I have delayed in posting this review since my family of four (two girls aged 11 and 5) visited at Thanksgiving, thinking that the longer I wait, the better my attitude about our stay will be. Alas, it has been over a month and I just can't shake my overall poor impression. Which means that I will have to post this review despite the fact that we were upgraded to a three bedroom penthouse unit on the top floor. Now before you close this review in disgust about me, assuming that I am a prima donna who cannot be satisfied, let me disclose that I write from our $120/night room at the Residence Inn in Overland Park, KS where we are having a wonderful stay visiting family for the holidays. So I don't need any kind of over the top luxury to have a good time, but as the price creeps up, and when certain "amenities" appear to be present, then my expectations do change.

So, we booked a two bedroom ocean view unit at the Grand Waikikian over Thanksgiving. About a week ahead of time, their travel coordinators called and helped answer all of my questions about the unit and the amenities at the hotel - I had several questions about the kids club, about the spa, about the other activities at the resort, and about other activities we had planned while on the island. She was so knowledgeable and friendly, taking so much time with me on the phone, that I was actually more excited about the trip after talking with her!

We used the recommended hotel transportation company to book a car service to pick us up. The driver was terrific and gave us his card so he could take us back to the airport when we left the island. He charged literally HALF what we paid en route to the hotel. If you want his number, message me.

We happened to mention just as we were approaching the Hilton Hawaiian Village that we were staying at the Grand Waikikian, and that is very important information since there are two different hotel entrances. Ask your driver to drop you off at the Grand Waikikian or you'll have to trek through the grounds with your bags, and as several other reviewers have indicated, no one who works at the resort knows where anything else is located, and the signs and maps are not precise enough to be helpful.

Up to the point of arriving at the check-in line at the hotel, the whole experience was really wonderful even with the very expensive airport transfer. When we got out of the car, we were greeted by lovely smiling faces and kukui nut leis for everyone. The appearance of the check-in area is beautiful, and consistent with a full-service hotel. We waited for some time in the check-in line, even though there was only one family in front of us. When we finally got to the front of the line, the person checking in was very disoriented and typed madly into the computer for several minutes without any word or update (think of the scene in Honeymoon in Vegas when Nicolas Cage is trying to get a flight to Hawaii to win back Jennifer Aniston). She finally looked up and said, "It looks like you've been upgraded to a penthouse unit, so you can check in upstairs on the 35th floor if you want." I asked if we had to go to the 35th floor to check-in and she told us that we could check in there where we already were, but that we "might want to go to the 35th floor to check in." We flew 10 hours to get to Oahu from Atlanta and my wick was rather short, so I figured rather than ask her again to check us in, we would just go upstairs and check in where she seemed to want us to go. The trek to the 35th floor was long and arduous. The layout of the hotel is odd in that the main lobby is separated from the elevator bay that leads to rooms by two long hallways, lined by "concierge desks" that appear to be focused on sales of timeshare units. We finally got to the 35th floor and ended up spending at least 45 minutes getting checked in there because "they didn't have a record of our reservation," though I brought the printed confirmation with us and gave it to her. In the end, of course, we didn't complain since they upgraded us from a two bedroom to the most exquisitely beautiful three bedroom unit on the top floor.

We figured that it would be nothing but smooth sailing from here. How bad can it be from the penthouse suite? Truthfully, our stay in Hawaii was wonderful, and of course we did enjoy our spacious suite very very much. The lanai facing out toward the ocean was absolutely delightful and naturally there is nothing to complain about AT ALL regarding the features of the suite. I have never before, and very likely never again will, stayed at a place as nice as that penthouse suite. The kids ADORED the Toto toilets/bidets.

However, the niceness of the suite only served as a more stark contrast with the poor service provided by hotel staff. One example was when I called to find out about the kids program. I wanted to sign up my children for a session but was told that not only could they not tell me over the phone whether there was availability, but I had to physically walk all the way from the Grand Waikikian to the main Hilton Hawaiian Village check-in area to find out if they had availability and to sign up. Really? OK. So I walked all the way, only to find that all of the sessions we were interested in signing up for were already full.

