When it comes to multigenerational family vacations, size does matter and, at the classic Hilton Waikoloa Village bigger means better. And more choice.
Isolated, yet comprising almost every conceivable creature comfort, the 35,000-acre Hilton development is on the northwest coast of Hawaii Island, north of Kona. Like a theme park in scope and style, it includes the Hilton Waikoloa hotel with three towers – Lagoon, Palace and Ocean; three Hilton Grand Vacations Club condo complexes – Kings Land, Kohala Suites and The Bay Club; several restaurants; and the Queen’s Marketplace shopping mall with super market, multiplex cinema, and more. Overall, it’s a joyful piece of paradise, especially for multigenerational travelers.
The Hilton Waikoloa hotel, which began construction in 1986, is still lauded for its many restaurants, bars, pools, beach and generally playful ambiance. Each example of Asian art, from silk tapestries to ceramics decorating the resort, is worthy of close inspection, easy to do if you take the free monorail train or canal boat to get around. The day we spent hanging out at the main hotel, coddled by lifeguards, dining in full view of the dolphin lagoon, was a highlight of our visit.
A Condo Works Best for Large Families
However, we chose to stay at Kings Land, the newest of the Hilton Grand Vacations Club rental complexes. The whole place is well laid out, so the condos feel just as glamorous — but much more intimate — than the 1,113-room main hotel.
Our large two-bedroom unit overlooked black, brown and red lava fields artfully bordering the resort’s golf course. Hibiscus, calladium, pineapple plants and coconut palms outlined the walking paths. As condominium guests, we had the advantage of full apartment-style units with comfortable separate bedrooms, full kitchen and washer/dryer — actually more comforts than in most homes. Having that two-bedroom unit gave our family the opportunity to buy coconut bread and Kona coffee for breakfast, keep macadamia nut snacks and refreshments at hand, have space and privacy to work, and easily get ourselves ready each evening.
Hilton Vacation Clubs are like independent resorts
Kings Land also feels like its own resort. There are multiple pools, several swim areas with chaise lounges and waterslides, a recreation center where the Keiki Club for ages 5-12 meets daily from 8am-10pm, a fitness center, games room, bistro and bars. During the busy holiday weeks, there are several supervised activities daily, ranging from Coconut Palm Frond Weaving to aquarobics, lei making to yoga and hula lessons. A free shuttle provides access to the main hotel, the mall, the sand beach and all facilities that condo guests can use, plus it’s a fun way to get an overview of the property with kids.
Planning your Hilton Waikoloa Visit
If you’re a Hilton Honors member, you are in luck because this is one of loyalty program’s most-redeemed resort stays. If not, check the Hilton Hawaii website which features all the hotel rooms and condo options available. You’ll find that, depending on season, the condo prices are usually better value for larger families.
Additionally, Hilton Grand Vacation Club guests get special rates at the Waikoloa Beach and Kings’ golf courses, discounts on gear, rentals and dining, and free use of the practice facilities and clubs if you want to introduce your family to the sport.
Although you can cook in your condo or try one of the many hotel or mall restaurants, the Waikoloa Village complex boasts the very popular Lava Lava Beach Club about a 10-minute drive away on the shore of Anaeho’omalu Bay. It’s a wonderful place to enjoy fresh seafood at night, out on the sand, and listen to some live music, so book ahead.
Hawai’i is not called the Big Island for nothing. While Waikoloa is not central to everything, it is a routine pickup spot for tours to Mauna Kea to see the observatories (run by Hawaii Forest Trail), guided walks to an active lava flow (see Kapoho Kine Adventures), and even excursions to snorkel with manta rays, which we did on the Kona coast, about an hour’s drive away.
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Have you ever actually traveled with kids? It doesn’t seem like it by the tone of this article.
Hello Dr Ramesh,
If both legal guardians or birth parents of the child are traveling with the child, you will not need any other documentation, except everyone’s visas and passports. Check with your employer about medical insurance. If they will not provide medical coverage overseas, you can inquire with your U.S. based insurance company about what they provide. Some travel insurance companies sell one-year policies to cover students studying overseas and that might be another option. Safe Travels!
Sir, we both are going Europe with work visa on base of permit. Taking our 3year old child with us. Any letter or medical form/ paper we need to carry with us?
A Great Family Activity and one that will bring the family back together in the future when they all grow up!!
Take a look at our adventures. https://www.youtube.com/user/00Shaddow00 . We just started doing this to bring the family together and stop wasting our time setting in front of the television. We are filming our trips to document our adventures to remember and to share with family and friends. Maybe to motivate others to get out there with there family.
good article..
thanks for sharing the wonderful and informative details. Love this blog post. Next month coming to san francisco and looking for best hotel.
Dubai is such a nice place to stay and famous for its wonderful sightseeing’s attractions. The best trip is Dubai sightseeing’s tour and desert safari in Dubai. We had great time couple of years ago.
Everything is very open with a precise clarification of the challenges. It was really informative. Your site is extremely helpful. Many thanks for sharing
Let me add http://www.babyquip.com to the list.
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YAY THAT’S MY TWIN! So proud of you Tali!
Your blog helped me to plan my family trip to Bangkok and Pattaya. Just made a video blog out if it, https://youtu.be/tok17yOR1W8 please watch ang give feedback.
