Hotel details

Was an ok resort

AJ Jan 24, 2010

The hotel itself was nothing special.Our room was average , no microwave but it had a mini fridge. view was amazing..BUT to ... go from our room to our car."which we had to pay 15.00 dollars a day to park ourselves" was either a 20 min walk a 10 min tram ride or a 15 min boat ride. roomservice took an average of an hour for a burger and fries.

Good Family Destination

Experienced Traveler Jan 19, 2010

Would recommend to a friend!

Overall we enjoyed our stay at the Hilton. The smaller things are what makes this a 3 star in my opinion. The pool was ... almost too cold to swim especially if your billing yourself as a family destination. I also felt that the food was mediocre at best as well as overpriced so we just ate elsewhere. We tried to take the kids to the water slides later afternoon and found them to be closed as well as the bars near the pool seemed to be closed kind of early, but since the pool was so cold I guess no one would be there to swim. With all this being said we did enjoy our time at the Hilton and thought the lagoon was great for the kids as well as the adults. The Valet staff was our main source of information for local places to see and the were incredible. The staff treated my family incredible and was never an issue. The Luau at the Hilton leaves a lot to be desired and drags a little with terrible food but again the staff treated us well. If I had to sum up my stay or give advice to the Hilton would be to get some restaurants that stand for the Hilton Quality and HEAT THE POOLS JUST A LITTLE these were the two complaints I heard from other guests the most also.

Wonderful vacation!

Susie Jan 19, 2010

Would recommend to a friend!

My husband and I went to Hawaii for our 40th wedding anniversary. Staying at the Hilton Waikoloa Village was a wonderful ... experience, and we would definitely stay there again, as well as recommend it to our family/friends.

Beautiful facility

Hawaii Annually Jan 11, 2010

Would recommend to a friend!

Gorgeous resort. Lots to do. Recommend going to seminar. Worth the 90 minutes for lots of savings on activities! Internet ... service should be included, but it is not!

Hilton Waikoloa Village

Babs Jan 11, 2010

Our reservations were perfect but what I'd heard about the hotel was deceptive. It didn't have a beach even though it was on ... the ocean. It was sometimes difficult to find a place to eat at the resort and we had much better luck going up to the shopping centers. Merriman's is great!! The room was clean but tattered/worn/shabby. It was a long distance from our room to the parking lot, even to the lobby for a valet. The custodial staff was courteous but the conceirge and food servers were rude. Overall the resort was fine for the price but we probably won't stay here again. We've been to the Big Island before and we will look for better accommodations for future visits.

Great Place to Stay!

I miss Hawaii already! Jan 10, 2010

Would recommend to a friend!

This hotel is amazing to see. It's huge and takes an entire day to explore. It is breathtaking. Don't order the $14 roast ... beef sandwich from the bar/grill. It's worse than any airport kiosk food and it costs even more! I enjoyed everything about the hotel except for the food and the price gouging. It is expensive to stay there for good reason, but then they charge you to use the gym, the internet, etc. I've never been charged to use a hotel gym. The good news is, the premises are large enough that you can safely go for a run and get a few beautiful miles in. Also, go away from the hotel to eat. It's much less expensive and the food is better.

Hilton

Jacquie Jan 9, 2010

Would recommend to a friend!

The hotel is beautiful, and once you figure out your way around it is great to explore the grounds! For what it costs, it ... would be nice to have access to a fitness center or any type of "freebies", which always makes me feel like the money was well spent. My kids loved the pools, although they were very cold - even the jacuzzis were cold! It is a beautiful location and really just a surreal place to be, definitely worth a few nights during your big island visit!

PERFECT VACATION

kevin Dec 19, 2009

Would recommend to a friend!

This was a great stay, we spent most of our time soaking up the big island sun, and the kona coffee. Within walking distance, ... or a very short drive you can find everything you need for your stay, shopping, beaches, dining.

Pros and Cons

Denise and Timothy Dec 3, 2009

Swimming with the dolphins and snorkeling in the lagoon was the highlight. Food and Drinks are expensive and not that ... great. Recommend to buy food and bring to your room. For being a Hilton there is no mini bar, no flat screen TV, the headboard was all chewed up and the bathroom needs an upgrade. Was built in 1986 and has not been refurbished. We would not return to this location.

Hilton Waikoloa Village

Jovauna Oct 26, 2009

Would recommend to a friend!

Amazing. It was beautiful! ...

We loved this place!

ILoveHawaii Oct 26, 2009

Would recommend to a friend!

I was technically there for a conference. I took my husband for some R&R as well, and we fell in love with it! Staff was ... great, local people were very kind as well. I loved the Big Island, we went on some excursions recommended by the hotel and had a great time. We loved the dolphin lagoon. Room was a great size with a great view. We can't wait to go back

Hilton Waikoloa - Big Island Wedding

Mrs. Grumps Oct 17, 2009

Would recommend to a friend!

Turned out to be a great stay! Family and friends joined us at the hotel and loved it as well. The staff was generally very ... friendly and professional.

Awesome

AlohaDi Oct 8, 2009

Would recommend to a friend!

We were greeted with a warm welcome and the service everywhere at the resort was wonderful. We snorkeled and kayaked and ate ... great food and one evening watched the clouds drift over the moon with the warm breeze and sounds of the ocean in a hammock under some palm trees. It was a perfect place to spend our 25th annivesary and we will be back!

Hawaii

Amber Oct 1, 2009

Would recommend to a friend!

Amazing Resort!! ...

