# Reflections on Kalia and Lagoon Towers



## PassionForTravel (Dec 1, 2014)

Just returned from 10 days at HHV our first time and it was wonderful. Three days in a 1bd Plus in the Kalia and 1 week in I believe a 1bd Plus at Lagoon. I thought I would post a comparison of our two rooms in case members who haven't stayed there are wondering what the differences are.

We started off in 1 Bd Plus for 3 nights at Kalia Tower. Our room was 1433 which facing the ocean is the last room to the right, so right next to the road. We had a great straight on ocean view. These rooms are very well soundproofed when the windows were closed. The road noise (actually city noise) was loud enough so that anytime we were inside the room we had the windows closed. For some reason if we were sitting out on the Lanai the noise didn't seem as bad. The room had two small Lanai's one off of the living room and one off of the bedroom. There were two chairs and a end table on each Lanai so it wasn't really possible to eat a full meal out there.

Either we didn't find it or they didn't stock the room with coffee (we discovered that after we moved to the Lagoon Tower and discovered coffee) but everything else was well stocked. We ended up having Starbucks every morning since we didn't want to buy a lot of groceries because we would be moving in a couple of days and it was so convenient being in the lobby of the Kalia tower.

After 3 days we moved to the Lagoon Tower we had to check out of the Kalia room by 10am and the room in the Lagoon wasn't available till about 3pm. They stored our bags in a secure area and a small bag in the refrigerator so we were free to explore. They called when the room was ready. Our stay at the Lagoon was an RCI exchange in room 1264. We had asked to be away from the pool and we ended up on the Diamond Head Side. We loved the location. Great sideways on ocean view much closer to the water than at Kalia.

The differences between the rooms, the Lagoon had one large Lanai vs two small ones. The Lagoon room was squarer. The Kalia room had wood floors (which we liked better) and the Lagoon had carpets. The sound insulation with the windows closed was much better in the Kalia unit. We made the mistake of leaving the Lagoon room windows open one night and it seemed like I was being continually woken up by trucks and buses backing up. We even got some of this with the windows closed. Which makes me wonder how much we would have liked being over the pool on a lower floor, luckily the pool closes early. There have been complaints about how noisy the area around the Lagoon Tower has become. It seemed like every evening there was a party going on, on the great lawn outside our window. So we got to experience some more music and Japanese commentators without having to pay extra. It never really bothered us because we weren't at the room much in the early evening (see below).

Onto the resort and area. 
-There is a food pantry express on Hobron Ln about 2 blocks from the resort. -Friday and Saturday night Olomana is in the Tapa bar from 8 to 11, Jerry Santos is a legend in Hawaiian music, caught their show three times.
-Caught the fireworks two times, one from the entrance of Tropic's and once from the beach between the Rainbow and the Lagoon tower, very good presentation.
-The cookies in Lapparts are very good.
-A short walk up the beach is the outrigger reef and their bar/restaurant shorebird. Happy hour (2-5pm) Mai Tai's are $4 and we had way to many over the 10 days.
-The early evening music at the Moana's beach bar is very good. The setting is exceptional and the Furikake french fries are just to good.
- Friday and Sunday nights Illikai (next door) from 6pm-8pm there is a free show and hula in their courtyard. The music is good and the hula is different since they have men and women dancing it with period costumes.
-Tuesday night happy hour at the Wailana coffee shop across the street from the Kalia tower is a singer who does 50-60's and Hawaiian music for mostly locals. Tables need to be reserved but you can sit at the bar without a reservation. Food is very inexpensive since all the pupus are 1/2 price and Mai Tai's are $4 (are you seeing a theme here).

Ian


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## alwysonvac (Dec 1, 2014)

Thanks for sharing. Great Review 

For those who have an upcoming trip...

During our last visit, we discovered that Cheeseburger in Paradise offers a great breakfast at reasonable prices. There are two locations in Waikiki. We tried the location up the street from the Kalia Tower across from the park (couple blocks away from Wailana coffee shop on the corner of Ala Moana Blvd and Kalakaua Avenue) - 
http://www.cheeseburgerland.com/cheeseburgerland/Waikiki_Nui.html

I had the build your own omelete. It was very good and huge. Link to their breakfast menu - http://www.cheeseburgerland.com/cheeseburgerland/Waikiki_Nui_files/WAIKIKI NEW BRKFST 2013_1.pdf

Google Map - https://www.google.com/maps/place/C...2!3m1!1s0x0000000000000000:0x9473877578b65de6


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## mrsmusic (Jan 29, 2015)

*1 bd plus Kalia*

What's the room configuration for the 1 bedroom plus at Kalia? Are both beds in one room? Or is there a pullout bed in the living room?

Thanks!


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## jestme (Jan 29, 2015)

mrsmusic said:


> What's the room configuration for the 1 bedroom plus at Kalia? Are both beds in one room? Or is there a pullout bed in the living room?
> 
> Thanks!



There is a pullout in the living room. The 1BR mountain view is the same.


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## jestme (Jan 29, 2015)

PassionForTravel said:


> Just returned from 10 days at HHV our first time and it was wonderful. Three days in a 1bd Plus in the Kalia and 1 week in I believe a 1bd Plus at Lagoon. I thought I would post a comparison of our two rooms in case members who haven't stayed there are wondering what the differences are.



I wish I had known, I was there as well. We could have met and had a mai-tai, (yes, I understand that pattern) or two. I suspect you didn't find the coffee in the Kalia, it has always been there for us.
Both towers have advantages and disadvantages. The elevator in the Lagoon is brutal at times, but it is closer to the ocean. The Kalia is better sealed, therefore quieter and it is closer to non-Hilton restaurants. The pool at the Lagoon, although noisy is MUCH warmer than the Kalia pool. My running joke is that the Kalia pool is used to store the ice for the bars overnight. Fortunately, the Tapa tower is currently taking most of the noise from the construction of the new tower, so that wasn't an issue for us. 
We also discovered the Yard House has a fantastic happy hour, 2-5:30 I think. Wife had a 15" pizza, I had the chicken fingers and fries, 2 draft beers, around $20. Cheapest meal / drink combination I could find.


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## mrsmusic (Jan 30, 2015)

jestme said:


> There is a pullout in the living room. The 1BR mountain view is the same.



Thanks for the info!  We were considering bunking one night with the daughter in her unit because we have a one-night difference from when we come back from another resort to our exchange.  I didn't want to spend 3 nights in a studio points for just one night.  But somewhere I thought I saw a picture that shows two beds in one room.


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## PassionForTravel (Jan 30, 2015)

Some of the rooms are two double beds in the bedroom in at least one of the towers but when booking the room it says a king or 2 doubles in the bedroom. In either situation there is also a sleeper sofa in the living room.

Ian


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## jestme (Jan 30, 2015)

PassionForTravel said:


> Some of the rooms are two double beds in the bedroom in at least one of the towers but when booking the room it says a king or 2 doubles in the bedroom. In either situation there is also a sleeper sofa in the living room.
> 
> Ian



I believe that is the layout option of the second bedroom in a two bedroom. All the 1BR or 1BR+ have a king in the bedroom.


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## alwysonvac (Jan 30, 2015)

Ian is correct. 
The one bedrooms in the Kalia Tower is either a king or two doubles. It's stated under the room description when you book. 

You can find the Kalia Tower room descriptions here on the Hilton.com website  - http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/ha...an-village-HNLHWGV/accommodations/suites.html

_NOTE: In the Revolution Reservation System, you can see the different room types listed when you select Kalia Tower._


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