Just got back from our 8 day stay at Aulani. I thought I would post a quick review on our stay and this seemed like this is the best forum with all the Aulani info. We aren’t DVC members nor did we purchase points. We just stayed in a partial ocean view room category like the common folk have to do 
It was on the 9th floor of the Wai’anae Tower. It was myself, my hubby and our 2 girls who are 6 and 7. This was our first visit to Aulani and we started our Hawaiian adventure with a couple of nights on Hawaii Island and then 9 days in Maui. We are from Canada and the time difference for us was 6 hours so to make such a long trip worth it we decided to go for a good amount of time to get a chance to really experience gorgeous Hawaii with our girls.
Aulani is a beautiful resort and we spent a lot of time on it. Our girls did not want to leave very often. This last part of the trip was more relaxing than the other islands. We did do a lot of sightseeing and excursions on the other islands so it was kind of good that we were bit more on the down low and my hubby and I were kind of forced to relax and take in the Aulani mojo with our girls. Also the girls pretty much refused to leave, ha. We were able to spend a morning and afternoon at the North Shore and Turtle Beach which was an incredible experience and we totally enjoyed the time we spent at both. We ran through the maze at the Dole Plantation as well. We spent a morning and afternoon at Kualoa Ranch which was wonderful and what a beautiful and scenic drive to get to this part of the island. The mountain range, cliffs and ridges are just inspiring and it is just such a vast difference from desert like Kolina. We were also able to go one late afternoon into the evening to explore a bit of Waikiki Beach and have dinner.
Renting a car is a must for the island. For dining we had almost all of our breakfasts at the Oleo Room. We did do the character breakfast and one breakfast at Denny’s. Food was on the expensive side. 1 single banana in the Oleo Room was $3. The breakfast pastries like a croissant, muffin, cinnamon roll, etc is $4 each. A breakfast sandwich was $7. The food at the character breakfast was fine and only 2 characters roaming the dining area, Minnie and Goofy. We had only 1 dinner at the resort and that was at the buffet venue Mahahiki. It was just myself and my husband so the cost with 1 drink each was over $100.
The rest of our dinners were off the resort. We ate across the resort twice at Monkeypod which was a wonderful experience each time. We did go once with the girls, the children’s menu was a little limited. It is a lovely venue, great service, live music. It’s relaxing and the menu is locally inspired. Great little ice cream shop next door for a frosty treat as you walk back to the resort. We also had dinner at Just Tacos across the street. It was a great dinner and they actually have more than just tacos. Food was very tasty and fresh and great drinks. We did grab lunch at the Pizza Corner there with the girls and very good pizza. We did a half cheese, half deluxe and were very happy with it. Nice staff. There is a Hawaiian BBQ venue as well but it was always packed with a long line so unfortunately we did not get to try it out. Based on the long lines and packed tables it must be good. It was our 10 year wedding anniversary during the trip so my husband and I celebrated with a dinner at Roys just up the street at the golf course. The food was very good and the service top notch. I kind of thought the main courses were on the small side. No gorging here like at Mahahiki!
The least expensive venue for the girls to eat was actually at Aunty’s Beach House. They do serve lunch and dinner at less than $9. Every night the dinner was pizza, mac and cheese, chicken strips, carrot sticks and dessert was a fruit kabob with a marshmallow drizzled in chocolate and sprinkles. I don’t know what lunch was because we only had the girls in a few times for dinner. The girls did a huge variety of the organized programs at Aunty’s so that meant I was up every day at 6:00 so I could be in line at 7:00 to get them into the limited space programs. Every program was filled to the maximum and waitlisted by 10:00 for the day. I was not able to get them into any of the premium programs at all so if you are planning on having your children do any of the premium programs like Fish are Friends then do not wait until you get there to reserve it, call them well in advance to book it and they do not run every day.
The girls really loved Aunty’s and it is a very well done Kids Club. Parents are able to check it all out between 8:00 A.M and 9:30 for the open house and it’s just wonderful. The spaces are great and the organized programs that require reservations that day are interactive and hands on for the kids. There were great programs to do as a family as well, beach games, crafts in the Pau Hana Room, make your own film cell, the pool party fire pit storytelling.
