TnRobin
The prodical child
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1998
- Messages
- 6,341
We got home yesterday from Honolulu, Hawaii. We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in a 2BR ocean view unit on Waikiki Beach. We did not go through DVC, but did a private exchange with a Hilton Grand Vacation Club member. On a scale from 1 to 10. I would give this resort a 9+.
Resort Location - AWESOME. The resort is located on the EWA side of Waikiki Beach. (as opposed to the diamond head side) This is one of only two resorts that rest on the wide part of the beach. The other being the Hale Koa - a resort for military personnel. The other hotels on Waikiki only have small strips of beach maybe 10 - 15 feet wide. The Hilton beach is three or four times as wide. (note all beaches are public so if you stay else where - come down to the Hilton to sunbathe.) The Hilton and Hale Koa are separated from the other beach hotels by a recreation park so it tends to be a little more quieter than the other beach front hotel. Note there are other hotels around you. I have only compared to beach front hotels. The one downside to this location is that it is a little off the main tract for shopping and such. The International Market and Royal Hawaiian Mall are a nice healthy 15 - 20 minute walk away. The Ala Moana Mall is not quiet as far, but we did not walk there. But the resort has a cab company on site so it is really easy to get any where you want (Cab fares are set by honolulu for all cabs.)
HHV has two tower which contain timeshare units Lagoon and Kalia. While I can not comment on the Kalia, I would try to get the Lagoon tower for its location to the beach and for the view. The Lagoon Tower is fronted by what else, a lagoon. This lagoon is separated from the ocean by a rock wall. To get to the beach you just have to walk to the far side of the lagoon and in front of the Rainbow Tower. The only towers closer to the beach are the Rainbow Tower and possibly the Ali'i tower. Both of which are hotel rooms only.
Room location- AWESOME again. Our room was on the 23rd floor. Only the penthouse was above us. We did not have a diamond head view, but faced southwest, overlooking the yatch club. This was perfect for watching sunsets over the western mountain range or watching the ship sail into the port.
Cleanliness - The room was clean to the standard I am use to at DVC. The room was in good repair. Furniture was in great shape. There was one stain on the carpet, but it was very light.
Size - The Layout was some what similar to the BWV units. The living room/kitchen area was larger than BWV. Almost as big as OKW. The bedrooms were very similar to BWV. The one down side to this condo was the master bathroom was no bigger than a standard bathroom. It also had no jacuzzi. The reason is that these units were apartments prior to becoming timeshares.
Pools - The main resort pool is called the super pool. while is is not large by disney standards, I have been told it is huge for Waikiki standards. It is beautifully landscaped adjacent to Waikiki Beach. You can rent all you beach time needs from scuba gear to boogie boards at the pool cabanas. Note both the Kalia and the Lagoon towers have thier own private non-descript small pool. So if the Super Pool is crowded you can go back to your tower for a more quiet swim.
Activities - The resort offered many activiites during the day. The kids club only runs between 8:30 to 3:00, but the activities were great. They included going to the Honolulu Zoo and Aquarium to making crafts. For the entire family there were free scuba lessons, hula lessons, ukelele lessons and lei making lessons. There were other demonstration like ukelele making. Water aerobic classes were also offered. Each night at the super pool closes early (6-ish) for a short show. On Friday night the show includes a royal procession, hula show and fireworks.
Resort in general. The resort was beautiful. The flora and fauna was well incorporated into the theming. The Lobby areas in both the Lagoon Tower and the Main resort area are open to the outside. There are no walls in the lobby so everywhere you look is the beautiful lush tropical landscaping. If you look you will find not only tropical birds through out the resort but even a penguin exhibit. From what I saw of the other beach front hotels, only the Royal Hawaiian Hotel (and maybe the Halekelani) could compare for outside theming. the others were rather bland. The rooms may be nice on the inside, but the outside were a little reminencent of holiday inns.
End Note
While the other islands are very appealling and I will probably do one of those next via a DVC or private exchange, I would not hesitate to spend my next Oahu stay at this resort.
Resort Location - AWESOME. The resort is located on the EWA side of Waikiki Beach. (as opposed to the diamond head side) This is one of only two resorts that rest on the wide part of the beach. The other being the Hale Koa - a resort for military personnel. The other hotels on Waikiki only have small strips of beach maybe 10 - 15 feet wide. The Hilton beach is three or four times as wide. (note all beaches are public so if you stay else where - come down to the Hilton to sunbathe.) The Hilton and Hale Koa are separated from the other beach hotels by a recreation park so it tends to be a little more quieter than the other beach front hotel. Note there are other hotels around you. I have only compared to beach front hotels. The one downside to this location is that it is a little off the main tract for shopping and such. The International Market and Royal Hawaiian Mall are a nice healthy 15 - 20 minute walk away. The Ala Moana Mall is not quiet as far, but we did not walk there. But the resort has a cab company on site so it is really easy to get any where you want (Cab fares are set by honolulu for all cabs.)
HHV has two tower which contain timeshare units Lagoon and Kalia. While I can not comment on the Kalia, I would try to get the Lagoon tower for its location to the beach and for the view. The Lagoon Tower is fronted by what else, a lagoon. This lagoon is separated from the ocean by a rock wall. To get to the beach you just have to walk to the far side of the lagoon and in front of the Rainbow Tower. The only towers closer to the beach are the Rainbow Tower and possibly the Ali'i tower. Both of which are hotel rooms only.
Room location- AWESOME again. Our room was on the 23rd floor. Only the penthouse was above us. We did not have a diamond head view, but faced southwest, overlooking the yatch club. This was perfect for watching sunsets over the western mountain range or watching the ship sail into the port.
Cleanliness - The room was clean to the standard I am use to at DVC. The room was in good repair. Furniture was in great shape. There was one stain on the carpet, but it was very light.
Size - The Layout was some what similar to the BWV units. The living room/kitchen area was larger than BWV. Almost as big as OKW. The bedrooms were very similar to BWV. The one down side to this condo was the master bathroom was no bigger than a standard bathroom. It also had no jacuzzi. The reason is that these units were apartments prior to becoming timeshares.
Pools - The main resort pool is called the super pool. while is is not large by disney standards, I have been told it is huge for Waikiki standards. It is beautifully landscaped adjacent to Waikiki Beach. You can rent all you beach time needs from scuba gear to boogie boards at the pool cabanas. Note both the Kalia and the Lagoon towers have thier own private non-descript small pool. So if the Super Pool is crowded you can go back to your tower for a more quiet swim.
Activities - The resort offered many activiites during the day. The kids club only runs between 8:30 to 3:00, but the activities were great. They included going to the Honolulu Zoo and Aquarium to making crafts. For the entire family there were free scuba lessons, hula lessons, ukelele lessons and lei making lessons. There were other demonstration like ukelele making. Water aerobic classes were also offered. Each night at the super pool closes early (6-ish) for a short show. On Friday night the show includes a royal procession, hula show and fireworks.
Resort in general. The resort was beautiful. The flora and fauna was well incorporated into the theming. The Lobby areas in both the Lagoon Tower and the Main resort area are open to the outside. There are no walls in the lobby so everywhere you look is the beautiful lush tropical landscaping. If you look you will find not only tropical birds through out the resort but even a penguin exhibit. From what I saw of the other beach front hotels, only the Royal Hawaiian Hotel (and maybe the Halekelani) could compare for outside theming. the others were rather bland. The rooms may be nice on the inside, but the outside were a little reminencent of holiday inns.
End Note
While the other islands are very appealling and I will probably do one of those next via a DVC or private exchange, I would not hesitate to spend my next Oahu stay at this resort.
