HI Hawaii Hilton Waikoloa Village Kamuela

[LoneStar]

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . . .

OK, I'll start with the "best."

When I arrived at this Disneyland-sized themed resort, I wasn't expecting a particularly good room. I had called a couple nights before to request a 2-bed non-smoking room (I was travelling with my family and was concerned because I knew the place would be busy for the Easter weekend) and I got a complete ditz on the phone. I doubted my preference had been noted. It hadn't, but no problem -- the front desk clerk said I had been upgraded to a suite! And it was no ordinary suite -- the end room in the Palace Tower, I'd guess it was 4 times the size of an ordinary room, with 2 oversized bathrooms, a living room, dining room, 4 balconies, etc. Admittedly, the suite wasn't very family friendly (one king size bed), but the clerk offered to bring some rollaways and, when I requested, a refrigerator, all free of charge. It was probably the nicest digs I've ever received at a hotel, and was completely absurd for a priceline customer (wasn't there a high status Hilton Honors member they could have upgraded?).

Additionally, the resort is truly beautiful. The art collection is impressive, the grounds stunning (waterfalls, rivers, lagoon swimming pools, exotic animals and foliage), and you get around (when they run) on rail-guided boats and a monorail-like train. While waterfront, the hotel doesn't have a real beach, but they built a nice sandy beach on a lagoon which leads to the sea, which is stocked with fish and excellent for easy snorkeling.

There are a bunch of free activities going on at the hotel, but it's not always easy to figure them out (perhaps intentionally -- they don't want to be overrun?). Before arriving, I'd go to the hotel's website and comb the information. I'd also ask the concierge when you arrive (there's an activity sheet that lists some of the events). Between the two, you might get the necessary info. For example, every morning at 9:30 Camp Menehune has a free kids' craft, even if you don't enroll your kid in the day camp (very, very few guests do -- I guess they agree with me that the $75 per kid/per day fee is exhorbitant). On most days, we were the only family there, no doubt because the only way I found out about it was by carefully looking at the hotel's website before we arrived!

OK, now here's the bad part . . . .

The location on the Kohala coast about 25 miles north of the main town of Kailua-Kona is very remote. Aside from a few other luxury hotels and condos in the vicinity, there is NOTHING other than lava for miles and miles. No towns, no services, nothing to see, zippo. The two nearest spots inhabited by non-resort guests seem to be the small towns of Kawaihae and Waikoloa Village (not to be confused with the "resort town" of Waikoloa where the hotel is located), both about 10 miles away. The former has a couple of restaurants and a small, interesting National Park Service site containing old Hawaiian ruins. The latter has a grocery store.

You may find a grocery store important, because the price of food at the Hilton is insane (they even charge you $3.25 to make a pot of coffee in your room -- you know, the little packets that are always free). That's the importance of getting a refrigerator, so you can keep some cold drinks, breakfast food, etc. I've heard of others who have been successful in getting the Hilton to give them a free refrigerator (the rooms only contain a small minibar), so it doesn't hurt to ask.

Otherwise, you'll likely have to contend with restaurant prices at the Hilton, which are among the highest I've ever seen. There is also the Kings Shops about a mile away in the resort area (first you have to get to your car, though, which is likely to be a half mile away by either foot, boat or monorail), which has both sit down restaurants and a small food court. The best value "nice" restaurant is probably Merriman's, but a la carte entrees are still around 25 bucks (we had a good innovative dinner, but I'm not sure the $75 I paid for 2 entrees and 2 kids' meals with no appetizers or drinks was "worth it"). I've also heard good things about the Chinese restaurant (not cheap, but not crazy either) but didn't get to try it. Your best bets in the food court are probably the $13 pizza, the Subway's $6 sandwiches, or the $10 fish and chips stand outside on the deck. There is also a Dairy Queen/Orange Julius, and you can go to ecouponshawaii.com to print discount coupons before you go (a great way to get affordable treats for your kids).

Other than food cost, the biggest downside to this hotel is probably the general inconvenience of staying in "Disneyland." You can't park by your room (but at least the self-parking is free), and the main lot fills up at night. Once you walk the five minutes or so from your car to the lobby, it's another 5 to 15 minute walk to your room, depending on which tower you're in. I'd recommend the Lagoon Tower, which is closest to the parking lot and the biggest pools, or the Palace Tower (where I stayed) which is centrally located, the least commercial (no shopping center or food court in the building) and "walkable" to entire resort. The worst choice is the Ocean Tower, which is the most remote and has the worst atmosphere (it always seemed crowded there, with a couple of comparatively-cheap outdoor restaurants that reminded me of a food court at Disneyland).

