Hyatt Waikiki Resort and Spa: Well, this is a classic case of don't judge the book by it's cover, and that's NOT a good thing. This is one of the only bad points of my trip. After sitting in tons of traffic on the way downtown, we arrived at the Hyatt, to what appeared to be a very pleasant surprise. The hotel was quite bustling, with all open air shops, and a clean, fancy interior. I was definitely interested at what this place had to offer, even though big hotels really aren't my thing. We checked in and the reception desk staff was very friendly. My co-worker asked that we be placed in the same tower (there are two- Diamond Head and Ewa)and they said no problem- but there was a slight caveat. Apparently, they market heavily to the Japanese and an attractive feature over there is all-female floors in hotels for the single women. My first reaction was bewilderment, but then I figured it was safe if nothing else, so I took that room with no issue. It was a giant pain, though because I had to insert my key into the elevator in order to select my floor number. Plus, my co-worker could never stop by my room on his way down to the shops or restaurants. Not a big deal, but a slight inconvenience. So, I make my way to my room and come to find it's DIRECTLY behind the elevator. I open the door and inside is one noisy room and two TWIN beds!!! No, I know I'm by myself and I'm not a very large person, but twin beds??? I booked a room with a queen bed! After the initial shock of the beds wore off, I took notice to the constant roaring of the elevators. I was on he 23rd floor of a 40-floor tower, so it continuously raced past my room. I called the reception desk and very tactfully and kindly explained my situation and they found me a new room. The bellman brought the key to me and I made my way down to the 20th floor. I then come to find my room is not directly behind the elevator, but rather two behind, and you could still hear the elevators! I did get an upgrade to two double beds, though. Now that I was somewhat satisfied with my room (I wanted to move again, but knew that was rude), I took a look around. The decor in the room was in need of a major overhaul. The bedspreads were faded and thin, the bathroom tiles were cracked in several places, and the carpet was tremendously worn. Plus, a huge disappointment to me was that there was NO internet access! As a person on a business trip, this was pretty much a mandatory thing for me. Luckily, we were only there for a two night stay, so I could get away with not having that access. While looking around, I noticed a little sign stating that the rooms at the Hyatt were undergoing a major renovation. I found this to be a very good thing, because otherwise, they could not continue to compete with the other surrounding hotels. Too bad they hadn't renovated our tower by the time we got there, otherwise, I'd have more positive things to say. Although I was staying in a busy downtown area, I also have to complain about the road noise as well. It woke me up several times throughout the night. That is obviously at no fault of the hotel.

Foodwise, we ate at both the Colony Restaurant and the Terrace Grill (we ate at Jameson's By the Sea on the North Shore the one night- decent food and awesome sunset view). The Colony Restaurant is modern American cuisine with Japanese fusion. I really thought it was trying to be too modern (tiramisu with pistachios??) and I was less than impressed. We went to the Terrace Grill for breakfast and they had standard choices. I ordered the cinnamon swirl bread (aka french toast) with coconut syrup. It was good and I definitely would eat there again (although I doubt that would happen).

Since we weren't there very long (our only full day there was spent mostly driving around the island), we did manage to visit the pool. For such an incredibly large hotel, the pool was SO tiny. With five people in it, it was packed. The pool area, however, did kind of overlook the beach, and the water was comfortably heated. The beach area was just directly across the street and it was PACKED. You probably could not find a place to sit and there was just too much going on to be able to enjoy it.

Overall, the two nights we spent at the Hyatt was two nights too long, but I'd be curious to see the room renovations. Still, it was way too crowded and not recommended for any type of romantic vacation. The Japanese guests seemed to love it, and it's in a wonderful location for upscale shopping. Personally, if I wanted to be in a shopping area, I'd stay at the beachfront Sheraton Moana Surfrider across the street.

