Hilton Waikoloa

We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village resort for 3 days/2 nights last week, and it was more fabulous than photos and the website. The room was wonderful and impeccably clean, the property was extraordinary, with several great pools (with slides for the kids), a sheltered beach, Dolphin Quest program, and a walking trail along the shore. The casual Lagoon Grill was a nice place to grab a quick bite and watch the dolphins and the sunset. With so much to see on the island, I could have been at the resort a whole week, with hammocks, cabanas, golf, and other restaurants we never got to explore.

The Dolphin Quest program was expensive but fantastic! My teens loved their 30 minute session. Book early if you can; some classes filled up while we were there.

Of note is that the King's and Queen's market places (just down the street) were very nice and offered a good shopping and eating selection (including Starbucks and Subway). Also, valet parking (an additional $9/day) was well worth it for 2 nights.

As for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the drive was over 2 hours for us, since we also stopped by the Waipio Lookout (awesome!) and Akaka Falls (alright...). Ken's (south of Hilo) was a great "original" place for a quick pancake lunch; staff was super. The eruption site was spectacular with smoke plumes, clearly visible from the Jagger Museum. Thurston Lava Tube was cool. Ask a park ranger if the lava has been visibly pouring into the sea. There is a road outside the park (rt. 130?) that leads to a vantage point to the east of the park, about an hour away from the Park's visitor center. We did not go, but a resort guest had gone on July 7 at sunset, and said the lava flow was brilliant in the darkness; they had to trek across a lava field with a flashlight, but there had been a hundred or so people there doing the same. We so wish we had gone...

Vog was noticable at the Jagger Museum and Lava Tube, but not at the resort. From the Hilton Waikoloa to HVNP, be sure to take the route around the north of the island -- it's gorgeous, has Waipio Lookout nearby, and is not so isolated/switchback-ish as the southern route. (we did both)

I highly recommend the Hilton Waikoloa Village, and hope to return soon. Aloha!!!

I have just returned from a weeklong stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, and have to say, I was blown away! After reading several reviews questioning the star level of this property, I must say that all of those people had to have been somewhere else. ;-)

I was with my family at this resort, and found that the level of service and quality was on par with that of the highest level of resorts. Personally, I think this resort could be upgraded to the level of a Conrad Hilton hotel.

Yes, it is big. And Yes, do can do a lot of walking. Some people may consider that a drawback, but I like to think that exercising is good for you. It's not like you don't have any other options to get around, because you do. There were 2 monorails running most of the day and night, as well as a fleet of gorgeous boats floating by on the river. Plus, as you walk from the lobby to the pool or towers, you get to see some amazing artwork throughout the passageways. The hotel has spent something like 7 million dollars on artwork, and it shows. There are giant marble statues of the Chinese zodiac characters (each 12 feet tall) around the pools. There are huge Buddhas around the property, and artifacts from Polynesian culture. The artwork is Asian in descent, and much of it extremely realistic reproductions. You can even ask one of the concierges for the Artwork guidebook, to use as a guide if you wish. I swear, this stuff blew us away. It made strolling through the resort a lot of fun.

There are three Towers at this resort. On the left, you have the Lagoon Tower, where the huge pool, slide, and waterfall exist. It's also near the shops, and a couple of good restaurants. The Dolphin Quest is close to this one as well. I found this tower to be a bit more crowded than the other 2.

In the middle, you have the Palace Tower, which is where we stayed. It's close to 3 main restaurants, as well as a 2 minute walk to the Ocean Tower (the hotel on the right), and the pools next to that. These pools are staggered along the ocean, and look out onto the Pacific. No beach here, but instead you look out to waves crashing on lava rocks. The pools on this side were never crowded (sometimes being completely empty), and had several slides for the kids to use. There was waiter service to get drinks and food at the pool, or you could use the nearby restaurants.

The Ocean Tower is the final tower, and looked huge. They had their own pool, and also housed the Executive Lounge, which we took advantage of each morning. Being a Hilton Diamond member, I was offered the choice of the the breakfast buffet at the Ocean tower restaurant, or the Executive Lounge. I chose the latter, and was happy I did. The buffet didn't seem that great, and could get crowded as the morning got moving. The lounge had a nice selection of coffee, teas, hot cocoa, orange and guava juice, passion fruit yoghurt, lots of fresh fruit, pastries, bagels/toast/english muffins, and more. I never made it up there for the afternoon cookies/snacks, or the 5-7pm appetizers. Access on the Executive Club also gives you 50% off on Tennis court fees (these courts are AMAZING by the way, one even has stadium seating!!), and complimentary access to the Sports Club and Spa (also amazing, with a lava rock hot tub in each locker room).

Restaurants: I ate at Kirin (Chinese), Imari (Japanese), and the Orchid Cafe by the lagoon pool. Tried to eat at the Provision company, but they wouldn't reserve an outdoor table, so I passed. All of the places we ate were wonderful. Yes, they were bit pricey, but none more than a nice downtown restaurant in a major city. I would highly recommend the Dim Sum lunch at Kirin. Sit outside too! Prices for Dim Sum were all in the $4 range, and we had all kinds of dumplings, buns, rolls, rice, etc.

At Imari, I was amazed to have the sushi chef tell me that they had Chutoro (not Toro, not regular ahi, but this is a medium fatty tuna that is very very tough to find). I had the bento box, and it was so much food (including desert) that I left stuffed. The mirin/miso marinated and broiled black cod was OUT OF THIS WORLD. I thought it tasted just like Nobu's, which was perfect.

At the Orchid Cafe, we got there late, and ordered a few of their homemade wood fired pizzas. The chef was kind enough to custom make ours off the menu, and we sat by the waterfall and ate them outside. You couldn't have asked for a better night.

Now, the room. We did get upgraded to a suite, and that was unbelievable. Seriously, this thing was HUGE. It had 6 balconies. If you can swing it, I would highly recommend trying ti upgrade. I did get to see the "normal" rooms as well, and I thought they were perfect. The furnishings are high quality wood, with small pineapple accents on them. The beds were more than comfortable, and the bathroom was marble with nice amenities. These rooms were perfect.

Hmmm, what else? OH, we took the timeshare tour, and got the $100. They were offering a few freebies you could choose from: A luau for two people, a round of golf, or the $100 Hilton dollars (and these come in 4 $25 slips of paper that must be spent in gift shops or within the hotel, and NO change is given) They cannot be used towards your hotel bill. The tour was nice, and the gal who helped us, MJ, was kind and informative. Even when we expressed that we weren't interested, she kept her smile. It wasn't a heavy sell like some timeshares, and although pricey we thought, it could be good for some people.

As for driving around, I would recommend the valet parking. It's just easier. $21 a night was pricey for Hawaii (Heck, the Four Seasons is only $15 a night), but then again, where I'm from, overnight hotel parking is just about $50.

There are plenty of shops and restaurants nearby (the Kings and Queens shops), and we visited a lot of them. We rented a car and drove up North, to the Volcano, to Hilo, and to Kona. LOTS to do and see. I could go on and on.....

This hotel was absolutely perfect. We loved it. So will you.

We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort June 19-27, 2008. Overall we had a great time and I high recommend the resort. The location was beautiful, the rooms were well appointed, great ocean views, beautiful grounds, courteous staff. The lagoon on the grounds is a fun place to swim, snorkel and just lay around. However, if you're looking for a sandy beach, you must either take the shuttle or walk next door. With 65 acres, the grounds are gorgeous. The only negatives were the extremely overpriced food and drink ($4.50 for a cup of pineapple juice, $10 for a hamburger), and the distance you must travel to see the rest of the island. A rental car id definitely recommended.

If you are staying here, the Dolphin encounter id really worth the money. My wife and daughter LOVED it, describing the dolphins and surfing as their two favorite memories. The resort's luau is also not bad; just make sure to get the reserved seating. The pools at the resort are also pretty awesome!

We got off the plane on the runway and walked down stairs on the jetway. Welcome to the Big Island! Very different from Kauai, Maui or definitely Honolulu.

The Big Island is full of black rocks from the volcanoes. The minute you start driving on the road you can't miss it. People go down to the beach and collect white coral and write messages in the black rock on the road to the resort.

PROS:

(1) Compared to other hawaiian, bahamian and caribbean properties of this class, the food is definitely not expensive. And the food and choices overall at all of the restaurants is of very good quality. (2) The property is big, but unlike the Atlantis, there is a slow-moving monorail and a 15-minute wait for the boats. There are quicker ways to get around on foot, but you will have to go there to figure it out. (3) lagoon with turtles (we saw 3 very large ones) - go early, 7am ish - and also varieties of fish. can stay in shallow to see fish and turtles. (4) big pool large waterslide lots of fun. (5) other pool has three waterslides that are smaller, but fun. (6) dolphin encounter looked fun, but Discovery Cove in Orlando is better priced for what you get. (7) free dolphin show once per month - call to ask for dates. (8) absolutely beautiful scenic location.

CONS:

(1) Do not pay the extra money for the concierge floor. It is served in a humid room on the 6th floor of the ocean tower and the selection of food is very small. (2) The adult pool at the ocean tower is open from 10-4pm with no jacuzzi. only pool with padded chairs, by the way. (3) pool water cold at main pool. (4) lounge chairs at pool cheap strap type with no pads. (5) no cabana rentals (6) NO BEACH!! have to go off property, just to the north. not sure if hotel offers shuttle. (7) no ABC store on property. closest comparable is at kings shop, Whalers General Store.

ROOM:

(1) High speed wired internet in room, wireless outside of room, but you have to pay for all of it. (2) large closet in the ocean tower, one sink. bathroom not what we would consider luxurious, just okay. Tub and toilet in same very, very small room. (3) combo safe. (4) smaller balcony (5) older looking, dated room.

OVERALL:

Be prepared to WALK, WALK and WALK!! Resort didn't exactly seem handicap accessible, but not sure. Glad didn't stay here more than a few days as boredom started to settle in quickly. Came for Dolphin days - Wine, food, jazz festival which we HIGHLY recommend.

