Construction

Really noisy, dusty and difficult to get around with construction vehicles moving all about.

Can you tell me if the Lagoon Tower pool is gone?
Thanks

punkybrewster wrote:

Can you tell me if the Lagoon Tower pool is gone?
Thanks

yes. they are building a new one but not for @ 1 year.

davidk145 wrote:

punkybrewster wrote:

Can you tell me if the Lagoon Tower pool is gone?
Thanks

yes. they are building a new one but not for @ 1 year.

THANKS, will be there in Jan 07 and update progress.

I heard that they are turning the lagoon into a pool area. Is that true?

dougbfreshest wrote:

I heard that they are turning the lagoon into a pool area. Is that true?

My understanding is that the lagoon will remain as is for now (there was some talk of putting a bridge & wedding chapel in the middle?), that the small Lagoon Tower pool is gone and a long lazy river/water slide type of pool will be erected between the west side of Lagoon Tower & the Illikai property next door.
I'll give an update after my end of Jan '07 visit.
Does anyone else have more info???

Noise was terrible, we stayed Dec 9th - Dec 17th. On the 12th my wife and I were exposed to a noise level so high pitched from the construction it damaged both our ears. If there is anyone else who experienced illness or injury from the construction I would like to know.

[Does anyone know when the construction will be done?

punkybrewster wrote:

dougbfreshest wrote:

I heard that they are turning the lagoon into a pool area. Is that true?

My understanding is that the lagoon will remain as is for now (there was some talk of putting a bridge & wedding chapel in the middle?), that the small Lagoon Tower pool is gone and a long lazy river/water slide type of pool will be erected between the west side of Lagoon Tower & the Illikai property next door.
I'll give an update after my end of Jan '07 visit.
Does anyone else have more info???

Hi:
We are travelling to Hawaii for the first time and are a bit overwhelmed by the options for activities/hotels etc.
I do know that renting a timeshare unit is a good deal and thought a week at the Hilton would make a good home base for exploring Oahu. Two concerns: Can you see all of Oahu in day trips or is it better to break up the Island and stay in two or three hotels rather than one?
How about all the noise and construction - sounds as if it is definitely an issue. We are travelling in June/July 2007.
Thanks for any advice/help you can give us.
John and Julie Galvin

I would say break up the trip, purchase one week in the Marriott Ko-Olina, truly wonderful resort on the west end of the island, good for seeing, the North Shore and Dole Plantation, and Pearl Harbor.

Purchase a week a Hilton Hawaii to see Waikiki, Diamond Head, Paliu Lookout. Waikiki to really see everything can take 2 - 3 days, and another day for the other items mentioned. Hopefully after all the complaints the noise is under control. No noise at the Kalia Tower. Hope this helps.

Here is my construction noise update, don't know when it'll end, but not soon from the progress level.
It's very very noisy on both sides of the Lagoon Tower. We were on the 12th floor (about halfway up) and our friends were on same floor but other side. Mostly it is the truck backup beeping noise that is so constant, but that's not the only noise. It starts at 7AM until between 3 and 5 PM before ceasing. If you plan to be gone each day it may not be too bothersome, otherwise you will be annoyed for sure. The views are still great, just don't look DOWN (into the construction area), look off into the distance. In this case, yes, you ARE still in Hawaii, but if you like relaxing on your balcony in the day or leaving your balcony door open you may want to reschedule.
Sorry for the lousy report.

john1819 wrote:

punkybrewster wrote:

dougbfreshest wrote:

I heard that they are turning the lagoon into a pool area. Is that true?

My understanding is that the lagoon will remain as is for now (there was some talk of putting a bridge & wedding chapel in the middle?), that the small Lagoon Tower pool is gone and a long lazy river/water slide type of pool will be erected between the west side of Lagoon Tower & the Illikai property next door.
I'll give an update after my end of Jan '07 visit.
Does anyone else have more info???

Hi:
We are travelling to Hawaii for the first time and are a bit overwhelmed by the options for activities/hotels etc.
I do know that renting a timeshare unit is a good deal and thought a week at the Hilton would make a good home base for exploring Oahu. Two concerns: Can you see all of Oahu in day trips or is it better to break up the Island and stay in two or three hotels rather than one?
How about all the noise and construction - sounds as if it is definitely an issue. We are travelling in June/July 2007.
Thanks for any advice/help you can give us.
John and Julie Galvin

I would NOT recommend staying at this time share unit. The lagoon access and the Lagoon Tower pool are completely shut down. There are not balcony's on the rooms and there isn't maid service. The walls of the rooms are paper thin; I could hear casual conversation from the room next door. Everything on the property is very expensive. The cheapest bottle of water I could find was $3.00 and it was a small size. They were not very interested in making our stay any more comfortable than it was. I went and explained the room was Not at all what I expected and they told me “sorry”. I have been to Hawaii over 10 times and even in my very early 20’s when I could hardly afford a room and had to stay at a cheap place I at least had a balcony and daily maid service. This is away for people to make money and get people to listen to more sales pitches. You get a room and that's it. Not a good view, not the beach access you would normally get with the Lagoon tower or the lagoon Tower pool. The super pool is always crowded and the chairs are literally right next to each other you can not even walk between them. The pool service was terrible too, we asked for a drink, the girl told us she would come back for our order and we ended up getting it ourselves and she never did come back. The food at the rainbow restaurant was over prices and very poor quality. The brunch was over $50.00 for 2 people. You can get a better brunch at Duke’s for $14.95. The beach in this area is very rough, filled with large pieces of coral that make is difficult to walk in the water or the beach. I would recommend spending a little more money and staying at the Outrigger Waikiki. I just returned home from my vacation 10 hours ago, this info is very current.

