Hilton Grand Vacations Club Ocean Tower Waikoloa Village

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

719 reviews

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  Outdated rooms and minimal service

  I was very disappointed with this hotel. According to my experience and those of my travel partners, the rooms are all outdated. They had a musky smell, outdated furniture, and no upgrades. Additionally, the bathrooms were dirty and old. Here are some of the issues we encountered: 1. There are no sun umbrellas anywhere on the property. If you plan to relax by the pool, don’t expect any shade; the January sun can be quite intense. 2. The pools by the Grand Vacation Club Ocean Tower do not offer poolside service. If you want drinks, water, or food, you will have to go elsewhere. 3. The food at the main pool bar was below average. The burger was unappetizing, and the fish and chips were overcooked and dry—terrible overall. 4. The rooms smelled musty, were outdated, and the bathrooms were "yucky". 5. The monorail that connects the buildings on this vast property moves incredibly slowly. Walking is often faster than taking the train. Additionally, the air conditioning inside the train is so cold that you feel nearly frozen by the time you reach your destination. 6. The Italian restaurant on-site has low ratings. A simple pizza costs $70, with tax and tip not included. Have they lost their minds? 7. If you want to take the shuttle to the nearby shopping and restaurant area (just a 5-minute ride), it will cost $5 per person each way. Using Uber or Lyft is cheaper. Unfortunately, corporate greed prevents them from offering this service for free. On the positive side, the staff was friendly, and the food and drinks at the coffee shop by the Ocean Tower were good!

  Jan 20, 2025
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  Giving HILTON a bad name!

  My wife and I booked this for our annual vacation and spent the extra for an Ocean Front view. There is a slow moving tram that runs but took about 30 minutes between the wait and tram ride to arrive at the room. Once we arrived to the room, the view was amazing however the room was VERY outdated which included stained carpet, odors and wood furniture that was stained and deteriorated. After talking to customer service we were moved to an updated room but had zero view of the ocean and was not offered any compensation for the room cost differences. The parking was at the hotel and very pricey ($50) considering the distance to the rooms. We left the hotel every morning and only used the resort for sleeping, but I do know the cost of food and beverages is insane. (a pizza at the restaurant is $70) Nice restaurants within 10 miles of this resort that are well worth the drive. I am a loyal Hilton member and will not stay at this resort ever again, save your time and aggravation and stay somewhere that is worth the cost!

  Jan 11, 2025
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  Believe the other reviews on here and avoid these terribly dated and uncomfortable rooms

  Pros: - we stayed for the week between Christmas and New Years for less than $1,000 because of the HGV promotion - The resort is in a lovely location and the views are some of the best in Hawaii - Valet was always prompt and worth the extra few bucks to avoid having to hike to the self parking lot Cons: - the room and the bed might be original to when this hotel was built - It is dated and a sad experience for a company that is trying to get people to invest in a timeshare. To put people into an old and dated room with an abhorrently uncomfortable bed for 5 nights, show them the remodeled units but not let them stay in them, and then expect them to buy is beyond a laughable business model. The reviews on here are all accurate and this is another warning to anyone who might be thinking about doing the same as we did. Spend a little more money and stay elsewhere. It’s not worth the savings to have back pain every morning because the bed is older than you are. Very little the hotel could do given time of year, so just a bad experience from the room perspective. I had buyer’s remorse from the moment I booked and then read the reviews. The walk from Ocean Tower to the main lobby is a half mile and the slow moving tram ran regularly and was only slightly faster than walking (but good if you caught it and had bags to carry). We did not frequent any of the restaurants besides the coffee shop (which was good but always running out of items). Breakfast buffet was $50 a person for an omelette station and make your own waffles. Italian restaurant was busy at night but we always ventured into the small villages for food. Eat where the locals do, it will save you a ton of money. We won’t return to this property again, but the island is absolutely worth the visit.

  Jan 05, 2025
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  Nice, but our room was the same as 1990, stay at the hotel.

  The hotel was full, so we booked into the Time Share Ocean building, at just above $600.00 a night. It was just like the room we had in the building in the 1990's, very clean, the bed was good. The boats were not running over Christmas due to an employee shortage, if you need a job, they are looking. Outside of the building everything is run by the hotel, and they do an excellent job, but you need to have real money to stay here, it must cost big bucks to run. We been coming every year or so since the 1990's, now our Grandchildren are hooked. You are better off staying at the hotel, for $600.00 you will get a better room. The Grandkids are already planning on a return next Christmas, Andrew/Sheldon the boat/tram drivers are like family. When we checked in, Sheldon said we all been talking wondering when you will get back, real family hotel.

  Jan 05, 2025
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  Family-Unfriendly, Overpriced, and Full of Surprises

  I never review hotels but after this experience I feel like I had no choice. The property itself was challenging for our family. The layout is not stroller-friendly—accessing the pools required carrying the stroller up stairs, which was very inconvenient. Additionally, we were surprised to find that the coffee shop closes at noon, leaving us without a convenient option for coffee later in the day. There is no poolside food service, and the rooms are dated and in need of refurbishment. The $55 breakfast buffet was overpriced for what was offered, and parking fees were excessive. The tram was slow, and the tower felt far from the main amenities, making it difficult to get around. We signed up for a timeshare presentation to save on our luau. Regarding the timeshare presentation, we were told to go to the sales gallery to attend, but upon arriving, we were directed to an off-property site, which was not what we were initially informed about. This bait-and-switch made us feel misled, and after wasting time on this inconvenience, we ended up bailing on the presentation altogether. As a result, we didn’t receive the savings we had been promised for the luau, and it felt like a waste of both time and effort. While we did enjoy the pools once we finally made it there, the overall experience was far below our expectations. I wanted to share this feedback in hopes that it might improve the experience for future guests.

  Jan 02, 2025