Our stay at the Hilton Waikoloa was definitely a grand vacation! We have stayed at the other Hilton timeshares (all of which were great), and the Hilton Waikoloa was definitely the best. The resort is very big which is the reason why they have the tram and boat to help guests move from one area of the hotel to the other. It's situated next to the water, although it is very rocky on the shore. It houses the famous Dolphin Quest experience, so if you're looking to swim with dolphins (I think I counted 10) this is the place to do it (for a price of course). The pool area is amazing. It has a sandy beach, waterfall, bridges, and a water slide. They also have a lagoon for paddle boats,....Of course there is a spa and gym onsite while although you do have to pay a fee, they do offer at least 2 fitness classes/day for free so check the schedule. My favorite class was the outdoor circuit training since you were able to workout outdoors and see the amenities the resort had to offer (not to mention that the class was very challenging). There are 2 public beaches nearby which were both great (clear blue water). The one right next to the resort is great for kayaking, boating,....The one north of the hotel was my favorite since it was great for boogie boarding. I definitely recommend this hotel to everyone staying at the big island. MAHALO!

Just returned from a vacation to the Big Island (6-6 through 6-14). We had stayed at the Hilton at this time in 2006 and loved it so much that we decided to invite family to stay with us this year. We had a marvelous stay here again. As noted above, we were not disappointed in any portion of our trip.

As I warned my family before we went and am stating for anyone who is reading this post–this property is HUGE. Please don’t fool yourself into thinking that it really can’t be that big. Regardless of how big it is we walked almost constantly around the grounds. However, when we rode the trams or boats we never waited more than 5 minutes.

We did hit a snag in that our air conditioning unit was leaking into our room. The front desk was quite helpful and was willing to move us to a new room should we want. But our view was so nice we decided not to move. Within 5 minutes of calling, maintenance was at our door to fix the problem. Within another five minutes another maintenance worker was there to shampoo our rug. The whole process took no more than 30 minutes out of our time. Service from the front desk, restaurants, maintenance, housekeeping, bell was nothing but friendly and done efficiently.

Food is pricey at the hotel but hey, its pricey everywhere. We did find that the food court was slightly cheaper but not that much. After day 2 we were already tired of eating there and found other places in the resort and around the island to eat.

Had a great several days swimming at Hapuna Beach just north of the hotel.

Vog was present in Kona when we went there but did not affect my husband who has asthma.

We love this hotel and what's not to love about Hawaii. We will return again and would highly recommend it.

We arrived on the Big Island for our annual vacation in April with the expectation of clear skies, sunny afternoons and time to relax with friends in the quaint town of Kona. To our surprise and dismay the southwestern communities were smothered with a carpet of volcanic smog from the latest and ongoing eruptions of the Kiluaea volcano. The air was toxic with elevated amounts of sulfur dioxide gas that burned the eyes and irritated our sinuses. Occasionally visibility was reduced to the point that headlights were required for safety when driving through town at noon. Seeking relief we contacted the Hilton about 30 miles north of Kona and immediately booked accommodations for the balance of our vacation. The Hilton resort was everything we were looking for in our Hawaiian vacation. Clear skies, extensive resort amenities, clean rooms, cheerful staff and a great price. Yes there is a Disneyland feel to the resort with the tram, canal boats, Dolphin Quest and expansive grounds but absent the crowds the venue provided variety, convenience and relaxation. At no time did we have to wait in line for anything as the resort was about 50% occupied. Observation: Locals and staff members told me tourism is way down from prior years with the increase in fuel costs to fly to Hawaii coupled with all of the bad press regarding the VOG. That said, the resort is located in an area that is VOG free and given the deep discounts the Hilton is providing to guests the savings more than offsets the increased airfares. If you are going to the Big Island, definitely consider staying on the northwest side and give strong consideration to the Hilton - you will not be disappointed.

Ken Stempson

We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village for 5 nights and we loved it! I believe they said the property is celebrating their 20th anniversary. It has been well maintained and is still a lovely place to visit.

We stayed in the Ocean Tower which is farthest away from the lobby. It is about a 15 minute stroll to the room. The monorail and boat do come by quite often. When you arrive at the property they whisk your luggage away and you get it about 30 minutes later at your room. Remember when checking out to give them 1 hour to pick up your luggage before you need to leave the hotel.

The rooms are very big and the tropical decor is as expected. The double beds are on the small side. The work area is very nice. It was $39.99 for 3 days of internet service. It seems pricey, but if you are using the internet you should be there for work and expensing it. Hopefully if you are paying on your own...you are relaxing and didn't bring your laptop. :)

The room had a very big walk-in closet. There were two refrigerators (not stocked, but nice place to put your own drinks.) There is also a safe that easily accommodates your laptop, jewelry, etc. and it is free of charge. The bathroom area is very big and nice for people that are sharing space. They also provide coffee and tea.

The hotel stocks some of the typical Hilton Le Source products and some of their signature cocoa mango products. They are happy to bring you lots of towels. It is humid there and the towels don't dry out very quickly.

The balcony is obviously lovely and overlooks the ocean. Our particular room was just above the putting green. The rooms are well maintained and our housekeeping service was stellar.

The property does not have a typical "hawaiian beach" access. The lagoon is ocean water. The lagoon has plenty of lounge chairs and umbrellas. This is also where you will find lots of water toys. We found their were lots of children in this area.

The big pool has lots of waterfalls, the waterside, etc. It is very pretty. There are plenty of places to be in and out of the sun. The medium size pool near the Ocean Tower also has the lazy river and smaller waterslides. They also have cabanas that can be rented for $80/day. There is a small adults only pool by near the boat dock for the Ocean Towers. It is a little disappointing compared to the other pools...but it there if you like. My only suggestion for the hotel would be a nicer "adults only" area.

The property is so big that you never really feel crowded. I think it was at 80% capacity when we were there and you would not have known it.

The dolphins are great. You can eat lunch overlooking their area and it is lots of fun. I don't think you have to spend the money on the dolphin experience to feel like you "saw the dolphins"...although the experience does look fun.

The hotel is about 30 minutes from the airport. It is about 20 minutes to downtown Kona. It is about a 2 to 2 1/2 hour drive to Hilo.

The restaurants at the hotel are all good. We especially enjoyed the Japanese restaurant and the Kamuela Provision Company. This is their restaurant that overlooks the water. We had dinner at 5:30PM to ensure an outdoor table and it is well worth it.

The spa at the hotel is very nice. There is a nice lava rock jacuzzi area that is half indoor and half outdoor where you can relax between treatments. The eucalyptus steam room was very clean. I recommend their signature baths. The rooms are sort of open to the outside and I found it really relaxing. The staff in the spa were all very nice and efficient. My massage was well worth the price.

We loved this hotel. It is great for families. There is lots to do or you can just relax. The only thing I would say is that if your looking for a hotel where you can walk out of your room onto a sandy beach with waves...this isn't the place for you. However, if you are a pool person...you will love it.

After reading all of the negative reviews of this hotel, I had to write about my experience. My husband and I just returned two days ago from the Hilton. We had a wonderful time. The grounds of the property are beautiful and they keep it so clean. And yes, it is a really big hotel. But the walking is not bad at all--in fact it is really good exercise. We never once took the boats or tram to get us around the property. However, I have to say, I constantly saw boats and trams picking people up and there didn't appear to be that long of a wait . We stayed in the Ocean Tower and granted it is a little far from the lobby and the parking, but we never felt that it was an undoable walk. Our room was really nice and kept very clean. We had a golf course view but were lucky in that you could see the ocean from our room. We parked in the self-park every day and I maybe saw three or four cats in the parking lot. The food prices were what is to be expected at a hotel in Hawaii. I didn't think they were outrageous at all and the food is really good. We loved the breakfast; we never had the buffet and would just order a la carte from the menu. The pancakes are delicious!! We typically would have a bigger breakfast (running us around $35) and then just share something at lunch. We rarely ever ate dinner at the hotel with there being so many good restaurants in the area. Because the hotel is so big, we never felt crowded or that there were too many people. The staff were all very friendly. We would definitely stay at the Hilton again. This was our first trip to the Big Island--we've been to Maui and Kauai before. We have stayed in highly rated hotels on both of those islands and the Hilton definitely is as nice as if not nicer than those hotels. The Big Island is now our favorite of the Hawaiian islands we've visited and we can't wait to go back again.

The Hilton Waikoloa is a wonderful. We stayed in the ocean tower on the 6th floor and had a fantastic view of the ocean. The big island is interesting in that the Kona side is mostly lava rock. If you scuba dive you must do the night dive with the manta rays. It is one of the best scuba dives in the world. Because the cost of taking a helicopter from Waikoloa was expensive we drove to Helo and took a helicopter tour of the volcano, which is another must see while on the island. Kona Brewing company is also a fun place. Take the brewery tour.

The Hilton Waikoloa Village was a beautiful resort and I was very impressed throughout my 7 day stay. The resort is huge and everything is very clean and neat. My room was big and roomy. Service was good. Highly recommended.

What a wonderful time we had. Yes the hotel is big and things are expensive but everything else was great. We stayed in the Lagoon Tower on the 5th floor just overlooking the Dolphin habitat. What a treat to be able to watch the dolphins early in the morning and the trainer feed them too. There were 2 babies and the trainers were more than willing to answer any questions. The 2nd real treat was the lagoon, we got to swim with the turles.

The rooms were nice we had 4 people in our room and we had plenty of space. We went into town to eat dinner a couple of times and we did go to Kmart when we left the airport and bought stuff for the week. That really helped. We would most defintiely go back!!

I have been to this Hilton 5 times now. I guess you could say we LOVE this place! I love everything about this place, the people, the pools, the monorail, the boat rides, the dolphins, the food, I could go on and on and on....

We stayed for 8 nights this time. First let me say, those who are new to traveling to Hawaii be warned that this hotel is a good 30 to 45 minutes from the Kona airport. We love the drive though, you get to see/read peoples messages they leave on the lava rock with white sea shells. Renting a car is easy at the Kona airport, they go out of their way to make you happy. Be aware that gas is obviously high in Hawaii since it is an island. Gas when we left was around 4.12 a gallon.

This side of the big island is the desert side. You will think on your drive to this resort that you picked the wrong island, but trust me the Kona area is the best kept secret. We have been to every island and we seriously enjoy the Kona area the most.

The hilton is amazing. It is a HUGE property with multiple towers of guest rooms. There is a monorail which takes you around the property due to how big it is. We got the basic room, just because we use our room to sleep in. Our room was clean, and we found nothing to complain about. Room service was awesome! By the time we got done with our buffet every morning our room was cleaned. As far as the view from the room? The view is not a big deal to us.