In regards to the seating around the pool, my goodness what a challenge if you got there after 9:00 A.M. I noticed as I would walk to Aunty’s every morning that many seats were already reserved before 7:00 A.M. and when we returned after 9:00 had a hard time finding 3 seats together especially on a Friday or Saturday. The basic last resort area to find pool loungers was on the deck in between Ama Ama and the boardwalk which were in full sun and not around the pool so you would have to walk over which was a pain because we would have to check back every half an hour to 45 minutes to make sure the area pool staff had not tagged our chairs or removed our belongings. The pool seating reserving early in the morning does seem to be a problem for the resort and we often heard other guests complaining to staff that they could not find 1 or 2 seats anywhere.
We did attend the Starlight Hui which was on a Monday night and a Thursday night. We did the Monday night and it was a very long line by 7:15 for an 8:00 show. It was nice but I wouldn’t skip a luau in favor of the Starlight Hui. It was 25 minutes long and the stage is a bit low considering the majority of the guests have to sit on the ground on mats. During 2 of the numbers the kids are invited to come up and be a part of it so what happens next is during those 2 numbers those of us sitting on the ground got to watch a wall of parent bums about 3 rows deep because they all rush up and stand in front of the performance taking pictures and videos so you get to see nothing but backsides.
After that 6 characters come out for a little dance party. You won’t see much of that either because the kids are invited on up to come and dance which is great and interactive for the kids. The only thing is you have a much thicker wall of parents and people all standing and you cannot see anything including your own children. Of course I am only 5’1 so that probably doesn’t help but my husband is over 6 feet and he could not see our girls who were up front either. So get to the show early to get a mat and a place up front. We did not do a luau on Oahu, but on a different island. Paradise Cove is just down the street but I do not have any firsthand experience of this luau but the parking lot for it was packed every night we noticed.
The gift shop is small when comparing it to the gifts shops at Walt Disney World. If you see something at the gift shop that you like do not wait to buy it. Things sell out like that (snap your fingers for the like that part). I hesitated on 3 things and when I went back 2 days later, they were completely sold out and the staff has no idea when items come back. You snooze you lose my hubby reminded me unfortunately 2 days 2 late.
At the resort we had our lunches at Off the Hook which was fine.
Housekeeping was a bit disappointing. Most days our room wasn’t done until after 3:00 P.M. One evening they didn’t show up until after 7:30 P.M. to make up the room. It seems that housekeeping would do the rooms of people checking out that day first. There were often bags of garbage and dirty towels left behind by housekeeping and it was out there for hours on end and room service trays were left on the floor in the hallway as well for many hours. Besides that the resort was very clean and it is beautifully maintained and very lush with a tropical feel.
On our check out day we put the girls for free play at Aunty’s after breakfast and did some last minute things with the luggage and printed off our boarding passes in the community room. Our first flight home was very late but we decided not to hit the pool that day. They do have lockers and showers for guests in the community room who were in the same situation. There are lockers in the men’s facilities and the women’s change rooms as well. I did notice though while we were using the printer at noon that other guests who wanted a locker to store their items, the lockers were completely full by then. If you plan on needing a locker for your check-out day, you might then want to head to the community room and grab one earlier rather than later to avoid disappointment.
We did visit the nearby Target and across from it there is a Denny’s if anyone is looking for a more economical breakfast option off the resort and close by. The premium outlet mall isn’t that far off either and there is a Leonard’s malasadas truck parked next to the Old Navy outlet if you want a warm and yummy sweet treat.
Before I forget the beach is very nice! Lovely cove shape with crystal clear water, small waves and beautiful golden sand. Bring your flip flops to walk across the sand though because if you go in bare feet, you will look like you are dancing on fire because it is so gosh darn hot as it warms in the sun and you look like you are doing a funny dance/walk trying to get either to the water or some shaded sand. It was never crowded considering it is shared with the Marriott and it is a public beach. Beautiful chapel with soaring glass windows facing the ocean next door by the way. Lots of weddings during the week so it was fun to see all the couples in their gowns and tuxes starting married life there. Already put my hubby on notice that I expect us to go back in 10 years and renew our vows right there
That’s all I can think of. Hope this helps! Here are some photos.
Pool Party!
My pool wristband collection that grew by the day
This is what a tagged pool chair looks like. If you see your pool chairs have the towels hanging over the top and tucked into the back, that means the clock has begun to tick for you so take that towel on down.
This is the refillable mug station at One Paddle, Two Paddle which was very popular with Canadians. This was the only spot you could find Nestea Ice Tea which means already sweetened ice tea! Alleluia!
No need to fear Duffy Fans. The gift shop will never be short of the very popular Duffy Bear!
