Just returned from Hilton Grand Vacation Club (timeshare) staying at the Kalia Tower. We were in a One Bedroom plus unit. We pulled up into the HGVC Kalia Tower on Friday around 8:00 PM and was quickly given our room keys. As we were checkin in, the Friday night fireworks show was going on. We were assigned a room on the 12th floor facing the ocean. We had a distant view of the ocean, along with a view of the covered parking structure below and a view of the Grand Waikikian Tower (under construction/80% complete) to the right and the Rainbow Tower and Lagoon Tower to the front. In between the towers were the nice views of the ocean and lagoon.

The room consisted of a living / kitchen area along with a separate bedroom. Both had balconies facing the ocean. The room was clean and well stocked. The washer/dryer was located in an utility room adjacent to the ice machine, near the elevators. The electric washer/dryer were slow and it took forever to wash and dry. They do provide a small box of detergent under the kitchen sink. They have dish washing tablets for the dishwasher, however no dish washing liquid. There was a mid week cleaning, where they replace the towels and tiddy up the place. There was also daily newspaper (M-F).

At the Kalia Tower, there is a pool on the 4th floor. The pool this time seems colder than when we were here last year. I don’t think the pool was heated this time. Service was still good. We hung out by the renovated lagoon one day and the beach in front the other. Both were decent. We stopped by the ABC store and picked up the straw mats to lay out. Towels are provided.

At the beach in front of the Hale Koa (military hotel) there is a snack bar, where you can get cheap snacks (burgers, hotdogs, sandwiches and drinks). Its 50 yards east of the Hilton Hawaiian Village (HHV). The snack bar is behind the open gate past the bar. About 50 yards further east, there is an ocean front snack bar also operated by Hale Koa that provides the same, but without the grill. The guy behind the counter gives large servings of shave ice. It’s nice to just sit out on the benches, having a drink or eating shave ice.

We didn’t eat at the resort. We tried some of the restaurant mentioned in the LA Times article (20 Cheap Eats) and most of them were pretty good. If you are Asian, make sure you stop by the Ala Moana Shopping Center and visit the upstairs Shirokiya Department Store food court. Lots of Yummy food there. Good place to pick up Asian picnic food items.

We used the valet service at the hotel and the service was pretty good, however it costed $$$. Around $28 daily plus tips for valet and $23 for self parking. The valet usually took between 5 - 10 minutes.

We snorkeled at Hanauma Bay, visited the Polynesian Cultural Center and visited the Arizona Memorial. Overall a pretty good trip, except paying double for airfare because Aloha Airline went BK ☹.

The Hilton Hawaiian Village has become our annual wedding anniversary trip the past 4-5 years. Our last three stay have been at the Lagoon Tower, and as usual, it was a great escape, check in a breeze, staff alway friendly, Norman the valet always greeted us by name and with a smile each time we arrived and departed. Ted and Kacey at the Tropics and Hua Tree bar, I consider aloha embasadors of the Hilton Hawaiian Village, they are always upbeat, friendly and they always ensured our needs were met. Though the construction for the Grand Waikikian and the adjacent pool is on going, it was not an issue. Our room was listed as a garden view, but it over looked the great lawn, lagoon and the ocean beyond. Matter of fact it was only one lanai over from our room last year that was listed as ocean view. The room contained everything we requred, it was well kept and clean. Since we were there for ten nights we received two room cleanings instead of one, which is what you get when you stay for a week. The grounds were beautiful as usual, the recently renovated lagoon turned out great, last year it was just a big construction pit, and the years prior to that it was a mucky body of water no one would dare swim in. Now the lagoon is great place to lay out, and a nice place for the little ones, warm, calm, clean water. Even though the Hilton beach is not crowded compared to the rest of the Waikiki beaches, the lagoon is also a nice place if you want to be a little more isolated from the number of folks on the beach. Yes, the food, drink and parking are expensive at the village, we utilized the ABC stores and Sam's Club to stock our room for our stay. To me parking is the extremly over priced, but we know this ahead of time and include it in our budget. There are plenty of options out side of the village for food, drink and parking. A car rental is a must, even if for just one day. A drive around the island, over to the north shore, have lunch at one of the numerous shrimp trucks, stop at Hanauma Bay, Waimea, Haleiwa and numerous other places. It is a nice relaxing change to get away from city for a day. We're already making our plans for next year, can't wait to go back!

Our family of five (three children 12 and under) stayed in a 2BR at the Lagoon Tower at the Hilton Hawaiian Village (the Grand Vacations Club tower) because we wanted the central location and the on-site amenities of the Hilton Hawaiian Village and we weren't able to guarantee adjoining rooms in the other (hotel) towers.

The timeshare/condo we stayed in was beautiful, new, well-appointed and spacious. My favorite part was waking up (early...we were still on EST) and seeing the surfers at dawn on Waikiki Beach from the balcony of our room(s).

One word of caution is that many of the "extras" at the HHV are pretty expensive. In addition to the $25 (or more?) daily parking fee...it costs $40 for a beach chair (per day, but no partial day rates available) ($200 total per day for beach chairs for five!); $20 per 1/2 hour for a kayak on the lagoon; $90 pp (plus tip) for a 2 hour surfing lesson; $20 pp for a lei-making lesson. We realized when we went off-property that the prices were lower elsewhere on Waikiki Beach (even at other hotels) and much lower elsewhere on Oahu.

To be fair, we also enjoyed the free extras. The kids really enjoyed the penguins and the penguin and turtle feedings.

We were disappointed to find that the Bishop Museum no longer has a small site on the property of the HHV.

Rooms are always clean and comfortable. Good views of Diamond Head and the beach.
Great location, close to every thing you need, also easy to get in and out of down town.