Another cool thing about this resort? A lot of celebrities like it. Last time we were here Cameron Diaz was here with some friends and this time Nicholas Cage was here with his family. It was cool to see/meet him, he was extremely nice and his family and him blended in like normal. One of our waiters at a restaraunt told us celebrities like coming here because it so big they can blend in easily.

There is also a boat which you can use other then the monorail. The boat is fun for a couple of times but it is slow and if your in a hurry to get somewhere it could be a pain. You can always walk, but it takes a long time and it could be a far distance.

The best thing about this hotel?

1. The pools. They have a HUGE pool with HUGE waterfalls. The waterslide at this resort is by far the best waterslide at any resort I have stayed at. They have multiple pools, and the water temp. was just right on cool nights. They also have hot tubs.The only thing I would say is a downfall about the pool is they close it to early, however it is an open style pool (with no fences or gates around it) so we saw people in it as late as 2 AM however there is no towel service this late.

2. The lagoon. You dont have to leave this resort to go snorkeling. They have their own lagoon which feeds from the ocean so it is constantly getting new fish, turtles, and other types of marine wildlife. We snorkeled here 3 times and each time we saw something different and new. The sea turtles here will let you touch them from what we heard from another guest. I think you can get into legal trouble in Hawaii if you do touch them though. We never got close enough to try.

3. Food. This resort has great food. The buffet breakfast is by far one of the best buffets you will find anywhere in Hawaii for the price. It reminds me of a Vegas buffet but better. The food is a little pricey, but it is good. We did hear some colleagues complain about the food, so we dont know if we were just so hungry due to the fact we were constantly doing something or what. But we seriously liked the food and the restraunts here.

4. Dolphins. This resort has a dolphin aquarium on site. You can pay to swim with the dolphins and take pictures. The price to do this isn't that bad compared to what I have seen at other resorts. We paid it, had a blast and when people see the pictures of us with the dolphins they cant get over them. If you dont wanna pay to swim with the dolphins then you can watch them 24 hours a day as the swim, jump and eat. There is a baby dolphin that was born a while back. It is cool to see how active and how much energy it has being so young.

5. Price. I think this hotel is right on target when it comes to price. If you sit back and calculate everything you get at this resort and the benefits, it is a good deal. This time around we took vacation here with some colleagues and friends of ours. No one ever complained about the prices our budget. Kept in mind Hawaii is an island and things can get expensive.

The only downside to this hotel: no sandy beach, I love to surf and body board. This hotel has no sandy beach. There is a beach about 1 mile from here that has decent waves and great sand.

Overall this was a awesome time. I love Hawaii so much. I have been to Fiji, Bahams, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Florida, and Costa Rica and I think Hawaii is still the best.

Another good thing about this hotel is it is so wide open you never feel overcrowded like some resorts in Mexico and the Bahamas. The hotel told us they were at at 93 percent capacity when we checked in and if they never would of told us that I would of said the hotel was probably at 30 percent capacity.

Rent a car and go to Kona. Kona is awesome, lots of bars and restaraunts on the board walk. There is also a new international market in Kona which is good to shop at.

My husband and I stayed at the Waikoloa Village for 8 nights through our Hilton Honors Points and it was the best vacation yet, and we've had some great ones. The resort is beautiful, our room was comfortable and clean (we asked to have our room changed to the Ocean Tower and they accomodated our request with an ocean view room). It is off season, the hotel was only 1/3 full and from what we heard the economy is really struggling like everywhere else. We read all the negative reviews prior to going, and were somewhat nervous, but once we arrived, and were greeted by a delightful young lady that accomodated all of our check in needs our minds were put to rest. All of the employees we came across were friendly, hospitable and more than helpful. The shuttle and boats were both working, yes, somewhat slow, but we were on vacation and had no timeframes to meet. We enjoyed riding on both, it was relaxing after a long day of sightseeing. We only spent one full day at the resort, we were so busy seeing the island, discovering tucked away beaches, small towns and enjoying the fantastic snorkeling. As a Hilton Gold Member we had access to the "hilton executive lounge area" that gave us a free continental breakfast, snacks during the day and a happy hour (reduced prices) in the evening. We ate one meal at the resort, at the provision company on our last evening which was actually very good, we had 2 drinks ($11.50 martinis) our entire stay at the resort. Arriving in Kona, we bought a styrofoam cooler at K-mart, beer, wine and the mixings for margaritas, that took care of us for the week. Gas is $4.00/gallon, we had a costco card and the gas there was $3.80. We ate at some great restaurants, The Fish Hopper-kona, Huggos-great caesar salad with fresh ono, Merriman's (at the King Shops) and the restaurant at the golf course across the street that serves tappas. There is a a new restaurant in Waimea? called Huli Sue's, we had a great pulled pork lunch with some local brew, reasonably priced and delicious. There is also a marina about 2 miles from the airport that has the coldest, biggest, cheapest beer on the island. The food isn't bad either, all local fishermen/women coming in for a cold one after a long day. very interesting group! Overall, our trip was fantastic, we made the most of the time we were there, enjoyed every minute of every day and are anxious to book our next hilton vacation, next time in maui. Take advantage of this resort, it is well worth the trip. Relaxe, and take the resort for what is has to offer, nothing is perfect, but this is close to it!

I agree with one other review recently done and feel I must add my own review of our recent stay at this property. My husband, myself and our two children ages 12 and 11 had an absolutely wonderful stay at this hotel. We arrived on March 22nd (late arrival) and stayed 6 nights. There must not have been any conventions going on, due to the Easter holiday, during our stay because the resort never felt crowded to us at any time. The staff on the trams, boats, front desk, and restaurant staff were all pleasant and friendly. The trams do have stands at their many stops which will tell you how many minutes it will be before the next one arrives. I never saw the wait times greater than 8 minutes and many times it arrived at our tower as we were leaving to go somewhere. The boats were a very pleasant ride to any destination on the resort. If you are on a strict time schedule and do not want to wait for the available transportation, we found it a little shorter/faster to walk through the 'center' garden walkways to our destinations rather than to walk along the art walk hallways (which btw is past flamingoes and georgous gardens). Our room was in the palace tower, and had a view of the golf course. I rarely heard any birds in the morning but nothing I would consider annoying by any means. THE ONLY negative of our stay was that unfortunately I did see two cockroaches near the coffeemaker and that was disappointing. We rented a car and did eat some meals elsewhere, but the Sunday brunch at Kameuela Provision Company was fantastic! As we sat down at our table overlooking the ocean we saw a mother whale and her baby right in front of us! Beautiful ocean views from that restaurant. The pools are beautiful and we had no trouble getting towels. We did use self parking to save some money but it definitely is necessary to use bellservice to get your luggage to your rooms. That worked out well for us. And some suggestions to bring as snacks help keep down the cost of meals. We brought our oun coffee filters and coffee to avoid the charge by the hotel to use their coffee. But you can use the coffee maker to make ramen noodles, tea, oatmeal, and other snacks. The in room fridge came in handy too.People who have complained about housekeeping may not have noticed the little card on the nightstand which states if you want towels replaced just leave the dirty ones on the floor and they will replace them, also the little card must be placed on your bed in order to have the sheets changed. Not difficult to do, and we had no housekeeping problems. If you want a peaceful, calm and relaxing stay at a Hawaiian resort this would be my first pick by a longshot! We really enjoyed our stay and hated to leave.

My wife booked this trip for us as a surprise for our 10th anniversary. It was far better than any all trip I have ever had. The hotel had every amenity i could think of. I day trade stocks and I had reliable internet service. The hotel had 5 restaurants to satisfy any palate. I ate at only 2/5 - the food was great and service was good as well. The hotel also had a car rental service which came in useful. If one is looking for a inexpensive place to stay/eat this hotel is not it.

This resort has so many things to do, you will not need to plan any extra activities. We were there for 4 days and could not get everything done. The grounds are well kept, and the boat and train runs often to get you around to the different areas of the hotel grounds. There are several different restaurants to choose from to fit everyone's fancy. If we ever go back to the big Island, we will stay there!

We were a bit apprehensive about staying here as the descriptions of monorails, "Disney style boats" and reports of dolphins onsite made us quite wary (we normally prefer places that are more intimate and/or with fewer commercialized attributes), but we were most pleasantly surprised to find that although the place was certainly Disney-enough for children and families, it had many things to appeal to grown ups - even those without children. Despite what you'll read here, the place is very walkable - and that's half the fun. There are sculptures, tapestries, paintings and other assorted pieces of art throughout the resort and the views of the ocean and mountain are most impressive. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful and gave us a bunch of tips about must-see hidden gems on the island. Things were quite expensive, although normally not of poor quality so you felt as if you were splurging a bit, but not being taken for a ride, so to speak.

The hotel luau provided a good show and only acceptable food, but snorkling in the lagoon was a real treat, as were evening strolls on pathways lit by tiki torches. We were there for five nights and would go back in a heartbeat.

I'll admit it is hard to write a review for this resort because of the many, many reviews listed on this site. But I had to write to try to raise the rating for this resort, because it was absolutely fabulous for our honeymoon over Christmas.

Check-in: Our check-in was very smooth. Valets were very friendly and so was the front desk clerk. Actually, ironically enough, he was also from Wisconsin. He did a great job explaining the layout of the resort and we got to our room without trouble. They also had our bags waiting for us the next morning since the airline lost it on the way over.

Resort Grounds: Spectacular! I will acknowledge the other reviewers here by saying that the resort is huge! Easily a 30 minute walk across the grouds. Watching the dolphins was really fun. The pools are beautiful and the water slide is a lot of fun. Yes, the pool was very cold, but if it is hot outside who cares! The hot tubs were very nice after walking for a long day. The lagoon beach on the resort is not a traditional Hawaiian beach (it is man-made), but the sand is soft and it is a nice calm place to enter the ocean. Snorkeling here is pretty fun as well. We saw turtles and lots of fish. It is good to get there early in the day though, because people will stir up the sand and add about an inch of sunscreen to the top of the water. There was some construction when we were there (around the lagoon pool and dolphin area), but it was never intrusive.

