After going to Oahu more than half dozen times, we had never done this and decided to give it a try. My 3 year old loved it. It was the perfect amount of time for his attention span. Saw sea turtles, fish, etc. Kinda expensive but as most things in Hawaii are.

* Must be 36 inches tall and climb up and down a vertical ladder

Stayed here right after coming from the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Hilton Hawaiian Village (HHV) vs Marriott Ko-olina Beach Club (KBC) reviews

I had always wondered the pros and cons of staying at the HHV vs the KBC. I decided to take my 3 year old to both in Feb. We stayed 4 nights at the HHV and 4 nights at the KBC in Ko’olina. We had stayed at the HHV before in Dec so we knew the grounds very well. In Dec we had stayed at the Grand Waikikian part of the HHV which is the condo portion (very nice!). This time we stayed in the hotel portion.

I had loved the HHV pools (mostly paradise pool) from our previous visits, however the pool was colder this time and definitely more people than our previous visits. It was extremely crowded and busy and we never felt like we got to relax.

They originally put me in a family room which was in the tower (Kalia?) they were doing balcony renovations on. My 3 year old still naps so that was not an option and I was transferred to the Diamond Head tower. The room in the other tower was nicer. The room in the Diamond head tower was nothing special. Especially after staying at the Grand Waikikian with its full kitchen, large baths, etc. The Diamond head tower room had old blue carpet, a basic bed, and a mini refrig.

After a few days we went to Marriott KBC about 20-30 miles from Waikiki. Checked in and was given a room on the 6th floor with an ocean view. 6th floor seems to be the beginning of the oceanview and you are pretty level with palm trees. Still great views. This resort is nothing short of amazing! The pools, the grounds, the staff, the beach. This is the resort to go to if you have children. I did see lots of older folks as well. Since it was just me and my 3 year old I got the studio room. It was perfect for us and the larger mini refrig and microwave were a plus. The KBC has an activities calendar for the week when you arrive. Lots of stuff to do (coconut painting, koi fish feedings, exercise classes, etc). Be sure to check out all the pools on site as you will discover that they are amazing (waterfall pool, slide, zero entry sand pool, etc)


Room (Diamond head) at the HHV
-small hotel room. Outdated
-mini refrig
-no microwave
-Lanai (balcony) was old metal rails. I am always cautious of balconies with a toddler but this one made me very nervous.
- Staff was not friendly

Resort highlights of the HHV
-Paradise pool with slide but cold
-Fireworks on Friday night
-Penguin feeding and other wildlife
-Lagoon sand is hard
-$30 parking however we are military so parked at the Hale Koa next door for $8 a night 

Room at the Marriott KBC
-Very nice updated decor with a wonderful view of ocean. Note: if you are allergic to feathers everything in the room has feather pillows and down comforters
- Larger than average mini-refrig (with freezer)
-microwave
-Sink and silverware, plates, etc.
-Balcony was nice. The balcony did not have rails but rather glass or something so your view was not interrupted. Much safer than rails.
-Super friendly staff


Resort highlights at the Marriott KBC
-Wonderful and I mean WONDERFUL pools. Kiddie pool that goes from a sandy bottom to normal. Includes small fountains. Another pool has a waterfall tunnel and slide.
-Jacuzzis all over including one designed for kids at a lower temperature
-Activity calendar every day. Arts and crafts for kids (like coconut painting, etc)
-BBQs on ground (with utensils)
-$30 mandatory parking fee each day (yuck!)
-Wonderful lagoon in front of the resort with nice soft sand.
-Nice walking path to the other hotels and lagoons in the area
-Free use of washer and dryer on every other floor

If you have never been to Oahu before then I suggest at least a little stay in Waikiki for the entertainment, shopping, etc. If you want relaxation, good quality family time then the Marriott KBC is a MUST. It will not be our last time there. If I were to stay at the HHV again I would stay at the Grand Waikikian. More family friendly and more space.

We have been to Hawaii 8+ times and taken our toddler since he was born. We don’t have family there. We just feel like Hawaii is “home”, for some reason. I was on my own this trip as my husband is deployed. My 3 year old and I are on adventures while daddy is gone.

First off let me say I have stayed in Waikiki many times. Hilton Hawaiian Village two times (one of which was the Grand Waikikian portion).