Hilton Hawaiian Village: Although I spent the majority of my stay here, I worked all day, so I didn't get the full experience of the resort. From what I did experience, everything exceeded my expectations since I had a somewhat sour outlook on Oahu. We arrived at the Hilton on a Monday morning to pick up a co-worker already staying there. Since we had some time to kill, we decided to pre-register for check-in, so we could just pick our room keys when we returned from work. To my surprise, they had a room available for me, if I wanted it. Not really thinking about it, I took it. Well, that was somewhat of a mistake because my co-worker waited and got into the Ali'i Tower, which is very private and exclusive. I ended up in the Tapa Tower (the largest tower), and although it was fine and I was pleased, it just wasn't the Ali'i Tower. My room was nice, with two double beds and plenty of room. I had a street view that left much to be desired, but no big deal because at least it was very quiet! After feeling somewhat disappointed with the tower choice, I realized later in the trip that it made no difference because I was almost never in my room, except to sleep, and we spent our two free afternoons at the Ali'i pool anyway. The Tapa Tower was very convenient for restaurants and the awesome outdoor Tapa Bar, and we spent EVERY evening there! I did not visit the Rainbow Tower and I only briefly meandered around the Kalia Tower when I went to the spa.

I honestly have no idea what activities are offered, but there were activities desks everywhere! Plus, there was always a ton of people waiting around for bus tours. If I had one complaint about the Hilton, it was the amount of people there. The place was huge and the pools were always packed. The Ali'i pool, which is only available to those staying in that tower, was the best choice and was always calmer. Plus, they had free hors d'oeurves at 5pm and the waitresses were always bringing out drinks. I give two thumbs up to the pina coladas! They also offer tons of shopping opportunities, from authentic Hawaiian gifts to Louis Vuitton. I behaved and kept out of Louis Vuitton (okay, so I went in, but my co-worker took my wallet), but I did purchase some shirts from Honolua Surf Shop and coconut soap from a small Hawaiian gift store. The one activity I did actually make time for, and was dead set on doing, was visiting the Mandara Spa.

I had visited the Mandara Spa at the Bora Bora Nui Resort, so I was familiar with some of their treatments and wanted to experience more of it! I also was curious to see how similar they were in size, decor, and ambience. I scheduled a facial appointment a little last minute, so I was unable to do the facial I really wanted to do. So, I just went with the 50 minute Traditional Mandara Facial. My aesthetician was Grace and she was great. She went into depth with me about what she was going to do, and she made sure she knew what type of skin I have and what problems I was having to create a totally unique and custom treatment for me. While the total facial experience was not as wonderful as Manale Bay, it was still among the best I've ever had, and I've had quite a few! The spa itself also exceeded my expectations. The Mandara at the Nui was more intimate, exotic, and simple, while this was grand, luxurious, and more focused on the total pampering experience. I enjoyed the view more in Bora Bora, but I enjoyed the experience as a whole more at the Hilton. My only regret is that I did not get to spend a full day there.

Of course, one other aspect of the Hilton that I can speak to is the food. The Hilton has 19 restaurants to choose from, which is plenty in my book! We checked out only a few- Benihana, Round Table Pizza, and the Village Steak and Seafood Restaurant. Benihana was good, but the least impressive. I was expecting a fun show, and instead, they just cooked the food without any tricks. I had a pretty decent pizza at Round Table and an out-of-this-world filet mignon at the Village Restaurant. I highly recommend the Village Restaurant, which is located in the Tapa Tower. There are obviously a lot of other restaurants to choose from, but with limited time, we couldn't visit them all.

All in all, my experience at the Hilton was a good one. I thought the staff was very kind, the resort was well-maintained, and the room decor looked new and fresh. The resort, however, is just too big for a romantic vacation. In my opinion, there are just too many people at that resort and you are never really going to get any true quiet, private time outside of your room. For business, it's a great resort with tons to offer. Also, they have a wireless internet connection at the Tapa Bar, so you can check your e-mail and drink at the same time!! So, if I ever end up in Oahu ever again (which is highly unlikely for leisure), the Hilton would be at the top of my list. I can only see myself being in Oahu for leisure if we went with other couples, and I do think the Hilton is a good place for that as well.

Hope this helps!

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