We got upgraded to Maki Towers, it overlooks the ocean and the pool with the dolphins, it was much better than the other towers, I recommend upgrading if you stay here
Next time you should try staying at the HGVC Waikoloa timeshare resort. The rooms are much nicer with a modern look and you have plenty of space with a living room, dining room and kitchen.
The restaurants were my biggest difficulty with this resort. I booked with points, so didn't pay the resort fee, but since the resort is distant from local restaurants and parking fee is ridiculous, you're pretty much trapped at the resort with little choice for food and no reasonable prices.
Right the parking is $50 per day, and there are only three restaurants open in the evening and one is a bar, the other is super expensive, that just leaves the itallian
Ben, your review is spot on. I live on Oahu and tried the Hilton Waikoloa six years ago. It was exactly like you mentioned. The hotel was a marvel 30 plus years ago before Hilton bought it from Hyatt. And yes I agree the train is slow and causes families to debate whether to walk or wait.
My biggest gripe was definitely the lack off food options/over priced mediocre food. The room was ok, I felt the resort made up for it plus I was in the room so little when I went to the Big Island. The parking fees were ridiculously high as well and the actual lot so far from the rooms that it usually took 20 mins to make it from the room to the car.
We Stayed in the Waikoloa, Hilton Ocean Towers part of the same resort and our ocean view was amazing! Rooms were updated and modern, we had a 1 bedroom, 1 bath, full kitchen and living room. We enjoyed the slow moving train, it is in the resort next to walk ways so expect it not to be high speed for pedestrians safety. If we didn't want to wait for the train we walked and enjoyed all the art work. Dining was limited and expensive but expected from a hotel in Hawaii. Best to go out for dinner. Pools and grounds were fantastic. I suggest the Ocean Tower for anyone looking.
Ten years ago, this resort had several other restaurants - a Japanese restaurant, a Chinese restaurant, and an outside bar that had Mexican - all were open in the evening, and were all pretty good albeit expensive. You can still see where they all were. The Japanese and Chinese places closed first, and the Mexican place seemed to be a victim of the pandemic or the conversion of the Ocean Tower to Hilton timeshare.
When the property first opened perhaps 1980 something it was branded as a Sheraton. It is still a marvel however, I find it ironic through two reincarnations of what are considered to be superior brands to Sheraton it has still not matched the original.
Why do people even stay at resorts in the US? If you are paying $200 for breakfast for a family, it is not worth the price whatsoever in cash or points. I refuse to even stay at US resorts anymore as a Hyatt Globalist and Hilton Diamond member.
Some of the fees are just offensive. Yet having dolphins in the resort and all of the pools/slides, etc. is pretty awesome. Especially with a young family. It’s like a bittersweet vacation 😂
Ocean Tower side of the resort is much much better, and imo you definitely need a rental car to truly enjoy Big Island unlike Oahu. 100% agree on the tram service being shoddy at best
So we recently stayed at the Ocean tower. Yes, room was 3 stars. It was cleaned everyday. And I agree, 100%, about the tram, it is WAY TO SLOW and becomes useless. It takes over 15 minutes to walk from the main entrance to the Ocean tower. And also, yes, the food options is the other major downside. If this place had at least one "decently" priced option, we would recommend this place all day long. But otherwise, we ate at Nui (the Italian restaurant), and a single pizza was $76. It was good, but because it was so overpriced, this makes a beautiful resort one to avoid.