Since the resort is so large, there's usually enough space for all 2500 or so guests, but the best pool chairs do fill up early, so many people throw a towel down to reserve them. Despite their beauty, the pools aren't that pleasant to swim in, as the water is surprisingly cold (at least in late March).

The activities and restaurants of Kailua Kona are only 25 miles away, but you can't get there on weekday evenings. Why? The traffic is the worst I've ever seen (New York, London and Hong Kong are a breeze by comparison). The town fathers have refused to multi-lane the main drag (Rt. 19), so the last 6 miles into town can take an hour if you head down in the late afternoon, early evening rush hour (there are now plans to do something about this, so maybe it will improve in a couple of years). I know, because I tried to get down to the Royal Kona Resort's evening luau (which I'd highly recommend if you want to see a luau with your kids -- they're free -- just look in the local tourist magazine for the $49 adult tickets or use your Entertainment Card discount). If you want to go down to Kailua-Kona, do it early to mid afternoon: shop, sightsee and THEN hang around for dinner.

more to come

[LoneStar]

(not sure why I couldn't edit my original post, but I'll just tack on this addition).

Another issue to at least be aware of is that while the Kohala Cost (where the Hilton is located) is remarkably sunny, warm and dry year-round, that does not necessarily mean you'll have good weather during your stay. What could go wrong, you say? How about wind. During much of my stay, winds averaged above 20 mph, often gusting well above 30 mph. Needless to say, this made sunbathing, or any other outdoor activity, somewhat unpleasant. I don't think this is a typical situation, but it is certainly not an uncommon one. Indeed, many staff members told me that the winds had been steadily blowing for 2 weeks!

OK, so for the bottom line -- should you stay at this resort?

I'd give a qualified yes, but perhaps only if you can get it for the typical priceline rate of $135. I know I would never pay $200/night plus for the privilege. There are just better places to blow that kind of money. Given the expense of Hawaiian accomodations (a new study shows that the AVERAGE hotel room in the state costs $160, compared to an $89 national average), there simply aren't that many nice places you can book in Hawaii for $135. And the Hilton is certainly nice. My guess is that most folks who are travelling to Hawaii for the specific purpose of staying in a luxury resort will find the place truly delightful (and while it's certainly a better bet for kids, I see no reason why couples would not enjoy the atmosphere -- the screaming kids can be occassionally annoying, but it's really not that bad). Those who are going more to sightsee or enjoy an "authentic" Hawaiian experience will certainly like the place a lot less. It is VERY far from the volcano (do not, I repeat, do not be tempted to make a day trip of the volcano from here -- the drive is too long and tedious. If you don't have the time to stay overnight on the other side of the island, punt the volcano and enjoy a day at the Hilton). And there is absolutely nothing "authentic" about staying in the sterile resort community of Waikoloa. The idea that you need to spend a lot of money and stay in a fancy resort to enjoy Hawaii is ridiculous. Frankly, I'd prefer the free volcano-heated pools of Ahalanui on the Puna coast to a dip in the Hilton's cold pools any day!

But even if you generally prefer the authentic to the mass-marketed Hawaii, there is no question that staying in a "fake" over-the-top resort is part of the Hawaiian travel "experience." Since Priceline (at least for the moment) makes it pretty affordable, you might as well give it a try. And the Hilton is certainly a great over-the-top resort. My recommendation is to stay perhaps 3 nights at the Hilton if you can get it for $135, and then move on to something more quiet, more peaceful, and more "real."

BTW, all visitors to Hawaii need to buy a copy of the book "Hawaii, the Big Island Revealed." About 12 bucks on line. It is one of the best destination guidebooks I have seen (the authors also do a great Kauai guide), and essential for making the most of your time on the island.

[nomah8]

I stayed back in Nov 04 so my review will not be as detailed as the other one here.

