Is Aulani worth it if you don’t have kids?

[slg]

interested in trying out Aulani, but the price is very high, especially being a Canadian. Is it worth the cost?

 

[spacecanada]

Yes, 100% yes! We went last year, without kids, and LOVED it. It was well worth the price for us to be in Hawaii and have Disney amenities and chefs (I have multiple severe food allergies and Disney chefs are the best when it comes to allergy accommodations). The resort is beautiful, full of storytelling and culture - take the time to learn about it, take tours, ask questions, play the exploration game. We enjoyed the beach, the lazy river, the waterslides, the characters, the restaurants, the views, the activities, the music... We even played in the kids club during open house -- because we're just big kids. We also liked being outside of the city and in a much quieter and nicer area, with easy access to highways going around the island. There is an Alamo car rental on site for day trips, which is exceptionally convenient. We have since declared Aulani our favourite Disney resort, ever. It was relaxing, engaging, and beautiful

We're Canadian too, and Aulani is now the only place we'll stay on Oahu. The exchange rate is terrible, and the prices are high, but if you want a truly exceptional vacation, we think it's worth it.

That being said, we stay at a cheaper airport hotel the night we arrive because our flights typically arrive late at night, and I don't want to A) drive to Aulani in the dark, and 2) pay US$500 per night to arrive and fall asleep, when I can pay less, enjoy a drive in the morning, and enjoy Aulani in the early morning when we arrive the next day. We rent a car from Alamo the next morning, too, and either drop it off at Alamo at Aulani, or park it in the parkade for the trip.

Otherwise, you can stay in another Ko Olina resort, or even just drive to Aulani for the day and enjoy the amenities there. The pools and characters are reserved for guests only, but you can still walk through, take a tour, and take in a character meal or sunset dinner at 'AMA'AMA even if you don't stay at Aulani.

 

[newdeal]

Aulani isn't for kids really. Its certainly not kid focused. Is Aulani worth it? I would say NO unless you have DVC (which I am assuming that you do not). Is Oahu worth it, yes, is Aulani nice, yes, but bottom line is if you can stay at another hotel in Ko Olina for cheaper I would do so. I would not under any circumstances ever stay in Honolulu again. Oahu is about exploring in my opinion, so in some regards it doesn't really much matter where you stay, but Honolulu isn't what I like at all. Aulani is worth staying at, but we have DVC and if we did not I would look at the other resorts in Ko Olina or on the north shore

 

[pepperandchips]

We are leaving for Aulani again tonight (yay!) a childless early 30s couple. We do have DVC and would recommend looking into point rental if you don’t have DVC. A studio is perfect for a couple in my opinion - we love having the full size coffee maker to enjoy Hawaiian coffee in the morning (buy some and filters while you’re there) and the kitchenette let us make breakfasts and lunches in the room to save a little.

I would say Aulani is worth it for a couple of reasons, one of which is not unique to Aulani but it is to Ko Olina and that is the lagoon that Aulani is located on. We were able to float around and swim there easily where other beaches in Hawaii were not good for swimming due to the size of the waves and the undertow. We loved just heading to the beach and having the chairs and umbrellas already set up and available for our use, not something you can count on if you rent a condo. The second big reason is the adult pool - yes, there are a lot of kids in all the other pools, but the adult pool always had chairs available and we loved relaxing there in relative peace with our books.

If you don’t stay at Aulani I don’t know if I would bother to drive all the way out there just to see the resort - I’ve heard a few people say they were disappointed with that and Hawaii is so charming I’m not sure touring Aulani is worth it unless you’re already in Ko Olina.

The rooms are very nice, but not what I’d call 5 star - they are the same as the quality of WDW deluxe if that helps you gauge. The pools and setting are for sure 5 star. We can’t wait to return for a couple of nights before heading off to see Maui!

 

[scottmel]

Honestly in my opinion no...We went in July for 11 nights split trip between Aulani and Waikiki. We so preferred Waikiki we left Aulani early and returned to Waikiki. I will say it is very dependent on WHERE you stay in Waikiki. I wrote this review if interested comparing both

https://disneyhighlife.com/2018/10/17/our-trip-to-aulani-is-it-worth-the-hype/

 

[kyton]

We normally visit Oahu twice a year and have stayed at Aulani 5 times, the Beach Villas twice and The Marriott 4 times.

Personally I wouldn’t stay at Aulani sans kids - it’s lovely but if you were staying in Ko Olina then I would stay at either Four Seasons or Beach Villas. If it’s your first time to Oahu, then I wouldn’t stay solely in Ko Olina - I would do a split stay at the very least with Waikiki in the mix. Ko Olina is isolated - it’s a gated community, lovely and relaxing but you have to drive for any form of shopping or if you tire of the restaurants there.

When we stay at the other resorts we still go to Ama Ama for dinner and breakfast a couple of times, we just don’t have to stay in the resort itself.

 

[OKW Lover]

Aulani isn't focused on kids. Yes, there are some things that appeal to kids, but overall this resort is aimed at everybody. We regularly travel to Aulani (from the US east coast) with a group the youngest of which is in their early 50's.

 

[Nagle]

“Is it worth it” is such a personal decision. We travelled there in October from eastern Ontario for the first time and LOVED it. We stayed on our DVC points so that changes things of course. We have done family trips to WDW for years so this was an awesome change of pace.
It was just my wife and I, and we loved the fact that there was an adult only pool and hot tub. I believe we only ate on site once in our 13 days there. We had a car and got groceries at Costco to bring back to the room. We are looking at going again in about 2 years.
We spent our last 3 nights in Waikiki and loved every minute of that part of the trip. A very different vibe from Aulani but tons of fun for us also.

