Waikoloa Village is basically a subdivision on the Big Island of Hawaii that has a wide variety of housing units ranging from single family homes, to condos, to high end hotels. Among the hotels is the Hilton Waikoloa Village, and this is where I spent the week on my recent trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. (View in Google Earth. What is Google Earth?)

The hotel is ideally located for branching out to explore all the various parts of the island, and the facilities are enormous. 64 acres of highly manicured grounds complete with a private bay, swimming pools, and even a dolphin habitat. With over 1,200 rooms, this is a large hotel by any measure. A local man told me that the property was originally developed by a Japanese company for $360 Million, but later sold at a huge loss for $90 Million to Hilton.

Although the hotel is basically a Disneyland for adults, there are some critical flaws which greatly detract from it as a serious vacation destination. At the same time, there is some great stuff to see and do… like swim with the dolphins!
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One nice thing about hotels is that they usually have commercial ice makers which are great for filling up coolers. But what about when you don’t have a cooler, but you have a few drinks that you’d like to ice down over night? Well, all you need to do is convert the sink into a makeshift cooler!

I never want to pay hotel rates for drinks, so I will typically stop at a store and pick up a few drinks. In order to cool them down I close the sink drain, lay the drinks in the sink, and proceed to fill it completely full of ice.
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My wife and I were planning on accompanying my brother and soon to be sister-in-law to the Big Island of Hawaii in June, and as a result I did quite a bit of planning for the trip. Being cost efficient is important to all of us, but making sure we end up with decent accommodations at a good value is possibly even more important.

I thought I would document my search methodology in case it helped others to find and book their travel online. Please note that I am very meticulous when it comes to travel planning. I’m picky about where I stay, how I get there, and want to know what I’m going to do while I’m there. I even make printouts and carry a small binder with me. Anal, I know… but it works for me.
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I stayed at the Springfield, Virginia Hampton Inn on May 7, 2007 and the two best things about the hotel are:

1. It is relatively inexpensive.
2. It is located right beside the mall and restaurants.

All in all, I will stay here again, though there were a few details that could use improvement.
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There seems to be so much confusion out there with regards to the common ritual of tipping that I decided to take the initiative and help clarify the rules when it comes to this long standing practice.

But unlike some other tipping guides I’m not just going to tell you how much to tip, instead we’re going to focus on why people earn the tips you give them, and therefore gain a better understanding as to how much to give.
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Today was a long day, but well worth it. I flew from Big “D” to San Francisco to meet the newest member of the family for the first time, my new NSX. Brandee was kind enough to actually pick me up at the San Jose airport and we had a nice ride back to San Francisco together.

After taking care of business, Brandee said her farewells to her baby, and I took possession. Today was the first time I had ever sat, ridden in, or driven an NSX, so read on for my first impressions…
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This is where I stayed during my Weekend Trip to Denver.

Overall, I would stay at this hotel again. The only bad news is that if you are a Hilton Gold member, this hotel doesn’t have any premium rooms to bump you up to. All they can do is put you on the top floor. But it’s a new, clean, friendly hotel with free wireless internet access. What more do you need from a place to bed down for the night?
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