I stayed at the Ocean Tower, Hilton Waikoloa Village in September 2024. As far as the rooms, ours was in the timeshare side so it was much nicer, with a Bidets toilet, a full kitchen and 1 and 2 bedroom suites with ocean view. So no complaints there. The tram was very slow, long waits, and you can beat it if you walk. There was no ABC store in the hotel to get basics, the shops they did have was limited and over priced. And because it was September some services were closed for the season, the boats were not running and the snack shack at the pool was closed. The restaurants they did have were ridiculously overpriced. With a whole pizza costing $50 to $60. Before tax and tip. Every time we ate at a restaurants, their Food and drinks for 2 was around $100.+. All there mix drinks like Mai Tai’s were $20. Each before tax & tip. No matter at the restaurants or at the pool. The Breakfast buffet was $55.00 per person. The most reasonable place to eat was the lagoon grill but it closed at 5pm and the food was not consistently good, it was hit or miss. So if you’re there for a week like us it’s better to go to queens market and buy food to bring back. But with the shuttle costing $5. Per person per way. 4 people round trip would cost you $40, to go 10 mins down the road. So the better option is to Uber/lyft all of you for about $14. round trip. That is if you can get a Uber/Lyft there were 3 times I tried to get an Uber/lyft and none were available, so when it was just my husband and I we walked, but if my mom and aunt was with us we just paid for the shuttle. The shuttle to the airport was $75.00ea, so $150. For 2. We call Uber/lyft it cost us $43.00 for both of us. The resort is Beautiful and pools are great, but everything on the property feels horribly overpriced. There is also a lack of activities if you’re not wanting to go into the water, like for my mom, compared to other Hilton properties we have been too. The Luau they have there was nice and food was great! Your Pictures they take will cost you around $65.00 including the digital copies. One very frustrating thing is the majority of places and services close at 5:pm on that island. so many times we found nothing was offered past 5 or 6pm to do. One very convenient option was we wanted to rent a Jeep for a full day 9am to 11pm, so we could explore the island. National rental car is on the property and all you do is get your Jeep from the valet and return your keys to the valet. Making it easy and convenient. We could have had it over night but didn’t need it while we slept so we just turned it in late that night. When we were done and that saved us the $50. Parking fee. The jeep all day with there insurance was $265.00, we were happy with that because most tours would have cost us a lot more for both of us, and we got to do and see a lot more then any tour offers. In the end if you don’t mind $55.00ea for breakfast and $60. For a pizza and $40. For 2 Drink. And you don’t mind having nothing much to do after 6pm every night. Then this is a beautiful property to spend a lot of money at. However I would not come back, the Hilton Waikikian on Oahu. Offer so much more for people of different budgets, they offer more activities, and more nightlife options. And is every bit as beautiful of a property.
Did you look at Kingsland or Kona Suites? Sounds like having a suite and not a hotel room would’ve made it more enjoyable. Having that kitchen would be great for quick or small meals for a family. Save quite a bit on dining. Plus you’d still be part of the complex and could use the village area.
Fairmont Orchid is a luxury resort. Room rates are 30% higher than Hilton Waikoloa Village for the same type room. There is no comparison. Food at resorts are extremely overpriced, but that’s typical in many high tourist places not just Hawaii.
I'm in a hampton inn now and I can tell you this one (in Salem) is costly a night for the most part (on holidays and october and the few months surrounding it) but normally its nearly $200 a night. Fun fact: this hilton hampton inn has glass showers, very modern also. Anyway, I'm staying in the ocean club tower grand vacations hotel later this year. I haven't finished this video (yet) so I'm not sure if you cover it but if not, are the two related? It says I'm able to use the resort benefits at Waikoloa during my stay so I figured it was. Cheers. Edit: The room I booked at ocean club is STUNNING. It's a suite, and has a glass shower (a must when I stay anywhere).
I'm sorry you did not have a better time at this resort. But I think you're time at the Fairmont really ruin the experience here. Just looking online, the Fairmont is usually about $1,000 while this resort is about half. Not really a fair comparison
So true! I was GM at 2 Farimont properties and you cannot compare Fairmont's branding standards to that of Hilton by any means. Farimont is in the league of Penninsula and Regent not Hilton!
I loved this resort, but I felt as though they nickel and dime you for every little thing that would normally be free at even the most basic of hotels. For example, I asked if there was a microwave that I could use in order to heat up some food and the receptionist said they could bring one over for $30! I could have just bought a whole new meal at a restaurant for that.