PROS: (1) good restaurants (but expensive) (2) clean(er) than the other hotel we stayed in Hawaii (3) the dolphin lagoon was interesting (4) toiletries included some moisturizer from their spa (5) big rooms with a small sofa, desk, and closet (6) had a mini-fridge (7) short drive to shops (local souvenir shops, a small Macy's) and restaurants (Subway, Italian eatery, deli plus some others) (8) there was a golf course I think - sorry i don't golf. (8) internet access for a fee (9) a business center with computers and a shipping service

CONS: (1) self parking lot (free) a bit of a walk to the hotel ($10 for valet), especially since the hotel itself is so big.

(2) too big - it's a mile wide though they do put interesting artwork in the corridors. The tram and boat that take you around the hotel took too long sometimes. They do have a computer screen at each stop to let you know hoe long the wait is for the tram but it was not always working

(3) it seemed to crowded, maybe because there were a lot (relatively speaking) of kids running around. (4) after a while I felt nickeled-and-dimed with the $3/day safe charge, the $15 stuffed dolphin they try to sell you (it's on your bed), the lack of coffee (have to pay for coffee at the mini-bar). the Hilton timeshare promos, they also *seemed* to have more hotel promotional channels on their TV than other hotels

(5) expensive restaurants but all three that we went to were good

(6) it does have a Disneyland feel to it so it may not be representative of your idea of Hawaii

[PatShaver]

We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village for 4 nights from July 2 - 6, 2005. We had tried for months to get this hotel through Priceline but we were not successful. Since it was a holiday weekend, they were eventually sold out for July 2 - 3. I did get lucky to purchase a gift certificate off Ebay for 4 nights at the Hilton Waikoloa and my brother booked an HGVC tour package so it made our stay more affordable.

PROS:

1. The rooms were very nice. The beds were comfortable. We stayed in the Palace Tower and the rooms were renovated recently. We also liked the Palace Tower because it was centrally located.

2. Because we had renovated rooms, we also had refrigerators in our rooms. We even ate in our rooms for lunch one day and bought all of our soft drinks.

3. The Hilton had a wonderful lagoon with turtles. They offered an Ohana Package for $60 a person for your entire stay you could use all the water toys (kayaks, bikes, snorkel gear, etc.). The kids loved it and constantly were changing and trying out new things. They also had an offer if you signed up for the Ohana Package, you could get 50% off a dinner sail trip for $59 (? I think). That was also very nice and the food was good.

CONS:

1. We were expecting to get upgraded rooms since my brother and I are Gold VIP's. We did not get upgraded and had standard Garden View rooms. We believe because we had special rates that we were put on the bottom of the list for the Gold card members to get upgrades.

2. Another nice feature that we liked with our Gold VIP's is that we had a free Continental breakfast and cookies and soft drinks each day in a suite. This really saved us on our breakfast costs. There is a thread at flyertalk.com on how to get a Gold VIP membership by signing up for a Hilton credit card.

3. Yes, it is a long walk to our rooms from the parking lot. However, the only time it really bothered me is when I was carrying the groceries back by myself.

4. The beaches aren't great around the Hilton but Hapuna Beach is wonderful (about a 10 min. drive).

5. We were expecting more water slides. There was only one water slide because the Ocean Tower pool was closed.

I hope this helps with making a decision on this hotel or not. I would definitely recommend this hotel with kids. If you don't have kids, I would recommend the Hapuna Prince.

[7continentKaren]

OK, so I am a sucker for Disneyland! I loved it and it is our family's favorite hotel. We had a family reunion there three years ago and the hotel arranged for us all to be together in Ocean Tower. It was a good choice for us. We were all HHonors Gold, got lounge access and ocean views. The Ocean pools were open when we were there and also last Dec when we were back. We love the boat ride at night and the hammocks for two.

Helpful Hint: If you are a Costco member, buy gas there. In the states, you save a few pennies, in Hawaii as much as $.20/gal. Also has very good prices on macadamias and other souvenirs in a special Hawaii section. We get our booze there also. It is between town and the airport in Kona on the land side of the main hiway to Waikoloa. A little circuitous to find.

We always treat ourselves to Roy's at King's Shopping Center. Great Hawaiian/Asia food. The grocery store is a rip. Buy whenever you are in town.

There is a shuttle to take you to King's Shopping and the beach at the Marriott. Have lunch at the cafe next to the dolphins. Fun to watch and usually an excellent fish sandwich avail. This is killing me. I need to go back! Aloha! :)