Hawaii Vacation at Waikiki Beach on Oahu

This post is from our week long trip to Oahu Hawaii, staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort at Honolulu. We purchased Hilton Points when we attended a timeshare presentation in Orlando. The stay was quite affordable based on doing this. I believe this saved us approximately 500 dollars over the regular room and Resort fee's.
We expected to stay in the Timeshare Tower of thet Resort but ended up in the Tapa Tower. Room was basic but updated and nice. No view though. Turned out this was the U.S. March break time and there was a major convention staying at the Resort as well.
The Hilton Hawaiian Resort is huge and encompasses 22 acres and has 3 main pools and is right on its own beach. The beach can be accessed by the public but it looked like the Resort people were the ones using it.
The resort is very clean and the staff was excellent and professional. It takes awhile to walk the place but the flowers and landscaping is exceptional. There are free Hulu shows as well as the nightly torch lighting ceremony and Friday evening fireworks. There are also 22 restaurants and lounges on site, as well as approximately 90 stores.

This a great place to take a family for a vacation and even a couple getaway. Lots of places for privacy if needed. We walked down to Waikiki Beach along the water and had a great view of Diamond Head Volcano along the way. Walking to shopping in Honolulu is a short 10-15 minutes and you can always buy a trolley pass like we did. Excellent way to get around and see the sites. Trolley will even take you to Hilo Hattie to do some shopping. This is a must for local attire and souvenirs.

Here are some suggestions and recommendations:
- Try to eat maybe a meal or two while at the Resort and eat off the Resort as much as possible. The food in some of the Restaurants is poor and the pricing is very expensive. There is a great diner right across the street from the main entrance and the food is plentiful and reasonable. Take advantage of discount Restaurant coupons you get when you arrive at the Resort. Shop at the grocery store on site and take food with you to the beach. The beach cafes are pricey.
-Buy a cheap beach mat at the ABC Store on site and you will thank me. Inflatable toys are cheaper to buy off site and leave behind than to buy or rent at the resort. You can book a umbrella and chairs right at the beach but go early to get a good spot.
-don't rent a car for your full stay as the local transportation and Trollies will get you everywhere you would need to go. There are also tours you can purchase at the Resort that take you to pretty well anything. Parking is not cheap at the resort and I think it was 25 dollars a day…ouch.
-make sure you watch the Friday Fireworks show as it is right from the Hilton Beach and is awesome.
-take lots of small cash for tips as you will need them.
Overall it was an excellent first visit experience to Oahu and Honolulu. We would definitely stay at the Resort again, but only if I got a great deal on the room.

Larry J Clark