Has anyone here stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa? We will go there in August? Any tips for making our stay wonderful? Thank you.

We just spent 4 days at the Hilton Waikoloa and really enjoyed it. My kids are 11 and 12.

While we were nervous about the size of the hotel, it never really seemed overly crowded. Of course, it's a great place to go with kids - I wouldn't want to go there as a couple.

I don't know if you're going with kids or what, but I'll just throw out some comments....

The food is rather expensive - some worth it - some not. The lunch spot near the lagoon is expensive and not that great. We had a rather simple lunch, plus 1 beer and 1 mixed drink and the bill was almost $80! THe Italian restaurant was good and the Japanese restaurant was great. Use the concierges in each building to make reservations.

There are gift/sundry shops in every building that sell drinks and snacks. I bought stuff there and took to the pool/lagoon area - much cheaper than ordering drinks and snacks.

Transportation around the resort is interesting. The boat ride was cute the first time- too time consuming after that. The tram was okay if going a long distance - but sometimes it was just faster and more interesting to walk. The walkways between buildings are filled with wonderful artwork - take a stroll and enjoy.

There is a laundry facility in a couple of the buildings. From what I could see - it tended to be very crowded in the morning and eased off in the afternoon. $1 per wash load and $1 per dryer load, plus $1 for each load of laundry powder.

We rented a car one day to drive to the volcano park. We wanted to be on the road by 7:30 am, but the rental car office didn't open till 7:30, so by the time we stood in line, took car of paperwork, and got the car - it was 8:30.

There is a shuttle that takes you from the hotel to the nearby shopping area. It's $1 per person each way - but well worth it. The shopping complex is further away than it seems - especially in the heat.

A taxi from the Kona airport to the hotel is about $40.

Hope this helps.

Some people love it and some us hate it. The locals call it the "Disneyland" hotel. I prefer to stay at Disney properties when visiting Disney, not Hawaii. Anyway, that's my opinion...

I agree with Pumpy that it is a little "Disney-ish". But it serves a purpose. It is very large, but has lots and lots of things for kids to do. We avoided some of the theme-park feel by walking around instead of taking the trams or boats. Again - this is NOT where I would go if it was just me and my husband.

We chose it specifically for the kids. We arrived there after 5 days in Beijing, China. Since we knew Beijing would be a fun but "educational" type trip, we wanted something completely kid-oriented. The various water slides and pools, the lagoon options (snorkling, kayaks, water bicycles, etc), and the mini-golf made it worthwhile. Our kids quickly made friends with some other kids which made playing a lot more fun.

After our stay at the Hilton, we went to Oahu and stayed at the Mandarin Oriental - our "adult" part of the stay.

I will say, however, that in the end - when asked to state their preference - both kids preferred the Mandarin. Maybe that's because we travel so much with the kids or maybe because they are just getting older - who knows. I don't regret staying at the Hilton, but I probably won't do it again.

great resort for kids...protected snorkleing area...sign up before you go if you want a chance a the "dolphin quest" experience. our family really missed the beach experience...no beach on property, but a nice one a property next door. we won't stay there again, but we probably won't go back to big isle either..it's Maui for my family!! Enjoy...you're in Hawaii!!!!

Thank you for your replies. This is a kiddie vacation for us, too--we picked the Hilton Waikoloa for our two daughters. Has anyone tried the luau onsite? I'm trying to decide if we should drive off the property for a luau. I know the best one around is the Kona Village luau, which is too expensive for us.

Hope this reply isn't too late for you.

Regarding the luau - the concierge told us you can buy tickets to the luau without doing the buffet dinner. That's the part that gets us because none of us eat enough to make the buffet price worthwhile.

We didn't do the luau at all because when we were there the luau was part of the Dolphin Days fundraiser and the "no buffet" option was not available. However, we did sit on our balcony (overlooking the luau area) and enjoyed listening to the music. Unfortunately, trees obscured the stage area!

Years back but loved it!! the kids favourite and we were luck enough to stay at some nice properties that time in Hawaii..perfect for the age group..try to get the bounce back rate so the cold breakfast buffet in the last building is included...the lunches poolside were reasonable considering..some quick fast food in the shopping complex out front...if you are getting 1 room...go for the king size bed for the 2 of you, the pull out and a roll away...much better than 2 doubles and quite roomy...have fun!