Pictures from our Lagoon Tower stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village

[alwysonvac]

This was our ninth visit to Hawaii and our sixth stay at the Lagoon Tower in the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
Of course, we love it here

Our three bedroom penthouse unit was reserved during Club Season.

We discovered during check-in that we were assigned to the three bedroom oceanfront diamond head facing side (room 2466) however it only has two full bathrooms. I needed three private bathrooms for the adults we were traveling with. Luckily, they were able to reassign us to the oceanfront unit on the marina facing side (room 2467) which has three full bathrooms.

Here's a link to my photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/4008931...08174187/show/

Enjoy !!

[pianodinosaur]

Fantastic photos. Thanks for sharing them.

[Bill4728]

WOW What a place. Have a great time.

Don't play with the turtles you can get fined a significant amount of money.

Bill

[pierceit]

Great pictures!!

Do the penthouse units have washer and dryers?

[GregT]

Those are fantastic pictures -- thank you very much for sharing them!!

I think that view over the Marina is just spectacular and that unit appears to be have the best combination: Marina view with beautiful sunset and yet still ocean-front with view of the Lagoon. I would suspect that the adjacent 3BR unit still can't see Diamond Head because it's blocked by Rainbow Tower?

Thanks for posting and I'm glad you had a great time!

All the best,

Greg

Edited: For some reason I thought your HHV unit was a 3BR Gold Unit -- based on the timing it looks like 3BR Platinum? That's a great unit!!

[SmithOp]

Originally Posted by GregT

Those are fantastic pictures -- thank you very much for sharing them!!


Edited: For some reason I thought your HHV unit was a 3BR Gold Unit -- based on the timing it looks like 3BR Platinum? That's a great unit!!

I may be confused but wouldn't that only affect Home reservations? You can get anything you have the points for Club reservations. At least thats the way my 2BR Gold Premier was sold to me, I could get the 3br PH for the same points in Club season. You mean that salesman was fibbing :-)

We prefer the 2br, stayed in the PH and that staircase got to be a PITA after a week.

[chriskre]

Beautiful views. Thanks for sharing.
Are all the 3 bedrooms, penthouses with stairs?

[HatTrick]

Great shots as always, Phyllis. Thanks!

Originally Posted by GregT

For some reason I thought your HHV unit was a 3BR Gold Unit -- based on the timing it looks like 3BR Platinum? That's a great unit!!

Note that it was a Club reservation, Greg, not a Home Week reservation.

[GregT]

Got it - thanks very much - I missed that!!

Great pics - thx again!

[jestme]

Originally Posted by SmithOp

I may be confused but wouldn't that only affect Home reservations? You can get anything you have the points for Club reservations. At least thats the way my 2BR Gold Premier was sold to me, I could get the 3br PH for the same points in Club season. You mean that salesman was fibbing :-)

We prefer the 2br, stayed in the PH and that staircase got to be a PITA after a week.

We had 2468, marina side, 2Br PH in January for 4 nights. I also found the staircase was a pain after a couple of days. It also felt very unsafe walking out of the second bedroom as it seems to be missing a railing on the wall side. The windows are great, but I'm not sure I would bother again, the 2BR oceanfront has a better view for the same cost.

[alwysonvac]

Originally Posted by Bill4728

WOW What a place. Have a great time.

Don't play with the turtles you can get fined a significant amount of money.

Bill

We had a great time

Yes, they had the turtles roped off and folks were there to make sure no one crossed the ropes.

[alwysonvac]

Originally Posted by pierceit

Great pictures!!

Do the penthouse units have washer and dryers?

No, there's a laundry room on the penthouse floor near the elevators.
None of the units in the Lagoon Tower have a washer and dryer in the room.

[alwysonvac]

Originally Posted by GregT

Edited: For some reason I thought your HHV unit was a 3BR Gold Unit -- based on the timing it looks like 3BR Platinum? That's a great unit!!

In 2009, I bought a 2 bedroom oceanfront gold season week eoy

[linsj]

alwysonvac, were the turtles by HHV?

[alwysonvac]

Originally Posted by chriskre

Beautiful views. Thanks for sharing.
Are all the 3 bedrooms, penthouses with stairs?

All two and three bedroom penthouse units have stairs.

[alwysonvac]

Originally Posted by linsj

alwysonvac, were the turtles by HHV?

No, the turtles are on the North Shore at Laniakea Beach (aka Turtle Beach) It's just north of Haleiwa.

See these links
http://www.northshore.com/hawaii/beach-lani.asp
http://www.portaloha.com/SecretsOfHawaii/Laniakea.htm

[luvsvacation22]

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

[alwysonvac]

Originally Posted by GregT

I think that view over the Marina is just spectacular and that unit appears to be have the best combination: Marina view with beautiful sunset and yet still ocean-front with view of the Lagoon. I would suspect that the adjacent 3BR unit still can't see Diamond Head because it's blocked by Rainbow Tower?

