The hotel it self is huge by normal standards. I didn't quite understand why, but after being on the island it made sense. Most of the island is lava. Lava is literately everywhere. Very few beaches around, so that leaves the resort. It's beautiful. Lush lawns, palm trees, flowers, and quaint bridges over man made water ways. Then, there is the Asian art! As you walk the paths around the hotel/resort there is artwork everywhere. It's an open air museum. Enormous Asian statues dot the green paces as well. There is a lagoon that connects to the ocean, here is where the only beach lies. It's located in the middle of the resort. I imagine it gets crowded during the summer months. The lagoon is home to all kinds of fish, turtles and eels; ready for your viewing with snorkel gear. If swimming with the fish isn't your thing, then your in luck, because there are many pools to choose from. There are a few very nice restaurants on site. If you want something different to eat, take a short drive to Queens Market Place. It's approximately 1-2 miles away. Besides restaurants, there are many quaint shops for clothes, home accessories, art, souvenirs and a small market/wine bar. I think there is a hotel shuttle to take you there. We had rented a car, so we drove. We nick named the place "Hotel Walk-a-Lotta". There is a monorail that travels around the resort. It didn't quite make it to our building, thou the tracks did. The rail was damaged in the big rain storm that brought down a tree onto the monorail tracks. I guess they are waiting for parts to fix the problem. I can't fault the hotel for an act of nature. And the fact this is on an island with no easy way to get parts. It is what it is. The room was very nice and clean, it had been recently remolded. The room came with bathrobes, which is rare. The toilet/bidet is a new Toto brand. The lid lifts when you walk in, it came with all the water features, even a heated seat. The kitchen sink has an instant hot water spout, a pleasant surprise. It made making my morning cup of tea a breeze. The hotel toiletries are a very nice brand, Crabtree and Evelyn. I didn't bother wasting the extra luggage space by bringing my own from home. There isn't much to see outside of the resort, just lots of beautiful condo complexes. You need a rent car to get to the other features of the island, I.E. Volcano National Park. The only miss step we had was with the parking lot. The Hilton does NOT own the parking lot adjacent to the hotel. It was $48.00 a day to park. There is no legal street parking around the area. Half of the time our card key didn't work and with no attendant in the parking lot, we had to get a punch ticket to get let in. They must have some agreement with the property owner of the lot, because the front desk handled all of it at check out. All in all it was a relaxing week of unwinding, sleeping in, a little swimming, reading a book under a palm tree and seeing a volcano erupting, just a tiny bit.
