Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort Review

Located on Waikiki Beach, the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort is the perfect hotel to help you get away from it all…..while actually being close to it all.

Sitting on our room’s lanai, you could enjoy views of the beautiful blues of the ocean water and the towering craters of Diamond Head. From that view it was hard to believe that just outside the front doors of this hotel was a busy city center with restaurants, shopping, and entertainment close by.

Our room was in Tapa Tower. The room was very nice, a bit outdated, but very clean and spacious. The view is what sold it. We started every morning and ended most evenings on our lanai. One of the coolest features about staying at this resort were the DVD now machines. Ours were located in front of our bank of elevators in our tower. When you checked in, you received a DVD Now card (included in your resort fee) and using the machines, you could pick a movie to watch (or a game to play). Each room has a PS4 to watch it on. They even had current movies; we watched Kingsmen 2!

The Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort is a town in itself! It has numerous hotel towers and buildings, each with their own name and feel. It has 6 pools, plus a lagoon and of course, it backs onto the world famous Waikiki Beach. Aside from those amenities is that fact that in between all the buildings there are many restaurants, bars, convenience stores, and shops. Everything you need is located there. You would never have to leave your entire stay if you don’t want too.

For walkers, Waikiki beach is a dream! Is goes on for so long and there is tons to look at: you have the ocean on one side, Diamond Head views in front of you, and beautiful hotel backdrops on the other.

The only downfall I see with this resort is that it is on a public beach and therefore lounge chairs and umbrellas on the beach are not provided. You can pay a fee (between $30-$40) each day to rent them from vendors but they pack it up at 5pm so you only get your rental until then.

There are lots of attractions within walking distance as well. The Ala Moana Shopping Centre (the largest outdoor shopping center in North America) is about a 10-minute walk away and International Market (another shopping center) is about a 15-20 minutes walk. There are also numerous restaurants around. Another cool attraction to check out is the U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii. It’s about a block away (its backside is on Waikiki Beach) and its entry is free. It features some really interesting exhibits about Hawaii’s military involvement not only in World War 2 and Pearl Harbor but also from Vietnam War leading up to today.

For those who know me, I am a big Hawaii 5-0 fan and since the Hilton Hawaiian Village is a major backdrop on the show, I knew I needed to stay there! Alas, the show was not filming while we were there so I didn’t get to meet Danno or McGarrett but we did eat at their favorite hangout, Tropics! From now on, every time I watch the show, I get to relieve the excitement of having been where they are.

Aside from wanting to stay where they film Hawaii 5-0, the other reason I wanted to stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village were the Friday night fireworks. Every Friday night (weather permitting) the Hilton Hawaiian Village sets off an amazing fireworks show at 8pm over the waters of Waikiki Beach. This occurred on our last night in Hawaii, and it was an amazing way to end the trip.

The Hilton Hawaiian Village provides everything you need to enjoy your Hawaiian vacation: beautiful beach, great location, and tons of delicious food options!