Waikoloa for First Timer

[MattnTricia]

We want to make our first trip to Waikoloa next year just my wife and I .

We are very aware of the Parking fee, Parking location, shuttle challenges if we stay at Ocean tower.
It will just be my wife and I our trip will likely consist of a week on site with us likely to avoid hotel restaurants whenever possible.
We typically do breakfast in the room and snacks / light lunch at the resort before we go out to dinner.
Our week would probably be spent with a day or 2 of sightseeing and the balance just resting and enjoying the pools / resor.
Having an Ocean View is important to my wife so we are leaning Ocean Tower despite the transportation challenges.

Questions that I am confused about. We are Elite Legacy Owners but down own at any of the Waikoloa resorts.

1)How far in distance (not time) is the parking lot from the resort. We are used to Lagoon Tower and a 5+ minute walk to the marina or 10 to alternative parking is something
we are used to. Any idea what the distance is to get to the Ocean Tower Parking?

2)What facilities can we use if staying at the Ocean Tower at the sister properties at Waikoloa and more importantly what can't we use?

3)We like to eat out but probably would be looking at off site restaurants more than on site. How far is the commute and where should we be looking.

4)Any suggestions for specific areas for off site restaurants or must do restaurants to go to while staying at the Waikoloa.

We are walking our reservation at Ocean Tower now but Kingsland and Kohala are also available. Any suggestions to help us with our firs trip to HGVC Waikoloa would be great

Thanks

 

[letsgobobby]

View of ocean then OT is your choice.

There are non hotel restaurants in Waikoloa but you need to take the shuttle or drive. It's a 1-2 mile walk depending on where you are going.

I suppose you could spend the whole week there without a car. We like having the option to drive north to Hapuna Beach and Waimea, going over to Hilo side and Volcanoes NP, and down to Kona. There are a lot more local food options in Kona, less expensive and more approachable.

 

[Harry]

Parking and walking distance is a problem at OT and is affecting sales. Walking from lobby to OT is 7 to 16 minutes depending on speed,
I am a walker and hiker and have never beaten 7 minutes even wth some jogging. Most take about 18 minutes. Add 5 to 7 more minutes to parking lot.
Parking rates $45 a day which is terrible and a constant complaint from owners and others.
Restaurants at numerous resorts on Kahala Coast. Also many good restaurants Kailua about 30 minutes from Waikoloa. King and Queen Shops in Waikoloa also have decent eateries a short distance from The Hilton. We have walked to both but most would prefer to drive. You can use a van $5 a trip.

 

[Luanne]

Also some restaurants up the hill in Waikoloa Village. One of our favorites was Pueo Osteria. You would definitely need a car to get there.

 

[Monkeyboy]

We want to make our first trip to Waikoloa next year just my wife and I .

We are very aware of the Parking fee, Parking location, shuttle challenges if we stay at Ocean tower.
It will just be my wife and I our trip will likely consist of a week on site with us likely to avoid hotel restaurants whenever possible.
We typically do breakfast in the room and snacks / light lunch at the resort before we go out to dinner.
Our week would probably be spent with a day or 2 of sightseeing and the balance just resting and enjoying the pools / resor.
Having an Ocean View is important to my wife so we are leaning Ocean Tower despite the transportation challenges.

Questions that I am confused about. We are Elite Legacy Owners but down own at any of the Waikoloa resorts.

1)How far in distance (not time) is the parking lot from the resort. We are used to Lagoon Tower and a 5+ minute walk to the marina or 10 to alternative parking is something
we are used to. Any idea what the distance is to get to the Ocean Tower Parking?

2)What facilities can we use if staying at the Ocean Tower at the sister properties at Waikoloa and more importantly what can't we use this year. ?

3)We like to eat out but probably would be looking at off site restaurants more than on site. How far is the commute and where should we be looking.

4)Any suggestions for specific areas for off site restaurants or must do restaurants to go to while staying at the Waikoloa.

We are walking our reservation at Ocean Tower now but Kingsland and Kohala are also available. Any suggestions to help us with our firs trip to HGVC Waikoloa would be great

Thanks

20 minutes or so from OT to the parking lot. The parking lot is huge also, hopefully you get a close spot. We have stayed @ OT 3 times and are doing our first trip to OT without a car this year. Will probably choose one of the other properties in the future. It’s nice having your car in front of where you are staying.

 

[Luanne]

I think at both Kingsland and Kohala Suites you get free parking, and free access to the pools at the Hilton Waikoloa. We have stayed at the Hilton (when it was still just a hotel property). the Kohala Suites and the Bay Club. The Hilton Waikoloa is huge and it takes quite awhile to get from place to place.

 

[SmithOp]

There is a shuttle that goes between all of the HGVC properties and Kings / Queens shops. It circles every 30 minutes. You should be able to use all of the hotel pools and the lagoon beach, not sure about using the super pool at King's Land. A call to the front desk would be best to answer questions about reciprocal amenities.

