“Wow!” That was my first word when I opened the door into the new Hilton Grand Vacations Ocean Tower suites at Hilton Nikola Village.
Bright and modern, but warm and inviting at the same time, the new suites at Ocean Tower are the best we’ve stayed in yet.
But let’s rewind a little…
We originally planned our Hawaiian vacation to include Maui (I can’t wait for the new Hilton Grand Vacations Maui Bay Villas to open!) and Oahu, but I really wanted to check out the new Ocean Tower Suites as well.
We had enough points for three nights in a 2-bedroom “island view” room, so we decided to take the opportunity while we were in the Hawaiian Islands.
The Resort
The new Ocean Tower suites are located in the Hilton Nikola Village complex, a sprawling 62-acre property on the Big Island of Hawaii. The Hilton Nikola Resort is massive with multiple pools, restaurants, an ocean-fed lagoon and a dolphin sanctuary.
There are trains and boats to get around, or you can walk from one end to the other in about 25 minutes.
Ocean Tower is located at the furthest end of the resort, which does make it a little far from the main entrance, but a new Hilton Grand Vacations welcome center has just opened at the Ocean Tower for check in/check out, and concierge services.
There is also an Owner’s lounge and computer access, as well as a beautiful garden area. The Owner’s lounge includes full shower and locker facilities.
The new welcome center is beautifully designed and offers amazing service. The staff went out of their way to make sure we had a fabulous stay and remembered who we were when we had a request.
The Suites
The Suites themselves are well done, with little touches of luxury and well-thought-out design.
In the 2-bedroom suite, the second bedroom and bathroom is across the walkway, right as you enter the suite. Due to the design of the building, the second bedroom does not have a window.
Our friends who stayed in that room didn’t think it was a problem, and the lighting design in the room had lots of options to give the feel of natural light.
The lounge and kitchen area was an open plan with a large, comfy sofa and occasional chairs. The TV in the lounge is massive, with what felt like an endless choice of TV channels. The lounge opened onto a small Lanai (balcony). The kitchen had everything we needed including a full-size fridge with an ice maker.
One of my pet peeves in a hotel room is the lack of power outlets.
These rooms had enough for all our devices and offered USB charging options, which was impressive. The sofa even had built-in power outlets.
The primary bedroom was so well done, with a huge king bed and another massive TV on the wall. There was a short hallway to the bathroom with storage hooks, a mirror, and closet access.
This was weirdly one of my favorite parts of the room. It meant that we could put all our little accessories and beach gear away from the actual bedroom, but still access them easily.
The primary bathroom was large with a rainfall shower and fancy Japanese-style toilet. Even the room safe was well done, built into the furniture in the bedroom.
In mostly natural finishes, the whole suite felt serene and calming, with just enough tech to feel super modern.
While we technically had an island-view room, we could see the ocean and the beautiful Nikola sunsets.
The Experience
on the first day, we had the use of a small cabana poolside at the lagoon tower pool. These cabanas had little coolers/safes next to each one to keep your drinks cold and your stuff safe.
We spent the day swimming and relaxing, using the water slides, and eating from the nearby grab-and-go restaurant.
The next day we spent the day exploring a little of the island and having lunch at the nearby Lava Beach Club (a must-do if you are staying in Nikola). We then had the pleasure of attending the Legends of Hawaii Luau at the resort.
We have been to Hawaii a few times now, but had never been to a luau. I’m so glad we waited for this one because it was worth it. The performers were proud of their Hawaiian heritage and were so talented. The fire dancer was absolutely the highlight of the night.
Being it was a buffet in the heat, I was expecting average food, but was pleasantly surprised that the food was fresh, had lots of variety and, still, felt “Hawaiian.”
There were lots of salads and meat options, as well as the famous Kaluga Pork (cooked in an ‘IMU’ pit in the ground).
I would highly recommend Ocean Tower at Hilton Nikola Village for anyone wanting to stay on the Big Island, both for exploring the island and to just enjoy everything the resort has to offer.