Room: Our room was everything that I expected and more. We reserved a mountain view room and received one in the Ocean Tower. Great balcony view on the 7th floor. As with a lot of hotels you can hear most of the people that walk by and yes the birds will definitely start squaking at about 5-6 AM. Bring earplugs if it bothers you, otherwise go to back to bed, they will stop eventually. Bed was very comfortable and the room was quite spacious. No bugs or any problems.

Beach: The lagoon beach is fine, but the real beach is A-bay. A-bay is located about a 1/2 mile to a mile away. If you follow the path along the ocean by the lagoon tower/pool you'll eventually come to A-bay. The path is somewhat rocky, so flip-flops would not be recommended. The sand here is very soft and the waves were perfect. There is also a couple small coral reefs off the shore that can easily be swam to. You can also walk some paths out the front lobby and down the road, but the ocean walk is much prettier.

Restaurants: We ate at couple of the restaurants during our stay. Donatoni's was fabulous (you can read my review for further details), the dock cafe served lots of good snacky type food, as well as a sushi bar. Overall the food was very expensive, but that is expected at a resort in Hawaii.

Activities: Mini-golf is pretty fun. We did the glow golf which is a couple nights a week. They put glow sticks inside the golf balls and it is pretty challenging. Outragouesly priced, but still fun. Redsail sports has ton of fun things to rent. We went snorkeling a couple of times and was pretty reasonably priced.

In summary it was a large resort, but that meant only more room for beautiful grounds, great restaurants and fun activities.

I read all of the reviews on this site and others before deciding to book a room at the Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort. Since this trip was just for my husband and I, I was a little leery about the "Disneyland" atmosphere and the possible abundance of little children running everywhere. However, we had an extremely pleasant stay at the Hilton for all five nights.

Yes, your hotel room may be located within a long walk/tram ride from the lobby. But really, is it going to kill you to take a 20 minute walk!? I really was shocked to see how easy and pleasant it was to walk to/from our room after reading so many complaints on this site about the distance. My philosophy was that the extra walking allowed me to have another drink at the bar or some ice cream after dinner. If you are not interested in getting exercise from a short walk, the trams do run frequently and we never saw anyone waiting very long to catch one. And if you're standing, waiting for the tram for more than 5-10 minutes, you probably just should have walked the distance instead!

Our room was located in the Palace Tower and it faced the small garden that falls between the Palace and Ocean Towers. We could just barely see the water from our balcony. The room was standard hotel room size, however the bed was positioned on an angle, so it seemed very roomy. We also had a small loveseat and a table with 2 chairs. The bathroom was divided between an open sink area with a large counter and a separate tub/shower/toilet room that was quite small. We also had a very large walk-in closet that held our small refrigerator and safe. There was an additional fridge that once was used for the mini-bar that the hotel no longer provides. We used this one for storage of dry goods (cereal, bread, etc) because it never got cold enough to cool any drinks or other foods down. We had a nice balcony that had two chairs and a small table just off of the room, which we used frequently.

Although I have never stayed in either the Ocean or Lagoon Towers, I was very happy with how quiet the Palace Tower seemed. Every once and a while you could hear a child crying or the balcony door opening in the room above, but it was very quiet overall. We were never disturbed by any noises or any other guests.

The parking cost for self-parking was $14 a day, which seemed very in tune with the other resorts in the area. We never had any trouble finding a parking spot and the walk to/from the car was not unreasonable at all.

We did the kayaking trip with Red Sail Sports that leaves from the property and would highly recommend it to anyone. It was about $61.00 and involved paddling a kayak out to a black sand beach where we snorkeled for about an hour. Because no one else had reserved kayaks for the day we went, we had a private trip with two guides who were very friendly.

In the interest of saving money, we did not dine in any of the resort's restaurants. The prices were just outrageous compared to eating outside of the resort or bringing in food from the grocery store/take-out places. We did grab some sushi one night from the Boat Landing Pavilion, which is like a small food court. The sushi was high quality and extremely tasty. We split a combo meal of 3 pieces of Nigiri and 1 large roll (6 pieces) for about $23.00. We also had a few drinks at the bar in the Pavilion, which were about $7.00 for a pint of local beer and $10 for a Lava Flow frozen drink.

My one single complaint about the resort comes from our experience with a pushy salesperson at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club desk. When you arrive at the resort, you are informed that you can pick up a free gift at any of their desks. The gift is a "beach bag," basically just an almost disposable bag that we used to take to the beach, etc. When we picked up our bag, the woman at the desk (just across from where you check-in) was very friendly, gave us info on local restaurants and also tried to get us to sign up for their timeshare presentation. You are given $100 in Hilton bucks for attending, which sounded good at first, but we decided that we'd rather spend the 90 minutes doing something fun instead of being pushed to buy vacation property. So we declined. She was very understanding and not pushy at all. The next day we went back down to the desk to ask about a nearby beach and a man (Paul) was working there instead. He did give us the information we asked for about the beach, but then began his hard-sell on the presentation. When I told him that someone else asked us about it and that we weren't interested he just kept pushing and pushing. Finally we just ended up walking away because he wouldn't let it go. There is no way that I would ever agree to anything like that from someone with those kinds of sales tactics! He really put a damper on our impression of the resort.

Aside from "Pushy Paul," the resort was very nice and fit our needs. I would recommend it to others and would definitely stay there again myself.

I just returned from a trip with my wife and two young 8 years old twins. We had a blast. We enjoyed what the resort for what it had to offer without having to take out a second morgtage. Seriously the cost rent a mask, snorkel and fins on the resort by the week was so outrageous I can't even remember the exact cost. We drove to Kona to Snorkel Bobs and saved a fortune. We had our fun in the resort lagoon, by the way the turtles hang out in the foam at the bottom of the waterfall don't miss out on the opprotunity to swin up close and personal with green sea turtles, and then we also had our fun at several very excellent and very different, and very nearby local public beaches. If you want to get the most out of your trip to this resort then rent a car and also enjoy the other cool things on the island. I did the Manta Ray snorkel, $79 dollars with Neptune Charlies from the harbor south of the airport and north of Kona. We visited Mountain Thunder Kona coffee plantation, it was featured on Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe a couple of years back. If you want to see lava it is off the national park and the best viewing is at night. Wish we had bugted in the large expense to take a family of four or a night helicopter tour of the active lave flow. If it is only two people I would have tried to make reservations. DON'T FORGET TO PLAN AHEAD AND MAKE RESERVATIONS! Spots fill up quick and you could be left with nothing to do at the resort but spend the same amount of money to paddle a paddleboat around the lagoon.

Also if you rent a car and drive around think about this... at times the traffic in and out of Kona gets really heavy and if you're trying to get to an off resort Luau I would suggest that you give yourself plenty of time. Downtown Kona is a cool place to walk around by the watter. If you get there early check out the farmers market that is open Wednesday through Sunday. And don't underestimate the amount of time it takes to drive to some places. The volcano is 2 and a half hours, or at least thats how long it took us. As a side note, if you have status with the rental car companies, now is the time to upgrade to a nicer car. 2 and a half hours in a Cadilac or the same amount of time in a subcompact, see what I mean?

As for the resort itself. I had nothing but plesent service from the hotel staff. If you are not acting like a jerk the staff responds accordingly. When I checked in the Vallet was asking a couple for their keys to their car and he then sprinted out of the lobby. The coule then told the person working the desk how rude the vallet was to them. On the fourth, a very busy night, this couple pulled up and had to wait because the Vallet was busy so they grabbed their luggage, locked the doors and walked into the resort. I'm sorry but that is not only rude but stupid. I personally had a conversation with the Vallet and I thought he was funny. We joked around when I dropped off my car. But I followed the rules, the other couple didn't.

What else can I add.... Avoid the breakfast buffet unless you like to watch little birds swarm a table after the guests have left and the plates have not been picked up yet. It's kind of funny to watch if you can have a sense of humor about it.

The trains and boats do on occasion break down and it is a very large resort. Keep that in mind. Just the same, the kids loved the boats.

Cheers,

Sleepy Ken

We really enjoyed our stay at the Hilton Waikoloa. But be prepared to walk alot. The boat or shuttle does not drop you off near your room, or the pools. We didn't have any problems with long waits to catch a ride. Maybe 10 or 15 minutes at the most. I was expecting to be upgraded to the executive floor, being a gold member, but I was told it's only for the diamond members. I believe we did get an upgraded room though. It was room 1083 in the ocean tower on the ground floor, and it had a patio with a great view of the ocean. The room was large and had 2 small refrigerators in it. And a free safe. We also received 2 complimentary continental breakfast coupons each day that were worth $11 and we could pay the difference on any other breakfast entrees, or pay $17 for the buffet. We got talked into the time share presentation, which wasn't a real hard sell, and for our 2 hours, we received 2 Luau tickets. My son spent the 2 hours in the kids club. Valet parking is $19 a day, but it is free if you have a handicap placard. Self parking is $12. All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed are stay, and would like to go back some day.

My husband and I visited the Hilton Waikoloa for our honeymoon. He had stayed there before and was dying to show it to me! Overall, I loved the look and feel of the hotel--very comfortable, staff was friendly and helpful, and the dining was quite enjoyable (though rather pricey--what did you expect? This is Hawaii!)

My favorite restaurant was the italian place surprisingly! We ended up sitting out by the lagoon/boat-way and it made for a very romantic spot (though when the trolly/boats went by the smell of gas was a bit much but quickly passed).

I didn't enjoy the fact that white sandy beaches weren't readily available at the resort, but they really weren't that far to complain and the view of the ocean was just wonderful anyway!

We staid here over Christmas with our son (4 months old at the time). Recommend bringing a baby sling or backpack since it was hard to get from place to place with the stroller. My husband carried the stroller up and down lots of stairs and on and off the tram, but using the sling was an easy way for us to get around. The hotel was booked solid so there were no upgrades for Gold VIP members- but we weren't expecting that. We enjoyed the hotel- but the water was FREEZING. We didn't plan on taking the baby in, but it was so cold we didn't get in either! We later realized that you can take the free shuttle up to the HGVC and the main pool there was heated. The lagoon was nice- but once again very cold this time of year. Our room was nice and the closet was HUGE, around the corner from the bedroom with no door-- and was big enough for us to put the crib in so the baby could sleep and we could still enjoy the room or lanai.

