New Hilton Hawaiian Village Ala Moana tower gets approval to proceed

[alwysonvac]

From https://beatofhawaii.com/hiltons-massive-36-story-waikiki-tower-gets-green-light-and-opposition/

What’s inside Hilton’s massive 36-story Waikiki tower.​

Hilton’s new tower will climb more than 350 feet above Ala Moana Boulevard. There will be 459 standard rooms and 56 suites, along with a lobby, pool, and retail space designed to seamlessly integrate guests into the already sprawling Hilton Hawaiian Village complex.​

Once it opens, the resort will top 4,000 rooms. That will make it not only the largest Hilton property anywhere, but also the largest hotel in Hawaii and one of the largest in the entire Pacific.​

​

Construction timeline and oversight.​

Hilton’s schedule calls for demolition of existing structures in late 2025, foundation work beginning in 2026, and the tower opening in 2029. Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting will monitor compliance with Waikiki Special District regulations, including environmental, wind, and noise studies. Past projects in Honolulu have faced delays, and whether Hilton can stay on track remains to be seen.​

Still, the company insists the project will now move forward without significant disruption and will deliver on schedule.​

Links to previous TUG threads

2025

New Tower proposed for HHV

It sounds like the new hotel tower is back in the works. Park, the REIT that owns the HHV, has submitted the first round of plans for a new hotel tower; this is not a timeshare, but it obviously will add people and cars to the resort. From the news reports, some of the condo owners nearby are...

tugbbs.com

2021

New Hotel at Hilton Hawaiian Village to be Built

There is a public meeting scheduled for Monday evening at 5:30 HST concerning an application from Hilton to build a new 36 story hotel at Hilton Hawaiian Village. The new building would be on the location where Kobe’s Steakhouse used to be, right on Ala Moana Blvd., tucked between the two...

tugbbs.com

2020

Hilton Hawaiian Village - Ala Moana Parcel update (from Park Hotels and Resorts)

Park Hotels & Resorts first revealed its intention to acquire parcels along Ala Moana Boulevard to investors in December 2016 Park Hotels and Resorts spun off from Hilton Worldwide in 2016 and owns hotels in numerous major markets including the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Hilton Waikoloa Village...

tugbbs.com

2017

Hilton Hawaiian Village getting another tower?

Has anyone heard about potential plans to add another TS tower in the village? I read somewhere that HGVC is considering adding another tower between GW and Kalia. I've consider going to Honolulu but if another tower goes up, I may just pass on staying in the village.

tugbbs.com

From Park Hotels and Resorts' November 2024 Investor Presentation (link)

 

[davidvel]

One of the most crowded, worst places in Hawaii packing more sardines in.

 

[h2oflyboy]

OH NO! Goofy Cafe & Dine

Goofy Café & Dine

Enjoy uniquely Hawaiian entrees, appetizers, and beverages for breakfast and lunch, made with fresh local ingredients. Join us today in Honolulu, HI. Full bar.

www.goofy-honolulu.com

gotta laugh - I wrote the same thing in Jan 2025

New Tower proposed for HHV

It sounds like the new hotel tower is back in the works. Park, the REIT that owns the HHV, has submitted the first round of plans for a new hotel tower; this is not a timeshare, but it obviously will add people and cars to the resort. From the news reports, some of the condo owners nearby are...

tugbbs.com

 

[letsgobobby]

One of the most crowded, worst places in Hawaii packing more sardines in.

yes stay away!

 

[letsgobobby]

they really are going to need to add parking. even with thr marina and Hale Koa at some point there just won't be enough. Cue @Tamaradarann to tell us no car is necessary on Oahu but some of us do in fact want and need one.

 

[Tamaradarann]

they really are going to need to add parking. even with thr marina and Hale Koa at some point there just won't be enough. Cue @Tamaradarann to tell us no car is necessary on Oahu but some of us do in fact want and need one.

Parking is a challenge in Waikiki already so adding another tower with hundreds of more families will certainly make it more of a challenge. I can appreciate different peoples thoughts so I do understand that some want and/or need a car. Therefore, the new tower will add additional parking concerns. Hopefully those that currently vacation in Waikiki and absolutely don't need a car can learn, as we did in 2001 when we first vacationed without a car in Miami South Beach, that a car is not necessary in certain vacation destinations. Not only is it less costly, it saves the stress of traffic and parking, and it makes drinking and driving a non issue. We don't drink and drive but we do drink.

