We'd made back to back reservations at the Hilton Garden Inn Waikiki, then the Hilton Hawaiian Village (long story). The women who checked us in at the Hawaiian Village at around 11:30am was extremely helpful, including with a lost government ID issue, which we greatly appreciated. She was also to upgrade our room to the Ali'i Tower for a modest upcharge - the Ali'l has its own pool, weight room, and lounge, and we were able to check in right away, which was wonderful. I need a feather-free room as I'm quite allergic, which they were able to do a bit after we checked in. Housekeeping was generally excellent, but the last full day, they added a feather pillow to our room, which was frustrating.
Unlike the Hilton Garden Inn, the coffee in the room isn't very good, and there's no complementary coffee in the lobby, I ended up getting some pods from a local grocery store, and some Sugar in the Raw packets, which was okay. You can also frequent coffee shops on the grounds, which may or may not have a long line. We prefer local to Starbucks, but Starbucks did have an express drip coffee line, which was very fast and a good deal.
The room was stunning - the Hilton Garden Inn was very comfortable, but it was a place to sleep and get ready for the next activity. The Hawaiian Village had an huge bathroom with separate toilet and sizable closet, and we had a comfortable deck with a great partial view It was harder to get the room cool than the Garden Inn, but we just slept with a top sheet at night.
The grounds have a lot of restaurants and shops - they are not a great deal, even for Waikiki, but they are convenient. Being right on the beach was amazing, and is a definite highlight - we did a beach walk every night we were there. I can see the appeal for families, as you don't have to cross the street to go to eat or be entertained - you can stay on the resort grounds the whole time.
Two other negatives - the taxes are very, very high - ours were about $100 a night. I'm guessing this is because the local economy is very tourism dependent, and I don't know how much of the money spent there is going back into the local economy, since it's Hilton, not a locally-owned hotel. Secondly, there were a couple shops where a worker would entice a female guest with a chocolate or similar treat, then bring them inside to do a hard sell on a pricey makeup package - it was bizarre and uncomfortable, and I'd steer well clear of these places.
The staff of the hotel and various establishments on the grounds work very hard - I was going back between a 4 and 5 star rating, but the workers are going all out, so I went with a five star rating.