Overall we enjoyed the experience but will most likely wait until the baby is old enough to enjoy all the waterslides before returning to this hotel.

My husband and 12 yr old daughter stayed at this hotel from June 5-10, 2008. It was as I expected from the good reviews and some of the bad. There are 3 hotels in 1. The nicest one is called the Palace, the second best is the Lagoon, and the 3rd place one is the Ocean. We stayed at the Ocean on the 6th floor which was a good size room, clean, nicely decorated but hubbie says it was dated; the dolphin stuff animal is not free. This place is beyond huge, it's gigantic! There is a tram ride that comes by every 5-10 minutes or you can take the boat ride. The pros: clean, friendly and accomodating staff, great huge beautiful pool at the Lagoon (3.5 - 4.5 feet which was great for our daugther), free valet parking for disabled, no roaches seen, turtles/tropical fish seen almost every where there is water, does not seem crowded at all. The cons: restaurants too expensive (30-50% more than if you bought outside; $9 hotdog) except for the Orchid Cafe next to the big pool, exhaust fumes from the boat, lot of walking if you don't use tram/boat (15-20 min walk from the furthest hotel), pool slightly warm but can be cold depending on the weather, non-peak room rates usually starts around $200+ during non-peak times, saw some people on wheelchairs but don't know how they can go to their hotel rooms if they cannot walk. The Dolphin Quest is at the Lagoon which was really great for the people staying at this location and the big pool is close by. There is also a free gift they give the kids and a bag. You need to check with the Timeshare people re: this and they offer $100 incentives if you listen to their timeshare presentation which they state runs from 90 -120 min. I dragged by husband and we ended up staying almost 3 hrs. Don't think we'll do that again but we did get an almost free dinner at KPC and breakfast from the $100 they give you. KPC is a nice restaurant at the Lagoon ($27-62/entree) and we got a seat outside overlooking the horizon. The sunset was beautiful! But you have to go early to get the seat outside. I would recommend going to the first day orientation even if you've been at the Big Island before. I regret going on the day before we left cause we missed the dolphin snorkling excursion where can snorkel with a school of dolphins, ATV, and the helicopter ride ($450/person). I recommend going to the National Volcanic Site to see the vog (volcanic smog for short). According to the locals the vog has been around for the last 2-3 months which causes an overcast over the entire island during 70-80% that we were there. Not really good to check the vog spewing out for those with respiratory problems. There's a number you can call to see how bad this gets (ask the front desk). We drove all around the island which took about 5 hours total. Recommended reasonably priced eateries: Waimea Coffee Company (best chai tea ever!) and Waimea's Hawaii Cafe for local Hawaiian breakfast/lunch (across from the Coffee Company). At Hilo, visit the Big Island Candies for the best cookies ever!

Well, as some of the other reviews state, it is a HUGE property. But we were fortunate enough to have both the tram and the boats running all day, every day. Although, if you have to get somewhere fast early in the morning, you're better off walking. But overall, they have a great place. There are three different towers of rooms, and all have their own high points. We stayed in the Ocean Tower, and were upgraded to a partial ocean view room, after I asked if they had any upgrades available. It was beautiful.

Parking is a bit outrageous, it's $8 a day if you self park, and $25 a day if you valet. We self parked the whole time, and it is quite a walk to get to your room, especially after you've been out all day.

And as others said, the food on the resort is EXTREMELY expensive. We got the breakfast buffet at the restaurant near our room, and for the two of us, it was $60. Yeah, pretty ridiculous, considering it's just breakfast food.

But the King and Queen shops just down the road are nice, and have a few affordable places to eat.

The hotel itself is pretty centrally located, if you're looking to go from one side of the island to the other. But I would definitely recommend renting a car while you're on this island. Things are not exactly within walking distance.

Overall, it's a very beautiful place to stay, and well worth the money if you're looking for luxury. The private lagoon is great for snorkeling, but I would recommend renting your own equipment from Boss Frog's or Snorkel Bob's. You can rent it at the hotel, but it's way too expensive for the minimal amount of time you get it.

Stayed here May 21-28th. Beatiful family friendly resort. If traveling without children ask for the palace or ocean tower much quieter than the lagoon tower (more children/children's pool) .

The hotel rooms are average, but well maintained. The resort grounds are quite spectacular, with a boat or monorail tram to get you from place to place, or walking is always an option.

Several nice shops moderately priced. The kings shops & queensplace are a nice walk or shuttle ride away have moderate to highend shops with great restaurants.

Service was excellent. Only ate at the Palm Terrace restaurant , boat landing and kimo coffee, all were good.

My only issue was the ridiculous amout for parking in a lot that was a decent walk from the lobby and nearest tram stop $12 self park and an outrageous $19 for valet. Aside from that I had a great stay. The location is one of the best on the island. I would definitely stay here again.

I stayed at this hotel over the Christmas holidays with my sister and my kids. My husband was deployed and we wanted to have a special vacation. The hotel lobby was very beautifully decorated for the holidays and the kids just loved it. The front desk staff was quite rude and we did not receive the room that we had booked. We had reserved a crib or playpen and were told that they "didn't think they had an extra one" but quickly resolved it. However, the room was clean with a very comfortable bed. Could do without the stuffed dolphin on the bed, if you put it there for the small kids to see then you should give it to them! Restaurants were very good, food was great, but way too expensive. We resorted to sharing our meals rather than purchasing kids' meals which they didn't finish anyway. For a family resort, there should be more family friendly dining. The train/boat transportation was a big novelty for the kids, however the train was often out of service and walking was quicker anyway. The lagoon was nice but a resort like this should have a beach-as in on the ocean! You're in Hawaii on vacation after all.

My husband and I returned to the Hilton Waikoloa Village after visiting summer 07. Once again there was a hiccup with checking in, but once everything was sorted out – our stay was wonderful. The person checking us in was rude and incompetent. It seemed to completely mystify her that my husband and I have different last names. I wanted to reach across the counter and throttle her at one point, but her manager came to the rescue. However, like I said once we made it past the front desk – every thing was great. This time we decided to try their Paniolo cookout. The food was very good. Lots of meats and side prepared very well. Eating said cookout on the lagoon while the sunset didn’t suck either. We love the Big Island, and really enjoy the Kohala coast, so we’ll certainly be back to the Hilton Waikoloa.

We were leary about the good and bad reviews. But this was a great hotel for families. We have a 2 1/2 year old son and he thought this was a great hotel - a train and a boat!

The service was good.

The prices are high, but most are in Hawaii.

The walk to/from parking lot is not near as bad as reported. We did take advantage of the bell service to take our bags to the room. Just easier after a long flight and drive.

The food was fine. The Orchid Cafe was being remodeled and will make a nice addition to an easy, casual family dining area.

The pools were great.

Hello Everyone!

This may be long. We traveled with my wife and my 15month old daughter.

Resort - We stayed at the Hilton last week from April 6th through the 12th. The location is good but it's not what we expected. We traveled to Oahu twice and this part of the island is not green like you see in the pictures. This resort is actually built on lava rock. The landscape driving to the hotel actually reminded us of home in Phoenix. The staff was friendly and our room was very nice. We stayed in Ocean Tower and had a golf course view with ocean view in the distance.

Getting around - Getting around the 70+ acre resort is somewhat tricky. They have boats and a tram system that takes you to at least 5 different stops. The second to last day on of the trams was down so only one was in service. The wait time could be more than 15mins. The boat service was slow as well. If you have something planned then you may want to walk.

Parking - Parking is $12 per day for Self Park. We didn't want to pay the extra money for them to park our car.

Food - The restaurants are very expensive on the resort. We only eat on the resort one time. We went to the local grocery store and purchased food items to help reduce the cost of food. It worked out perfectly. There is a star bucks and fast food not to far from the resort.

Kona - If you have a rental car I would recommend taking a day trip down to Kona. It's about a 25-30 min drive south on 19. They have great restaurants and shops.

Attractions - They do have dolphins on site and you can pay high $$$$ to interact with them. I would highly recommend that. Also, we went Whale Watching and saw three humpback whales. I would recommend using Capt Dan M. for your whale watching. He has over 30+ years in the business and gives you great knowledge of whales. It was an amazing experience. When we went he had over 120 days in a row of sittings. :) That's amazing.

I would defiantly recommend this hotel to anyone.

Good luck!

I've read alot of reviews on this report and tend to agree with aspects of most. First off, this is a Beautiful resort. It's incredible with just about everything - massive pools, a salt water lagoon with fish and turtles that you can swim in, lots of restaurants and tremendous views of the Pacific Ocean. The sunsets were awesome. The whole dolphin experience is really cool. Even if you don't choose to pay the $200+ for the Dolphin Quest experience, you can watch for free. A baby dolphin was born during our stay. On the flip side, it is expensive with charges for just about everything. The restaurants are particularly high. Here's my advice. When you fly into Kona, don't go to the hotel right away. Head south on Highway 19 into Kona, about 10 minutes. That's where you'll find the grocery stores, Costco, Walmart. There are no real grocery stores in the Waikoloa area. Pick up snacks, drinks, bottled water, milk, OJ, coffee, filters, alcohol, etc. There is a small fridge in the hotel room. Also, if you're planning on doing some snorkeling (it's great), stop at a place like Snorkel Bob's in Kona and rent the equipment for the week - also has boogie boards. The weekly rate is less than a one day rental at the resort. Also, skip the luau at the resort - expensive and not that great. The resort is great for a 3-4 day stay. If you're going for a week or more, rent a condo in Waikoloa and just visit the hotel property. Having said all this, the property is beautiful and worth a visit.

We stayed 5 nights with our 3 and 8 yr old children. Our room had 1 king bed and a pull out couch (small - twin bed size). We stayed in the Palace Tower. The pools were wonderful. Only down side-no separate, shallow pool just for toddlers. I think the best room with kids would be in the Lagoon Tower, pool/ocean side (close to the big pool and view of the dolphin lagoon). The resort is very secluded and food is quite expensive. Our room had a tiny fridge. Go to the grocery store in Waikoloa (~ 5 miles away) and stock up on food. Possibly rent a microwave if you really want to save $ on food. The kids loved the tram and boat "taxis" throughout the property.

