Food prices at Aulani INSANE

[CampbellzSoup]

It just doesn't make sense to me, the number of people who go to Aulani and never leave the place. I can't think of anywhere in the world I would go where I'd eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at my hotel every day outside of maybe an all-inclusive resort.

No monkey pod capt!?

 

[Paul Stupin]

I understand what you’re getting at and agree with some of it, but 1, you’re wicked rude and 2, everyone in the world knows that Aulani is expensive and Hawaii has a homeless issue. There was nothing inaccurate about her statements, on the contrary they were more “well yeah we know this so what” in my opinion. You spent 10 minutes of your time at beautiful Aulani berating a woman and her daughter for her opinion, how much does that work out to be?

I’m sorry that you’re offended. Truly.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

No monkey pod capt!?

I love Monkeypod.

 

[lowlight]

I’m sorry that you’re offended. Truly.

I’m not offended. I just call a spade a spade, don’t particularly care what you think or feel or opine, it’s a free world. Enjoy your time at Aulani.

 

[Paul Stupin]

I’m not offended. I just call a spade a spade, don’t particularly care what you think or feel or opine, it’s a free world. Enjoy your time at Aulani.

Well that’s just rude.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Costco rocks. Always make a stop from the airport.

 

[Kwami]

Allow me to offer a counterpoint to all this whining and complaining, since I am currently at Aulani. For lunch by the pool, takeout sandwiches and salads are all below $20 at the Ulu Cafe. For dinner, a full meal there featuring the catch of the day, mashed potatoes or rice, and veggies costs $26. My wife and I ate at MonkeyPod last night and we each had the Saimin, a delicious giant bowl of noodles, veggies and pork in a chicken broth. It was $22 each. The night before we ate at the relatively new mexican restaurant Meikiko right across from MonkeyPod. We split an enormous order of steak fajitas, plus complimentary chips and salsa. I think it was $26.

But that's actually a good example. You can get a mediocre meal of fish and veggies from Ulu Cafe for the same price as an enormous order of steak fajitas at Meikiko. You can get a giant bowl of delicious soup from MonkeyPod for less. And Ulu Cafe is the cheapest food at Aulani, excepting the quick pool snacks. The actual restaurants cost even more. Chicken and veggies is $29 at Off the Hook. They charge $16 for tonkatsu at 'Olelo and it doesn't even come with rice. That's an extra $5! For plain, white rice! And it's not even good tonkatsu. The sauce is lacking in flavor and the meat itself was overcooked 1/2 times that I had it.

Disney's prices are absurd, even for the area.

 

[Lilsia]

Our daughter travels all over the world on business. She just got back from Hawaii and talked about how insane the food prices were, especially at Aulani. She was able to visit 3 islands during her stay, though was only able to stay one night at Aulani. She said the resort was very nice. She said all of the resorts where she stayed were nice, but thought everything else outside of the resorts seemed very run down. She was also shocked by the homeless problem that they're having. It was her first trip to Hawaii and unless its back for business, she said it will no doubt be her last.

I think that some people have this idea in their heads that Hawaii is still like it was 300 years ago. With natives wearing their grass skirts and everything is pristine. That is not reality. There are cities with all of the problems that other cities have. That being said, there is still a very large portion of the Islands that are not inhabited and are just absolutely gorgeous. You just need to go there. If you stay in a city, you will get city atmosphere. Also, Hawaii has ALWAYS been an expensive place to go. I knew that even as a child in the 70s. The sad reality is that many people live in their tiny bubbles and have no clue what the rest of the world is like. I was fortunate that my parents came from Europe and they never once tried to shield me from the realities of how many live. No one should be "shocked" about homeless people in a city. That is a reality in every single city in America.

 

[Lilsia]

The food at Aulani isn't especially good, though. I'm sure that the fancy stuff at 'AMA'AMA is fine and the breakfast at Makahiki was pretty good (though still overpriced), but the rest is just OK, really. The prices that they charge for food at the other restaurants are absurd.

I found plenty of better, cheaper food elsewhere on the island. Nearby Kapolei has many restaurants to choose from and a lot of them are better than the food at Aulani with much lower prices.

Yes! The Island has a ton of local places with very reasonably priced and delicious food. Research ahead of time is important.

 

[Lilsia]

My daughter's family just moved to a marine base on the island. A bag of tortilla chips cost them $7.50. That said, when we visit Aulani in July and she and my grandsons join us, I am going to have her buy the food and keep it in the room, except for probably the character breakfast and a few dinners off property.

Nah, get a car and go where locals go. Do your research ahead of time and you will be fine. I like this couple. They spotlight mostly local places. https://www.youtube.com/@AmandaFelixEats

 

[Paul Stupin]

But that's actually a good example. You can get a mediocre meal of fish and veggies from Ulu Cafe for the same price as an enormous order of steak fajitas at Meikiko. You can get a giant bowl of delicious soup from MonkeyPod for less. And Ulu Cafe is the cheapest food at Aulani, excepting the quick pool snacks. The actual restaurants cost even more. Chicken and veggies is $29 at Off the Hook. They charge $16 for tonkatsu at 'Olelo and it doesn't even come with rice. That's an extra $5! For plain, white rice! And it's not even good tonkatsu. The sauce is lacking in flavor and the meat itself was overcooked 1/2 times that I had it.

Disney's prices are absurd, even for the area.

Yeah, good points! For what it’s worth, though, the Ulu Cafe fish was pretty good, and the steak fajitas at Meikiko were good but kinda tough. The other prices you mentioned are indeed high, but I don’t think they’re INSANE high, like, say, $8 for a bag of chips, and in my opinion the markup is not really any greater than what you might encounter at other high end resorts in Hawaii, a category in which I include Aulani.