There is now actually a microwave on every floor (at least in the Palace tower), its by the elevators. Maybe they chose to not mention that and get $30 by bringing one to your room.
@@TheCreditShifu : That would of been helpful to know at the time if that was the case. We stayed in summer of 2019. I did not see any microwaves at that time. Like you said either they didn’t mention them or the microwaves were more recently installed.
As i am living in Big island, i understand your rating for the train, they can be a little slow, but in now today i am sure that there are less people going there, i remembered going there probably 5 ish years ago, there is some quite a bit of people there, but i did give them a 10 but a 5 because i dont like people like get in your way and stuff
I would never come here again. The place is boring, not much to do, just a common pool nothing spectacular. Not a lot of restaurants and everything is far. No nice beaches around the area, the room are old and dirty and the hotel service sucks so bad.
There are king plaza and queen plaza close to the resort. We have been there several times and usually dine outside of the resort. The food there is so limited.
Well I don't have a choice, it will be paid for since I am going there for a conference. Idk how good it is since I'm not there yet, and I never went to a resort
I bought a Wyndham timeshare week in Kona, 1 week every other year in a 2-bedroom for $61.50 a month, $1475 per stay. If I choose a 1-bedroom or off season, that can stretch out to more days. 5 nights at Holiday Inn costs the same. We wanted to be chose to downtown Kona, not in a separate resort area. When our contract landed (resale), to our surprise, we're getting double the points! 2-3 weeks in Hawaii (or wherever we want to go) seems like a good deal. We stayed at Hilton's Hokaloni last year in Waikiki and the rooms were really nice. Small resort, but right in downtown Waikiki, within a block from everything.
How often did the Fairmont's train circulate? What? The Fairmont Orchid doesn't have a train? or a boat? What a joke. There are always turtles in the lagoon. Swim near the waterfall to see them. We drive to any restaurant on the island we wish and don't bother with on-site restaurants because this is not an all-inclusive property. I love exploring the Big Island and would not want to be stuck in any resort.
I only like going to party resorts like RIU punta cana, chic by marriott, breathless by hyatt, playa del carmen by hilton etc etc I would of hated that resort. i tried a hyatt secrets resort in mexico and wanted to commit suicide😂
Don't know what this video is about but people need to KNOW THIS HOTEL WAS BUILT ON DEAD DOLPHINS. The 1st captive dolphins there beached themselves and died. Any real Hawaii Island resident can confirm. HEWA
We got upgraded to Maki Towers, it overlooks the ocean and the pool with the dolphins, it was much better than the other towers, I recommend upgrading if you stay here
Next time you should try staying at the HGVC Waikoloa timeshare resort. The rooms are much nicer with a modern look and you have plenty of space with a living room, dining room and kitchen.
The restaurants were my biggest difficulty with this resort. I booked with points, so didn't pay the resort fee, but since the resort is distant from local restaurants and parking fee is ridiculous, you're pretty much trapped at the resort with little choice for food and no reasonable prices.
Right the parking is $50 per day, and there are only three restaurants open in the evening and one is a bar, the other is super expensive, that just leaves the itallian
Ben, your review is spot on. I live on Oahu and tried the Hilton Waikoloa six years ago. It was exactly like you mentioned. The hotel was a marvel 30 plus years ago before Hilton bought it from Hyatt. And yes I agree the train is slow and causes families to debate whether to walk or wait.
My biggest gripe was definitely the lack off food options/over priced mediocre food. The room was ok, I felt the resort made up for it plus I was in the room so little when I went to the Big Island. The parking fees were ridiculously high as well and the actual lot so far from the rooms that it usually took 20 mins to make it from the room to the car.
The lagoon is my favorite. Getting to swim so close to the sea turtles was magical!
Great review at least your kid's enjoyed the trip sorry you didn't have the best time hopefully the next one is a better experience.
