Island of Oahu, Honolulu, Hilton Grand Vacations Club (Hawaiian Village)

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Leave your home airport on the earliest flight possible with hopes that you can arrive in Honolulu in the early afternoon. You will get the best room selection possible if you plan ahead. Our stay at this property was in November of 2001. Some details could easily have changed during these past 6 years.

We had already requested the Rainbow Towers for our stay. Our first room was facing the marina and the Ala Moana Shopping Center beyond. It was a nice view, but we wanted to be on the other side of the building so we could see Diamond Head. (Yup We're typical tourists.) We requested a room change and they promptly moved us to the other side of the building for the desired view.

The rooms are not as large as at other HGVC properties we have been to. These are essentially a nice hotel room. There is no jacuzzi in the room as in some other HGVC properties. There is a small balcony deep enough to be comfortable in a chair, but only about as wide as a standard sliding door.

On our first morning we went to their restaurant and discovered the meal was rather high priced. I could be wrong, but I seem to recall it was about $17 each for a simple breakfast of eggs, toast, and a meat selection. We decided to look off the property and directly across from the main entrance to HGVC is (was?) a cafe. I think the name was Waimea Cafe. (It is on the corner at a traffic light.) The food is excellent. You really must try their Portuguese sausage. The sausage is flavorful, with a little spice. The meals were so good that we even had our Thanksgiving Dinner there. We did venture out for other meals and found a nice Italian one just a couple of blocks away, between the main entrance and the shopping center.

We did the usual tour to Pearl Harbor, but realized that we should have left a bit sooner as a bus had just unloaded ahead of us. As this was more an item for our parent's generation than our own, we decided to forgo the trip to the Arizona and went to the submarine tour instead, followed up by the Missouri tour, which is anchored just one berth away. We bought an American flag there that had actually flown on the Missouri. Granted, it only flew there for one minute, but that was enough to be meaningful to us.

We then drove to the North Shore as we had found a flyer somewhere for glider rides. I suggest you get good directions as ours were lacking one turn. We made it to Dillingham Airfield and got a wonderful ride for about $40. The airfield is a small one. As it turned out, there weren't too many travelers at that time due to the holiday. The view was spectacular. They even have a camera that takes pictures of the view and of the passengers. We both rode together behind the pilot. At the end of the flight the pilot asked if we wanted to land fast or come in gentle. In unison we said "FAST". We were not disappointed. We ate at a local spot afterwards and it was very good as well.

International Market Place in Wakiki. There are many kiosk and shops that sell many items. A word to the wise DO NOT accept the first price as they are all inflated to permit them to be lowered and still make a profit.

Hanauma Bay is a protected bay that is one of the best for snorkeling. The city must think so too as there is a city bus you can take to get there. The bay is only a few miles to the east of Diamond Head. The day we were there the wind was blowing in towards the bay and the water wasn't as clear as normal we were told. We still liked it and went there at least twice.

Diamond Head is a trip by itself. You literally drive into the extinct volcano and park at the visitor center. You will have a bit of a climb to the top. The lower part is fairly easy. The narrow stair section up higher is quite steep and there is nowhere to step off to rest. I vaguely remember it was about 100 steps, but seems like a lot more. At the top of the steps you then enter a tunnel (flashlight is useful here) that eventually leads to easy stairs and then you are inside the pillbox. You go through an opening and it is an easy walk up from there. The view of Honolulu is breathtaking.