I also regard Meikiko and MonkeyPod as totally viable options for Aulani visitors since they’re right across the street, so I do think it’s possible to eat well while here by paying somewhat high but not astronomically high prices.

 

[Lilsia]

Yeah, good points! For what it’s worth, though, the Ulu Cafe fish was pretty good, and the steak fajitas at Meikiko were good but kinda tough. The other prices you mentioned are indeed high, but I don’t think they’re INSANE high, like, say, $8 for a bag of chips, and in my opinion the markup is not really any greater than what you might encounter at other high end resorts in Hawaii, a category in which I include Aulani.

I also regard Meikiko and MonkeyPod as totally viable options for Aulani visitors since they’re right across the street, so I do think it’s possible to eat well while here by paying somewhat high but not astronomically high prices.

The 2 things that I found that were a good deal at Ulu were the kid's breakfast platter. That was more than enough food for one adult or 2 little kids. And their kalua pork sandwich.

 

[handinpocket]

Allow me to offer a counterpoint to all this whining and complaining, since I am currently at Aulani. For lunch by the pool, takeout sandwiches and salads are all below $20 at the Ulu Cafe. For dinner, a full meal there featuring the catch of the day, mashed potatoes or rice, and veggies costs $26. My wife and I ate at MonkeyPod last night and we each had the Saimin, a delicious giant bowl of noodles, veggies and pork in a chicken broth. It was $22 each. The night before we ate at the relatively new mexican restaurant Meikiko right across from MonkeyPod. We split an enormous order of steak fajitas, plus complimentary chips and salsa. I think it was $26.

In all fairness, at Aulani both Makahiki and Ama Ama , in my opinion, are way too expensive and in my opinion not worth it. But, guess what, no one forces you to eat at either one.

We also dine at Longhi’s (Marriott) and Noe (Four Seasons). They’re pricier, about $120 average, including a glass or two of wine. That’s about what we pay in LA when we go to hotel restaurants. We also explored all around an area near Waikiki called Kaka’ako, chock full of fun shops and restaurants. Once again, aside from fine dining, all were reasonably priced.

In addition, though we don’t usually go into Kapolei for dinner, a five minute drive from Aulani, there are many little hole in the wall restaurants that are mostly budget friendly.

My advice to the OP is to request that her international jet setting daughter actually do some research before visiting a destination, try to be a little less judgmental, and to please consider that her “sky is falling down” attitude might be based on inaccurate information. It’s really doing all of us a disservice.

Wow, so unnecessarily rude. It's her opinion, deal with it.

 

[JBRB828]

I’ve been to Hawaii 18 times and going again in May. Oahu is a beautiful island, as all of them are. Yes, homelessness is a problem and has been for years. One clue about eating at more reasonable prices, is to eat where the locals eat. There are so many excellent places and huge portions. If we want to eat at a resort restaurant, we will at times.
I’m in NJ and to eat at a excellent restaurant the dinner prices are not much different than Hawaii.

 

[Paul Stupin]

The 2 things that I found that were a good deal at Ulu were the kid's breakfast platter. That was more than enough food for one adult or 2 little kids. And their kalua pork sandwich.

The takeout salads aren’t a bad deal either, and they’re all pretty good.

 

[AstroBlasters]

No, I don't think she did. That may have softened her attitude towards it if she would have.

15 years ago I used to travel to Hawaii for work every 8 weeks. It never felt remotely the same as when I was there for vacation.

For me, it takes about two days for the warm ocean to wash to away my mainland stress and feel the magic of Hawaii. Add in some excursions and off-site dining and it makes it a fun family vacation. Also, I’m a sucker for a Mickey/Minnie Dole Whip.

I hope that she is able to go back someday and experience it as a vacation instead of a layover/work trip.

 

[maxbuffmelvin]

The food prices at Ama Ama and Makahiki are not worth it for me except for the character breakfast. Overall, I didn't find the food prices in Hawaii insane. I compared nearly identical groceries orders between Aulani (Foodland) and WDW (Publix), and Foodland was approximately 5% more than Publix, which I don't think was substantial.

Another inexpensive and delicious dining option in Oahu is Japanese restaurants, such as Marugame (Waikiki), Tanaka Ramen (Kapolei), and Curry House Ichibanya (Kapolei).

 

[monsterkitty]

Out of curiosity, do the rooms at Aulani have rice cookers? (the bowl of rice price made me wonder about this). We bring our own rice when we travel and love when the rooms have rice cookers.

 

[Lilsia]

Out of curiosity, do the rooms at Aulani have rice cookers? (the bowl of rice price made me wonder about this). We bring our own rice when we travel and love when the rooms have rice cookers.

The one bedroom and up do stock a rice cooker. But if you are in a studio, you can ask for one.

 

[Lilsia]

The food prices at Ama Ama and Makahiki are not worth it for me except for the character breakfast. Overall, I didn't find the food prices in Hawaii insane. I compared nearly identical groceries orders between Aulani (Foodland) and WDW (Publix), and Foodland was approximately 5% more than Publix, which I don't think was substantial.

Another inexpensive and delicious dining option in Oahu is Japanese restaurants, such as Marugame (Waikiki), Tanaka Ramen (Kapolei), and Curry House Ichibanya (Kapolei).

I don't understand why people choose to not leave the resort and then complain about resort prices. Every resort that I have been to has had ridiculous prices. Are high prices at a resort a surprise to anyone? In this day and age of the internet and everyone posting everything about a place, including the menu and food, no one should be surprised about anything.