Hilton Waikoloa Village

The hotel it self is huge by normal standards. I didn't quite understand why, but after being on the island it made sense. Most of the island is lava. Lava is literately everywhere. Very few beaches around, so that leaves the resort. It's beautiful. Lush lawns, palm trees, flowers, and quaint bridges over man made water ways. Then, there is the Asian art! As you walk the paths around the hotel/resort there is artwork everywhere. It's an open air museum. Enormous Asian statues dot the green paces as well. There is a lagoon that connects to the ocean, here is where the only beach lies. It's located in the middle of the resort. I imagine it gets crowded during the summer months. The lagoon is home to all kinds of fish, turtles and eels; ready for your viewing with snorkel gear. If swimming with the fish isn't your thing, then your in luck, because there are many pools to choose from. There are a few very nice restaurants on site. If you want something different to eat, take a short drive to Queens Market Place. It's approximately 1-2 miles away. Besides restaurants, there are many quaint shops for clothes, home accessories, art, souvenirs and a small market/wine bar. I think there is a hotel shuttle to take you there. We had rented a car, so we drove. We nick named the place "Hotel Walk-a-Lotta". There is a monorail that travels around the resort. It didn't quite make it to our building, thou the tracks did. The rail was damaged in the big rain storm that brought down a tree onto the monorail tracks. I guess they are waiting for parts to fix the problem. I can't fault the hotel for an act of nature. And the fact this is on an island with no easy way to get parts. It is what it is. The room was very nice and clean, it had been recently remolded. The room came with bathrobes, which is rare. The toilet/bidet is a new Toto brand. The lid lifts when you walk in, it came with all the water features, even a heated seat. The kitchen sink has an instant hot water spout, a pleasant surprise. It made making my morning cup of tea a breeze. The hotel toiletries are a very nice brand, Crabtree and Evelyn. I didn't bother wasting the extra luggage space by bringing my own from home. There isn't much to see outside of the resort, just lots of beautiful condo complexes. You need a rent car to get to the other features of the island, I.E. Volcano National Park. The only miss step we had was with the parking lot. The Hilton does NOT own the parking lot adjacent to the hotel. It was $48.00 a day to park. There is no legal street parking around the area. Half of the time our card key didn't work and with no attendant in the parking lot, we had to get a punch ticket to get let in. They must have some agreement with the property owner of the lot, because the front desk handled all of it at check out. All in all it was a relaxing week of unwinding, sleeping in, a little swimming, reading a book under a palm tree and seeing a volcano erupting, just a tiny bit.

My stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village was honestly very disappointing. The biggest issue is the resort layout. It’s extremely large, to the point where getting around becomes frustrating instead of enjoyable. Walking from the main lobby to my room in the Ocean Tower easily took close to 30 minutes. There is a train system, but only one was working during my stay, and it was incredibly slow—walking was often faster, which defeats the purpose entirely. The resort itself also felt outdated in a strange way. There are a lot of random statues and decorations scattered throughout that came off more creepy than luxurious. The atmosphere overall didn’t match what you’d expect from a relaxing Hawaiian getaway. I stayed in the Ocean Tower, and to be fair, the room itself was updated and nice—that was honestly the only highlight of my stay. The crowd and vibe weren’t great for a young couple either. It felt heavily geared toward families, older guests, and lots of kids. If you’re looking for a more modern or romantic experience, this is not the place. Another major frustration was the lack of amenities at night. Everything shuts down early—around 9 or 10 PM—including the pools. One night at the pool, we were asked to leave by security, and during that moment I accidentally left my watch near the hot tub. When I returned the next day, it was gone. I checked lost and found—nothing had been turned in. I went back to the area myself, asked around, and no one had seen anything. There are also no cameras in that area, which is surprising for a resort of this size. I filed a report with the hotel, and while staff helped document it, it didn’t feel like any real investigation would happen. I even provided photos, receipts, and proof of ownership, but there was no resolution. It’s extremely frustrating knowing that if you lose something here, there’s a high chance you’ll never see it again. Overall, between the inconvenient layout, outdated feel, early closures, and the situation with my lost watch, this was a very poor experience. I would not return and wouldn’t recommend this resort—especially for younger travelers or couples looking for a smooth, relaxing stay.

While the Hilton Waikoloa Village offers many amenities, the presence of the captive dolphin enclosure significantly detracted from our stay. We found ourselves actively avoiding the area because seeing the dolphins in a confined space was deeply upsetting to our children. Rather than being an educational or entertaining feature, the exhibit caused our kids distress to the point where they did not want to walk past it.

My family and I spent 4 nights on our Hawaiian adventure at the Hilton Waikoloa Beach Resort. Our ocean view room in the Palace Tower was very nice. The beds and pillows were excellent as was the shower and tub. We had a very nice view from our balcony. The property was absolutely gorgeous. While the shuttle boat was out of service and the tram was a bit unreliable, we didn’t miss either. It was a pleasure to walk through the museum walk between buildings. Walking around the property on the paths was one of our favorite things to do. Buddha Point at sunrise is a really great place to be. The breakfast at Waters Edge was excellent and Nui Italian was also quite good. We very much enjoyed swimming and sunning at the lagoon. There is laundry in the basement of the Ocean Tower which is nice. The Luau was a great time, too. We really enjoyed our stay. The place is great.

Customer service was not friendly and took a long time for luggage to arrive. Breakfast was so hyped up but no service there. Coffee was cold and they just offer black coffee.