A photo of one side of the gift shop
My dark photo of the Starlight Hui
My photo of exotic parent backsides that you can only see at the Starlight Hui
It was on the 9th floor of the Wai’anae Tower. It was myself, my hubby and our 2 girls who are 6 and 7. This was our first visit to Aulani and we started our Hawaiian adventure with a couple of nights on Hawaii Island and then 9 days in Maui. We are from Canada and the time difference for us was 6 hours so to make such a long trip worth it we decided to go for a good amount of time to get a chance to really experience gorgeous Hawaii with our girls.Aulani is a beautiful resort and we spent a lot of time on it. Our girls did not want to leave very often. This last part of the trip was more relaxing than the other islands. We did do a lot of sightseeing and excursions on the other islands so it was kind of good that we were bit more on the down low and my hubby and I were kind of forced to relax and take in the Aulani mojo with our girls. Also the girls pretty much refused to leave, ha. We were able to spend a morning and afternoon at the North Shore and Turtle Beach which was an incredible experience and we totally enjoyed the time we spent at both. We ran through the maze at the Dole Plantation as well. We spent a morning and afternoon at Kualoa Ranch which was wonderful and what a beautiful and scenic drive to get to this part of the island. The mountain range, cliffs and ridges are just inspiring and it is just such a vast difference from desert like Kolina. We were also able to go one late afternoon into the evening to explore a bit of Waikiki Beach and have dinner.
Renting a car is a must for the island. For dining we had almost all of our breakfasts at the Oleo Room. We did do the character breakfast and one breakfast at Denny’s. Food was on the expensive side. 1 single banana in the Oleo Room was $3. The breakfast pastries like a croissant, muffin, cinnamon roll, etc is $4 each. A breakfast sandwich was $7. The food at the character breakfast was fine and only 2 characters roaming the dining area, Minnie and Goofy. We had only 1 dinner at the resort and that was at the buffet venue Mahahiki. It was just myself and my husband so the cost with 1 drink each was over $100.
The rest of our dinners were off the resort. We ate across the resort twice at Monkeypod which was a wonderful experience each time. We did go once with the girls, the children’s menu was a little limited. It is a lovely venue, great service, live music. It’s relaxing and the menu is locally inspired. Great little ice cream shop next door for a frosty treat as you walk back to the resort. We also had dinner at Just Tacos across the street. It was a great dinner and they actually have more than just tacos. Food was very tasty and fresh and great drinks. We did grab lunch at the Pizza Corner there with the girls and very good pizza. We did a half cheese, half deluxe and were very happy with it. Nice staff. There is a Hawaiian BBQ venue as well but it was always packed with a long line so unfortunately we did not get to try it out. Based on the long lines and packed tables it must be good. It was our 10 year wedding anniversary during the trip so my husband and I celebrated with a dinner at Roys just up the street at the golf course. The food was very good and the service top notch. I kind of thought the main courses were on the small side. No gorging here like at Mahahiki!
The least expensive venue for the girls to eat was actually at Aunty’s Beach House. They do serve lunch and dinner at less than $9. Every night the dinner was pizza, mac and cheese, chicken strips, carrot sticks and dessert was a fruit kabob with a marshmallow drizzled in chocolate and sprinkles. I don’t know what lunch was because we only had the girls in a few times for dinner. The girls did a huge variety of the organized programs at Aunty’s so that meant I was up every day at 6:00 so I could be in line at 7:00 to get them into the limited space programs. Every program was filled to the maximum and waitlisted by 10:00 for the day. I was not able to get them into any of the premium programs at all so if you are planning on having your children do any of the premium programs like Fish are Friends then do not wait until you get there to reserve it, call them well in advance to book it and they do not run every day.
The girls really loved Aunty’s and it is a very well done Kids Club. Parents are able to check it all out between 8:00 A.M and 9:30 for the open house and it’s just wonderful. The spaces are great and the organized programs that require reservations that day are interactive and hands on for the kids. There were great programs to do as a family as well, beach games, crafts in the Pau Hana Room, make your own film cell, the pool party fire pit storytelling.
In regards to the seating around the pool, my goodness what a challenge if you got there after 9:00 A.M. I noticed as I would walk to Aunty’s every morning that many seats were already reserved before 7:00 A.M. and when we returned after 9:00 had a hard time finding 3 seats together especially on a Friday or Saturday. The basic last resort area to find pool loungers was on the deck in between Ama Ama and the boardwalk which were in full sun and not around the pool so you would have to walk over which was a pain because we would have to check back every half an hour to 45 minutes to make sure the area pool staff had not tagged our chairs or removed our belongings. The pool seating reserving early in the morning does seem to be a problem for the resort and we often heard other guests complaining to staff that they could not find 1 or 2 seats anywhere.
