My husband and I recently visited Hawaii for our 25th wedding anniversary. We opted for Oahu even though it isn’t generally touted as the most romantic of the islands and we were cautioned by multiple people that we had made a wrong choice because of the abundance of people particularly in Honolulu which is where we decided to stay. However, we stuck with our gut and began our Hawaiian vacation with excitement and anticipation.

Having never been to Hawaii before neither of us had anything to compare with and went into it looking for rest, relaxation and some activity strategically interwoven. We picked and chose what we wanted to do and left ourselves a lot of unscheduled time so that we didn’t overdo it and so that we felt that we were still getting the relaxing vacation that we wanted. The most amazing part is that for the majority of the trip we were able to do everything we wanted to do within very close proximity to our resort (except for our day excursion to the North Shore), and that was by choice!

We chose to stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Villages in the iconic Rainbow Tower with an oceanfront view king bed room. If you’ve ever searched a vacation for Honolulu, you’ve probably seen a picture of this gorgeous resort somewhere in your research. This gave us a sweeping view of the beautiful coastline including Diamond Head. Check-in was seamless and I couldn’t help but get caught up in the air of excitement that surrounded us even in the open-air lobby. As we made our way to our room, we were both impressed not only with the natural beauty of the grounds but also the amenities that were readily available throughout the resort.

Our room featured everything we had desired, a large, private balcony, king size bed and roomy bathroom. We had all of the comforts of home plus room service, which was my husband’s one request. The room was clean and comfortable and gave us a great home-base from which to explore our island paradise. From our balcony we could see the brilliant coastline, Diamond Head and an expanse of blue water that we could stare at all day and talk about people-watching! From sun-up to sun-down the beach was filled with vacationers soaking up the Hawaiian sun.

Upon exploring the resort, we were pleasantly surprised to find that this little slice of heaven was basically its own little village built around a lush natural landscape that insulated us from the hustle and bustle of the surrounding city. The resort area contains shopping, dining, spa amenities, pools, beachfront access and magnificently beautiful surroundings for all of it! If you needed a snack or a drink, it could be found at the ABC store, this is also where I was able to purchase my pool floatie for the beautiful Hawaiian surf. A cool treat in the afternoon, baked goods and coffee in the morning? Try Lappert’s Hawaii. Want to pick up some authentic Kona coffee? There’s a Kona store right on the property - pair that with the Honolulu Cookie Company offerings and you’ve got a treat that anyone could enjoy!

While meals and entertainment were not what I would call cheap, we were there to celebrate and had made the decision that we wanted to be pampered. Even though we could have opted for cheaper fare and a change of scenery, we knew we wanted to spend most of our time at the resort enjoying all that the Hilton Hawaiian Villages had to offer! We wanted to be spoiled, we didn’t want to leave the resort and we chose a room without a kitchen because neither of us wanted to “work” while we were there.

We intended to enjoy the resort and each other and for us on this particular trip that meant a lot of dining out!

As far as food offerings, the Hilton Hawaiian Villages did not disappoint with their selection of restaurants. From surf and turf fine dining to Round Table pizza there are an assortment of options to choose from when its time to eat. We sampled an array of eateries from their upscale Bali Oceanfront restaurant where we enjoyed our anniversary dinner to Tropics Bar & Grill where we ate breakfast almost every day and many other options in between. The dining was delightful and we truly appreciated being within walking distance of everything we needed.

Our stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Villages was nothing short of spectacular. From the beautiful grounds to watching the amazing resort fireworks from our private balcony, we went away feeling rejuvenated and delighted with our introduction to Hawaii and also looking ahead to the next time we would be able to visit the islands. Although Oahu and Honolulu in particular may not be everyone’s choice for a romantic getaway, we were thrilled with our experience and even if we choose to visit another island the next time around, we plan to return to Oahu with our family hopefully in the near future and I wouldn’t doubt a repeat visit to the Hilton Hawaiian Villages either! They have everything you could want whether it be for a “quiet” couple’s trip or a large family adventure!

Follow along on our upcoming Hawaii blogs where we get more in-depth with the dining, the excursions, our day tour to North Shore and more!

-Stephanie