TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Stayed 8 nights in December, split stay. 6 in an island garden room, Ewa tower, 2 bedroom and then two nights in a standard one bedroom in the Ewa tower. We are DVC owners. Just love this place. But if you don’t like crowds/kids this might not be the place for you. Relatively secluded in a glorious part of Oahu. We didn’t experience any of the deck chair rage you get. But the front row seats and seats that face the ocean are claimed all day. There are signs saying you have to occupy them. It must be a minefield for staff policing them. It’s survival of the fittest out there. We just went out on the beach or wherever we could find a seat. I like the heated pool that is over 18 only. They do need two of them though. It gets very crowded around sunset. But just have some tips re staying there… Don’t go in the school holidays… Need to watch when you go. It rained for 3 days very heavily on our last few days in mid December. Probably not possible to avoid rain entirely in Hawaii... Do your research on this. Room location I like the Ewa tower, ground floor as it looks over the luau and you get a free show from your room (usually $170 pp). These are Island garden rooms. I wouldn’t stay in 160 again. My bedroom was very dark due to the trees and I had the lights on all day and all night. A lot of the higher point rooms are also affected by trees growing in front of them. The island garden rooms are the best value for the luau. If you go for the standard room the Ewa short or lobby wings are good. They overlook the conference centre (see my attached photos for the view) but floors 3 to 5 would be fine. We stayed in a one bedroom standard for a couple of nights on level 5. Search up aulani visual room finder to get an idea of the room categories. I usually also download a map of aulani and then send a room request to member services. Transport I would hire a car next time if at Aulani, (even though we don’t drive on that side of the road ?? so would be a leap of faith). I was going to hire an Enterprise rental car as they have an office onsite at Aulani. Only open 8-1pm for pick up. It was about $75 a day but if you book through Costco you get free additional drivers. If you are prepared to catch an uber I saw some rental car companies quoting $39 a day. You can book a free shopping mall shuttle to get down to the local Kamakanaalii outdoor shopping mall and there’s a Foodland Farms grocery store is there. It’s about a 15 minute drive. The shuttle is part of the shopping mall service and you book online. Concierge has the times on a flyer. There's a small Macys, Cheesecake Factory etc. For uber search for Macy’s Kapolei. There’s a Hampton Inn at that shopping centre too. If I didn’t have enough points or wanted to stay for a couple of nights nearby I think I’d try that hotel. (it’s not that cheap either though…) Food Options The walk way around the lagoons is just glorious, especially in the mornings. Sunsets are beautiful too, from the adult heated pool. I enjoyed Longhis cafe at the Marriott for breakfast, to be honest although Off the Hook at Aulani is good for the ribs. Yum. We were going to try Four Seasons next door for buffet breakfast on our last day but ran out of time. Not cheap, $59++. Looked good though if you take your time there... Monkeypod restaurant over the road is good but just as expensive as inside Aulani There’s a fabulous restaurant called Mahi'ai Table next to Foodland Farms grocery store, Kapolei (nb its the Foodland Farms near the Kamakanaalii Mall, NOT the Foodlands branch closer by at the local stripmall. We got an uber to the wrong Foodlands Farms one time). They have happy hour from 2-6pm every day and the food is really good and won’t bankrupt you. We booked the shuttle there and back one day! The abc convenience store across the road from Aulani is ok, expensive though. Apparently the Roys restaurant at the Koolina golf club across the road also has happy hour but not sure of the details as didn’t make it there. In summary I think since I’ve been there 4x, I would save my DVC points and try and stay in a standard room. Also I would rent a car and get food offsite at Foodland Farms or Target/Walmart.

We went to the spa for the day and had an incredible time. I can't wait to go back. We arrived at the valet and they were super kind about free valet for spa services and super helpful to direct us where to go. the spa was super personalized with a great tour and the facials and massage were incredible. So many pools and quiet rooms to try out in the garden area and inside. Wonderful assortment of snacks and drinks. Prices seemed very good for the quality of the experience.

We had a terrible time at the hotel. After four days at the four seasons, which is amazing we came here for one night. The two can’t even be compared. At the Disney resort, be prepared to queue for towels, queue to drop your kids off at the kids club, queue to pick them up at the kids club, queue to check in. I thought that I had booked a pair of queen beds, but it turned out that was apparently just classified as a request, so we ended up with the sofa bed and the king. This meant that we spent the night paying $1000 for a brown nylon blanket as the sofa bed doesn’t even come with proper linens. The staff are all very nice, but unfortunately the hotel is a massive miss for us, a classic Disney situation where they rip you off at every avenue. I also didn’t enjoy the fact that around the pool families are just Bringing in packets of chips, cool boxes etc. I do understand why because it’s overpriced rubbish in the restaurants but at the same time, the atmosphere isn’t good. The hot tubs are absolutely full, you can’t make your way through the sunbeds because they pack them like sardines. Also, didn’t spot a single character in the whole time we were there. Would highly recommend avoiding this hotel at all costs.

Our room was absolutely fantastic, the views were amazing. The complex is beautiful. We ate at off the hook a couple of times and had drinks and nibbles at Ole Bar. Food at both was great. The sun loungers are somewhat of an issue. Day One, we strolled down to swim and chill. All chairs were taken, taken by towels. We finally got some around 4pm. I ventured out around 7:15am the next day in the hope of securing 4 chairs for our 9 strong party. Too late! All chairs overlooking the beach with umbrellas were already taken. Families had sent a sacrificial lamb down very early to claim the prime spots. Ironically these families claim the same spots as the day before. They are also responsible for taking about 30 towels per family. Resort antics in full flight. I guess if you can't beat them, join them! These seasoned campaigners outsmart the resort staff with their antics with timed activities to avoid chair loss. Oh well, who cares, first world problems, just very funny to watch these folks feeling so chuffed that they secured their little slice of paradise. Happy New Year!

We were a family of 10 and decided to splurge for one night at Aulani on our last night for the grandkids (ages 7, 5, and 1). We were able to use the facilities in the late morning as our room wouldn't be ready until after 3pm and they had a family lounge area to change and were also able to stay for the majority of the day after checkout. However, for two villas (a 2br and a 1br) I feel that the $2,000 wasn't well spent - at least I didn't pay full retail due to DVC Rental Store. Yes, the staff is amazing and extremely helpful, but not sure what I was paying for as there weren't the amenities in the rooms that you would expect for this price. The pools were great, even though the lines were pretty long for any of the slides and in the late afternoon it was very crowded. We were lucky to find 4 chairs together, but most of the chairs around us that had towels we never saw anyone in them! The kitchen was well appointed and the in-room washer/dryer was great and the views of the pool from the two lanais were amazing. I really wanted to love it more than I did and while it was a great experience for the kids, I would not stay here again.