Ranch Vacation with family is a real fun. Here we spent quality time with each other. Truly said, we eat a lot and on-time as well. Riding is also a fun in ranch vacation, Created a perfect picture.
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We have actually done the ATV tour in Cozumel Mexico, and had an amazing time. We booked with Cozumel Cruise Excursions. Net which is a family business and we had an amazing time. Theres nothing better than going to another country and getting great customer service and amazing people as guides. I would highly recommend checking them out next time your in Cozumel http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.net
This sounds like so much fun! From the haunted houses to the different drinks offered. I didn’t know HHN was such a major part for Universal Orlando. Good to know! Thanks for the article!
Hello Annetta,
Yes, one Permission to Travel or Consent Letter can list more than one child on it, if the contact information for the legal guardians/birth parents is the same.
Safe travels!
Can I use one concept form to apply for two sibling from the same father
Hey, very nice site. I came across this on Google, and I am stoked that I did. I will definitely be coming back here more often. Wish I could add to the conversation and bring a bit more to the table,but am just taking in as much info as I can at the moment. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for all of these suggestions.
Chicago is a wonderful place to visit.
Excellent very nice! No doubt Dubai is very famous for more activities but desert safari is very unique activity.i love this one…
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Thanks, recommendation cheap hotels is very useful for the preparation of our vacation that will not be soon. Really nice!
Nice article
Nice Travel Tips…
It’s amazing. I hope i can visit it soon T.T
Beautiful article
Our family of 3 adults booked a tour with Kalka Travels in April 2018. Our tour included transportation and accommodation in Delhi, Pushkar, Udaipur, Bundi, Jaipur and Agra. We then caught an overnight train to Varanasi where we met up with a third party contracted by Kalka Travel. Overall we were very happy with the tour company as they delivered on what we had pre-arranged with them. We upgraded our vehicle to a SUV rather than just a sedan, and added an elephant ride to Agra Fort, tickets to traditional dance show in Udaipur, a movie at the Raj Mandir theatre in Jaipur as well as water was supplied each day to us. All breakfasts were included. Our driver Ravinder was exceptional in that he was always on time and patient with us sometimes being late; the vehicle was always cleaned that morning and comfortable. He was highly attentive to our needs, very reliable, polite, and humorous, and told us what to expect at each stop. We always felt very safe with him as he was an excellent driver. His English was good in that we were able to ask many questions of him. Kalka Travels was flexible with our itinerary and our driver stopped at a few places that were not on our list of stops, unlike the other company we had considered booking who told us the drivers could not be flexible.Our wonderful driver, Ravinder, made our trip very special. Kalka Travels also only asked for a $100 deposit in advance and the remainder when we arrived in India, which put us at ease. Bobby Thakur was very quick to respond to any concerns we had. All in all, a wonderful vacation and experience with Kalka Travels.
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Great article & very practical. Thanks for all the tips – I’ll be thinking about them for a while as we work on our website redesign.
Great vacation ideas and post too..!!!
There are many famous forts and palaces along with wildlife sanctuaries and other monuments which has attracted thousands of visitors and some of them have become a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site as well.
We are completely in accord with these ‘not to miss 5 experiences in Dubai.’ We experienced them on a family trip last year. The one thing we missed out was the charter yacht. Now we have taken it as a priority for our next trip after reading your post.
Look like you had a great adventure trip. The ship looks awesome.
Dubai is amazing. I really enjoyed reading your article! 🙂
I just found a website that lists apple festivals all over the country! So you can find something in your area. They all seem a little bit different, which is fun. http://pickyourown.org/applefestivals.php
St john is more quite than other Caribbean islands. St John accessible only by ferry from the other U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John is a true gem in the Caribbean with crystal clear waters, lush green mountains and gorgeous white sand beaches. Though it is the smallest of the three U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John’s unspoiled beauty is perhaps the greatest found anywhere in the Caribbean.
Rajasthan is one of the most vibrant and colorful states in India with its rich culture and traditions since ancient times. It is known as the land of warriors and beautiful princess who even chose to die for saving their chastity and had a great affinity with their motherland. Whether it is the cuisine or the dress sense everything is unique about Rajasthan’s culture. There are many famous forts and palaces along with wildlife sanctuaries and other monuments which has attracted thousands of visitors and some of them have become a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site as well. The famous sites are described in this blog which is good for the history lovers and for those people who want to explore more about the diversity of Rajasthan.
Being in the city of Royal Tents in Jaisalmer of moving sand ridges, you can’t get away from the seat travel. A rough ride on a camel in the Thar Desert is one of the energizing things to do in Jaisalmer Royal Camps. It enables you to investigate the remote and segregated spots tucked amidst the abandon. Absolutely, the additional time you give on your safari, the more remote spots you are probably going to see and the more you may acclimate to and appreciate the abandon serenity.
I am going to Dubai next month thanks for sharing this information will come in handy
Nice post…
Thank you so much for sharing a great information. I appreciate your time and effort in your work. Keep posting.
Thanks, for posting such and Informatic blog. I had been to Amer Fort in Jaipur and it was an amazing experience.
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A rough ride on a camel in the Thar Desert is one of the energizing things to do in Jaisalmer Royal Camps. It enables you to investigate the remote and segregated spots tucked amidst the abandon.
I think that is a wonderful experience at Dubai. I’ve been to Dubai and it’s pretty