Another example occurred on our first morning there when we were looking for a place to have breakfast on the resort. We literally walked around for 25 minutes looking for the Rainbow Lanai, having asked three staff people that we bumped into, where to find it. We were either given incorrect directions or the staff people just didn't know. Several staff people milling about the main check in area saw us looking around clearly lost at 6:00am, but no one offered to help us. When we finally did find the breakfast place (it was temporarily in another building due to construction), we were extremely disappointed in the quality of the breakfast buffet. We paid $90 for our breakfast for two adults and two kids and the waffles were rock hard while the rest of the food was unremarkable at best. DO NOT EAT ON THE RESORT, except at Roundtable Pizza where you will get what you expect - greasy, decent pizza at only slightly elevated prices.. Best low cost and quick breakfast we found was the Wailana Coffee House across Ala Moana. Best breakfast buffet - about 20 minute walk with our five year old slow poke - was at the Moana Surfrider hotel. Before we fully learned not to eat at the resort, we ordered room service and once again were amazed at the gaping difference between food quality (very, very low) and price (very, very high).

Another unsettling experience is the bus/shuttle terminal which serves the entire Hilton Hawaiian Village resort. I understand why they need to do this given the size of the resort, but there is an unmistakable air of being treated like chattel when one is waiting for a shuttle to an off-site activity (such as the Paradise Cove luau or our shuttle to Hanauma Bay to snorkle). Not to mention that it is a solid 15 minute walk from one's room at the Grand Waikikian to the bus pick up. It would actually be quicker and more convenient to arrange your pick-ups and drop-offs at the Ilikai Hotel which is right across the street from the Grand Waikikian. We got off at this stop when we returned from Paradise Cove and were in our room with our tired kids probably 20 minutes sooner than if we'd gone on to the Hilton Hawaiian Village stop.

On top of all this is the ambiance created by their treat-customers-as-criminals approach regarding pool towels and wristbands, mentioned by other reviewers. Though we were upgraded to a suite we clearly could never afford to pay for at full price, we were still paying $650 per night for the two-bedroom suite we originally booked and so all of this poor service leads to a little bit of a bad taste in the mouth.

The piece de resistance was that when we traveled to Oahu in November, the high temperatures outdoors were hovering right around 80 degrees. Not super hot. The one pool that my kids would want to play in - the one with the slides - was absolutely FREEZING. I couldn't even stand in the shallow one foot deep water for more than 10 minutes at a time. The hot tubs were overflowing with people - many of the children with visibly blue lips - and my kids ultimately didn't swim because they were too cold. The pool with slides does not get any direct sun at all throughout the day because it is located in the shadows between several buildings. They need to add a heater to that pool for it to be enjoyable. Luckily, we did play in the lagoon, renting stand up paddle boards two days in a row.

Overall, I doubt we would return to any property at Hilton Hawaiian Village for all of these reasons. I am likely to look for adjoining rooms at a hotel closer to the action on Waikiki that will cost about the same as the suite at the Grand Waikikian. But especially in these economic times, I feel like I shouldn't settle for being treated this way when I am paying this much.

We stayed in a one bedroom city view suite for four nights with our two small children (aged 2.5 years and 6 months). The room was clean and exactly as pictured on the internet, although it was smaller than I'd imagined, in particular the bathroom which was quite tight. Personally I disliked having a bath in the bedroom, but aside from this the suite was nice. Although we didn't cook the kitchen was perfect for breakfasts and the washer/dryer extremely useful.

The hotel provided a crib for our son and our daughter slept on the sofa bed. While the main bed was quite comfortable the sofa bed was not and I wouldn't recommend any adults plan to spend too long sleeping there. Next time we would book a two bedroom suite based on this fact alone!

The check-in service at the Grand Vacations was poor, with a very disinterested and unhelpful staff member at the desk. We had originally tried to check-in at the general Hilton Hawaiian Village reception as this was where we were ushered when we got out of our taxi (our driver didn't drop us at the Grand Waikikian, but rather the general entry point). The documentation sent by the hotel did not specify that we should check-in at the Grand Waikikian either - this wasn't a huge drama but I thought I would mention it to stop others from wasting 20 minutes standing in line at the wrong check-in desk.

Our package included daily housekeeping. The service, when we received it, was ok. However, on one day the housekeeper arrived at 8 am so we sent her away as we just weren't ready. We did request fresh towels and for her to remove the rubbish from the room. As other reviewers mention, it isn't possible for housekeeping to return so if you send them away you should be aware of this.

