That's not sunsreen, that's body wash! - Aulani TR (Oct 8-14, 2016) Updated 4/14

[Steppesister]

Holy crap!! WHat a decadent and lovely treat for yourselves. I've done the spa at Senses, but this looks way above and beyond. Just gorgeous!!! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Dugette]

Wow, I'm feeling relaxed just reading about your spa visit!

So funny to think we've been to Aulani twice and never set foot in that place. Apparently we need to someday!

 

[olafLover]

.

 

[Pinkocto]

Dan got the stomach flu last night.

I seriously just can't help but laugh with everything going on My friend swears we live on an indian burial ground. Someone here is always sick.

I’m so sorry. I hope he feels better soon.

 

[Pinkocto]

The spa looks A-MA-ZING!!! Thank you so much for posting such an in depth review. I will definitely be be enjoying that place when I finally get out there. Awesome to be able to spend all that time before and after the massage enjoying the extras.

 

[Leshaface]

Holy crap!! WHat a decadent and lovely treat for yourselves. I've done the spa at Senses, but this looks way above and beyond. Just gorgeous!!! Thanks for sharing.

Holy crap indeed! If I seriously didn't pack out my solo trip with things to do, visiting Senses would have been on my list of Must-Do's.

Wow, I'm feeling relaxed just reading about your spa visit!

So funny to think we've been to Aulani twice and never set foot in that place. Apparently we need to someday!

No. You must! It really helped us ease into the idea of 'relaxing' while on a Disney trip (which I didn't think was possible!)

I'm so happy with our decision to do the couples massage! It sounds lovely!
Did you say you went into the sauna in your bathing suit? Are there sign or anything to say that's how it should be done? Because they are in the locker rooms, I wouldn't expect that

Yay for your couples massage! You will not regret it one bit. The women I encountered were all wearing bathing suits, besides one girl, who was wearing a towel around here, so maybe no bathing suit underneath? I'm not exactly sure what their policy is regarding that officially though.

I’m so sorry. I hope he feels better soon.

I think he's on the mend, and i'm praying it will stay like that for all of us at least through this month, please dear Lord!

The spa looks A-MA-ZING!!! Thank you so much for posting such an in depth review. I will definitely be be enjoying that place when I finally get out there. Awesome to be able to spend all that time before and after the massage enjoying the extras.

Pam, you could seriously turn it into an all day event if you wanted to! And what I love is that they encourage you to stay and make the most of your time there. They don't hover and check their watches. It's utter relaxation.

 

[94bruin]

How far in advance did you book your spa treatment? I have to remember to book treatments for my June trip. I like how you can just relax in the spa. I don't think I've ever really taken advantage of any facilities. But considering we'll be there for 7 days, I'll have to time to relax. I think I am usually forward tto the next item on the agenda, haha!

 

[Leshaface]

How far in advance did you book your spa treatment? I have to remember to book treatments for my June trip. I like how you can just relax in the spa. I don't think I've ever really taken advantage of any facilities. But considering we'll be there for 7 days, I'll have to time to relax. I think I am usually forward tto the next item on the agenda, haha!

I think I booked it about 5 weeks before our trip, so you definitely have time if you're thinking about getting a treatment. And 7 days? Amazing! I hope you have the best time!

 

[afwdwfan]

The rain showers (watch out for the crotch shower, BTW!),

Ok, I'm in catch up mode and not commenting on much, but I need to know more...

Looks like a great, relaxing start to the trip. Awesome picture of Calvin with Darryl Strawberry. Yes, you're going on and on about the spa and I'm still thinking, "man, that's awesome that they got to meet Strawberry in the airport."

 

[Leshaface]

Ok, I'm in catch up mode and not commenting on much, but I need to know more...

Looks like a great, relaxing start to the trip. Awesome picture of Calvin with Darryl Strawberry. Yes, you're going on and on about the spa and I'm still thinking, "man, that's awesome that they got to meet Strawberry in the airport."

Hiya Andy! Awesome to see you here! And trust me, the crotch showers are not as fun as they sound It's super awkward, and Dan got 'grazed' so that was entertaining

I actually remember watching him play when I was around 11 against the Orioles while in Baltimore so it was REALLY cool to see him in person!

