Our Wonderfully Boring Stay at Hilton Waikoloa, Big Island, HI

Stolen from my TripAdvisor review …

We colonized one enchanting room at the Hilton Waikoloa an incredible four nights and cherished every minute.  A main objective of our stay was to locate and embrace as much boredom as possible, forgetting about the excruciatingly busy real lives we left behind.  The hotel and grounds are beautiful throughout.  Our ocean view room on the 3^rd floor of the Lagoon Tower provided an extraordinary view of the pool, dolphins, ocean and glimpses of Maui peeking through the clouds every day.

Arriving in mid-September, during the off-season, we felt almost lonely sharing the pool with a handful of other guests.  There is a definite problem with a lack of shade at the lagoon pool and the Hilton should seriously consider investing in a few more umbrellas like the ones at the lagoon beach.  During our stay, we found lovely spots under the palm trees and then followed the shade from chair to chair throughout the day, most likely inhabiting almost every possible seat between the concrete pond and the ocean during our stay.  Had it been crowded, we might have become a little frustrated, not to mention painfully red.

Like most of the nice resorts in Hawaii, the food was very good, but outrageously priced.  We opened our wallet for the $30 breakfast buffet the first day, and thereafter enjoyed the more reasonable pastry shop in the Lagoon Tower.   A collapsible cooler and a stop at the ABC store will save a bundle on soft drinks and beer at the pool, although we could also not resist a couple of tropical drinks from the pool bar each day.  We enjoyed wading in the tide pools (water shoes a must) and the sights and sounds of the surf from the lounge chairs at the concrete pond.

The turtles in the lagoon were fun to watch while snorkeling.  If you are not careful, you will find yourself eyeball to eyeball with them in the bubbly/murky water around the waterfall.  I am still trying to convince the Mrs. that she did not experience a brief emotional and physical connection with that turtle.  Yes, perhaps her beautiful eyes intrigued the turtle.  However, more likely, their paths unexpectedly crossed and the startled sea turtle simply did not possess the rapid reflexes to quickly maneuver away … certainly not in reverse.

You can either pay $15 per day for self parking and hike to your car or $21 for valet parking and wait on the cozy benches for about 1-2 minutes while your car is delivered to you.  Our legs told us the valet parking was a bargain and a small sacrifice to avoid future discomfort.  We were disappointed that the shuttle boats were not running during our stay, due to canal maintenance.  However, the “bullet train” was more than adequate, traveling at a lightening 3 mph.  The walk to the lobby from lagoon tower was only about 5 minutes, if you are feeling energetic.  We performed this incredible feat one time, after which our legs again demanded that we relax and enjoy the adventures of comfy cushions in the air conditioned bullet train.  The other towers would require a considerably longer walk, and not very reasonable for those of us who have earned a few extra years.  On the other hand, you are in Hawaii … hang loose, relax and enjoy the spectacular scenery that unfolds around every corner of this resort.  The bullet train will get you to your fantasyland location soon enough.  You can rush to your destination when you get back home to your real life.  We actually rode the bullet train round trip once just for kicks (OK, by accident) to see the “other side of the world”.  We ended up spotting a Red Billed Gangly Crowned Crane

just a few feet outside the bullet train.  Wait … don’t search for that in the Avian dictionary, because I just made it up.  However, the point is that the strange bird was very phenomenal and we would not have seen it had we not accidentally grabbed the bullet train in the wrong direction and ended up in the holy grail of marooned Hilton shuttle boats.  Also missed would have been personally witnessing the infamous event responsible for the stranding of the shuttle boats … the removal of green, slimy, rotten goo in one section of the canal by several unfortunate souls, whom we did not envy.

Several restaurants are a short drive away, providing plenty of evening dining choices.  Our favorites were Tommy Bahamas, about a 10 minute drive north, and Buzz’s Sandtrap, 2 blocks away from the lobby.

If travelling between the west and east side of the island, don’t miss Hawaiian Style Café for breakfast in Waimea (30 minutes from the Hilton).  Don’t be fooled by the appearance!  The valet parking attendant at the Hilton suggested the restaurant to us as we were leaving on the last day and we would have never stopped otherwise.  Suggestion:  order 1 breakfast for 2 people … 2 monster pancakes swallowing the plate underneath, another plate full of scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns … $8.75 … best food deal on the island.  Not knowing, we ordered 2 breakfasts, ate until our stomachs bulged and still left most of the food uneaten.   We should have taken the hint when we saw the “Fat boy” t-shirts displayed on the wall for sale … I am a slow learner.