We also booked an airport transfer through the hotel. We clearly specified that we would need two baby seats (we checked this again when the front desk called to confirm the booking). We were quite disappointed and concerned when the taxi that arrived only had one seat (at 5 am with not a huge amount of time to spare for our flight we really didn't have many options available to us either). Again, it is difficult to ascertain whether this was the fault of the taxi company or the hotel, but no having a good relationship with a reputable taxi/car service seemed like another example of patchy service.

Location wise, the Hilton Hawaiian Village is very convenient. It is a short walk to Ala Moana in one direction and to Waikiki in the other. The Village also has just about everything you might need in terms of food and entertainment and I am sure many people never venture through the gates. Obviously a place of this size is a bit soulless and if you prefer personalised attention and service this probably isn't the hotel to stay at.

I stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare resort in a one bedroom suite. I was booked originally in a studio in a neighboring building. When I saw the tiny studio I pleaded with management to give me something better and both managers Steve and Shiho went above and beyond to make my vacation a pleasant one. I ended up spending 8 days in the GW and it was lovely.

The room seems very new, with hardwood floors, a living area, full kitchen, breakfast table, balcony with a view (depends on what room you are in), a sunken tub, a walk-in shower, a bedroom, free internet, daily newspaper, and no maid service. The kitchen comes equipped with all you need to cook, and there is a stove, fridge, icemaker, microwave and dishwasher. All appliances are very nice. The room was immaculate upon entry (not so much when we left!). The balcony was nice size, with a table and a few chairs and had a view of the mountains and downtown.

The service was excellent across the boards. From checkin to the bellmen to housekeeping, everyone was professional, pleasant and efficient. Some of the people working in the restaurants and bars could have used a little training, but all in all, we were well taken care of.

The resort is huge. There are seven or eight buildings, with three belonging to HGVC and the others part of the Hilton hotel. The place is overrun with foreign tourists. There is a shopping mall right in the resort with many stores, restaurants, Louis Vuitton, Starbucks, etc. It is very nice and convenient, and pretty pricey.

There are four pools, all of which are nothing special. There is no sun protection in the way of umbrellas or shady areas, so that was an issue. Also, they are all very crowded and lots of screaming kids. There are a few nice beach bars and restaurants, and a very very nice lagoon on the property for swimming and boating. The hotel is right on the beach, and very nice. If you want an umbrella or chair, you'll pay dearly ($60 for two chairs and an umbrella).

The downside is, everything is far. The gym is in the Kalia building, which is about a ten minute walk from us. There are a lot of aerobic machines, but not much else. The place was packed, with not a free machine, at 7am. The spa locker room and sauna costs $17 per day, but the gym is free. The spa woman was one of those "sour" ones that, when asked about the internet at the spa pool, responded, "we don't issue that kind of information." With the size of the place, you'd think that they'd train the staff to help visitors find things, but constantly, when asking a staff member where something was located, they never knew where anything was or how to get there. That was very strange.

The grounds, pools, beaches were all immaculately clean and beautiful. At the pools, you are required to wear wrist bands and turn in cards for towels. If you lose the cards before checkout, you pay $10 per card lost fee. I found it a bit irritating, but they do it to keep non-guests out and I can understand that.

The center of Waikiki is a 15 minute stroll, or a $5 cab ride, but there are plenty of dining choices nearby and inside the hotel. There are amazing upscale malls everywhere, with multiple designer stores from every high end brand you can think of.

Since I was upgraded I felt the value was good for me. If I were to pay $650 or so for this room on this property, I might be a little upset. There are many beautiful luxury resorts in the center that I would select before this one. However, if you are traveling with kids, like the hubbub of a big resort, then Hilton is the one.

All in all, a great place to stay if you can afford it and don't mind being a bit outside the center.

I stayed here for a conference. The hotel is very beautiful, but the grounds are overwhelming (its like a college campus!). Takes a while to get your bearings.
Great pool(s), but some of the worst customer service I've ever had at any hotel, ever.

I was meeting some friends at the Tapas bar and it was clear that the waitress was overworked, which I am sympathetic to. When she finally did come over, I asked if I could order some food to which she responded "All we have is pizza and that's gonna take well over 45 minutes". Um, way to sell it. Additionally, when I returned home I thought I had left something in my room. I called and after being inadvertently disconnected several times and calling back, the woman responded (clearly irritated) "OK,it's like 5 in the morning here. You're gonna have to call back later". These are just a cople examples of the poor attitude and service.