 

[franandaj]

OK, I got caught up. Your visit to Costco looked fun, I'm pretty sure we won't be able to resist. Even if there are just two of us, we'll end up buying a ton. I love Poke so I'm sure I'll get some of that!

I definitely have the spa on my radar but I doubt that Fran will want to do it, so I'll just have to do it for myself.

BTW, I don't think you even subbed in on my latest TR, but it's in the DVC section under DVC Mousellaneous in the DVC Trip Reports section. I have one more update, and then bonus updates. I'll be doing bonus updates until we leave on the trip in August with Karin, Tom, Pam, her Mom, and Jill.

 

[Leshaface]

OK, I got caught up. Your visit to Costco looked fun, I'm pretty sure we won't be able to resist. Even if there are just two of us, we'll end up buying a ton. I love Poke so I'm sure I'll get some of that!

I definitely have the spa on my radar but I doubt that Fran will want to do it, so I'll just have to do it for myself.

BTW, I don't think you even subbed in on my latest TR, but it's in the DVC section under DVC Mousellaneous in the DVC Trip Reports section. I have one more update, and then bonus updates. I'll be doing bonus updates until we leave on the trip in August with Karin, Tom, Pam, her Mom, and Jill.

I thought about the spa specifically with you in mind, you will love it i'm absolutely sure! You're a total spa junkie so i'm anxious for you to try it and give your opinion on it!

Thank you for telling me, i'm off to find it!

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Jumping on board! Aulani is on our list!

 

[MiaBella05]

joining in

 

[Leshaface]

cont. Sunday, October 9, 2016

After our outstanding time at the spa, it was time to cook up some dinner for a relaxing night in. I had read the BBQ station gets filled pretty quick, so I wanted to be down there early.

BBQ – there are only 4 BBQ’s available and they are popular! We got there around 5pm and snagged the last BBQ. Not too much later, there was a small lined formed to use them. You can get BBQ tools (brush, tongs) at the Community Center (located on the bottom floor of the Ewa building) for free and you can return them dirty. Also, there is no rinse off sink. My mom took a water cup to the refillable mug station and filled it up with water to rinse off our utensils in between using. When she went back for a second time, she ran into a CM and asked if there were any hidden sinks anywhere and the CM had said that management was looking into putting sinks out there. So if you have a refillable mug or the water cups that they give you at any of the Counter service restaurants, just take your mug/cup over to the refillable station about 40 steps away from the BBQ station and use that to rinse off.

Beverage station not far from BBQ





The Community Center to pick up and drop off utensils







Monday, October 10, 2016

The next day was our next breakfast ADR at Ama Ama, but first coffee










These robes are the best!!! I gushed about them so much, my mom ended up purchasing one for me and giving it to me for Christmas that year. I use it all the time still!





Our reservation was at 8:45 and we got there right on time











Quick family photo before ordering





Started off with a bakery basket for the table





and their acai bowl for starters








Everyone devoured the bakery basket, but only Dan, Calvin and I ate the acai. I get it, it’s an acquired taste for sure.


Dan ordered the Breakfast Sandwich with a Lobster Claw, Bacon, Sunnyside Egg, Avocado, Heirloom Tomato, Butter Lettuce and drizzled with Truffle oil





It was insanely delicious!


My mother in law ordered the fun Cereal-crusted French Toast





I can’t remember if it was cap’n crunch berries or fruity pebbles? But both Dan and my mother in law loved it!


I, on the other hand, was too busy with this monstrosity – the Buttermilk Pancakes with Macadamia Nut-Vanilla Sauce





It was incredible! Decadent, gooey. I think about these often.


Calvin had some fun Mickey shaped Pancakes




I don’t have a picture, but my DM more than likely ordered the Two eggs any style with Potatoes. I know she took a bite or two of my pancakes and painfully regretted not ordering a plate of these for herself ​

 

[Leshaface]

cont. Monday, October 10, 2016

After breakfast, we rested back in the room for a small while and got ready to head down to the pools since upon reading all the reports and tips regarding pools, we wanted to get down there early to get chairs.