My husband and I went to a conference at the Hilton. As said, everything is expensive here, but the food at the Japanese steak house and the RPC was great! There have been complaints about the staff, however, we had no problems and found most staff there very freindly and helpful. Sometimes an extra "thank you" or smile gets a better response than complaints. The lagoon snorkling was O.K. (a little stirred up from "bottom walkers"), but there were an amazing variety of fish and sea turtles. It would be great for young first-time snorklers. The pools were just the right temp., refreshing, but not too cold. Our room in the Lagoon tower was booked as a mountain view, but we had mountain and partial ocean/beach view. The only complaint with the room was the birds in the courtyard woke us up about 5:30 every morning (bring ear plugs). I had a 50 min. massage in the spa, which was pricey ($170.00 w/tip) and not that great. We took snorkel equipment with us so we could walk past A beach at the Marriott and snorkel in a more private area. The walk along the shore need tennis shoes or boots, but is well worth the time and effort. The views are spectacular - turtles on the beach, whales breaching, surfers, and really cool tide water pools.

To sum up: Take bad reviews with a grain of salt. This place is beautiful!

This is a GYNORMOUS resort in a beautiful location. First, the negatives:

*I don't like Vegas and I can't stand the Disneyland hype. This place reminded me of both. Yuck. Next time I'm staying at a B&B.

*The resort is tired and could use some updating, especially in the rooms with their popcorn ceilings and dated decorations

*The wait at the front desk is too long - they need more staff manning it

*The restaurants are hit or miss: We went to the Palm Terrace Restaurant (which is supposed to be open until 9 p.m.) at 8 p.m. and it was completely dark. We went to the informal sushi bar in the Ocean Tower at 7:30 p.m. which was supposed to be open until late and it was closed. The Malolo Lounge's service (if you can call it that) is very, very slow, and you will need to hunt down your server to get your order/refills/check. Do yourself a favor: Go to Costco and get some premade sandwiches and salads, or go to the Waikoloa Village Market and get sushi or deli sandwiches. Take them back to your room and keep them in the fridge in your room or in the styrofoam cooler you've picked up from the Waikoloa Village Market (see below).

Now, the positives:

*The place is impeccably maintained.

*The rooms are large and *very* comfortable. They include a fridge, a safe, and a coffeemaker. Hilton beds are always wonderful.

*We spaced and neglected to lock the safe one day, leaving our laptop, passports, and jewelry vulnerable. Housekeeping cleaned our room and nothing was missing. That in and of itself is reason to recommend this place, even if its style isn't your cup of tea.

*It is way cool to be able to swim with sea turtles in the lagoon.

*Even though the cost to swim with the dolphins is beyond exorbitant ($400 for two people for 30 minutes??? Come on!), it is very fun to watch them swim and interact with their trainers.

Some tips:

Fly into Kona and pick up your rental car. Drive south a bit and hit Costco. Pick up a case of water and a case of wine (or beer or whatever), crackers, cheese, fruit, baguettes. Head north and go to Waikoloa Village Market. Pick up a styrofoam cooler and whatever munchables you didn't get at Costco. Then go check into your hotel. Make sure you have extra coffee for the coffee maker cuz they don't give you a lot. Make sure you pack Ziploc bags for ice, food, whatever. Have fruit and cheese and crackers and baguettes (which you've packed into your cooler with ice from the ice machines) for breakfast and lunch while you're out exploring the island. See above regarding dinner tips.

It is, after all, paradise.

Within our 16-day stay on the islands, we managed to visit the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Hononlulu, the Hilton Waikoloa Village, and HIlton Beach Resort in Kauai. Out of the three, the Waikoloa was a disappointment. The property was way too large and the staff was neither helpful nor friendly as opposed to the other two Hilton properties.

We stayed at the Palace Tower (which was beautiful) however to go anywhere (including the main lobby) you either had to take the boat or the tram. We would not go there again.

The hotel was beautiful and very clean. Our room (Ocean Tower) was very nice, and large. We had a balcony, and a good ocean view. Comfortable beds. Large bathroom/dressing room area and closet. The service was very uninspired. Not bad, really, but definitely not good. Just there, with no perks. Everytime we asked the front desk people for suggestions, everyone was new and nobody knew anything, nor did they attempt to find out. The concierge was helpful, though.

There was a ton to do, especially with kids. Fun pools, lagoon, dolphin encounter, etc. However, it did take forever to get around the property, it was annoying how big it was. At one point I realized I forgot my camera. From the lobby, using their transportation, it took me 45 minutes to go to my room and back! You can walk, but it's quite a lot of walking. I recommend the Lagoon Tower based on location, it's closest to everything.

I went to this hotel for a conference, so I didn't do much on property. I can say that the food at the conference was pretty bad. Not just ok, but actually bad. We didn't spend a lot of time at the other hotel restaurants, but the one grill we went to was decent, and it was fun because it overlooked the dolphins. We preferred restaurants off the property. While parking here is extremely expensive, I can't imagine having gone without a car. You have to drive to the beach (there's no beach on property, but nice ones close by.) They have a beach shuttle, but based on how long everything took there, we didn't try it.

While we were under the impression it would take too long, we decided to drive around the island in a day - to Hilo via the northern route, to Akaka Waterfall Park (which I recommend,) Volcano National Park, the black sand beach on the south, up through Kona and back to the resort. It wasn't a bad drive at all, and doing it in one day was no problem.

If you scuba dive, do not miss the Manta Ray night dive out of Kona, it was AWESOME! Try Jacks Diving Locker, they were great.

My husband and I recently returned from a 10-night stay April 14-24. This was a third time at this property. We love the big Island and always really enjoy this property. 8 or our 10 nights were free - Hilton Honor Points.

New service offered for Diamond VIP members was GREAT! I got an email 1 week before our arrival to provide our flight information. I did. We were greeted at the airport with a representative; both my husband and I received lovely Lei. The representative told us to get our rental car while they collected our luggage. Within 15 mins of our landing, we got our car, drove back to the arrival area where our luggage was waiting to be loaded in our car. This was great.

Now on to the hotel-

As this was my third time to the property, I'm always looking for improvements. Unfortunately, this hotel just "Meets" expectations. In today’s economy and with other hotel chains, Hilton should be identifying and delivering opportunities to "Exceed" expectations.

Room - I was confirmed Ocean View.

As usual, I was upgraded to Executive floor, partial ocean view.

Had to call housekeeping, as I had no toiletries.

Housekeeping was a hit and miss for the entire stay. On any given day, we were missing washcloths or some kind of toiletry. This is not acceptable considering the hotel was not even 1/3 occupied.

USA Today - Shocked! Hilton Honor members receive USA today on weekdays. No Paper! Called the front desk, and told” Not at this Property. We’re negotiating our contract". I couldn't believe this response. If the USA today is not available, then they should have had a local paper, furthermore, the hotel management should have been forthcoming about this in the welcome packet apologizing that there would be no paper. I would have received the honesty had it been forthcoming.

Pool Cabanas- Shocked! The last 2 stays, pool cabanas have been free. We couldn't believe the hotel had the nerve to charge $150 for a full day rental! By the way - we never saw anyone in a cabana in our entire stay. They would rather have them sit empty I guess.

Closed the Pool with smaller waterslide by Ocean Tower. Not that big a deal for us except for getting pool towels.

Executive Lounge - Excellent Service Associates always friendly and willing to make reservations.

One negative comment - The butter was always spoiled. I think the same butter that's left out is just put back in the fridge and put back out.

Gym - Free for Diamond VIP's, used 6 times, lots of equipment, very nice.

Transportation - Boat/Tram -No problems. I read a lot of reviews complaining about the time it takes to get around. We have no problem with waiting. We're on vacation.

Food/Shopping - Check out the new shops/restaurants at the Mauna Lani Resort. You can do much better there.

Golfing - We golfed at both the Kings and Beach courses. FABULOUS. I will write separate reviews on both courses. Hotel does offer free transportation to both Kings and Beach courses.

Closing - Still a Great hotel, but as I mentioned, they do need to do much better with customer service. My husband and I had a fabulous time, most spent golfing and at Hapuna Beach.

Happy Travels

We stayed here for three days in April 2008. Yes this hotel is huge but in all fairness we didn't have to wait long for a tram or boat.

I loved the Lagoon Pool - great for kids, fun slide.

We also used the Ocean Pool - much smaller but another slide and still fun.

We ate lunch at the Lagoon Grill - good quality food (huge portions), good service.

Room was just okay - bit dated in decor I thought. Room has a fridge though so you can bring in drinks and snacks and keep them cool.

Property is approx 30 mins from Kona - large Walmart here and cheaper than the local Kings/Queen shops. Stock up here when you leave the airport.

The thing that struck me most about this property was the upkeep of the gardens and grounds ... beautiful. Also the numerous pieces of art and sculptures are lovely to look at.

I had read some reviews that talked about the tram taking a long time at the Hilton but thought "how bad could it be?". Well it is bad, a tram went out of service while we were there and that meant waits of up to 15 minutes for the tram to take us to our Ocean tower lobby. Once there it took another five minutes to walk to the room. I walk with a cane so I am slow but having to budget half an hour to get from our room to the lobby is ridiculous.

Additionally this place very family activity oriented that there were lots of kids running around everywhere and since we were there for an anniversary that didn't mix so well some times.

Overall a good time but I woul not go back, nor recommend this establishment to anyone without kids.

As an introduction, I've stayed at over 100 x Hilton properties over the past 5yrs so feel have some experience to give an opinion/review below on this Hilton resort

I stayed at the resort over the July 4th week. Pleased to say it wasn't terribly busy until the July 4th weekend, so waiting for boats & monorail wasn't a problem - 5mins max.

From the outside, and walking around, it’s a lovely property, large but wouldn't say massive as some might suggest – certainly bigger properties in Las Vegas. The hotel is well designed but is starting to look a little tired (was told the property is 20yrs old & they're presently renovating many of the rooms). I was upgraded to the Executive Level in the Ocean Tower as am a Hilton Diamond Member, we had a King Room & a Roll away for my 5yr old son. The biggest disappoint to me were the staff?! Generally, people just weren't that friendly or courteous? There were some exceptions like Andrew the Boat/Monorail driver, always happy, very polite and sings as you approach most stops :) But Andrew, & a handful of others, were few & far between. My basic expectation at a resort of this type is for the staff to smile & say hello (as I always do – with a smile). But it just wasn’t there which was a real shame as it dulled the Hawaiian spirit for me. We actually stayed for 2 x nights at the Marriott Waikiki Beach before coming here, and the staff there were very friendly.

