HILTON "HELL"WAIIAN VILLAGE

Posted by dawnstef from Sherman Oaks, CA on 9/8/07

Just returned from a stay at the Hilton. Do not under any circumstances stay here until the hotel finishes its renovations! You will not be happy with all of the current construction and noise. It is a great resort to stay at under normal circumstances, however Hilton is undergoing enormous refurbishments at the property that are greatly interfering with one's ability to have a nice vacation. Stay updated with the hotel's website and wait until it is back to its previous level of quality. Without the construction - it is a great family resort with tons of activities and an amazing and vast sand beach. Make certain that your stay includes a Friday night so that you can watch the fireworks on the beach for free! Rooms are small but with super comfy beds. Rainbow Tower has awesome views of Waikiki and Diamond Head if you are on the correct side of it and high enough up on the tower. Heed my warning - stay away for now!

Don't Stay Here, Hang Out Here

Posted by allthedoll from San Diego on 3/3/07

I didn't actually stay at this hotel, but I did hang out here during the day some. It has an excellent location, right on Waikiki Beach and near the markets and other sights. Stay somewhere near, off the beach for much much cheaper, walk the block-or-two down to the hotel and take advantage of the location that way.

Why would you stay here?

Posted by AaronZZ from Faraway on 2/9/07

The Ali'i tower is just okay but I really don't get this place at all. A cluster of high rise towers, a little shopping mall, ordinary pool areas, generally poor service. The beach is big but featureless. If it was like $100 a night I would say fair enough but it is utterly charmless and expensive too.

nice, but we're not coming back...

Posted by Gasha from Vancouver, B.C. on 1/10/07

Don't expect a relaxing and quiet vacation here-nor anywhere else in Waikiki.Lagoon behind Rainbow is gone-it's a construction site for a new tower now.The room we were originally assigned to(Rainbow)was at that unfortunate side.They made us pay extra to get the other ocean view, towards Diamond Head, even though I specifically requested Diamond head view when booking and thought I was already getting it for a rate quoted. The place is as crowded and noisy as the rest of Waikiki. Be prepared to pay $10 for a one-way cab ride to the central Waikiki, or $20 for parking your rental car in Hotel's parkade, per night.We had to leave hotel grounds to find a nice place for dinner downtown every night, as we did not like the food in any of the hotel's restaurants.We saw cockroaches in beachside restaurant's pastry window!No authentic Hawaiian food on the grounds either,mostly overpriced bland pizza.Rainbow's interior decor could use an update, it's frozen in 80s. Air conditioning grille right above the beds,and you have to keep the balcony door closed and run it,because of the noise level outside. Killer view to Diamond head.Comfy beds.Lots of storage in the room.Toilet bowl could use a good scrub.Some rooms(maybe all?)have a connecting door between -you can hear every word of the people in the next room!Not fun at 4:00 am, when some of them come back from clubs downtown, like our temporary neighbours.Lappert's coffee/ice cream shop is an excellent choice for breakfast,and some good t-shirt souvenir stores are on the grounds.ABC store also comes in handy, for extra sunscreen or Advil.Beach is disappointing (we came here from Maui), shallow (good if you have small children) and uneventful-I don't know why they rent snorkelling gear at the booth.We used hotel as a base to see the rest of O'ahu: It was ok but we won't be returning:Hawaii islands have so many breathtaking beaches and hotels better than these.I guess it just depends on what you expect your vacation to be...

RAINBOW KEIKI (KIDS) CLUB

Posted by Laura from San Francisco, CA on 8/24/06

We just returned from a 6 night stay at the HHV. Hilton needs to work on their Keiki (childrens') Club marketing program. Our sole reason for picking this hotel, in Waikiki, was so that our 6 year old could have "kid" time at the Keiki Club and we could have "couples" time for ourselves. What Hilton doesn't tell you is that there is no guarantee your child will be included in the daily activities. We arrived at check-in time on Friday. We immediately went to sign our kid up for a few days during the week. Much to our dismay, the slots were full until our last day there, Wednesday. You can only sign up your kid once you check in. For a hotel that has, what?, 2000 rooms, it is a total bait scheme. Get the tourists in, but don't provide them with what they thought they were paying for. Who would assume that you could not get your kid in to the advertised kid activities? A computer sign-up for the kids club as you book your hotel is in order. That way, Hilton could staff their Kid Club and all kids could participate. Having 15 or 20 slots open per day in a hotel this big - and one that markets to families - is ludicrous. Unfortunately, neither we nor our child had an optimum trip. The service we received was less than average as well. We had valets who were too bothered to answer our questions, maids who made up our room in the most mediocre of ways, and information clerks who would barely speak, much less provide any information we couldn't figure out on our own. We were prepared to book a trip to the Hilton at Squaw Pointe in Arizona, but will not do so now. That hotel markets to families as well, and we have no confidence that any Hilton program will be available to our child. When we return to Hawaii (for the 15th time), we will go back to Maui or Kaui and get a condo.

FABULOUS!

Posted by Faith from Dallas, Texas on 6/21/06

This was our third stay at the Hilton and it did not disappoint! We were moved out of another hotel after two days of hell, and were able to get a club floor room in the Kalia Tower on a moment's notice. The club lounge provided snacks all day long in a quiet, upscale environment. Service was excellent, as usual, and there was enough activity on the grounds to give us lots to do at all times. We have previously stayed in the Ali'i Tower and the Rainbow Tower, and we have always had a wonderful time. You simply cannot lose at this Hilton. I even sat through a 90 minute presentation from their vacation club and was given a $150 in gift certificates that we used for a spa treatment and dinner at Benihana!

Nice but very, very expensive!

Posted by Kim from Los Angeles, CA on 5/7/06

We were lucky enough to stay in a one bedroom suite in the Ali'hi (sp?) tower, which is the private concierge tower. The suite was large enough for the three of us, and had a nice view, but we had to pay for all the space and amenities (the rate with the sales tax was costly at $1,083.00 per night) which we divided up between the three of us. But for a once in a lifetime vacation, it was worth it.

What's Not To Like

Posted by Lewis from Michigan on 1/27/06

The Hilton Hawaiian Village has it all. Great location, best view on waikiki beach, close to shopping and restaurants, best beach, good rooms, nice pools, friendly staff, water activities, entertainment including fireworks on Friday night. This is our fifth visit and we have checked out other nice hotels and always come back to the HHV because we feel nothing can top it in Waikiki. It is big and attracts a lot guests and at times it can get crowded but that is about the only down side. We have always stayed in the Rainbow tower, so our comment are based mainly on those rooms.