We are just back from Hawaii, a little trip report

[Disney-Kim]

We had a fantastic vacation. We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Waikiki for a week. We stayed in the Alii tower, which is all concierge, for the 3rd time. We even got a membership to a club for frequent stayers, not that is helped much. We also upgraded at check in to a corner room with 2 balconies looking out over the ocean. It was also about a 600 sf room. It was HEAVAN !!!!!!!!!!!! Oh we loved it. You could hear the waves crashing on the beach from the bed.

We visited Waimea Beach twice and my DH said the snorkeling there is fantastic, went to Kailua beach, and visited the surfing town of Haliewea (sp?) on the North Shore. Went to the Dole Plantation for a Dole Whip !!!! Yes Dole Whip !! yummy !!

We ate at some great restaurants too: Dukes at the Outrigger (had lobster to die for), Sam Choy's Crab house, Tiki's at the Aston (our new favorite), Benihana's Teppanyaki, and an old Tiki bar/restaurant from the 60's called La Mariana. (LuvTigger should know this one )

There were a lot of people everywhere and tourism seems to be doing really well in Hawaii. We had some rain each day but the temps were in the 80's. We spent lots of money as usual but had a WONDERFUL vacation that was very needed.

Took a redeye flight home Fri night and we got home yesterday morning. We are still recovering from that.

It was just wonderful and if anyone is going soon I would definately recommend the Hilton Alii Tower and staying in Honolulu. There is just so much to do there and the other beaches we visited were barely any people. We loved it !!

 

[Disney-Kim]

oh ps.....we were on the beach in my signature picture and it was gorgeous !!!
also since we are Hilton Honors members we got a late checkout till 5pm for our redeye flight which was awesome !!

 

[Kirby]

My husband and I were just talking yesterday about how we might want to celebrate our 25th anniversary in three years. Could you tell me how this kind of trip might rate, on the money side, compared with a trip to WDW? It sounds like you had such a wonderful time!

 

[buzzlady]

I love Hawaii. I was there in 1986 and would love to go back.

 

[mamajoan]

Mahalo Kim for the trip report!

Love Hawaii! Kailua Beach is our favorite beach to swim because it is calm and peaceful.

Hilton is a great hotel.. prime Waikiki beach position!!

Glad to hear you had a Fabulous time!

 

[luvflorida]

Is the snorkeling beach entry or do you have to go out on a boat to find a good snorkeling site?

 

[nativetxn]

How beautiful. What a great trip you had! One of these days I hope to see Hawaii.

Welcome home

 

[fklhou]

We have not been back 6 years but loved our tirp. The HHV is a great hotel. My family loves the big Island and the volcanos.

 

[Disney-Kim]

I would recommend the Hilton for anyone visiting Waikiki. The rates are about $179-and up. This is an enormous hotel with 5 towers. The Alii tower is all concierge and starts at about $219 for garden and about $320 for ocean view. I think the prices are great for the location/Hawaii. The other beach front hotels run in the $300-500 range. There are like 50 shops and about 10 restaurants just in the hotel. There is a huge beach that is pratically just for the Hilton and the foliage/gardens are absolutely beatiful. There are flamingos, penguins, swans. I could go on and on.
I will say it is a busy hotel and if you don't like that don't go there. But we really loved it. It was perfect for a romantic vacation and would be perfect for a family too.

The snorkeling at Waimea was around the rocks right off shore. My DH just swam around there. He said he saw schools of tropical fish and we saw a sea turtle too.

 

[Michelle]

I will be there in three weeks, Kim, and I CAN'T WAIT!

Thanks for your mini-report, it's making me count the days even more.

 

[Disney-Kim]

Oh I forgot to say that there are beach front hotels on Waikiki for cheaper but I listed the prices for the upscale ones.
This trip would be way more expensive than our WDW trips I think but we flew on miles so the hotel/food were our main expenses.
We manage to get to WDW for pretty decent prices.

 

[stego]

from out trip to Oahu, as well. Our family stayed on the oppisite side of waikiki, right across from Kuhio beach in the Hyatt. The view from the 33rd floor facing the ocean and Diamond head was to die for. We'd go downstairs, cross the street, and right there was the Duke statue. At night, they'd light the gas torches, and the people would leave the beach and water and walk around everywhere. Lots of people handing stuff out-and vendors. I guess that part of waikiki is VERY touristy.
We were on Oahu for 9 days, 8 nights. I still can't believe we were there. We did get to the north shore, and stayed at the Laie Inn, right next to the Polynesian culture center (which we went to). I guess about 99.9 % of the people drove back to Honolulu that night. We just walked thru the parking lot to the hotel. It was interesting to see a "polynesian" McDonald's that was also there. The 2 mornings we were there, we'd cross the street and go to the beach-and there was no one on it. I mean no one! We had it all to ourselves. I borrowed my son's mask and snorkel and saw some fish around the corral. We'd also had gone out to Hanuma bay one morning. I did go to Haliewa, and the actual north shore, and went to a surf shop. I think my wife and I actually talked about moving out there for about an hour or so. It is nice to visit, and we have many, happy memories of this year's vacation to Hawaii. I am glad you shared your vacation with us.

 

[FOJMO]

Your thread could not have come at a better time! After just finishing our Disney Magic Western cruise about 3 weeks ago, we were talking about doing Hawaii next year. My DH and I haven't been there since 1986 (the year before DD came to us from Korea). And DD (now 17) wants to go so badly.

We stayed last time at the HHV and would stay there again in a heartbeat. I don't think they had all those "towers" available back then, and I've looked into the Ali'i Tower because of the concierge service. Very reasonable prices.

I was actually looking for a good air/land vacation package for the HHV, flying from Tampa, FL. No website lets me quote that far ahead yet (we'd like to go next May - 2004).

We were actually hoping that the DVC had an exchange resort on Oahu, but they only have on the other islands. We want to be "where the action is".

Thanks for your trip report and we're planning on leaving at least one day after we get back before we have to return to work because of the jet lag/time difference. Aloha!

 

[Rajah]

Just make me more jealous why don't you.

DH is out there right now staying at the Sheraton Waikiki for a conference, and I'm dying to be out there with him. Sounds like y'all had a great time, though!!

 

[wdwnutze]

Thanks for posting about your trip. Sounds absolutely beautiful. I've always wanted to go to Hawaii and we had talked about going this year for our 20th anniversary but my whole fear of flying has taken over. Maybe we'll make it for our 25th.

 

[LuvTigger]

Kim, I'm glad you had a great trip! The Hilton is one of my favorites...sometimes we "play tourist" and explore the grounds there! Sadly, when you live here, a lot of times you don't get to experience as much as a visitor does!

And anyone out there who is planning to come to Hawaii or just has questions...please feel free to PM me. I might not be able to help much in terms of finding good prices for hotels, but I might be able to tell you if a particular hotel is decent, in a convenient area, etc., and of course I can tell you where the locals go! I eat out a lot too, so I might be able to tell you where to find certain kinds of food and price ranges. I live on Oahu, but I might be able to answer some questions about the neighbor islands. I've been to the Big Island many times, and visited Maui a few times, Kauai only once. Looks like I'm going to Molokai for the first time in about a month (for work).