Best deal for Waikoloa

Donna Sep 23, 2009

Would recommend to a friend!

Always a great hotel with so much to do. I love snorkeling with the green sea turtles in the protected lagoon. We always ... stay here when in Kona.

MY STAY

Andrew Sep 12, 2009

Would recommend to a friend!

I stayed in the Lagoon Tower right above the Dolphin pools. It was awsome to look out every morning and evening and watch the ... Dolphins do their thing. I had a great time at the Dolphin Quest adventure, which is on property. This was the best part of my trip. Over all the whole stay was wonderfull. The Lagoon on property had lots of pretty collored fish and the turtles. The turtles would move from the far end of the lagoon to the waterfall every morning at about 8:00 AM and I found this to be the best time to catch a swim with them. I got some really great pictures. The Kona Pool was wonderful with plenty of space to sit around and a waterfall with a slide. I will return.

The good and the bad

OnlineJoan Sep 10, 2009

The best part of the hotel was the art gallery which featured local artists. The gallery staff person was incredibly ... knowledgeable and graciously helpful. Our room was spacious and lovely, except for the lone cockroach that was in the bathtub upon arrival. Housekeeping service was hit and miss, sometimes forgetting to replace washclothes and often not changing out the ice bucket liner. We stayed in the Ocean Tower and there were VERY noisy birds that screeched all night which didn't bother me but might bother other guests trying to sleep. Most of the hotel staff are very friendly and helpful. We had the misfortune of a grumpy, untruthful server at the Ocean Towers cafe who told me there was no ice cream in the Coco Mo drink (but there was, which was not good for my lactose intolerant husband with whom I was sharing the drink) and when I asked what the unusual leaf was that was listed on the menu for the buger impatiently and erroneously told me that he didn't know but insisted it would not be in the burger. It was. The part of the island that this hotel is located on is referred to by locals from other areas of the island as the "armpit of the island". If you are interested in visiting the lush areas, seeing erupting volcanic action, Akaka Falls, interacting with locals, etc. then you are better off staying on the other side of the island around Hilo. Otherwise, the drive from the Hilton Waikaloa to the other side takes 2.5-4 hours one way. The southern route is much slower with winding roads. If you are interested in high end shopping and seeing a Vegas style version of Hawaii, then Hilton Waikaloa is perfect for you.

Great for 6 year old, not so for adults

DaddyDoItAll Sep 7, 2009

The lagoon, pool slides, and swimming with dolphins were great, especially for my 6 year old boy. $60 for waffles and an ... omlette for breakfast was over the top. The typical meal was about $100+ and I wouldn't be saying anything about the meal prices if the food had been better (it was better than Denny's but not by much). It was about $750 for the two of us to swim with dolphins and get the nice photos they took. In 4 days we spent $1,500 on food and activities (not including room charges). My son had a great time, and I enjoyed my stay only for that reason. They wouldn't even give us Hilton Honors points. We stayed in an upgraded room (supposedly with an ocean view and dolphin view but we had neither. I had stayed here years ago when it was a Hyatt, it was much nicer then. Fraying carpets, scratched furniture, badly needing paint in the room, all point to badly needed remodeling, which seems unlikely in the current economic situation. The staff was friendly, the weather was nice, and my son had a great time, so who can put a price on that. And, Cheap Tickets got us a much better price for our airfare, hotel, and car rental package than anyone else by far. (In fact, the whole package, except for the hotel food and activities, was less than the best airfare, which included a non-stop from SFO to KOA). I would definitely recommend Cheap Tickets. Also, if you want to go to a nice beach or snorkeling, you will need to drive, and plan to make at least most of a day of it.

Great ambiance, bad location, bad food

me Sep 7, 2009

This place is really unique. It is unique in it's good and bad aspects. Size: It is huge, which is good if you want to walk ... around, enjoy the art, the great ocean view, tropical fish in the pond... But it is bad if you do not want to walk 10-15 minutes to the parking, to the restaurant, to the pool etc. Hint: If you ever planning to leave this resort, stay away from Ocean tower. It is located 4 monorail stops from the entrance and even furtherer from the main pool. Pools: They have good pools, which are big, have nice waterfalls and the water slides. I enjoyed it all, but it was very low occupancy period. If the hotel is crowded, good luck getting to the jacuzzi or water slide... Rooms: Rooms are fine for the average hotel, but it's light years away from "ultimate luxury". Gadgets there are totally outdated, the TV was 20'' tube and the fridge froze all our food. Bugs: It might be the problem with any place in tropical climate, but we had bugs in our room. If you have anything sweet left out, you will have tons of tiny bugs come to eat it. I had a headache one night and was about to take a pill of Advil, but last moment just left the pill on th night stand and fell asleep. Next day I found that the sweet cover from the pill was eaten by little bugs, which were totally covering the pill. Food: Almost every time we ordered food there, it was a disaster. The continental breakfast we ordered to the room end up costing over $24 and consisted of coffee and a bucket of gas station quality pastries. Catch of the day ordered in the Laguna grill looked like and tasted like 3 days left overs. Drinks at the cost of $12.50 plus tip were watery. Chinese restaurant food was Ok, but twice more expensive than similar quality place anywhere else. Location: If you like to go out and enjoy Hawaii, not the resort, allocate at least 45 min to an hour to get anywhere. Since there is no good places to eat in the resort. The resort is basically part of the resorts area located in the desert.

Hawaii Vacation

MMP Aug 24, 2009

Would recommend to a friend!

Great facility with a lot of options ...