Lava Lava club at A-Bay is nice for a sunset dinner.

Sansei Sushi at Queens has an early bird 2 for 1 special certain days, people line up for the 5 pm opening. The food court has several places for quick take out, we like the shrimp place and the salad bowl island greens.

There is a Roy's $$$ at Kings but we haven't tried it.

Take a look at Google maps to get an idea of the distance to parking, it's at least 1/2 mile.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

Parking and walking distance is a problem at OT and is affecting sales. Walking from lobby to OT is 7 to 16 minutes depending on speed,
I am a walker and hiker and have never beaten 7 minutes even wth some jogging. Most take about 18 minutes. Add 5 to 7 more minutes to parking lot.
Parking rates $45 a day which is terrible and a constant complaint from owners and others.
Restaurants at numerous resorts on Kahala Coast. Also many good restaurants Kailua about 30 minutes from Waikoloa. King and Queen Shops in Waikoloa also have decent eateries a short distance from The Hilton. We have walked to both but most would prefer to drive. You can use a van $5 a trip.

That matches my experience with the walk from Ocean Tower to the parking lot. We can use the Tram or boats to cut down steps, but those are slow so it may take longer than walking.

It really sucks when do the walk and get to your room or car and discover you left something critical in the other location.....

With such a big resort, I really wish the HWV had more places to eat...

 

[MattnTricia]

I think at both Kingsland and Kohala Suites you get free parking, and free access to the pools at the Hilton Waikoloa. We have stayed at the Hilton (when it was still just a hotel property). the Kohala Suites and the Bay Club. The Hilton Waikoloa is huge and it takes quite awhile to get from place to place

So no access to Hilton Waikoloa Pools for Ocean Tower Guests?

 

[Luanne]

So no access to Hilton Waikoloa Pools for Ocean Tower Guests?

Of course anyone staying on the Hilton Waikoloa property has access to the pools. I was just mentioning the off site Hilton properties that also has free access.

 

[Luanne]

That matches my experience with the walk from Ocean Tower to the parking lot. We can use the Tram or boats to cut down steps, but those are slow so it may take longer than walking.

It really sucks when do the walk and get to your room or car and discover you left something critical in the other location.....

With such a big resort, I really wish the HWV had more places to eat...

It would be nice if they had more reasonably priced and good restaurants. They used to have a restaurant down kind of near the pool area where we would have lunch, but that was removed and it's kind of a self serve place now.

 

[brp]

Sansei Sushi at Queens has an early bird 2 for 1 special certain days, people line up for the 5 pm opening.

To clarify and amplify: Sansei Sushi has a 50% off on most items for early bird dining on Sunday and Monday. People do line up, and 4:30 is typically sufficient. Very good deal and we do it every trip.

Cheers.

 

[brp]

It would be nice if they had more reasonably priced and good restaurants. They used to have a restaurant down kind of near the pool area where we would have lunch, but that was removed and it's kind of a self self place now.

We never consider eating there. The once or twice that we have, the quality didn't come close to matching the price. It was good, but way overpriced. One can do better elsewhere, as noted.

We tend to get fresh fish and meat and do our own cooking maybe 60-75% of the time, so don't go out often.

Cheers.

 

[Shmiddy]

Tropics Ale House is great spot across the street from the hotel, Roy's is pricy, but worth it for a special dinner. I would avoid OT, 1 mile walk to the pricy parking lot and a real ghost town at the hotel. Nice place to visit, but wouldn't want to stay there. Stay at Kings, you get a larger unit with free parking (you NEED a car on the Big Island) and you can go to the hotel pool anytime you want, but the Kings pool area is much better, IMO.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

It would be nice if they had more reasonably priced and good restaurants. They used to have a restaurant down kind of near the pool area where we would have lunch, but that was removed and it's kind of a self serve place now.

Some lower cost options would be nice, though I realize there is rarely a deal to be found when eating at a hotel or resort.

We have stayed at the HWV a few times twice as hotel stays, and then once in OT shortly after it was converted to HGVC. I did like the room, but it seems like the hotel just keeps removing amenities or services over the years, and that affects the desirability of the OT.

As you mentioned they changed the place by the pool to just grab and go.. they have also removed a few of the other places to eat and drink. It feels like the a lot of wasted space around the resort, or at least missed opportunities.

 

[Luanne]

Some lower cost options would be nice, though I realize there is rarely a deal to be found when eating at a hotel or resort.

We have stayed at the HWV a few times twice as hotel stays, and then once in OT shortly after it was converted to HGVC. I did like the room, but it seems like the hotel just keeps removing amenities or services over the years, and that affects the desirability of the OT.

As you mentioned they changed the place by the pool to just grab and go.. they have also removed a few of the other places to eat and drink. It feels like the a lot of wasted space around the resort, or at least missed opportunities.