We Stayed in the Waikoloa, Hilton Ocean Towers part of the same resort and our ocean view was amazing! Rooms were updated and modern, we had a 1 bedroom, 1 bath, full kitchen and living room. We enjoyed the slow moving train, it is in the resort next to walk ways so expect it not to be high speed for pedestrians safety. If we didn't want to wait for the train we walked and enjoyed all the art work. Dining was limited and expensive but expected from a hotel in Hawaii. Best to go out for dinner. Pools and grounds were fantastic. I suggest the Ocean Tower for anyone looking.
Ten years ago, this resort had several other restaurants - a Japanese restaurant, a Chinese restaurant, and an outside bar that had Mexican - all were open in the evening, and were all pretty good albeit expensive. You can still see where they all were. The Japanese and Chinese places closed first, and the Mexican place seemed to be a victim of the pandemic or the conversion of the Ocean Tower to Hilton timeshare.
When the property first opened perhaps 1980 something it was branded as a Sheraton. It is still a marvel however, I find it ironic through two reincarnations of what are considered to be superior brands to Sheraton it has still not matched the original.
Glad I watched this. Heading there May 2024 and now have a heads up on what to expect.
Why do people even stay at resorts in the US? If you are paying $200 for breakfast for a family, it is not worth the price whatsoever in cash or points. I refuse to even stay at US resorts anymore as a Hyatt Globalist and Hilton Diamond member.
Right, Hyatt ziva in Mexico is the way to go
@@TheCreditShifubreathless in mexico is better then ziva and zilara
You're not laying anything as a globalist so don't know what that's about.
@@marklihsu what do you mean anything? Breakfast might be free but lunch and dinner and random meals in between ?
Some of the fees are just offensive. Yet having dolphins in the resort and all of the pools/slides, etc. is pretty awesome. Especially with a young family. It’s like a bittersweet vacation 😂
Ocean Tower side of the resort is much much better, and imo you definitely need a rental car to truly enjoy Big Island unlike Oahu. 100% agree on the tram service being shoddy at best
If I were to take rental car, which places would you recommend I go if I had 3 days? Just curious.
So we recently stayed at the Ocean tower. Yes, room was 3 stars. It was cleaned everyday. And I agree, 100%, about the tram, it is WAY TO SLOW and becomes useless. It takes over 15 minutes to walk from the main entrance to the Ocean tower. And also, yes, the food options is the other major downside. If this place had at least one "decently" priced option, we would recommend this place all day long. But otherwise, we ate at Nui (the Italian restaurant), and a single pizza was $76. It was good, but because it was so overpriced, this makes a beautiful resort one to avoid.
There's a KTA and foodland not too far away if you wanted to try local food. Poke bowls are always good. Overall, a lot of places close early.
I stayed at the Ocean Tower, Hilton Waikoloa Village in September 2024. As far as the rooms, ours was in the timeshare side so it was much nicer, with a Bidets toilet, a full kitchen and 1 and 2 bedroom suites with ocean view. So no complaints there. The tram was very slow, long waits, and you can beat it if you walk.
There was no ABC store in the hotel to get basics, the shops they did have was limited and over priced. And because it was September some services were closed for the season, the boats were not running and the snack shack at the pool was closed. The restaurants they did have were ridiculously overpriced. With a whole pizza costing $50 to $60. Before tax and tip. Every time we ate at a restaurants, their Food and drinks for 2 was around $100.+. All there mix drinks like Mai Tai’s were $20. Each before tax & tip. No matter at the restaurants or at the pool. The Breakfast buffet was $55.00 per person. The most reasonable place to eat was the lagoon grill but it closed at 5pm and the food was not consistently good, it was hit or miss. So if you’re there for a week like us it’s better to go to queens market and buy food to bring back.
