Grand Naniloa Hotel Hilo - a DoubleTree by Hilton — Hotel in Hawaii

I booked the Naniloa via Hotwire as they were priced lower than the hotel's own website. We were in town overnight for a business-pleasure thing, and they looked the most promising.

ENTRANCE/LOBBY: White wash greets you as you pull up to the hotel that was supposedly heavily renovated a few years ago. White curbing, white walls, zero color. There is no valet service as everything is self park, but, it's free and close to the hotel! The open-air lobby has great views of Hilo Bay, and is home to the lobby bar, an activity shop that sells a few sundries, and a relaxing lanai with lots of chairs, plush sofas, and tables. We were told the lobby bar opens at 3pm but it was still closed come 3:30pm. The website states it opens at 5pm. Sigh... The vibe is very sleepy and quiet, unlike the resort hotels of say, Kona.

CHECK IN: We arrived at the hotel around 1pm hoping to get checked in earlier than 3pm, but we had no such luck. Sandie assisted and pre-checked us in, but didn't go over any of the usual details like WiFi, any included breakfast, etc.

I returned at 3:00pm to grab our keys. Another agent, Sachi, assisted along with Sandie, and said the room is still not ready, and it would be about 30-45 minutes more. I asked if something was wrong with the room, she said no and that housekeeping was still cleaning it. I asked if we could do a late check out if that was case, she said no. I then asked why the people in our room could and we couldn't. She said sometimes the guests don't vacate the room on time. Understandable. I then asked if we could be compensated somehow, maybe with a discount on the room rate. I didn't get a verbal response, but that's when they took action. A local-looking lady who was probably a manager, assisted both Sachi and Sandie. It sounded like they were looking for open rooms and found one in about 10 minutes. We were finally checked in at around 3:20pm. When you don't raise your voice, swear, or act like a child, things will more than likely go your way!

The middle elevator tried to take me up to the 4th floor but wouldn't go past 3, and took me back down to the lobby. Fortunately that was the only time I rode it throughout our stay.

CHECK OUT: They slipped a $0 bill under the door stating my credit card on file will be charged. I didn't bother to check out at the desk.

ROOM 423: This was a standard room, yet was very spacious. We had a comfortable king bed with a partial view of the ocean, abandoned restaurant, and parking lot. There's no balcony but the big window slid open like one. The a/c was very strong. Oversized mini fridge, microwave, coffee maker, and safe. The entertainment center also housed the tiny clothes closet. The free WiFi had a strong signal in the room. USB & dual outlets were available on either side of the bed.

BATHROOM: Very nice design with its warm, earth-toned floor-to-ceiling stones and modern fixtures. I usually hate countertop-style basins but the one here had a nice, wide design that caught all the splashes during use. The shower/tub combo had weak pressure with a small shower head but a quick drain.

SANDALWOOD ROOM: Located on the ground level below the lobby, Sandalwood serves as the hotel's sole 3-meal buffet eatery. Because we weren't given any explanation at check in, I didn't know we had a free breakfast for two due to a "Grand Opening Breakfast Special" until I looked in our key packet and found the coupon 15 minutes before the close of service. We rushed down and were treated to a nice breakfast buffet that included scrambled eggs, sausage, very tasty home style potatoes, deliciously crispy bacon, freshly made waffles, and cereal station. No omelette station though.

POOL: A small, city hotel-like pool is located oceanfront, offering great views of Hilo and Hilo Bay. I wandered beyond the pool and took in the moat-like waterways of ocean that surge right up to the property. 2 resident turtles were feeding on seaweed near the pathway.

OVERALL: Remodeled, clean, peaceful, lackluster service. The nicest choice in the Hilo area. And no...