I, too, was disappointed with my STUDIO room having no balcony when I first stayed here. I always book the 1 bedroom or larger now, and these size units DO all have balconies. Only studio rooms do not, a disappointment when one is not told this upfront.
The Hilton Village IS very pricey, we usually walk to nearby areas to shop or eat, except when using the Entertainment Book 2 for 1 at the Hilton Village Restaurants (www.entertainment.com). You don't have to go far at all to get great prices on just about anything...waikiki is very competitive.
Timeshare resorts generally only clean your unit mid-stay, and only if you are staying a full week. They will bring clean linens & towels anytime you ask. Daily maid service CAN be purchased for a fee for those who want it.
And this STILL is the best and widest stretch of beach in Waikiki!

steven2090 wrote:

Noise was terrible, we stayed Dec 9th - Dec 17th. On the 12th my wife and I were exposed to a noise level so high pitched from the construction it damaged both our ears. If there is anyone else who experienced illness or injury from the construction I would like to know.

I am confused. If your ears were damaged, why did you stay five more days? Also what about the workers? did they have problems?

carries25 wrote:

steven2090 wrote:

Noise was terrible, we stayed Dec 9th - Dec 17th. On the 12th my wife and I were exposed to a noise level so high pitched from the construction it damaged both our ears. If there is anyone else who experienced illness or injury from the construction I would like to know.

I am confused. If your ears were damaged, why did you stay five more days? Also what about the workers? did they have problems?

It is not like I could fly out that night; and once you have the pain and noise is over, you have experienced the worse, at this point it is about recovery. The hotel took a report moved us to the other tower, and we saw a doctor in Hawaii, and specialist when we returned home. At that point you can only hope the pain will go away eventually, and your hearing is not damaged. Hilton also provided us hearing protection, after the incident. As for the workers, I'm not certain, I think before the incident they did not have earing protection, after the incident they provided them with protection.

punkybrewster wrote:

I, too, was disappointed with my STUDIO room having no balcony when I first stayed here. I always book the 1 bedroom or larger now, and these size units DO all have balconies. Only studio rooms do not, a disappointment when one is not told this upfront.
The Hilton Village IS very pricey, we usually walk to nearby areas to shop or eat, except when using the Entertainment Book 2 for 1 at the Hilton Village Restaurants (www.entertainment.com). You don't have to go far at all to get great prices on just about anything...waikiki is very competitive.
Timeshare resorts generally only clean your unit mid-stay, and only if you are staying a full week. They will bring clean linens & towels anytime you ask. Daily maid service CAN be purchased for a fee for those who want it.
And this STILL is the best and widest stretch of beach in Waikiki!

Thanks, I've been to Hawaii so many times I can't count them anymore. I'm very familiar with the costs of the Island and where you can get good quality and service. However, I didn't know about the website you provided, thank you. The costs do not bother me when they are backed with quality and good customer service. I would have paid for the daily maid service, if the person I bought the room from had told me or the guy when I checked in. I would have made a different decision about the property had all these things been disclosed to me. Or if I could have found them myself had they been published on the Hilton Hawaiian web sight or more visable on the Redweek site. A person shouldn't have to "dig" through a website in the consumer comments to discover pools closed, lagoons closed and construction on both side of the hotel. Cheers

steven2090 wrote:

I would say break up the trip, purchase one week in the Marriott Ko-Olina, truly wonderful resort on the west end of the island, good for seeing, the North Shore and Dole Plantation, and Pearl Harbor.

Purchase a week a Hilton Hawaii to see Waikiki, Diamond Head, Paliu Lookout. Waikiki to really see everything can take 2 - 3 days, and another day for the other items mentioned. Hopefully after all the complaints the noise is under control. No noise at the Kalia Tower. Hope this helps.

Thanks - actually we were planning two weeks but only one for Oahu and one for Maui. Pretty sure we will stay at the Westin Kaanapali on Maui. We were originally thinking of the Marriott Ko Olina for Oahu but thought the bulk of things to see were closer to Waikiki - so we began to think about the Hilton. Our concerns are now threefold
1) The noise
2) The pools seem half closed
3) Seems the Hilton is great but not really at the center of Waikiki
I'm sure we'll be returning so I'm thinking maybe we should pass on the Hilton and see it at its best next trip. Any suggestions for a "homebase" on Oahu? - Marriott Ko Olina might be too far away from Waiki. Any 2nd best place on the beach on Waikiki folks could recommend. Thanks for all the help so far. people have been very generous with their time/advice.
John & Julie

Hilton is close to everything, 30 minute walk to central Waikiki, free trolleys from DHS Mall, and Helo Hatie (may be spelled wrong), or take the regular trolley or city bus for $2. Hilton does charge for parking $10 a day if you drive. Noise really depends on the tower you are in, Kalia Tower is away from the noise.

wy1 wrote:

Really noisy, dusty and difficult to get around with construction vehicles moving all about.

Does anyone know when construction will be complete or better - we are going end of November 07?

I doubt it they are building a building directly behind the Lagoon Tower, it won't be complete for at least another year. And they are working on the Lagoon tower. I have a contact who works at the Hilton, I will ask.