Grand Naniloa Hotel, a Doubletree by Hilton

We request for an ocean view room, which was accomodated

I’m a Hilton Diamond member. And I can tell you some of their places are fantastic and some not so good. I would rate this one way at the bottom of our my list. We traveled there for one night to see Volcano NP. Only 40 min drive from the hotel. And now for the hotel… It’s in dire need for a refurbishment. Outside, rooms, hallways, elevators, pool area..you name it. Anything every review has said before is true. AC went out the morning we were checking out due to water main issue they said. In 24 hours, I have never heard so many excuses of why things were in such condition. This gets me to service…. Waited 30 minutes in line to check in as they only had two people working the desk. Said they couldn’t accommodate digital check in cause they were “converting” systems. During check in, many rooms were not ready in check in time as “they were full the previous night with Netflix film crews ” and “had graduation parties going on”. Obviously, they were extremely short staffed. I’m not a complainer by any means, I know I wasn’t getting the Ritz Carlton. But wanted to get a clear review to anyone considering this hotel. It’s not up to Hilton standards.

Convenient and pleasant staff

The spa person was rude and not very accommodating. Would not recommend to anyone The gift shop personnel did not know what was going on. Charged whatever and changed the pricing all the time.

I have stayed at the Grand Naniloa - a DoubleTree by Hilton many times over the years, usually on interisland business trips. After the remodel and reopening, I was initially very pleased with the property. Even as recently as a year ago, the resort felt well maintained and the staff were more helpful. Unfortunately, this most recent stay was the worst experience I have had at this property, and bad enough that we checked out and left at approximately 10:00 PM to stay at another nearby hotel. Our stay was scheduled for May 24–25. We arrived around 7:00 PM and waited roughly 30 minutes in line to check in. There was already a line at the front desk, and other guests appeared to be waiting 20+ minutes after checking in for their rooms to be “ready”. At that hour, making guests wait for rooms they reserved and paid for is already concerning. After checking in, we immediately dropped our bags and went to dinner. When we returned, we noticed the temperature in the room had increased from 76°F / 24.4°C to 78°F / 25.6°C, even though the thermostat was set to 65°F / 18.3°C. Before we decided to leave, I called the front desk and was told the property was aware that the air-conditioning had been out all day in our tower, technicians had been working on the issue, and there was no clear timeline for when or whether it would be resolved. That is the point where this became unacceptable. A hotel in Hilo knowingly checking guests into rooms with unresolved A/C problems should be proactively disclosing that before check-in, not waiting for guests to discover it after dinner. I then asked to be moved to a room, building or tower with functioning A/C and was told that was not possible because the other buildings were completely full. At that point, we had no realistic option but to leave or resign ourselves to paying hundreds of dollars for a hot, humid and uncomfortable room. When we went back at the front desk departing, I asked why this issue was not disclosed when we checked in, especially since the front desk staff had time for small talk about our trip and business. I was told they were not aware “which rooms were impacted.” What made that explanation even more concerning was that it turned out that the gentleman who checked us in turned out to be the front desk supervisor, “L.F.”, who now claimed that the reason he didn’t disclose it was because supposedly he did not know which rooms were affected. That explanation is difficult to accept, especially because I had already been told by the front desk that the air-conditioning had been out all day in our whole tower. If staff knew an entire tower was affected, then management and supervisors should absolutely have known which rooms were impacted before assigning guests to them. The departure experience made matters worse. The front desk supervisor was not solution-oriented and became noticeably defensive once it was clear we had a serious issue. The response was not consistent with the level of professionalism I expect from a major resort property, especially one charging resort-level rates. This property used to feel like a reliable and well-run option for interisland business travel. Based on this stay, it now appears to be slipping in both maintenance and service standards. This was not a minor inconvenience or a matter of personal preference. A room that cannot be cooled to a reasonable temperature in Hawaiʻi is not acceptable, and knowingly placing guests into that situation without disclosure is poor hospitality. A serious review of property maintenance, room-readiness procedures, guest disclosure practices, and front desk customer-service training is needed here. Until this property can demonstrate that its rooms are properly maintained and that management will handle guest-impacting engineering issues transparently and professionally, I cannot recommend staying here.

We recently had a four night stay at this hotel. It rained every day of our stay. This is an expansive, waterfront hotel that is conveniently located close to the airport and downtown Hilo. It is also about an hours drive to Volcano National Park. Although it is a waterfront hotel, there is no beach. It features only one real amenity, a nine hole golf course. There is an outdoor pool, but it is way undersized given the potential population of the hotel. Our room was very nice with a mini fridge and microwave. There was a separate counter space. The sink was just outside the bathroom. Nearly every beverage that we put in the mini fridge froze solid and we were visited by troops of tiny ants on the counter and sink from time to time.There is a main bar and restaurant near the pool area. There is also a lobby bar that serves food. The food at the main restaurant was very good. The breakfast menu is extraordinary. All the staff were friendly and helpful. My sense is that this hotel is an excellent venue for weddings and conferences. However, it isn't a great place if you are looking for a resort vacation on the Big Island.

Friendly staff, especially in the restaurant and the bar. Beautiful grounds. Pool was nice. Walking distance to beautiful parks and oceanside walks.

Not a fault of the hotel, but some dilapidated hotels in the area around the hotel.

Unfortunately, I understand this is not Europe and that customer service standards may be lower, but one would still expect the staff to be somewhat aware of what is happening on the property if they are responsible for assigning rooms. The receptionist simply informed us that the room was not ready — and that was it. Check-in starts at 4:00 p.m., and we arrived at the hotel at 5:00 p.m. She was unable to provide even an approximate time for when the room would be ready. In the meantime, she managed to check in two other guests, and only after I approached the desk again did she say that she was “calling now.” Had I not asked again, who knows how much longer we would have waited for our room. Another receptionist, who was extremely rude and insolent despite the matter not concerning her at all, joined the conversation. She decided that I had no right to complain because check-in starts at 4:00 p.m., so “people have to wait,” and that some guests had supposedly been waiting since the morning. I fail to see what that had to do with my situation. She was rude, disrespectful, and even aggressive in the way she spoke. The manager was unable to control her behavior. She kept saying whatever she wanted, as if I had no right to express my opinion about the poor service. My reservation clearly stated that breakfast was included. However, the receptionist handed us the room keys without any additional information, and when I asked about breakfast, she stated that breakfast was not included in my reservation. As soon as I called my husband over to show the reservation confirmation, suddenly it turned out that we did have breakfast included after all. It magically appeared — quite a surprise. There was absolutely no reflection, apology beyond empty words, or even the smallest gesture of compensation. Anything at all. Every other guest was being given cookies, but apparently we no longer deserved them because I dared to say that I was unhappy with the situation.

Good location, grounds of Hilo Bay were fantastic! This is an iconic hotel in Hilo that's considered in the 'top tier' of hotels in this location.

My first floor room looked out to a nearby external air conditioning condenser unit and a hedge-hidden view of hotel's main driveway. There's a daily charge to park a vehicle: the lesser priced self-park has parking the furthest away (of course), so I opted for valet service at a higher daily cost. The hotel's carpeting shows signs of wear, tear, usage and needs to be changed, as there are numerous frays at the seams in the hallways, as well as my room. My room air conditioning had a slow leak that dampened the carpet in front of the air vent.