It’s a cross between Disneyland and Fantasy Island. A place where you can swim with dolphins in the morning and dine on world-class cuisine at night. A place where you ride to lunch on a gondola, electric tram or boat. And a place where I make a concerted effort to visit each time I travel home to the Big Island of Hawaii. I’m talking about the spectacular and extremely family friendly Hilton Waikoloa Village.
I’ve written about the award-winning resort in previous blogs, but I have never covered the magnificent transformation it undergoes during the month of December. Each winter the resort gets decked out in holiday splendor, but it’s not just the decorations that will take your breath away, the hotel’s bevy of holiday inspired family activities are hard to beat.
For example, after your children are done oohing and aahing at the 22 foot by 16 foot long model train display in the Hilton’s main lobby (each year the train incorporates a different theme—-this year it pays homage to the movie “Happy Feet”) they can spend the day at Camp Menehune. This season the resort is offering complimentary activities for children under 13 including cookie decorating, ornament making, and stocking decorating.
While the kids are decorating treats you can participate in an adults-only holiday craft workshop. The Hawaiian Arts and Crafts workshop is being offered during the last two weeks in December and aims to teach guests how to make contemporary and traditional Hawaiian crafts, including Hawaiian glass Christmas ornaments, coconut husk angels, shell angel ornaments, lauhala boxes and flower leis.
There are also a number of activities for the entire family to enjoy together like the Holiday Family Fun Scavenger Hunt and the Holiday Paniolo Cookout where you can feast on barbecue favorites including kalbi ribs, spicy buttermilk country fried chicken, Cajun fish fillets, garlic butter Dungeness crab clusters, and steamship round of beef on kiawe spit. (The cost is about $50 per adult and $20 for kids 5 to 12.)
On Christmas Eve the Hilton is hosting a “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” party complete with a reading of the traditional tale and other winter stories with milk and cookies. The event also includes a choral performance by local singers and a hula show in the main lobby followed by a candlelight service at the base of the grand staircase.
For additional holiday-related activities at the Hilton Waikoloa click here.
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Adventure Travel–A Trip to the “Valley of the Kings”
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