Hilton Hawaiian Village Fireworks and Rainbow Tower

In an earlier post, I shared our experience at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki while on Oahu in December of 2016. Today I wanted to share a little about the Hilton Hawaiian Village.  We did not stay here, nor sadly did we even step inside of the hotel.  We visited the hotel for two very interesting reasons. 

First is the rainbow design on the side of the tower and the amazing free firework show on Friday nights. As far as the Rainbow, it opened in 1968 with the world’s largest and tallest ceramic tile mosaic on its facade, an image of a rainbow measuring 26 feet wide and 286 feet tall, which required over 16,000 individual tiles. It has been prominently displayed in Hawaii-50 and even Magnum PI a lot. I think I even saw it once or twice on the CSI Hawaii show. It is very cool to see on tv, thus I really wanted to make sure and see it while on Oahu.

The first time we actually saw the tower was purely by accident. We were driving around taking pictures of some of the beaches in the area and ended near the lagoon across from the rainbow tower. It was so cool to see it in person after seeing it so many times on Hawaii 5-0 It was a nice little area, and spent some time taking a bunch of pictures from different angles. After we were done taking pictures, we sat on a little bench, had shaved ice, talked to some locals, and did some people-watching.

While talking to some locals we learned that the show on Friday started at 7:45 and made plans to be back on Friday by 7:30 or so as the place can get packed. We took their advice and got there even a little bit earlier. We were glad we did, as it did get packed and people were still driving in as the show started. It was fun just standing around and talking to other people as we all waited for the show to start. I was continually amazed at the diversity of people we spoke with during our week in Hawaii. Many people were from Australia and New Zealand, as well as all over the US and Asia. It was cool to mix with so many people to enjoy the fireworks display.

Sadly, I didn’t learn until later that before the fireworks, the Hilton also host a Rockin’ Hawaiian Rainbow Revue with music, torch lighting, hula dancing, and a Mai Tai for $20. That would have been great to see and do. We will have to remember that for next time. We still had an enjoyable time watching the fireworks, even though they only lasted about 10 minutes. Below is a video of about 2 mins of the show.

Hilton Hawaiian Village Fireworks Video

After we returned home I was disappointed that we didn’t go into the Hilton Hotel for a couple of reasons. First was the fact that this was the hotel where Elvis stayed and filmed Blue Hawaii. Secondly, it is also the hotel where the drink, Blue Hawaii, was invented by Henry Yee, their head bartender at the time. Here is a link to their website with more info and history. I enjoyed checking it out after we returned.

Gene told me to not be disappointed as we will be back again soon, and this is just another thing to keep on our to-do list the next time we are there. I know we will be back, and he is right, but I will try to keep that in mind and not miss Hawaii too much. We will see how it goes. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed my post and the video. Here is a little bit more about the hotel itself.

Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Information

Address:

Resort: 2005 Kalia Road, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96815, USA

Phone:

1-808-949-4321, Fax: 1-808-951-5458,

Location:

Set in 22 oceanfront acres on Waikiki’s longest stretch of beach, just 20 minutes from Honolulu International Airport (HNL), Hilton Hawaiian Village® Waikiki Beach Resort enjoys a prime location on the gorgeous south shore of Oahu.

• Nestled on 22 oceanfront acres
• Only three miles from downtown Honolulu
• Just 20 minutes from Honolulu International Airport (HNL)
• Strolling distance to Hawaii Convention Center

Directions

From Honolulu International Airport: Take H-1 Freeway East, to Honolulu. Once on the freeway, look for Waikiki directional signs and stay in the right lane. Exit onto Nimitz Highway. Stay on Nimitz Highway, which will change into Ala Moana Blvd., for about 15 minutes.

You will pass Ala Moana Shopping Center on your left and Ala Moana Beach Park on your right. Go over a short bridge then watch for the Hilton Hawaiian Village sign on your right in about two blocks.

Stay in the right lane. Turn right on Kalia Road (right after the sign – you’ll see three bronze statues to your right as you round the corner). Go 200 feet, then turn right into our driveway. ALOHA! (Welcome!)