We did attend the Starlight Hui which was on a Monday night and a Thursday night. We did the Monday night and it was a very long line by 7:15 for an 8:00 show. It was nice but I wouldn’t skip a luau in favor of the Starlight Hui. It was 25 minutes long and the stage is a bit low considering the majority of the guests have to sit on the ground on mats. During 2 of the numbers the kids are invited to come up and be a part of it so what happens next is during those 2 numbers those of us sitting on the ground got to watch a wall of parent bums about 3 rows deep because they all rush up and stand in front of the performance taking pictures and videos so you get to see nothing but backsides.
After that 6 characters come out for a little dance party. You won’t see much of that either because the kids are invited on up to come and dance which is great and interactive for the kids. The only thing is you have a much thicker wall of parents and people all standing and you cannot see anything including your own children. Of course I am only 5’1 so that probably doesn’t help but my husband is over 6 feet and he could not see our girls who were up front either. So get to the show early to get a mat and a place up front. We did not do a luau on Oahu, but on a different island. Paradise Cove is just down the street but I do not have any firsthand experience of this luau but the parking lot for it was packed every night we noticed.
The gift shop is small when comparing it to the gifts shops at Walt Disney World. If you see something at the gift shop that you like do not wait to buy it. Things sell out like that (snap your fingers for the like that part). I hesitated on 3 things and when I went back 2 days later, they were completely sold out and the staff has no idea when items come back. You snooze you lose my hubby reminded me unfortunately 2 days 2 late.
At the resort we had our lunches at Off the Hook which was fine.
Housekeeping was a bit disappointing. Most days our room wasn’t done until after 3:00 P.M. One evening they didn’t show up until after 7:30 P.M. to make up the room. It seems that housekeeping would do the rooms of people checking out that day first. There were often bags of garbage and dirty towels left behind by housekeeping and it was out there for hours on end and room service trays were left on the floor in the hallway as well for many hours. Besides that the resort was very clean and it is beautifully maintained and very lush with a tropical feel.
On our check out day we put the girls for free play at Aunty’s after breakfast and did some last minute things with the luggage and printed off our boarding passes in the community room. Our first flight home was very late but we decided not to hit the pool that day. They do have lockers and showers for guests in the community room who were in the same situation. There are lockers in the men’s facilities and the women’s change rooms as well. I did notice though while we were using the printer at noon that other guests who wanted a locker to store their items, the lockers were completely full by then. If you plan on needing a locker for your check-out day, you might then want to head to the community room and grab one earlier rather than later to avoid disappointment.
We did visit the nearby Target and across from it there is a Denny’s if anyone is looking for a more economical breakfast option off the resort and close by. The premium outlet mall isn’t that far off either and there is a Leonard’s malasadas truck parked next to the Old Navy outlet if you want a warm and yummy sweet treat.
Before I forget the beach is very nice! Lovely cove shape with crystal clear water, small waves and beautiful golden sand. Bring your flip flops to walk across the sand though because if you go in bare feet, you will look like you are dancing on fire because it is so gosh darn hot as it warms in the sun and you look like you are doing a funny dance/walk trying to get either to the water or some shaded sand. It was never crowded considering it is shared with the Marriott and it is a public beach. Beautiful chapel with soaring glass windows facing the ocean next door by the way. Lots of weddings during the week so it was fun to see all the couples in their gowns and tuxes starting married life there. Already put my hubby on notice that I expect us to go back in 10 years and renew our vows right there
That’s all I can think of. Hope this helps! Here are some photos.
Pool Party!
My pool wristband collection that grew by the day
This is what a tagged pool chair looks like. If you see your pool chairs have the towels hanging over the top and tucked into the back, that means the clock has begun to tick for you so take that towel on down.
This is the refillable mug station at One Paddle, Two Paddle which was very popular with Canadians. This was the only spot you could find Nestea Ice Tea which means already sweetened ice tea! Alleluia!
No need to fear Duffy Fans. The gift shop will never be short of the very popular Duffy Bear!
A photo of one side of the gift shop
My dark photo of the Starlight Hui
My photo of exotic parent backsides that you can only see at the Starlight Hui