As a few have mentioned before there are a few musts if you plan to stay & don’t have the $1000+ to eat every day / do all the activities at the hotel – yes it is truly that expensive for a family to stay there & not venture outside the grounds - food/drinks & activities. 1) Valet your car - it was in the mid 80’s & quite humid so having to get your car everyday from self parking will get very old. 2) Buy the Aloha package (you have to ask for it, no one at the hotel promotes it?)– if you plan to utilize the hotels activities & valet everyday during your stay the $25 daily cost does out weigh all things mentioned if you do the math. 3) If you can, get upgraded to the Executive level room. The free breakfast buffet saved us $45 – 70 a day on breakfast ~ my wife & I commented while staying on how many people seemed to buy groceries every couple of days to save on the very high food/cocktail prices. 4) I didn’t get to view any of the rooms but my perception is the Palace Tower appears to have the nicer rooms, though not Ocean front views. Lagoon Tower I believe is the oldest, though closet to the Kids Pool (which my son & I loved!), and the Ocean Tower gets you the best ocean few but is the furthest away – again not a problem though with the Monorail or boats – 5misn to the main lobby.

As per a previous review, if you can get an upgraded car. The locals drive VERY slow on the Big Island so if you’re a pea brain like me & fly into Hilo (obvious recommendation don’t to Hilo, fly into Kona Airport) , then the 2hr drive from Hilo to the resort, (though very picturesque) can be frustrating if you’re driving behind one/many of the locals – though a good time for Zen?! :) All joking aside, get a nicer car to enjoy the comfort, though the gas is a little pricey once you leave Hilo, would avg. $4.60 on the western side of the Island.

We did a couple of very cool activities: 1) Atlantis Submarine in Kona – Sub (I guess) sits about 40-50 people, & goes down to a depth of 100ft+ - was VERY COOL! 2) A Helicopter ride. Yeah it is expensive, starts from I believe $200pp, but well worth it!!

All in all it was a nice stay, very relaxing, pretty expensive with some awesome views & special moments. Was it a fantastic Hilton Hotel, no, I’ve been to better ones (Hilton Auckland, Hilton Americas in Houston, The Drake in Chicago etc). Is it in a fantastic location – resounding yes! My suggestion is this, if you’re on a budget & have a family of 4 let’s say, do your home work, and you can stay at the property for a reasonable price. If you’re a couple wanting some piece & quiet, you might want to research the other Hilton properties in HI, they seem more Adult friendly. Yes I would recommend the property, but probably with a few other suggestions as well. Mahalo

I love the grounds at this resort. It truly is paradise. There are pools at every turn and a great lagoon for beginner snorkelers. There are even dolphins and a program that allows you to swim with them. The grounds are massive and have a boat or monorail to take you around.

That being said, I think I paid for all of the upkeep on the property and nothing for the room and the service given. Granted, I paid the lowest price available through the Hilton website, but that was still $250 a night. I should also say that I am a Hilton Honor's member and I was offered an "upgrade". From what I'm not sure. I was placed in a room that unbenounced to me, was next to the maid's supply room and service elevators. Also, this room was non-smoking but obviously used to be a smoking room by the stale cigarette smell saturating all that is in it.

The website said there was a mini-bar in the room, but upon my arrival, this info is outdated and the mini-bar is in the room, but empty and locked up. The front desk said that they were no longer being supplied. My "upgraded room" had a nice view, but was located above the noisy monorail that runs until 1 am. So keeping my window open was not an option.

The service was a bit tired of their jobs. No one I ran into was very happy about being there and most of my requests were denied due to their lack of customer service. Examples are:

I wanted a late check out, and even though it says it is offered, (and the resort was no where near being full) my request was denied. I was placed at a table in the corner at their restaurant (not even close to being full) and was told that I couldn't switch tables. The next morning, I was placed at a table next to the kitchen. I should say that I was traveling by myself, and got the impression that because I was alone, this service was appropriate.

Prices at the resort are very high, but I guess you would find that at any upscale resort in Hawaii.

My advice: buy a day pass for this resort (available directly from the hotel) and stay somewhere else.

I am so disappointed I couldn't wait until I got home...I had to write this review while I am still here.

First the hotel grounds are beautiful...just beautiful. However, the hotel is so big it doesn't seem like the right hand has any idea what the left hand is doing. The service here is in fact marginal at best.

More on that in a bit. As far as the trams and boats....highly understaffed and under used. Be prepared to walk and walk far no matter what you might think. Im in the Ocean Tower and even to walk to the kid's pool at this tower takes about 20 minutes. There are no shortcuts and no "common sense" paths to get you where you want to go conveniently. If you Self Park, REALLY expect to walk. Self parking is at a minimum 500 yds away from the main entrance. To make it worse, there are no less than 100 cats roaming the parking lot day and night. It is down right creepy. Makes me think there is a big rodent problem here. I dont hate or dislike cats normally, but this is just creepy.

If you need to take the tram, consider that there are 2 monorails and if 1 breaks down, you will have to wait 10-15 minutes to even get on one. Then to ride from end to end takes another 15 minutes. The boats take even longer.

Food is ridiculously over priced. Breakfast buffet every day at the Palm Terrace is $28 and the food offering is no better than a Holiday Express free breakfast. Make your own waffles, bad fruit, the oatmeal was ice cold and had no burner going. I mentioned it to the waitress and they offered to go zap a bowl for me. Now to top it off, birds fly free throughout the restaurant. Walking through they come kamikaze right at you and park at the empty tables next to you waiting to pounce your food when you go up to the buffet.

Last night capped it off, I got back to my room and found two big roaches in the room....really big. I complained to the front desk, and there only answer was, this is an Island and roaches are attracted to warm places. Also maybe someone ate some food in our room before you and they were attracted to that. What? Isn't that housekeeping's job to make sure there is no food for roaches. They offered nothing to correct...just made excuses. I refuse to stay somewhere where they think roaches are ok.

Sorry if I am venting but this hotel is bad news if staying more than a day or two. It is TOO BIG....way too big for its own good.

Im checking out tomorrow.first thing.

I booked this stay as an awards stay using my Hilton Honors points. As we don't have kids at home any more, I didn't even think about SPRING BREAK. Booking this stay for Easter Week was a big mistake. This place was a zoo. From the crowds to the noise to lack of service, I could kick myself for not planning properly.

Checking in on Easter evening after a total of 13 hours on airplanes I was more than a little cranky. Having on two people at the front desk with a line 6 people long did not help my disposition. We just wanted to get to the room and order some food.

Well that turned out to a challenge also as I could not get anyone to answer the room service phone. When I called the front desk to ask for a duty manager, I was assured the Manager of the Day would return my call. I am still waiting.

Additionally, some issues with the room were: The door did not close properly so you had to make sure every time you left that the horrendous noise it made from being out of alignment was actually being closed and locked. Reported this, no action taken.

The refrigerator in the room was not working. Reported this, no action taken. The icemaker on the floor we were on was not working. Reported this. No action taken.

Good stuff: A dolphin calf was born while we were there. Really neat to see the baby swimming with momma. The lagoon bar was good but pricey and there was always a place to sit and watch the dolphins. The ground our very nice and we got a good deal of exercise walking each day.

Resturants were marginal at best and quite pricey although, I know, this is Hawaii and a resort.

So, overall, I don't know how much these issues had to do with the week I picked to stay or if this is what to expect from this resort.

I am however, disappointed that as a Hilton Honors VIP for the past 10 years, this was the best I could do with my points used.

Hilton really needs to pay more attention to their best customers.

My 14 year old daughter and I booked a last minute trip during Spring Break. The hotel is huge - over 75 acres. While there are trams and boats to get you around the property, on many occassions they were only running one tram and we ended up walking where we needed to go. Not fun when you are checking out and carrying luggage!

Compared to staying in Hawaii at other resorts, we did not receive a personal welcome, no lai etc. We also found everything to be ridiculously expensive. We renamed the resort to ' The Nickle and Dime You to Death' resort.

We asked for a place to get a less expensive meal for dinner one night around 5:00 p.m. and were told where we could get a burger (a $15 burger!) and we took the tram only to find out this place was closed. We were directed to another restaurant on the property only to find out that it was also closed. It seemed that the staff should know what time the restaurants were open but it they didn't. Very frustrating! We were so exhausted and hungry running around trying to find a burger only to find all the 'cheaper' restaurants were closed. Be prepared...you will be forced to eat at the 'other' restaurants. We found ourselves at the Japanese restaurant and spent $105 plus tip for a meal for myself and my daughter (no drinks).

There is no sand beach at the resort other than the man-made lagoon. If you want a beach you have to take a shuttle to the Marriott hotel (15 minute walk). Here they have water toys, snorkeling equipment etc. You can rent snorkel gear and snorkel right from the beach there. That was nice.

There is shopping across from the Marriott. You have to take a shuttle ($1 each way per person) which was a bit frustrating. Why charge anything?? When I asked about the charge, I was told that the shuttle service wasn't owned by the hotel. In the shopping center is a small grocery-type store. The hotel says no coolers by the pool but I saw many people bring them anyway. Get a cooler at the store and drinks. Although the 'snacks' at the store are very expensive too, they are cheaper than what you can get in the hotel. We bought virgin pina coladas by the pool and paid $9/each.

There is also a charge for wired internet service in the room (+/- $15/day) and if you wanted to 'jog' to the main lobby, you could get wireless for $5.95/day. Again, a charge for everything! I found a business center that had internet and charged by the minute! I also asked about that and was again told that they were not operated by the hotel.

Just be prepared to pay for EVERYTHING!

One nice thing was the birth of a dolphin while we were there. That was a 'once in a lifetime' experience for us. Back to the price...should you want to swim with the dolphins, be prepared to take spend over $200/person. You have to put your name in a lottery to be picked. Once picked, be prepared to pay.

We previously stayed at the Four Seasons in Maui and paid a bit more for the room but overall I think we spent less money than with the Hilton because they didn't nickle and dime you to death! Also, the Four Seasons gave very personalized service. When you called the front desk or anywhere else, you were greated by your name - nice thing that doesn't cost the resort anything. You don't get that at the Hilton. We were also greated with a beautiful lei at the Four Seasons - not the Hilton. If you want a lei, you need to jog to the store and buy one for yourself!

