A Kid-Centric trip to the Big Island (updated with Volcanoes National Park)

[wanderlust7]

Guests at Kings’ Land have complimentary access to the amenities at Hilton Waikoloa Village. It’s a sprawling, ocean front complex with gorgeous views. DS liked the pools there, so we ended up going twice. Since DD wanted to do the arts and crafts at 11 am and those particular days DS didn’t, DS and DH drove over first and then DD and I took the shuttle and caught up with them after the activity. The shuttle runs every 30 minutes and kept to the schedule pretty well.

Lots of photos in this post!

Grand Staircase leading to the grounds from the main lobby:





Lagoon area. The beach continues to the right of the picture. It's very shallow (below the knee depth) and there are little fish since it's connected to the ocean. I thought it would be a great place for DS to learn to snorkel . We had gotten him a set and he loved using it in the pool. But he got a small cut on his leg, so complained that the salt water hurt.



One of the pools, there is a slide behind the waterfall:



Dolphin pool where they have Dolphin Quest. People sit on the grassy area (to the left of the picture) and watch people doing the dolphin encounters. You can also see the dolphins pretty close up from the white bridge towards the back of the photo.



From the white bridge:



Other photos around the resort:







Up next: A little about food options.

 

[crystal1313]

Hi! I saw your post on the other thread and noticed you had a trip report, so thought I would ask some questions in here so I don't hijack the other thread! We are from the bay area too! Martinez! So we just booked at Kings Land for 10 nights in June. We are excited (10 nights in Hawaii!) but I am a bit nervous as change is hard for me...and well, Aulani spoiled me! LOL. I know we will have a blast! I am having a hard time finding a lot of info on Kings Land compared to all the amazing info out there for Aulani.

Couple questions for you. I realize KL is a timeshare, so housekeeping is not daily. Do you know how often they will service the room? Do things like extra towels cost money or can you just call and request more? Also, the pools! They look incredible. Do you need wristbands like Aulani? What about towels? And last questions, any restaurants in the KL are that you loved and/or did not enjoy at all? I am finding reviews for most places nearby all over the map! We plan to utilize the kitchen as much as possible and make a Costco stop after we land at the airport....but would also like to have some meals out or at least some cocktails and apps at some point. Thank you SO much in advance!

 

[wanderlust7]

Hi! I saw your post on the other thread and noticed you had a trip report, so thought I would ask some questions in here so I don't hijack the other thread! We are from the bay area too! Martinez! So we just booked at Kings Land for 10 nights in June. We are excited (10 nights in Hawaii!) but I am a bit nervous as change is hard for me...and well, Aulani spoiled me! LOL. I know we will have a blast! I am having a hard time finding a lot of info on Kings Land compared to all the amazing info out there for Aulani.

Couple questions for you. I realize KL is a timeshare, so housekeeping is not daily. Do you know how often they will service the room? Do things like extra towels cost money or can you just call and request more? Also, the pools! They look incredible. Do you need wristbands like Aulani? What about towels? And last questions, any restaurants in the KL are that you loved and/or did not enjoy at all? I am finding reviews for most places nearby all over the map! We plan to utilize the kitchen as much as possible and make a Costco stop after we land at the airport....but would also like to have some meals out or at least some cocktails and apps at some point. Thank you SO much in advance!

Hello fellow Bay Arean!

I don't know if it's different for cash reservations, but as a timeshare reservation, there's a mid-week cleaning. We had enough towels in the bathrooms, so I don't know if they charge for extra towels. I would think not.

Pools towels are next to the activity room. As many as you want and they don't keep track of them (similar to Aulani). Wristbands are at the same place. If you go to Hilton Waikoloa Village, they have a different wristband. It's a little annoying to get because that place is huge! That said, we didn't see anyone checking for wristbands, except at the pool slide with lifeguard.

There is one restaurant at Kings' Land. We ate there once for lunch. Food was pretty good and big portion sizes, so I thought it was decent value for resort food. I'll attach the menu in the next post.

We had pool side service at HWV once. Hot dog with chips was $8, sandwich with chips was $10. The sandwich came in plastic wrap, obviously straight out of the fridge. The bread was cold and stale. Blech.

We had takeout a lot from the Island Gourmet Market nearby (same company as ABC stores and the Island Country Market across from Aulani). I liked their musubi, Japanese bentos, and sushi. They're pre-made, grab and go, but were still yummy. They also have a counter where you can order from. We had the garlic shrimp, which weren't bad, but nowhere as good as the shrimp trucks on Oahu.

Here's the menu for the counter service:
http://islandgourmethawaii.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/delimenu.pdf

I wish I had more restaurant recommendations for you. Usually I have a whole list of places I want to try, but nothing really stuck out at me this time. It's just as well, I guess. The kids were too busy playing in the pool. It would have been tiring to get them cleaned up and out to dinner.

 

[wanderlust7]

Kings' Land Bistro menu.

Hmm...looks like I can't get it to show in the thread automatically, or get the rotation to save. Sorry!

 

[la la limon]

I realize KL is a timeshare, so housekeeping is not daily. Do you know how often they will service the room? Do things like extra towels cost money or can you just call and request more? Also, the pools! They look incredible. Do you need wristbands like Aulani? What about towels? And last questions, any restaurants in the KL are that you loved and/or did not enjoy at all? I am finding reviews for most places nearby all over the map! We plan to utilize the kitchen as much as possible and make a Costco stop after we land at the airport....but would also like to have some meals out or at least some cocktails and apps at some point. Thank you SO much in advance!

I can jump in here too because it just happens to be at my last night at Kings Land. I booked through Hilton so I'm considered a renter and I've had cleaning service every day. We haven't eaten at the onsite restaurant but there are restaurants in the area and it's very easy to drive around to get to them. Overall, this has been our favorite vacation of many that we've had!

 

[crystal1313]

@wanderlust7 & @la la limon THANK YOU!!!!! Super excited now. Really appreciate your help