But with the shuttle costing $5. Per person per way. 4 people round trip would cost you $40, to go 10 mins down the road. So the better option is to Uber/lyft all of you for about $14. round trip. That is if you can get a Uber/Lyft there were 3 times I tried to get an Uber/lyft and none were available, so when it was just my husband and I we walked, but if my mom and aunt was with us we just paid for the shuttle. The shuttle to the airport was $75.00ea, so $150. For 2. We call Uber/lyft it cost us $43.00 for both of us. The resort is Beautiful and pools are great, but everything on the property feels horribly overpriced. There is also a lack of activities if you’re not wanting to go into the water, like for my mom, compared to other Hilton properties we have been too. The Luau they have there was nice and food was great! Your Pictures they take will cost you around $65.00 including the digital copies. One very frustrating thing is the majority of places and services close at 5:pm on that island. so many times we found nothing was offered past 5 or 6pm to do. One very convenient option was we wanted to rent a Jeep for a full day 9am to 11pm, so we could explore the island. National rental car is on the property and all you do is get your Jeep from the valet and return your keys to the valet. Making it easy and convenient. We could have had it over night but didn’t need it while we slept so we just turned it in late that night. When we were done and that saved us the $50. Parking fee. The jeep all day with there insurance was $265.00, we were happy with that because most tours would have cost us a lot more for both of us, and we got to do and see a lot more then any tour offers. In the end if you don’t mind $55.00ea for breakfast and $60. For a pizza and $40. For 2 Drink. And you don’t mind having nothing much to do after 6pm every night. Then this is a beautiful property to spend a lot of money at. However I would not come back, the Hilton Waikikian on Oahu. Offer so much more for people of different budgets, they offer more activities, and more nightlife options. And is every bit as beautiful of a property.
Did you look at Kingsland or Kona Suites? Sounds like having a suite and not a hotel room would’ve made it more enjoyable. Having that kitchen would be great for quick or small meals for a family. Save quite a bit on dining. Plus you’d still be part of the complex and could use the village area.
Fairmont Orchid is a luxury resort. Room rates are 30% higher than Hilton Waikoloa Village for the same type room. There is no comparison.
Food at resorts are extremely overpriced, but that’s typical in many high tourist places not just Hawaii.
True, but its not 30% better, its like 500% better
I just got back from the grand wailea Hilton on Maui and I would highly recommend it for your next travel spot if you want to visit another island
I'm in a hampton inn now and I can tell you this one (in Salem) is costly a night for the most part (on holidays and october and the few months surrounding it) but normally its nearly $200 a night. Fun fact: this hilton hampton inn has glass showers, very modern also.
Anyway, I'm staying in the ocean club tower grand vacations hotel later this year. I haven't finished this video (yet) so I'm not sure if you cover it but if not, are the two related? It says I'm able to use the resort benefits at Waikoloa during my stay so I figured it was. Cheers.
Edit: The room I booked at ocean club is STUNNING. It's a suite, and has a glass shower (a must when I stay anywhere).
I'm sorry you did not have a better time at this resort. But I think you're time at the Fairmont really ruin the experience here. Just looking online, the Fairmont is usually about $1,000 while this resort is about half. Not really a fair comparison
So true! I was GM at 2 Farimont properties and you cannot compare Fairmont's branding standards to that of Hilton by any means. Farimont is in the league of Penninsula and Regent not Hilton!
The Big Island of Hawaii is very beautiful you just have to get out and explore beyond a hotel pool.
My biggest complaint with the property was the food hours and choice. We walked or drove to the island market up the street.
I loved this resort, but I felt as though they nickel and dime you for every little thing that would normally be free at even the most basic of hotels. For example, I asked if there was a microwave that I could use in order to heat up some food and the receptionist said they could bring one over for $30! I could have just bought a whole new meal at a restaurant for that.
There is now actually a microwave on every floor (at least in the Palace tower), its by the elevators. Maybe they chose to not mention that and get $30 by bringing one to your room.
@@TheCreditShifu : That would of been helpful to know at the time if that was the case. We stayed in summer of 2019. I did not see any microwaves at that time. Like you said either they didn’t mention them or the microwaves were more recently installed.
As i am living in Big island, i understand your rating for the train, they can be a little slow, but in now today i am sure that there are less people going there, i remembered going there probably 5 ish years ago, there is some quite a bit of people there, but i did give them a 10 but a 5 because i dont like people like get in your way and stuff
I completely agree with everything you said!!! I had the same experiences as well!
