Just Another Day in Paradise

You know you’re having a good time on vacation when you and the kids aren’t ready to come home. But, as every budget-conscious parent knows, tacking an extra day onto your getaway can make a serious dent in your wallet. With this in mind, Hilton Hotels and Resorts in Hawai’i are giving travelers who book at least four nights a free extra night at participating hotels on the islands of Hawai’i, Kauai, Maui and Oahu via its Another Day in Paradise package.

On Oahu, participating hotels offering a fifth night free include the DoubleTree by Hilton Alana Waikiki Beach, Embassy Suites Waikiki Beach Walk, Hampton Inn & Suites Oahu/Kapolei, Hilton Garden Inn Waikiki Beach and Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort.

Embassy Suites by Hilton Oahu Kapolei and the Hilton Waikiki Beach are offering a fourth and seventh night free, respectively.

On the Big Island, the deals are available at Grand Naniloa Hotel Hilo – a DoubleTree by Hilton with a free fifth night, and the Hilton Waikoloa Village, with a free sixth night.

A free fifth night also is available on Maui at the Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, and at the Hilton Garden Inn Kauai Wailua Bay on Kauai.

To sweeten the deal further, a selection of the Hilton Hawai’i properties are undergoing improvements and facelifts to enhance their appeal.

At DoubleTree by Hilton Alana Waikiki Beach, for example, Trees Restaurant is offering small  plates for guests who don’t want to commit to a formal dining experience or who simply can’t decide what they want. Menu items include items like Hawai’ian-style hoisin short ribs, shrimp cocktail with passion fruit cocktail sauce and craft pizzas and entrees featuring locally sourced ingredients. Plus, just to set the mood, live music will entertain guests on Wednesday and Friday evenings.

Family vacation at Hilton Hawaiian Village © Bennymarty | Dreamstime.com

Meanwhile, Embassy Suites by Hilton – Waikiki Beach Walk is unveiling a new accommodation category called Premium Suites, which offer prime corner units with balconies overlooking the ocean and beefed up, family-friendly amenities. The decor evokes Hawai’i with hand-crafted native art and local fabrics, and non-alcoholic beverages, local snacks and K-cup coffee selections replenished daily.

Animal lovers will appreciate the new partnership between the Grand Naniloa Hotel Hilo – A DoubleTree by Hilton and Rainbow Friends Animal Sanctuary, a local, no-kill shelter that has rescued and housed animals evacuated from the current Kilauea eruption. The hotel is hosting adoption and fundraising events to find homes and resources for these misplaced animals. To date, the hotel has raised more than $2,000 for the organization, as well as found homes for four dogs.

A beach bar at Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort morphed into the Hau Tree Cantina and offers lunch menu items like fresh fish tacos, enchilada salsa verde and a cantina salad with fresh local greens, while dinner showcases savory dishes like pan-seared fresh-catch fish with salsa playera de lujo, carne asada and chipotle mojo sautéed jumbo shrimp. Mom and dad can take advantage of the signature craft margaritas and mojitos.

Finally, those who think “gourmet” and “comfort food” can’t go in the same sentence will likely become converts at M.A.C. 24/7 Restaurant and Bar in Hilton Waikiki Beach, which won multiple awards for its creative menu — bite-sized fried lobster mac ’n cheese, anyone? —

while guests in the 247-room lagoon MAKAI tower at the Hilton Waikoloa Village will receive two flexible bottles — they can be flattened when not filled with liquid — to refill at water filling stations on each floor.