at check in we had difficulty pulling up to the front of the hotel so we had to park in the lot. We were immediately approached by security telling us we can’t park there. We explained there was no where for us to park to check in. he eventually agreed to let us park to check in but we later found him looking for us in the lobby while we were in line to check in. We waited 30 min to check in as they only had 2 people working the desk and both were attempting to solve guests’ issues, not a great first impression. Nigel at the front desk was friendly who checked us in but others working the front whom we interacted with during our stay seemed irritated we were bothering them. This hotel is off of Banyan Street which it gets its name from the trees that line the street, look up the history of Banyan street and the famous people who planted these trees in the 1930s it is interesting! There is a public “lagoon” about ¼ mile walking distance and the downtown area is about 1-2 miles away. There are a lot of homeless people and people living in their cars on the street. The surrounding apartments and hotels are very rundown and sketchy. While we felt safe, it still had areas of concern. I read a lot of reviews ahead of time that this hotel is a rundown and in need of a makeover. reviews like that don’t bother me as I usually find the hotel to be just fine after I see it for myself. But wow does this place need TLC. The lobby and bar areas were nice but the rooms and exterior need work, especially a paint job. The rooms had paint peeling on the interior and around the windows. The windowsills were dirty with dead bugs (pictured). The exterior windows were dirty. The bathrooms were nice and spacious. The exterior of the building needs a great paint job. The paint is peeling and looks very run down. For the price you are paying to stay here and for this place to be called a resort they need to fix this. The outside grounds were lovely, the pool and cabanas were nice. They also lined the grounds with tiki torches and recliner chairs set up. I liked how the lava rock flowed into the water and connected with the greenery. While there is no beach, there is a little dock that you can jump off of into the ocean, the water was calm due to having a jetty to break up the incoming waves. there was no pool towel hut, to get pool towels you have to get them from the front desk. Meaning if other people are ahead of you in line to check in you must wait in that line just to receive your pool towels. We had to wait up to 20 minutes just for towels, very irritating. Parking is $25 a day for valet parking, or you can park on the street at a first come first serve basis. We parked on the street to save money, we got lucky for the 4 days we were there. If we couldn’t find parking, we were told we can tell reception and we could pay for valet. There is a daily resort charge which I always think is a rip off. You get 2 daily complimentary drink tickets for house wine/beer, soft drink or beach cocktail. This was honestly the only good thing about it but then again, you’ve already paid for your drink in the resort charge. You’re also given 2 water bottles PER STAY but not per day. They were very stingy with the water bottles. I was one of the many people who were under the impression that it was two bottles of water per day, as that is how it has always been in my experience. I just stayed at a doubletree in key west 2 weeks prior and bottles of water were provided daily. Not to mention that I am a Hilton gold member and as part of my benefits entitled to two bottles of water, they would not honor this and instead were going to charge me $3 per bottle. We ordered a margarita flatbread from the bar our last night and were greatly disappointed in it. The $16 flatbread pizza was no bigger than the size of my hand. It was topped with an absurd amount of onions and unfortunately ended up going to waste. You could rent snorkel gear or kayaks for a fee but the hut seemed to...

WOULD BE 1 STAR, BUT PERSONNEL CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND THE SERVICE STAFF WERE VERY KIND.

Nothing like the photos first off. We came for our vacation before our baby is born and on arrival were greeted with a forced non-advertised $25 fee per day for parking with no alternative "you can park on the street" (no, you can't, there are signs everywhere that say NO PARKING ANYTIME). ok, can live with it, the hotel itself is ancient and outdated, it was purchased by Hilton but the building is very old and it shows, everywhere in everyway. The guests match the age of the hotel for the most part fyi this is very well accepted as intended for an older customer base, 99/100 guests were retired with grand children as an fyi. Mattress had to be 20+ years old, bathroom no lighting in the shower, the tub is about 3 feet up with no step so you have to jump and be careful getting in and out.

Hallway dimly lit, old paint, old pictures, old carpet throughout. LOUD NOISES from the air conditioning, LOUD noises and rattling in the VERY DARK bathroom, old furniture that's way past it's last legs, OLD carpeting that's gross, bad and limited lightning, windows were dirty, view was obstructed, no beach (despite what the photos make you think). Restaurant options were chicken fingers or $40 breakfast, no espresso (machine was broken, "waiting for parts from Italy"... there's a Walmart 10 minutes away, they could get a coffee maker machine temporarily)... restaurant itself is really outdated, flooring is cracked with broken bare cement throughout, walls of doors have rust all over, peeling paint on the outside, etc.

The most irritating of all was the jackhammering and drilling starting at 7:30AM each morning non-stop all day. I came for vacation, paid the premium for it, we get that the place is old, fine, but not disclosing that the pool area is closed, the restaurant outdoor area is closed, that LOUD DISRUPTIVE construction is going on not cool, at all.

After 2 sleepless mornings we gave up and checked out early. The process in itself even with them making the "exception" to allow us to leave, was dreadful, because Hilton HQ was trying to reach the hotel and we stood watching the front desk staff not answer the phone and ignore it, then pick up after being told the call was important and simply saying "hold please" then hanging up. This took over 2 hours of our patience followed by another hour+ to sort transferring to another hotel.

Bar is closed during the day only open from 5pm-8pm, fine. "golf" is a dilapidated 1930's driving range that's overgrown and not maintained, hence why they offer it "for free" I get it, again, staff really try, they are working with what they have, so respect to them for it. Free drink tickets (you'll need them... but they are limited to only a few choices, still ok, appreciative), credits towards meals (because the kitchen/menu is limited), "free golf" because it sounds good... a delicious cookie and friendly smile at the front... but look honestly don't stay here. do yourself the favor of looking around for something better. It wasn't cheap to begin with and wasn't worth it at all.

The construction (without notice) was really unacceptable.

For comparison on our 14 day trip another hotel we had planned for notified us in advance of scheduled updates due to renovations and helped us to rebook elsewhere without...