‘Pool – this is one is a bit of a downer. We arrived on a Saturday and decided to check out the place and the lazy river. We didn’t need chairs but walked around to check out the situation. LOTS of people, every chair in the place taken. And this was later in the day, around 4pm. It wasn’t any better on Sunday or Monday. We did find a little relief Tuesday through Thursday, but you really had to keep an eye out for people gathering their stuff to leave. DH was pretty annoyed by Wednesday and spoke to someone where we picked up our towels and wristbands. The CM said he goes around a few times an hour (even showed us a diagram of the pool area!) and marks chairs that have not been used. If items have not been moved/touched after an hour, they will pick up hose items and free that chair up. I will say, after that, I did notice CM’s walking around looking at chairs on days we were laying out.’

We eventually found two chairs together and let my DM and Mother in law take them while we took the boys on the Lazy River (Quentin was NOT a fan ) and Calvin to the water play area

At one point, Calvin wanted to go to Aunty’s so I went up and got him dressed and took him and the mom’s took Quentin in the stroller to Off the Hook for drinks, while Dan and I explored the different slides and spas.


The Volcanic Vertical is fun, but pretty tame. For me, I guess . Dan on the other hand, had a different experience.

I love how different we are - i'm so chill coming out, he's like a disaster



While we had gone on the Lazy River a few times, we had seen the Tubestone Curl and it looked really fun! And it seemed a bit more adventurous than the other slide. We expected to be spouted out gracefully, gliding across the pool like everyone else…except we didn’t.

It was hilarious and so memorable for us!




We then took a relaxing dip in the adult only whirlpool spas

We went back up to the room where we were able to crash (from afar!) a wedding that was taking place on the Hawalai Lawn


​

 

[Leshaface]

cont. Monday, October 10, 2016

I wanted to give a more detailed pictures of what was in our kitchen because it seems a lot of folks that come to Aulani cook in their rooms, and I can definitely understand why. It can be very expensive to eat on, or even off, property.














































Everyone was kind of on their own tonight so I decided I’d take the baby back to the room for a good nap (And I was still breastfeeding him at this time, so I needed a major feeding/pumping sesh) and let everyone else go eat wherever. While the baby was napping, I ended up taking a nice, warm bath. This is the perfect place to place this tip:

‘Tub - I think the majority of the tubs in the rooms are whirlpool tubs. A long time ago, my friend @franandaj had told me that mousekeeping doesn’t do the best job about cleaning those jets. She told me a way to clean them but I forgot how to. If she see’s this maybe she can add her cleaning tip here, but what I really should have done was run the jets BEFORE filling up with water to just clear them out. Big mistake. Right at the end of my relaxing soak, with the delicious bath bombs from Laniwai spa, I decided to run the jets. Dark leaves/seeds (maybe Lavender??) started coming out of the jets, as if someone with a bath bomb that had lavender leaves in it, was sucked up into jets and re-released into my bath. Ew! Learn from my mistake and run those jets before starting your bath!

For dinner for me that night, I made a grilled ham and cheese sandwich





and took it out to the lanai with my glass of wine, and if you can see through the slats, they had a large screen out on the lawn for movies. Tonight was Hocus Pocus (which is very odd as I write this up, as Hocus Pocus is on ABC Family (I refuse to call it Freeform ) Odd that it’s the middle of April.​

 

[Pinkocto]

Great update. I know I keep saying this but I MUST get there sooner rather than later. SW still hasn’t put out flights

Loved all the videos, thanks so much for posting. We’ll probably do mostly cooking in the room, all your pics are very helpful.

Hocus Pocus is one of my favorites!

Breakfast looked scrumptious

 

[94bruin]

THANK YOU for taking pictures of the kitchen and the list of items on the kitchen. We'll be cooking for sure so they are very helpful!

Love the videos! Looks like so much fun! Can't wait to go down the slides!

 

[kastoney]

You are totally selling me on Aulani. Your breakfast looks amazing! Wish WDW had something so good on property!

Looks like you all had a great day at the pool, though crazy that you can't get a place to put your stuff. You'd think they would account for this when developing it. I had no idea they had so many water slides either.