I live in Hawaii and been here for 39 years. Hawaii is overrated af. Even for the locals it’s super expensive
We're returning for a second time. We don't spend time in room when not sleeping, anyway. Plus, tge trolly will take you to food districts.
if you want a more private beach go right down the street to lava lava beach club very nice food too
Why didn't you take the trolly to the shopping district?
Great review! Thank you.
Bro I can’t believe the bathroom didn’t have marble walls that’s awful
I would never come here again. The place is boring, not much to do, just a common pool nothing spectacular. Not a lot of restaurants and everything is far. No nice beaches around the area, the room are old and dirty and the hotel service sucks so bad.
We pretty much only stay here when they offer their inclusive package. Definitely worth it for all it includes.
There are king plaza and queen plaza close to the resort. We have been there several times and usually dine outside of the resort. The food there is so limited.
I know what you talking about when Hilton resorts in the US would charge you arms and legs and offer a Hampton Inn quality.
$188 for breakfast family of four is ridiculous! Whoa
Yep
Did you get a room upgrade because of your gold status or you paid for the ocean view room?
Free with gold
Well I don't have a choice, it will be paid for since I am going there for a conference. Idk how good it is since I'm not there yet, and I never went to a resort
I recommend not leaving the Orchid if you are booked there. Best hotel on the island bar none.
Did you stay at the palace or makai tower?
Palace
I bought a Wyndham timeshare week in Kona, 1 week every other year in a 2-bedroom for $61.50 a month, $1475 per stay. If I choose a 1-bedroom or off season, that can stretch out to more days. 5 nights at Holiday Inn costs the same. We wanted to be chose to downtown Kona, not in a separate resort area. When our contract landed (resale), to our surprise, we're getting double the points! 2-3 weeks in Hawaii (or wherever we want to go) seems like a good deal.
We stayed at Hilton's Hokaloni last year in Waikiki and the rooms were really nice. Small resort, but right in downtown Waikiki, within a block from everything.
How often did the Fairmont's train circulate? What? The Fairmont Orchid doesn't have a train? or a boat? What a joke. There are always turtles in the lagoon. Swim near the waterfall to see them. We drive to any restaurant on the island we wish and don't bother with on-site restaurants because this is not an all-inclusive property. I love exploring the Big Island and would not want to be stuck in any resort.
Fairmont has a boat, everyone knows that lol
24 hours in advance is ridiculous I have never heard of a place that won't clean same day if requested wow
I would like to visit Hawaii but it looks like you can't get any real value for your money or points and the beaches don't really look that great
Check out my video on the fairmont orchid, on the end screen of this video, I had a much better experience there
its an older resort. next time try to the Four Seasons Hualalai.....
I felt the same when I was there in April for 2 days
@@berryzedzerobut u also paid triple and got less then the regular guess
Heres what you did wrong,,,you didn't stay there 25 years ago
Based off reviews from FT and YT, I can tell it's all hyped up on this 2 stars hotel. Overpriced.
Welcome to America!
So you're the credit sifu yet you book economy flights and a hanpton inn level room...
Fish
I only like going to party resorts like RIU punta cana, chic by marriott, breathless by hyatt, playa del carmen by hilton etc etc
I would of hated that resort.
i tried a hyatt secrets resort in mexico and wanted to commit suicide😂
@@berryzedzero man you really are one of the internets top loser😂
I live in Hawaii. It's over priced af. SE Asia is the spot to be if you want extraordinary value.
Don't know what this video is about but people need to KNOW THIS HOTEL WAS BUILT ON DEAD DOLPHINS. The 1st captive dolphins there beached themselves and died. Any real Hawaii Island resident can confirm. HEWA
Hawaii suck beside the local poke. I rather spend my time, money, pts, service in Okinawa.
They both suck. I rather spend it in the Caribbean
A video of complaining lmao