So, all in all for us it is very “worth it”.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

We just got back from our fourth trip and was amazing. We go during times when kids are in school so easy to get a chair, dinner ressies. The beach is amazing and resort is really well done. I think it's far and away better than anything in Waikiki. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[GALLERY=] [/GALLERY]

 

[spacecanada]

Whilst we LOVE Aulani, I agree with everyone here that it all depends on what type of experience you want. Whilst some people here loved Waikiki, we hated it so much we were counting the hours until our flight home... It was far too busy, noisy, and crowded for us. But, Waikiki is close to the big tourist attractions in the area, a huge beach with great beginner surfing, malls, parks, the cruise ship pier, and many other amenities most people love. (That's just not what we personally want in a vacation.) If you want to see the attractions in Honolulu, Aulani will be inconvenient. If you want to relax and unwind and enjoy a little culture and fantasy and beach -- with a little Disney magic, you'll enjoy Aulani.

As for cost, if you normally go to US$200/night hotels/resorts and truly love them, Aulani may not be worth all the extras and the higher price tag. I would compare it to Animal Kingdom Lodge at WDW (same designer, actually): similar rooms and similar ambiance, though with a different cultural theme and a beach. If you think Animal Kingdom Lodge is worth it, Aulani might be worth it, too. If you think Animal Kingdom Lodge overpriced because you can stay at Pop Century and get the 'same' experience, Aulani might not be worth it.

 

[mel&me]

I certainly hope so plan on going there next year and we have no kids

 

[keaster]

We have been to Aulani 3 times with friends/family and next month we are going just the two of us. We are looking forward to enjoying the adult pool & hot tub along with some spa time! We also always rent a car and love to explore the island We are DVC owners so we enjoy the accommodations from studios to 2-bedrooms.

 

[keishashadow]

Our first trip in April woot! Decided to spend 3 nights in Waikiki, 3 at Aulani; then a NCL cruise to get a feel for the other islands. We tend to always do split DVC stays in Orlando, looking forward to experiencing different vibes over the two weeks.

 

[slg]

I think I will split my stay. A few days in Waikiki to do Diamond Head, Bishop Museum,Zoo, Aquarium etc and then Aulani to enjoy the resort for three or four days. We can do the pools, beach, luau. Will eat aross the street or in studio to save bucks. Going on a 10 day cruise afterwards so no need to overeat before

 

[adamak]

Aulani is a great resort for adults. However, depends on your situation. 1st timer? Multiple islands...etc? If this is your only chance to visit Oahu, there are plenty of other resorts to visits that's better, more centrally located. If this is a repeat trip, again, I probably would pick north shore instead of Aulani just because of the location. But the resort itself is great for young and old.

 

[MightyDuck001]

I stayed because I'm DVC and can honestly say that had I had to pay rack rate I don't know that it would've happened just because the cost would be too high for me to pay on top of airfare. As an adult who went without kids, though, I loved it. I did the water slides/lazy river early in the morning before the kiddies woke up, then parked my butt by the adult pool with a stack of books.

I split it with Kauai and honestly that was much more enjoyable than staying in Waikiki/Honolulu but I would totally commute back and forth from Aulani for Marukame udon there.

 

[kiford]

We went in November 2017 with friends who are DVC owners so we stayed in a two bedroom villa. We did breakfast in the room a couple of times rather than going out. It was really nice to just basically sit on the balcony while having coffee and breakfast. I think that Aulani is very nice for adults without children. We took a look at the Four Seasons next door and I wasn't impressed. The pool was very small and bland. We alternated between days at the resort and days off site (Pearl Harbor, Volcano National Park on the Big Island, North Beach/Dole Plantation). Those days we spent at the resort, we spent on the lazy river, the slides, the adult only pool and hot tub, the beach. The luau was lovely. It really depends on what kind of experience you're after. The number of pools and little private areas were perfect for us.

 

[a1tinkfans]

My niece ( a disney lover) and her fiancé went and were sorely disappointed. She said she just didn’t feel any true disney immersion or feel.
Having said that... they are frequently on the island ..I think she really needed Park time rather than thinking Aulani was to be her disney “ fix”. It wasn’t and she was disappointed for what it cost.
So they re Walt Disney bound, again... it’s All good lol

 

[newdeal]

yes if you want to go to Aulani and feel like you are at Disney then you will be disappointed. Its a Disney hotel in Hawaii. It immediately feels like a Disney Hotel when you walk in (especially like Animal Kingdom Lodge) but that is the extent of it, it feels like a Disney hotel, not like a Disney park. Which is a good thing, because if you want to go to a Disney park you don't need to fly all the way to Hawaii. Aualni is about laid back Hawaii lifestyle, not high pace theme park lifestyle. Pretty sure they built it mostly to increase the appeal to owning DVC (one more highly desirable location that can wow potential buyers). Worked for me, I bought my DVC a few years ago just because I wanted to save money on Aulani and it has worked out better than I could have ever expected since I bought resale and the points have been constantly going up in value at the same rate as my maintenance fees cost me.

 

[OKW Lover]

My niece ( a disney lover) and her fiancé went and were sorely disappointed. She said she just didn’t feel any true disney immersion or feel.

Hmmm. Not quite sure what your niece was expecting. Its certainly not a theme park. Its a very nice resort which is fully immersed in the Hawaiian culture.