Hilton Hawaiian Village (HHV) vs Marriott Ko-olina Beach Club (KBC) reviews

I had always wondered the pros and cons of staying at the HHV vs the KBC. I decided to take my 3 year old to both in Feb. We stayed 4 nights at the HHV and 4 nights at the KBC in Ko’olina. We had stayed at the HHV before in Dec so we knew the grounds very well. In Dec we had stayed at the Grand Waikikian part of the HHV which is the condo portion (very nice!). This time we stayed in the hotel portion.

I had loved the HHV pools (mostly paradise pool) from our previous visits, however the pool was colder this time and definitely more people than our previous visits. It was extremely crowded and busy and we never felt like we got to relax.

They originally put me in a family room which was in the tower (Kalia?) they were doing balcony renovations on. My 3 year old still naps so that was not an option and I was transferred to the Diamond Head tower. The room in the other tower was nicer. The room in the Diamond head tower was nothing special. Especially after staying at the Grand Waikikian with its full kitchen, large baths, etc. The Diamond head tower room had old blue carpet, a basic bed, and a mini refrig.

After a few days we went to Marriott KBC about 20-30 miles from Waikiki. Checked in and was given a room on the 6th floor with an ocean view. 6th floor seems to be the beginning of the oceanview and you are pretty level with palm trees. Still great views. This resort is nothing short of amazing! The pools, the grounds, the staff, the beach. This is the resort to go to if you have children. I did see lots of older folks as well. Since it was just me and my 3 year old I got the studio room. It was perfect for us and the larger mini refrig and microwave were a plus. The KBC has an activities calendar for the week when you arrive. Lots of stuff to do (coconut painting, koi fish feedings, exercise classes, etc). Be sure to check out all the pools on site as you will discover that they are amazing (waterfall pool, slide, zero entry sand pool, etc)


Room (Diamond head) at the HHV
-small hotel room. Outdated
-mini refrig
-no microwave
-Lanai (balcony) was old metal rails. I am always cautious of balconies with a toddler but this one made me very nervous.
- Staff was not friendly

Resort highlights of the HHV
-Paradise pool with slide but cold
-Fireworks on Friday night
-Penguin feeding and other wildlife
-Lagoon sand is hard
-$30 parking however we are military so parked at the Hale Koa next door for $8 a night 

Room at the Marriott KBC
-Very nice updated decor with a wonderful view of ocean. Note: if you are allergic to feathers everything in the room has feather pillows and down comforters
- Larger than average mini-refrig (with freezer)
-microwave
-Sink and silverware, plates, etc.
-Balcony was nice. The balcony did not have rails but rather glass or something so your view was not interrupted. Much safer than rails.
-Super friendly staff


Resort highlights at the Marriott KBC
-Wonderful and I mean WONDERFUL pools. Kiddie pool that goes from a sandy bottom to normal. Includes small fountains. Another pool has a waterfall tunnel and slide.
-Jacuzzis all over including one designed for kids at a lower temperature
-Activity calendar every day. Arts and crafts for kids (like coconut painting, etc)
-BBQs on ground (with utensils)
-$30 mandatory parking fee each day (yuck!)
-Wonderful lagoon in front of the resort with nice soft sand.
-Nice walking path to the other hotels and lagoons in the area
-Free use of washer and dryer on every other floor

If you have never been to Oahu before then I suggest at least a little stay in Waikiki for the entertainment, shopping, etc. If you want relaxation, good quality family time then the Marriott KBC is a MUST. It will not be our last time there. If I were to stay at the HHV again I would stay at the Grand Waikikian. More family friendly and more space.

We have been to Hawaii 8+ times and taken our toddler since he was born. We don’t have family there. We just feel like Hawaii is “home”, for some reason. I was on my own this trip as my husband is deployed. My 3 year old and I are on adventures while daddy is gone.

After checking out of the Hilton Resort and Spa, we headed to the Disneyland Grand Californian. I had bought 3 day passes at the military base, so we were going to DL after checking in. Upon check-in, my husband and son were given buttons and balloons for there first time at DL. We were given a room on the 5th floor (called premium view) facing the pool. I had requested a king bed but was given two Queens upon entering the room. I was going to change but the bellman had mentioned that King rooms are few and far between. He said most rooms are queen rooms. I decided to keep the room, so that we could get going to DL. The room was spotless, and was just a regular room to me. Nothing spectacular given the price. It did have a refrig, but I preferred the refrig at the Hilton Resort and Spa because that refrig had an area inside to freeze things like our ice packs.

