5/07/2010

Hawaii Happenings: Part Four

We spent the week at the Hilton Waikoloa Village resort which is on the Kona (i.e. dry) side of the island, one part of a cluster of resort hotels, shops and restaurants on the northwest coast. The Hilton resort was massive and, frankly, spectacular. It reminded me of a Disney resort in that everything was manicured, clean and polished (and we could not pass a worker bee without them greeting us with "aloha"). There were several pools with waterfalls, hidden coves, water slides and jacuzzis. We had a choice of restaurants, their very own dolphin encounter and a lagoon where we could snorkel and swim with sea turtles, fish and eels. And we took advantage of everything offered. They even had a gym which I actually used three times during the week. (FYI: I was the only one to do that, securing my nerd status with the rest of the family; I prefer to think of it as conscientious, with a mind toward a healthy lifestyle and reducing my carbon footprint). Of course, nothing could top our favorite part: cabanas with staff walking around taking drink and food orders. Allysa, our hostess all week, was probably very sad to see us check out. The resort was spread out and it could be traversed on foot but they offered trams and boat rides as choices to navigate. We took advantage of all three options, depending on the time of day and our physical status. It was an incredible week. I am posting a few shots to give an overview. Enjoy...

Kyle and Tallulah
The Lagoon Tower pool

The view from our "porch."
Seen daily, accompanied by a cup of coffee and a Diet Coke.

Hope
The building in the background is where we stayed.
Our room is on that corner.

The Ocean Tower Pool
This is where we spent the bulk of our time.
(Yes, that is a water slide) Notice cabana's in the far background... home.

Hope and Shannon
One of the paths throughout the resort (most were paved!)

Kyle and lounge chair
The Lagoon
Sorry about the slant; I was probably laying down...

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