 

I hope this hotel succeeds. We would definitely stay here again but only if we get a lanai view of the bay.


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