 

[TolmiePeak]

they really are going to need to add parking. even with thr marina and Hale Koa at some point there just won't be enough. Cue @Tamaradarann to tell us no car is necessary on Oahu but some of us do in fact want and need one.

They need to get the subway extended down there as fast as possible.

 

[geist1223]

I doubt if there will be much of an extention to the light rail. It is Billions over budget, decades behind the schedule, and I do not believe it was ever designed to go to Waikiki

 

[letsgobobby]

supposed to go to Ala Moana though and a very good (frequent) bus connecting Waikiki to Ala Moana would serve the same purpose. but it wouldn't help us: we need a car to see family and they're not closely located to a bus stop. car is also a superior solution when 4+ people going to a far flung destination with lunch, towels, coolers, surf and boogie boards and beach chairs and shade structures and so on.

 

[TolmiePeak]

supposed to go to Ala Moana though and a very good (frequent) bus connecting Waikiki to Ala Moana would serve the same purpose. but it wouldn't help us: we need a car to see family and they're not closely located to a bus stop. car is also a superior solution when 4+ people going to a far flung destination with lunch, towels, coolers, surf and boogie boards and beach chairs and shade structures and so on.

Well no one would need a rental car or taxi to get to the hotel district. They could bring Waymo to the island to take you other places.

 

[letsgobobby]

yes we actually may try the bus from the airport for our upcoming trip as we won't need a car for the first two days. but car rental prices at waikiki are high enough that even net of marina parking and rental fees for two days it's almost a wash with just renting at the airport in the first place.

 

[Tamaradarann]

supposed to go to Ala Moana though and a very good (frequent) bus connecting Waikiki to Ala Moana would serve the same purpose. but it wouldn't help us: we need a car to see family and they're not closely located to a bus stop. car is also a superior solution when 4+ people going to a far flung destination with lunch, towels, coolers, surf and boogie boards and beach chairs and shade structures and so on.

Totally understand the need for a car to do some things that are outside of the urban Honolulu area. When we first came here we would always rent a car for a day to take a road trip around the island. Pali Lookout, Dole Canery, Haleiwa, North Shore Beaches for watching the huge waves, Turtle Bay, Shrimp Trucks, Windward Coast.

 

[h2oflyboy]

If I want to get out and drive for 1 day - TURO!

 

[Tamaradarann]

I doubt if there will be much of an extention to the light rail. It is Billions over budget, decades behind the schedule, and I do not believe it was ever designed to go to Waikiki

You are correct. Back in 2009 when I heard about the rail plan I said why are they starting out in the middle of no where? The rail needs to be to go to where people go everyday; where the jobs are which is DownTown Honolulu, the Ala Moana Mall, and Waikiki. The plan at that time to go to Downtown Honolulu and Ala Moana Mall but starting way out west in Kapolei. So they started out in Kapolei and 16 years later it is just getting to the airport next month. So people can get to the airport but only from the west; the vast majority of people who go to the airport live and stay East of the airport!! They wonder why the ridership is so low well it will always be low if it doesn't go from where people live and stay to where people need to go frequently.

So now the plan is to eventually get to Downtown Honolulu in a few more years and start to be useful in reducing the slow commute from the West into the Downtown. The plan to go to Ala Moana is on hold for now. There will be major stuggles getting to Downtown since it is dense with buildings, utilities, burial sites, historic artifacts. The traffic will be bad while they are doing the work between Airport and Downtown over the next 5 years since they are closing lanes of traffic.

We usually have too much luggage to take the bus to the airport but did ride the bus to and from the airport the other day from Waikiki without luggage It was a nice ride of about an hour for free for us since we have an annual pass. When the rail eventally does get to Downtown Honolulu or the Ala Moana Mall and you have to take a bus and then change to the rail to get to the airport I don't know how much of time saving that will be and with luggage it will still be a stuggle to get on and off both transportation systems. We will see how that will work out sometime in the 2030s.

 

[JohnnyO]

We took the bus from HHV to Pearl Harbor for the tour. Easy peasy actually and cheap. We did rent a car for a few days to hit north shore ... ouch on those parking fees.

 

[SmithOp]

Subway will never get to Waikiki, the amount of subterranean utilities make it impossible. We have a friend that is a lawyer in the permit department, she assured us it will never happen.

 

[TolmiePeak]

Subway will never get to Waikiki, the amount of subterranean utilities make it impossible. We have a friend that is a lawyer in the permit department, she assured us it will never happen.

The utilities are not that deep. They will just bore under them. How do you think they are building the 2nd Ave. subway in NYC? There isn't more utilities in Honolulu than NYC.