A Big Island Family Vacation

by Sandi S.
(Logan, UT)

This past spring break we went to the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island of Hawaii. We chose this hotel because we were visiting Hawaii for the first time as parents. We had both been to Hawaii before we had children years earlier on a romantic getaway, but knew this time we needed activities to keep our child occupied!

This resort is located on the Kohala Coast on the Big Island. It's a huge resort right on the water and not too far from the main airport. The grounds are nicely kept and overall it's a pretty good hotel. I was a bit disappointed in the level of service and luxury though. The staff tried their best but I felt like they were overwhelmed. It was a very busy time to be there and housekeeping was a bit slow and the service in the restaurants was lacking. It wasn't terrible, but could have been better.

We had a one bedroom suite and it was spacious but nothing special. It was a just a hotel room and didn't have any special touches like other suites I have stayed in. One thing that was nice was the hardwood floors. My child has pretty severe asthma that is brought on by allergies and hotel carpeting is often a sure trigger for an attack. The lack of carpet in the room was fantastic. The bathroom was nice with a large soaking tub.

We had some difficulty securing places to sit around the pool and the pool got quite noisy. There is an adult only pool that my husband and I went to when our child was at the kids day camp. My child liked the kids camp program and met a few other children that she bonded with. Unfortunately she wasn't old enough to partake in the Dolphin Quest.

We did have a great time at the Luau. It was fun and campy and everything you'd want in a Luau. Overall the Hilton was a good value for the money. I am not sure I would recommend it for a couples romantic vacation but for a family it was a pretty good vacation.