We've been there twice. Last January we managed to spend 10 days there and did not spend one dime on food or drink at the resort. I was able to snag a Dollar rent a car for about $125 for the week...inclusive. It is a MUST. If you are a
DVC member, parking at the resort is free. We really liked walking across the street to the Island Market (I think that is what it is called). They have a little bit of everything there, but I really loved getting their freshly made salad to order. But we also had a one-bedroom for 7 of the ten days, so we did a lot of breakfasts and sandwiches. If you are in a studio....I just saw the best thing at Sam's club today. A microwave egg thingie. You can make a "fried" egg and a poached egg in the microwave. Also, we had decided to alternate resort days with sightseeing days. Worked out well. One of the coolest things was walking over the rocks towards Paradise Cove (can be very dangerous with sharp rocks....water shoes are also a must!). There are usually a couple of the smaller species of sea turtles sunning themselves on the rocks. There is also a protected pool of water that is nice for snorkeling.
I had also purchased a book....I think it was called Driving Ohanu or something like that. It was very helpful!
A warning about rush hour traffic......about the worst I've seen....and I live in the northeast tri-state area. You must time your road trips accordingly.
Oh...and the grills there are gas grills, and I think there are four or six. We picked up some nice steaks at target, along with some burger patties. Target is strange because there is not a real meat or deli dept. Everything is pre-packaged. There is also an excellent Fruit and vegetable market in the same parking lot as Target called Down to Earth (I am assuming it is still there). They also do take out lunch stuff.
We did Germaine's Luau the first time....we had a blast, but I was the DD. I would opt for the Paradise Cove one since you can walk there.
The Starlight Hui at the resort was well done. We brought our own party food and drink down and had our own luau.
Have fun. We were very happy that the adult pool is strictly enforced as adult only, and also the two level adult hot tub. They must have cameras or something, because as soon as a youngster would show up, a Disney enforcer would appear.