Nice place but remember to take out a loan before you get there!

VERDICT:

Overpriced and overcrowded with relatively small rooms and sub-par service. On the plus side, the grounds are beautiful with multiple pools, sunning areas and gardens. It's very family oriented and so I wouldn't recommend it for a honeymoon.

BIGGEST COMPLAINT:

I used Hilton Honors points to book a 3 night stay at this hotel. It was listed in the highest tier of HHonors rewards... meaning it cost me a lot of points to stay here! Let's just say I was a little dissapointed. There was a HUGE conference going on while we were there. People and kids were everywhere. All of the pools, sunning areas and restaurants were overcrowded. Also, on one night they had a huge outdoor dinner for the conference. There had to be at least 300-400 people. Not only were they loud, but this restricted access to about 50% of the grounds. How upsetting! You pay all this money for a nice hotel, and you can't even access the grounds because of a conference? That's unfair in my opinion.

ROOM:

The room was clean and nicely decorated, but a bit small. We were on the ground floor with a small patio leading out to an open lawn with a hammock. Not much of a view from our room. The bed was very comfortable.

GROUNDS:

The grounds are beautiful with lush gardens, palm trees and flowers. The pools are nice, and there are many sunning areas on the lawn to stretch out. Don't expect to find a nice quiet place to relax and enjoy all this beauty, due to the crowds. It's kind of like Disney Land in that respect, more of an attraction than a hotel. There is a small beach, but it's not right on the ocean, it is on a small inland pond. They have dolphins, so you can get a little Sea World action if that's what you were looking for in Hawaii... we weren't.

SERVICE:

The staff seemed friendly enough at first, but then we got sent on a wild goose chase for a restaurant. There are multiple restaurants on property, and we asked for a recommendation. The front desk recommended the steak house and we walked (about 1/2 mile) to get there only to find that it was closed! Why wouldn't the front desk know the hours of a restaurant on their property!! We had to walk all the way back to the front desk to complain. At this point we were famished and ended up eating at the Italian restaurant because it was closest. They did give us a gift card for our troubles, but it only covered about 25% of our overpriced meal. We are a young couple, and we also noticed a lot of the staff ignored us... kind of like being ignored in a fancy electronics store just because you look young and they assume you have no money (read age discrimination).

FOOD:

The restaurants have OK food, but it is vastly overpriced.

GETTING AROUND:

The hotel is spread out over a very large area. There are multiple buildings for rooms, and many restaurants. A train or boat gets you around the property, so even if your building is 1/2 mile from the lobby, you don't have to cart your luggage around.

Wow. . . I couldn't WAIT to get home to write a review about this place! My husband and I were fooled into booking a room last August through a "deal" with Hilton Grand Vacations. What a mistake. After paying over $1700 and having to listen to ANOTHER two hour presentation for the "ownership rip-off", we found that other Hilton guests were staying for less than $100 per night.

Upon arrival after a very lengthy trip from Cleveland, Ohio, I had to call security twice because local residents were staying at the hotel for the 4th of July "special" of $99 for the week-end. Huge numbers of families (children AND adults) were running up and down the hallway, screaming and laughing far into the night. We believed that by Sunday night, the only guests using the resort would be tourists. WRONG!!! The Hilton has a public parking lot where anyone can pay to park (we had to pay $12 per night - and no, this wasn't for valet), and there is no one monitoring who is using the facilities. All of the pool areas were crammed each day with locals and their families who were not paying guests of the hotel.

Now, let's talk about the room and the parking. Seriously, how could anyone describe this Hilton as a four or five star resort??? Our room was TINY and crummy. We would have done just as well at a Motel 8. To walk to the front desk or the parking lot took us 14 minutes unless we chose to wait for the boat (which was often too crowded to ride) or the train that had signs stating all week that the "air conditioning is broken - sorry". These options of travel only ran once every 15 minutes and you had to hope that the vehicle was going in the right direction or the wait would be even longer. Once we made the trek to the parking lot, it was always a guessing game where we were parked. Like I said, anyone can park in the lot, and the employees always took the spots that were closest to the entrance. Sometimes, we had to walk about 6 - 7 minutes through the parking lot to our car. Keep in mind, that we just walked 14 minutes from our room. This was loads of fun when we had to take our luggage to our car!

Now, why did we rent a car if we were staying at a resort? Because the prices were OUTRAGEOUS! A small bottle of Diet Coke was over $2.50. A sandwich plus a bag of chips cost $14.00. No kidding. Every day we drove 15 minutes to Waikoloa Village to the grocery store. We couldn't stock up on cold food items because the OLD ugly brown refrigerator with the broken and missing metal shelf bar only held two bottles of water and three cans of Diet Coke. Also, since we are a couple without children, we were in for quite a surprise to find out that the one and only "lounge" closed by 11:00pm each night. Oh, and a beer cost over $5.00. While there, the Japanese restaurant called Imari literally closed its doors forever. That's how wonderful this resort is.

Overall, I highly recommend that anyone planning on staying at the Hilton in Waikoloa either look elsewhere, or take advantage of the incredible rates that all of the other guests who weren't screwed over by Hilton Grand Vacations received. Did I mention that we had been promised a two-bedroom condo last August for the price, but when I called January 3rd to reserve a condo, they were already all booked? Do the math. Six months ahead of our vacation and NONE of the condos were available? So for the same price, we were stuck in a small, out-dated hotel room with tons of locals. Nice.

P.S. I would share photos, but I only took them of the BEAUTIFUL Big Island that we plan on returning to some day and stay somewhere that does not bear the Hilton name. I was too heart-broken and ticked off to actually preserve the memory of the "resort."

I'll try to be short with this as to explain the true horror of this place would take too long.

The rooms are outdated and poorly maintained, they're tatty and pretty grubby, our room smelt like it had been flooded and then left to dry, it was musty and horrible, we stayed in the Ocean Tower. The corridors are open air on the side we stayed on so that you can hear the constant noise of birds/people/whatever all day and night.

The restaurants are a joke, you need a reservation to eat at any of them as one particular evening we walked to all of the restaurants on this 22 acre property and all were full. There is nowhere off site to eat unless you pay $2 each to get a trolley bus down the road to a food hall. If you do have the joy of eating in any of the restaurants we found the food to be well overpriced and poor. We made the mistake of going to the buffet breakfast one morning and were charges $60 (for 2 of us), the food was completely geared towards american living and we found that we couldn't eat a lot of the food. We also found that there were basically no vegetarian options other than cake, the whole place was steak or some form of meat on everything!

Talking of eating a lot of the places to eat were open air, this is a nice idea except for the constant birds flying in and out. This would also be fine if we didn't notice that birds were basically fouling on the tables and chairs, when people were getting up to go and get a drink birds would go on their tables and walk on their food. We were frequently sitting on chairs or tables full of bird poo that no one appeared to be bothered about or attempted to clean up?

The idea of tipping in the USA is fine, we get that, what we don't get is why at the Hilton Waikoloa you are expected to pay a 20% tip? At the end of the day any tips are discretionary? So the more you spend the more that you have to tip regardless of the fact that we found the majority of the staff to be incredibly rude, unhelpful and basically racist towards the fact that we are English to the point where some of them were telling us they couldn't understand us???? We were speaking English?? We found ourselves repeating any requests at least 5 times which is ridiculous.

To top this off in the Mahalo lounge (i think that's what it was called) we paid our tab after eating there, when the waitress returned with our change she had helped herself to a 20% tip?? We explained to her that it was up to us to decide what tip to leave, to be honest we felt that this was pretty much akin to stealing.

If you are American then I am sure this place is ideal, it has the food you like, the people you like etc etc. For anyone else we felt that we were basically discriminated against because we were not American. I won't give you all of the gory details but my husband was told on at least 5 different occassions that he couldn't be understood. We asked to use a PC and were told that there weren't any, when we found that there were we were treated like dirt by the lady there and observed her quite blatently treating an american gentleman that walked in in a helpful manner. I was subject to abuse by a gentleman at the pool because I have a tatoo??

This place seriously needs to get a grip. It is obviously geared towards american tourists which is fine, and to be honest I doubt that they could really give a fig about anyone non american because not enough of us visit the place to make it an issue if we didn't visit!

By all means visit and make your own mind up but be prepared!

Although we had paid Hotels.com the higher rate for an ocean view room with king-sized bed several months in advance of our arrival at the hotel, when we arrived at the hotel, we were told they did not have any such room available. Instead, they had only a room with two double beds overlooking a driveway. When I stated that we not only had reserved the ocean view room in advance, but had actually paid the entire fee in advance for such a room, they only repeated they had no such room available. They did eventually offer to comp us for the first night in the lesser room, but since we were only staying in the hotel for two nights, their selling of more rooms than they actually had available resulted in the ruin of half of our stay. It should be noted that the hotel's assistant manager tried valiantly the next day to fix the situation, but of course, the damage was done. It should also be noted that Hotels.com also refused to help fix the problem, even though we had actually paid the advance hotel fees through them.

First, let me say that I have never written a negative review about anything, much less a hotel. I always try to find something to like. But from the moment I arrived at the Hilton Waikoloa, I was disappointed. The person checking us in was incredibly rude and could not find our reservation, so we asked if perhaps it had been misspelled. She insisted it was not. She then goes to her manager to see if we can STILL stay at the hotel (it is now 8 pm), manager says "yes", but she then informs us that we will have to pay for two rooms if there is indeed a reservation under the wrong name (which would have of course been the hotel's fault). Whatever happened to Rule #1, the customer is always right? Well, guess what. After our insistence that she try multiple spellings of the last name, she finds it, but is still rude about it. And folks, I am a nice person. This transaction left us exhausted. We go to the room where we see this cute little stuffed dolphin on the bed that my son immediately hugs and wants to keep, only to discover it will cost $15! He is in tears. So the fun just keeps going. It is a long walk to anywhere, although you can wait for a tram or boat. There is nothing as far as entertainment at night, with the exception of a jazz singer (who was lovely) and the bars close at midnight on a weekend. Did I mention that the water in the pool was FREEZING? Too cold to swim in. Our mantra during our 2 day stay was "we're never coming back, we're never coming back, we're never coming back."