No, the other towers are newer construction and offer better soundproofing.
The Lagoon Tower is the oldest timeshare tower (a converted apartment building built in the
1960s). It was renovated in 2000 but lacks the soundproofing that the other timeshare towers offer.
Each tower has their PROs and CONs. For those who are interested,
post #2 in this thread has links to several threads with detailed information. Below is a brief summary.
There are four timeshare towers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. All four towers are nice. The choice really depends on what’s more important to you in terms of view and amenities and the number of points you want to use. For example some folks simply don’t care about the view.
Hilton.com provides detailed room descriptions , photos and 3D floor plans for each unit type.
Lagoon Tower was built back in 1965. Converted from Lagoon Tower apartments and opened in 2001.
Pros: Spacious living room with the largest lani, Lagoon tower is also closest to the ocean
Cons: Washer & dryer located on each floor; older hotel style bathrooms with combined tub/shower; elevators shared by everyone (guests, housekeeping, bell services, etc) which means longer elevator wait times during peak times of the day.
The Hilton Hawaiian Village can be very noise due to the various events/live entertainment. The level of noise will range based on the location of the event/live entertainment. Some events are louder than others. The Lagoon Tower is the oldest tower compared to the other three HHV towers that were newly built and offer better soundproofing. If you decide to choose the Lagoon Tower but don't like late evening noise, I suggest that you request a room on the marina side.
Kalia Tower is a combination hotel/timeshare tower. Kalia timeshare units are converted hotel rooms. The conversion was completed in December 2003. There are a total 72 timeshare units in the Kalia Tower. The rooms are located on 6 floors (floor # 12 through 18; there is no 13th floor)
Pros: Fancier; hardwood floors; separate service elevators and faster hotel elevators, better soundproofing.
Cons: Washer & dryer centrally located on each floor; hotel style bathrooms with combined tub/shower; smaller unit with smaller hotel size balconies
Grand Waikikian was built after Lagoon and Kalia towers and opened in December 2008.
Pros: It was built as a timeshare (not a conversion) and therefore has some amenities the earlier two towers didn’t offer like in-room washer/dryer, separate tub/shower, etc. It's the fancier compared to Lagoon and Kalia but under the higher HGVC point structure.
Cons: Need to book higher point rooms for a great ocean view.
The Grand Islander is the newest timeshare tower built (just opened May 2017)
Pros: It was built as a timeshare (not a conversion) and therefore has some amenities the earlier two towers didn’t offer like in-room washer/dryer, separate tub/shower, etc. It also has a large pool area just for Grand Islander guests. It's the luxury compared to Lagoon and Kalia but under the higher HGVC point structure.
Cons: No dining room table (kitchen countertop with stools only). It’s the furthest away from the ocean. You’ll want to book a higher point room to guarantee a great ocean view due to the location.
Question: Which of the Oahu resorts and room types are most popular and why ?
For some folks, it’s all about the number of points required
- Lagoon and Kalia Towers are popular due to the lower point requirement
- Lagoon and Kalia Towers are the only towers that offer studio units
For some folks, it’s all about the view and the balcony
- no ocean view (aka standard view, Mountain View, resort view)
- partial ocean view
- ocean-view (some are better than others)
- oceanfront (only available in the Lagoon Tower - two bedroom premier)
- penthouse (two and three bedroom penthouse units in Lagoon, Waikikian and Islander)
For some folks, it’s all about the amenities such as in room washer/dryer, separate tub and shower, etc
- Grand Islander is the newest (opened in 2017) and will offer the latest and greatest
- Grand Waikikian (open ten years ago in 2008) offers more than the older two towers
- Kalia Tower is a hotel room conversion
- Lagoon Tower is an older apartment building conversion
Full disclosure, I own at Lagoon and Kalia Towers at HHV
Since we enjoy sitting out on the balcony as the sun rises, Lagoon Tower is our favorite. We also enjoy the Kalia tower rooms that face the resort/ocean (avoiding the city traffic noise).
My personal ranking
#1 - Lagoon tower for the largest balconies, ocean views, and large rooms.
#2 - Kalia tower for the ocean views, faster elevators and easy exit from the Village
#3 - Grand Islander Tower since it’s the newest.
#4 - Grand Waikikian Tower when the others aren’t available
Since we’re traveling from the East Coast, we’re pretty tired around 9pm HST (which is 2am or 3am back home depending on the time difference). So extremely loud noises lasting until 10pm or 11pm HST is hard on us. When we’re on vacation, we’re looking to unwind and relax before heading back to work. I’m hoping the over the top noise within HHV is something that will be controlled/addresses in the future otherwise the Lagoon Tower would go to the bottom of my ranking.
