The Best Hilton on the Big Island: Hilton Waikoloa Review -

I had the opportunity to spend 5 nights at the Hilton Waikoloa Village

The Hilton Waikoloa Village is one of the more famous/popular destination on the Big Island of Hawai’i. This place has a lot to do, and I was curious as to how this resort stacks up against other some of the other popular hotels across the Hawaiian Islands

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Hotel Information

Cash Price: $450 – $750 USD per night

Points Price: 280,000 Hilton Honours Points

When the sprawling, 1,240-room Hilton Waikoloa Village opened in September 1988 (it was called Hyatt Regency Waikoloa at that time), it was the largest and — built at a cost of $360 million — the most expensive hotel ever built in the islands. And it was, as it is today, absolutely grand.

The sprawling property is 62 acres, packed with trams, boats, a lagoon, and a dolphin experience. It’s the biggest resort on the big Island,

There are 3 types of rooms at the Hilton Waikoloa Village:

Resort Views
Part Ocean Views
Ocean Views

There are standard rooms. all the way up to presidential suites. Essentially, something for everybody.

Here are 10 Thoughts on the Hilton Waikoloa Village

1. Great Location

The Hilton Waikoloa village is located about 30 minutes from Kona International Airport. As referenced earlier, the property is massive, but it gives you a sense of seclusion. There are over 1,000 rooms, but given that the property is so large we never felt like it was overcrowded.

We had just come from Waikiki. This is a completely different vibe.

Your better to fly into Kona rather than Hilo airport

2. Food is Expensive

There are 4 restaurants on the property and most of them are open for breakfast and dinner. Many of the restaurants are closed after lunch and before dinner (12-4 PM), so you may need to do some meal planning if you want to stay on property. There was one afternoon where I tried to source a coffee in the but was unsuccessful.

Our breakfast (2 people) came to ~$70 after taxes, and dinners were in the triple digits. Suffice to say, you’ll be spending some money if you come here.

While my wife and I really enjoyed the seclusion, there are certainly limitations to that. Unless you rent a car, you’re limited to the food & drinks on the resort. There’s a row of shops a ~5 minute drive away, and you’ll find some restaurants there, along with some shops (a standard bottle of coke is going for $4.49, and a 6 pack of beer was roughly $12.99)

You can drive up to Kona if you’d like a more traditional grocery store, but the standard rooms only come with a small mini-fridge, so there’s a good chance that drive won’t be worth your while.

3. Lines For Food

This is a spacious resort, and as a result, you don’t feel like others are on top of you during your stay.

This feeling however does not translate to the restaurants on property. Waits for breakfasts & dinner are usually 30 minutes, unless you’re going at non-peak times.

The restaurants on site typically had a 30 minute wait (unless you show up at 7am).

There is a late night lounge called the Kona tap room which was closer to a 45 minute wait at 8 pm.

Early morning coffee lines were ~15-20 minutes, The line starts to form even before the coffee shop opens.

It’s not the end of the world, but it can be frustrating to always be waiting in line to eat.

The food is great, but this resort could use 1-2 extra restaurants on property.

4. Tons of Amenities

The massive property offers guests a ton of amenities including:

Digital Key
Concierge
Spa
Tennis
Beach/Lagoon
Golf
EV charging
On-site restaurants
Outdoor pools (with a waterslide)
Fitness centre
Business centre
Photo Services
A Resort Tram & Boat
Art Tour
Dolphin Experience

You can also rent kayaks/water bicycles for the lagoon. The lagoon leads to a little cove where you can do some snorkelling.

You won’t need to leave the resort if you don’t want to.

Hilton Waikoloa Village laundry facilities

The hotel sits right next to a 27 hole golf course

5. Hilton Diamond Member Room Upgrades

My wife is a Hilton Diamond member as a result being a cardholder of the Hilton Aspire card. I was very curious as to how the complimentary room upgrade available to Diamond members would work at such a busy hotel.

Unfortunately, we were informed at check-in that there were no upgrades available at that time. We are offered the ability to pay $100 per night for a one bedroom suite overlooking the Dolphin Experience, but we elected to stick with the room provided to us.