You can see Diamond Head from that side.

[ada903]

Beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing!

So which one did you like better, the Westin on Maui or the Hilton on Oahu?

[alwysonvac]

Originally Posted by ada903

So which one did you like better, the Westin on Maui or the Hilton on Oahu?

They're completely different. We like them both for different reasons.

We love the Hilton on Oahu for it's location away from the crowded Waikiki area & convenient access to various activities. We're always on our large oceanfront or oceanview balcony at the Lagoon tower but we really don't hang out in the Hilton resort area.

At the Westin, we loved that it's away from the other crowded resort areas. The feel of the resort and the rooms are definitely in a different league than the Hilton Hawaiian Village. It feels like you're staying in a suite at a resort vs a timeshare. It's definitely a slower pace. We could see ourselves hanging out at the resort for a day or two but then we'll need to find something to keep us busy. We're not beach or water sports folks. We'll definitely return to Maui but we just don't visit Maui as often as we do Oahu.

[SmithOp]

Originally Posted by alwysonvac

In 2009, I bought a 2 bedroom oceanfront gold season week eoy

I got mine from HGVC in 01 for $19K we love the front stack.

[ada903]

Makes sense. Trying to decide which one to hit in the winter of 2013, but I will probably do both on two separate trips. Perhaps Hilton in February and Westin end of April. It's only five hours nonstop flight for us.

Originally Posted by alwysonvac

They're completely different. We like them both for different reasons.

We love the Hilton on Oahu for it's location away from the crowded Waikiki area & convenient access to various activities. We're always on our large oceanfront or oceanview balcony at the Lagoon tower but we really don't hang out in the Hilton resort area.

At the Westin, we loved that it's away from the other crowded resort areas. The feel of the resort and the rooms are definitely in a different league than the Hilton Hawaiian Village. It feels like you're staying in a suite at a resort vs a timeshare. It's definitely a slower pace. We could see ourselves hanging out at the resort for a day or two but then we'll need to find something to keep us busy. We're not beach or water sports folks. We'll definitely return to Maui but we just don't visit Maui as often as we do Oahu.

[HatTrick]

Originally Posted by alwysonvac

They're completely different. We like them both for different reasons.

We love the Hilton on Oahu for it's location away from the crowded Waikiki area & convenient access to various activities. We're always on our large oceanfront or oceanview balcony at the Lagoon tower but we really don't hang out in the Hilton resort area.

At the Westin, we loved that it's away from the other crowded resort areas. The feel of the resort and the rooms are definitely in a different league than the Hilton Hawaiian Village. It feels like you're staying in a suite at a resort vs a timeshare. It's definitely a slower pace. We could see ourselves hanging out at the resort for a day or two but then we'll need to find something to keep us busy. We're not beach or water sports folks. We'll definitely return to Maui but we just don't visit Maui as often as we do Oahu.

I would agree with that assessment.

You also spent a night at Disney's Aulani, right? How does that resort compare to HHV and the Westin Ka'anapali?

[alwysonvac]

Originally Posted by ada903

Makes sense. Trying to decide which one to hit in the winter of 2013, but I will probably do both on two separate trips. Perhaps Hilton in February and Westin end of April. It's only five hours nonstop flight for us.

It really depends on what you're planning to do on vacation.
For example, if you're planning to spend most of your time onsite at the resort, I would choose the Westin.

[alwysonvac]

Originally Posted by HatTrick

I would agree with that assessment.

You also spent a night at Disney's Aulani, right? How does that resort compare to HHV and the Westin Ka'anapali?

All three are different.

Hilton is a great upscale resort in Waikiki
Westin is a great luxury resort in Ka'anapali
Disney is a great family destination resort in Ko Olina

At Disney's Aulani, we loved all of the special touches and the attention to detail throughout the resort. The rooms were nicely done and felt very comfortable. We actually picked up a DVD at the Community Center and watched a movie in the evening which we've never done during our Hawaii vacations.

The staff was extremely helpful and friendly. Overall it was very relaxing especially since the occupancy rate was at 51%. Disney not only has a lazy river. It also has a very wide stretch of beach with free lounge chairs. We can't wait to return.



Of course the food and drinks were overpriced. The ladies hospitality room is way too small. And I can't help but wonder how it will feel when occupancy is at 100% at Disney's Aulani.

There's no charge for parking at the Westin. At Disney, there's no charge for parking for DVC members. And of course, at Hilton everyone pays for parking.

Both Westin and Disney have ceiling fans in the bedrooms and fans in the bathrooms. LOL, just a pet peeve of mine with HHV