Is the restaurant by the dolphin pool still there? One year we were having lunch there are a huge wind came up. Blew one of the umbrellas into the pool and several of the others out of their holders.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

Is the restaurant by the dolphin pool still there? One year we were having lunch there are a huge wind came up. Blew one of the umbrellas into the pool and several of the others out of their holders.

Not certain. It was there, but closed the last two times were there. The most recent trip in January, we stayed at Kingsland, but brought our grandson over look at the dolphins, it was closed. I could not tell if that was just due to season/ occupancy or more of a long term closure. The only places for lunch was the grab and go at the pool or the pizza/Italian place. For diner its KPC or pizza / Italian place. KPC has great sunset views if you can sit outside, but much less desirable view if seated inside...

 

[Luanne]

Not certain. It was there, but closed the last two times were there. The most recent trip in January, we stayed at Kingsland, but brought our grandson over look at the dolphins, it was closed. I could not tell if that was just due to season/ occupancy or more of a long term closure. The only places for lunch was the grab and go at the pool or the pizza/Italian place. For diner its KPC or pizza / Italian place. KPC has great sunset views if you can sit outside, but much less desirable view if seated inside...

We ate at KPC once. Not impressed. I think we had an inside table.

 

[brp]

We ate at KPC once. Not impressed. I think we had an inside table.

We've eaten there once as well. The food was certainly good, but not worth the price. And it's only gotten more expensive. Too many other options to be stuck with something like this. And some nice Happy Hours.

Cheers.

 

[SmithOp]

The bar and grille at the golf clubhouse near King's Land had nice lunch options but now it's a luau show after 5pm and the reviews of the food are bad, so we avoid that place now.

The old clubhouse across from the hotel parking lot is the Tropics Ale House.

The best sunset beach meal was pricey ($100 per person with cocktails) at Browns Beach Hut at the Fairmont Orchid. You will need a car because it's at the Mauna Lani resort further north of Waikoloa.

The island market at Queens has take out dinners, the prime rib was good.

 

[Mowogo]

The bar and grille at the golf clubhouse near King's Land had nice lunch options but now it's a luau show after 5pm and the reviews of the food are bad, so we avoid that place now.

The old clubhouse across from the hotel parking lot is the Tropics Ale House.

The best sunset beach meal was pricey ($100 per person with cocktails) at Browns Beach Hut at the Fairmont Orchid. You will need a car because it's at the Mauna Lani resort further north of Waikoloa.

The island market at Queens has take out dinners, the prime rib was good.

Island Market and pretty much any ABC Store with hot food (One opened earlier this year across from Hilton Hawaiian Village Kalia Tower) is good for a great value meal while out and about in Hawaii.

 

[Luanne]

The bar and grille at the golf clubhouse near King's Land had nice lunch options but now it's a luau show after 5pm and the reviews of the food are bad, so we avoid that place now.

The old clubhouse across from the hotel parking lot is the Tropics Ale House.

The best sunset beach meal was pricey ($100 per person with cocktails) at Browns Beach Hut at the Fairmont Orchid. You will need a car because it's at the Mauna Lani resort further north of Waikoloa.

The island market at Queens has take out dinners, the prime rib was good.

Our favorite sunset meal has been at the Four Seasons Hualailai. The name of the restaurant has changed since we went, it is now the "Ulu Ocean Grill. And yes, it is pricey.

The last time we went to Brown's, which we like, there were so many flies around that it almost spoiled the meal. This was quite a few years back.

 

[ljmiii]

We have three favorite dining experiences when we stay in Waikoloa…only one of which is actually *in* Waikoloa.

Lava Lava Beach Club with your toes in the sand can’t be beat for a Hawaiian romantic dinner. The drinks are excellent and the food quite good.

The Bamboo Cafe in Hawi is magical in its own way as is the town itself. Lots of quaint, quasi-artistic shops and ‘local’ Hawaiian feel.

Lastly, Marriman’s in Waimea spawned a gastronomic empire…and for good reason. Reliably our best meal on the Big Island with great service…albeit with no ambience to speak of.

 

[Luanne]

We have three favorite dining experiences when we stay in Waikoloa…only one of which is actually *in* Waikoloa.

Lava Lava Beach Club with your toes in the sand can’t be beat for a Hawaiian romantic dinner. The drinks are excellent and the food quite good.

The Bamboo Cafe in Hawi is magical in its own way as is the town itself. Lots of quaint, quasi-artistic shops and ‘local’ Hawaiian feel.

Lastly, Marriman’s in Waimea spawned a gastronomic empire…and for good reason. Reliably our best meal on the Big Island with great service…albeit with no ambience to speak of.

Completely agree with two of these. The one I'm not so hot on is Lava Lava. Maybe we were there on an off night. Also, it had been raining so no seating out in the sand. The food was okay at best.

Bamboo is wonderful. Just be sure they are open the day you want to go.

 

[4TimeAway]

Lava Lava Beach Club with your toes in the sand can’t be beat for a Hawaiian romantic dinner. The drinks are excellent and the food quite good.

Great place to snorkel.