Nevertheless, the room we had was more than adequate

Prior to our arrival, we did chat with the hotel via the Hilton Honours app. We noted that we were travelling to Waikoloa Village for our anniversary, and that “As a diamond member, we hope you can leverage our status to make our trip extra special.”

Most of the other reviews I’ve read on the Waikoloa Village had also expressed difficulty getting an upgrade as a diamond member

6. No free Breakfast for Hilton Diamond Members

One of the benefits of holding the Hilton Honours Aspire Card, is that cardholders are given a complimentary breakfast at Hilton properties.

Unfortunately, this is not the case at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Instead of the complimentary breakfast, Diamond members are given an $18 food credit which can be used daily at the hotel. There are ~6 restaurants where this credit can be applied. Simply charge the meal to your room, and the credit will automatically be deducted from the bill.

In case you’re wondering, most breakfasts cost above $18 per person (there are takeout options like Starbucks where you’ll be able to keep it <$18). For example my wife and I ate breakfast at the Nui bar and grill and the bill for 2 meals was $70.

Hawai’i can be an expensive place.

7. Beware of the Extra Fees

As with most resorts in Hawaii, there are extra fees that come with the property, in the form of parking fees and resort fees.

As per the Hilton Waikoloa website:

Our standard Daily Resort Charge of $45 per room, per night (plus tax; subject to change) includes the following benefits:

Internet access in your room
Hawaiian Cultural Classes – Including Ukulele and Lei Making*
DVD player with access to unlimited movies (DVD Now card can only be used in your specified tower. Limit 2 checked out at any given time.)
Local, toll-free, and credit card calls (No access fee)
20% discount on beach toys at the saltwater lagoon
Fitness or Yoga Class at the Kohala Spa*
$10 off Hawaii Nautical sailings on the Spirit of Aloha catamaran from Anaeho’omalu Bay

There are also fees for parking:

Self Parking: $39.00
Valet Parking: $55.00

8. Service is Hit & Miss

My wife and I both felt that the service was hit and miss throughout the resort. Many places in Hawaii are dealing with staff shortages, and there’s a chance that could be the case here.

We had a brief issue with our the battery for our room door, and we were able to have an engineer at our room within 10 minutes, which was extremely helpful.

However, we also had an instance where we waited over 30 minutes for service at the Kona tap room.

The service at most restaurants was fantastic, but I do think the Waikoloa Village could benefit from a few more employees.

9. You’ll Need to Rent a Car

As mentioned earlier, the Hilton Waikoloa Village is about 30 minutes outside of the Kona airport. There are very few options for you other than renting a vehicle (you can get transportation to the hotel, but that’s about it).

My wife and I rented our car from Hertz, and they had quite the efficient setup at the Kona Airport. We had our car 30 minutes after we landed.

While we rented a Jeep (something your encouraged to do in Hawaii), you can rent any car you’d like assuming you’re sticking to the main highways.

10. The Hilton Waikoloa Village is a Kids Friendly Environment

This was my first visit to the big Island, so I don’t have a full understanding of the other options at Waikoloa, but the Hilton Waikoloa Village appears to be a great kids friendly environment, primarily driven by the pools (with a slide), salt water lagoon and (pricey) Dolphin Experience.

The Luau which takes place on the property is another great activity for kids.

For those who are intending to avoid the property because it’s family friendly, my experience was that the overall size of the property allows you to find privacy if you need it.

It’s a resort that accommodates all ages.

Overall Thoughts

This is a great property and if you stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, you will have an amazing time.

5 Reasons to Stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village

Beautiful Property
Great for Kids
Close to the highway and the city of Kona
Plenty of open space at the pools
Best Luau on the island

5 Reasons to Avoid the Hilton Waikoloa Village

Doesn’t have the peace and tranquility associated with Hawaii
Far from Hilo & the other side of the isllad
Not the best perks for diamond members
No beach on property
Expensive food options

How to Get to the Hilton Waikoloa Village on Points

Option #1 Fly with Air Canada

Cards You’ll Need

Option #2 Fly with WestJet