DoubleTree’s Grand Naniloa in Hawaii Kicks Off Opening With 5,000 Bonus Points

The Hilo Naniloa Hotel in Hawaii was close to the Hilo International Airport (2 miles) yet boasting an oceanfront location near Rainbow Falls, and the hotel was a mainstay for many years. The property was made up of two large buildings situated on 70 acres with the first called Mauna Loa, and the second, Mauna Kea.

After a $30 million renovation, the hotel debuted earlier this month as The Grand Naniloa Hotel Hilo – a DoubleTree by Hilton. This marks the first hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii for DoubleTree.

The property has 388 guest rooms, 19 suites, and 12 accessible suites. They have all been redesigned to reflect the cultural tradition of hula, and hula art is displayed around the property. Fitting, as the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival takes place annually in Hilo.

Rooms start at 298 square feet with no view, and then progress through Bay View, Harbor View, Ocean View, and finally, Oceanfront. Here’s a pic from Hilton’s website of what looks to be a King room with Ocean View.

The highest room type before suites is the Oceanfront Corner Room with Balcony. Here’s the pic from the website –

The resort’s top suite is the 2 King bed King Kamehameha 2 Bedroom Suite, which comes in at 1,142 suite feet and includes a large formal dining room with full kitchen, bar seating, and two 48-inch HDTV’s. Unfortunately there are no pictures on Hilton’s website of the King Kamehameha suite just yet.

The Grand Poobah of suites at this hotel, the King Kamehameha 2 bedroom suite with wraparound oceanfront balcony and full kitchen has an advance purchase rate under $360 a night. This might be an especially attractive option for families traveling together.

Looking at the regular room rates for a random mid-week date in November, the best available rate for the lowest category room was $149, AAA was $141, advance purchase was $124, the HHonors discounted rate was $146, Points redemption came to 40,000 as a Category 5 Hilton, and Points + Cash was 16,000 Hhonors points plus $65. If looking ahead, January sees the rates drop to start at $122 a night.

There’s a 9-hole golf course onsite, and outdoor swimming pool, restaurant, and guest rooms have microwave, refrigerator, in-room tea and coffee offerings by The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and free Wifi. Self-parking is free, and valet is $13. There is no resort fee at this property, which is wonderful news and a breath of fresh air after so many chain hotels have added insultingly high fees (I’m looking at you, Andaz Maui).

To celebrate the hotel’s opening, Hilton HHonors members that book directly with Hilton (rather than via an online third-party agency) will get an extra 5,000 Hilton HHonors points. There is a three-night minimum to receive the bonus points, and the stay must be completed by March 15, 2017.

Use promotional code 1BN when booking, or you can access the special offer page here.

I am always pleased to hear of new/redone hotels in Hawaii, and I’m curious to hear how this one turned out. With the previous owner, the Mauna Kea building rooms were updated but there wasn’t any carpet in the hallways. This made for a lot of unnecessary noise. The furniture hadn’t all been replaced and the rooms weren’t as clean as they could have been. The buildings were reportedly left half-painted and the Mauna Loa building left untouched until the new owners took over. With such a massive overhaul this new DoubleTree sounds like a great option for those visiting the Big Island.