Revisiting the Hilton Hawaiian VIllage

For families, the beach at the Hilton end of Waikiki is the best. The surf is fairly gentle and lots of people around. Mostly sandy bottom.

The Arizona Memorial is a must for first timers. Beware: yes, you can take the city bus for .50 each way, but it takes forever (so many stops). There are .95 specials for shuttles and they are well worth it. You can cut at least three hours from this visit if you take a shuttle from your hotel.

Quick Tips:

Bring as much food from the mainland as you can. No fresh fruit allowed, but canned and plastic goods, as well as cereal, bread, peanut butter, jam, crackers, etc. is worth it. Bring a case of bottled water -- rooms have a nice refrigerator (we were in the Ali'I tower, so check if your tower has them).

Best Way To Get Around:

Public transportation to Arizona/Missouri/Hanauma Bay is available, but shuttles may be better way to go to save time (it's not that much more money).

When you arrive in the HNL airport, there are kiosks all around with island magazines. Get a couple of copies of "Oahu Gold". Very good info and discount coupons. Be sure to look for taxi coupons in the back of the book. You can get a real cheap fare from hotel to HNL for 1-5 persons (no luggage charges) for around total.

We were in the Ali'I tower. Originally, we were in the Tapas Tower, but one of the two rooms we had was not ready so we were granted an upgrade to the Ali'I. Very spacious room for the four of us (two kids). Hilton does a very good job, but I must say, the housecleaning for our room was not on the par I have previously experienced with Hilton. Oh, yes, how is this for hospitality: if you are upgraded to the Ali'I Tower, you are not given turn-down service. f you pay for the Ali'I Tower, then you get it!

WE HAVE BEEN TO THE HHV THREE TIMES AND "TROPICS" IS THE WORST RESTAURANT THERE. FOOD IS MARGINAL, PRICES STEEP . . . GREASY FRIES, BURGERS, DOGS . . . NO BARGAIN. IF YOU SIT INSIDE, YOU ARE TOO HOT. IF YOU SIT OUTSIDE, THERE IS A GUY SINGING YOU OFF YOUR CHAIR AND YOU CANNOT HOLD A CONVERSATION.

IF YOU ARE STAYING AT THE HHV IN WAIKIKI AND YOU WANT A SNACK OR QUICK LUNCH WITHOUT GETTING RIPPED OFF, TRY THE TWO COUNTERS THAT LEASE SPACE FROM HILTON. ONE IS THE SNACK BAR AT THE TAPAS TOWER POOL AND THE OTHER IS THE SNACK BAR NEAR THE BEACH AT THE END OF THE WALKWAY GOING FROM THE HOTEL TO THE GRAND VACATION TOWER. A HOT DOG AND LARGE COKE WAS $5.75 (DARN GOOD DOGS, TOO); A SNOW-CONE OR SHAVED ICE WAS $3.00 (VERY LARGE). BOTH SNACK BARS ARE OPERATED BY THE SAME VENDOR.