So off to DL we went (around 1 pm) and it was not crowded at all. I actually figured the remaining 2 days would be like that too, but wanted to do the popular rides first. We basically walked right up to It’s a Small World, Dumbo, Matterhorn, Tea Cups, Astroblasters, Autotopia, Pirates of the Caribeean, etc. Some rides like Space Mountain were closed. I was loving how quite everything was and boy was I in for a surprise the next 2 days! We took our time and enjoyed the sites and sounds and my son got to see Mickey, Pluto, Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Andy. It was wonderful! We did not leave the park until 10pm.

The two days (Fri& Sat) we got up early and went back to DL and the crowds were bad. It was the first day the Halloween decorations were up. It was crazy. We were meeting friends at California Adventure and although the crowds were smaller there, I did not find it as fun. The rides for little ones were for little, little ones. After my son had been on the other rides, I think he found these ones a little boring.

Because we were guests of the hotel we were given a time in the morning and special entrance to get tickets to get Fastpasses for the World of Color on Sat night. The show was nice and we were given Fastpasses to the blue viewing area which was right in front. We even got a little wet from the show. We enjoyed the fireworks from our balcony the next two nights. It prob wasn’t the best view but we avoided the massive crowds.

We did utilize the pool on Sat morning. There were two water slides (one for big kids and one for little kids). My son didn’t really care about that. I found the pool area just mediocre. I really did expect it to be amazing considering every detail in DL is thought out. The pool area was just plain to me. I actually liked the pools at the Hilton Resort and Spa much better.

I had reserved the DCA on the 40% off special and thought that it was still expensive. I would say it is expensive not for the room or pools, but for the convenience of having everything right there. The theme parks entrances are right there and downtown Disney is very convenient. It was nice having the hotel right there after a long day at the park. I couldn’t imagine waiting for a shuttle and at one point we needed milk for our son and the hotel had a lovely little store to get that at 10pm at night. The hotel also had free wi-fi and self parking for free as well.

After we picked up our rental car at Alamo, we were off to the 32nd Street Naval base. The are surrounding the base was less than desired and because my husband had just gotten off work when we left for the airport he needed a nap. I decided to bid on priceline for a 4* and was given the lovely Hilton Resort and Spa for only $10 more than what we were paying at the base. I was a little worried as the reviews are mixed. I would definitely give this hotel a 3.5*/4* for its wonderful amenities. We were given a villa in the Remo area which was on the ground floor and had a patio and a HUGE lawn area that our son could burn off steam. He didn’t need to do this as the beach was right there and he rather spend his time playing in the sand. The beach looked like it was racked every morning and there was a pathway that went up and down the beach and many people used for running. The pools were wonderful too. There was a kiddie pool and bigger pool with a zero entry. There was a also a spa, with a wonderful view of the beach. Some areas of the hotel could have used a better cleaning (i.e. the waterfall and pools), but they were not that bad.

The room was an average room, with a refrig. The room had some areas that were worn as the other reviewers had stated, but I found them good enough. The beds were comfortable and the bathroom was updated with granite countertops. We were not in the room that much as we utilized the beach a lot. We used the refrig to store milk and drinks for breakfast. The front desk attendant also mentioned that if we needed a microwave that we could rent one for $20 a day or I could just ask the restaurant to heat up my sons toddler meals.

There was free wifi in the courtyard area and happy hour from the bar is everyday from 5-7pm. They will even give you a drink in a plastic cup so you could sit outside by the pool. The parking was the only outrageous thing at the resort ($25 a day) and to be honest we are not even sure they went around to look for the ticket hanging in the window. I had left it off most of the time as we didn’t have one problem.

All and all, I would highly recommend this resort for anyone with little ones, looking for a hotel on the beach (although I wouldn’t swim in the water-too cold), a wonderful pool area, especially with the zero entry and a kiddie pool. I would also like to mention that EVERY staff member at this resort had a smile and their face and were so pleasant. I find that refreshing these days as it is hard to come by.