Where to stay before the Aulani portion of your trip?

SL6827

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If you do a four or five stay on the island before you check into Aulani, where do you stay? Great places to book for exploring and venturing out before settling in at Aulani?
 


We stayed at the Outrigger on the beach in Waikiki for 3 nights before Aulani. I know some people dislike Waikiki and I thought we’d be in that crowd too, but our family really enjoyed the stay. Loved being right on the beach with beautiful oceanfront views. We also like having Duke’s right in the hotel and ate lunch there everyday along with one breakfast and dinner.

Waikiki was a good spot to head to Diamond head and Kuoloa Ranch. Also enjoyed a little shopping and a few restaurants on the main road.

I would also love to do a few days at Turtle Bay but the prices are always a little too high for me.

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If you haven't been to Hawaii (ever, or in a while), I agree Waikiki is a great place to start. Last year we used hotel points to stay at the Royal Hawaiian (the pink hotel in the picture above) and loved it! We did a sunrise walk/hike up Le'ahi (Diamond Head) and had our "city" vacation before going to Aulani. (Also snorkeling at Haunama Bay, going to Kualoa Ranch, are all MUCH more convenient from Waikiki).

We also looked at going to a different island - Maui, Kauai or the Big Island. We've been to all of them, but not with kids old enough to remember. But given that this was our first trip back in a while, we decided not to island hop for a trip where we were on the ground for 10 days only. Next time ...

Edit: Also, I'd always do the more active part before Aulani. Aulani the resort is restful and fun and I'd be spending my time making good use of my points/$ by using the resort more!
 
We have always done a pre stay in Waikiki. I like Queens beach as it's not as busy and I like the waves, so we like the hotels on that side. The best value is Twin Finn- not fancy but priced well. I also like the Aston beach tower for its suites. Ocean front rooms are a way better view in Waikiki than Aulani so this is where I would splurge for that type of room. I could happily sit on my balcony and watch the surfers and boats for awhile which you just do not get at Aulani. I agree with the pp that this portion of the trip is when you should be busy exploring around the island.
 


We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village before our Aulani nights and enjoyed being on the edge of Waikiki. We used it as a home base and ventured out on excursions most days, but enjoyed the pools, restaurants and shopping on property.
 
We occasionally do a couple of nights in Waikiki before our extended Aulani stay. In the past we've stayed at the Marriott Waikiki, the Sheraton, and Hilton hawaiian Village. All were good choices, with the first two being right in the middle of all the shopping and on the beach.
 
The Hilton Hawaiian Village has one of the best beaches, which aLos isn’t usually as crowded.

We like the Waikiki Beachcomber for a lower price point. The Surfrider has a great atmosphere, and is right on the beach. Avoid the Queen Kapiolani. We stay at the Hyatt Regency often (family discount) - it’s a good location, nice facilities, and great views. The higher floor suites are pretty awesome.
 
We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village for the first half of our trip last summer, we would definitely stay there again. We stayed in a 1BR suite with a full kitchen and used this portion of our trip to see the rest of the island, before we moved to Aulani just for relaxing!
 
If we are staying on Oahu, we generally do 4 or 5 nights at Hilton Hawaiian Village and then move to Aulani for the final 4 or 5 days. We have done this 3 or 4 times and I've been to The HHV at least 5 other times. Love it and enjoy my time there.
 
I enjoy the Sheraton Waikiki. Smack in the middle of everything with true ocean view rooms and pools that rival the Hilton Hawaiian Village which I've stayed at as well. I'm not sure if you have kids but both hotels are extremely kid friendly. I've also stayed at the Waikiki Marriott Beach Resort of the east side of Waikiki. The beach there is calmer as they have a man made break so there are no waves that come up to part of the beach. The pool is a lot smaller than the other 2 hotels though but their cabanas are a fraction of the cost of Sheraton's.
 
If you do a four or five stay on the island before you check into Aulani, where do you stay? Great places to book for exploring and venturing out before settling in at Aulani?
I had been doing a lot of research about this the past two weeks. We are going to be spending 5 nights in Waikiki before we go to Aulani for 2 nights in September. Still planning the itinerary but think we would want to go to north shore, turtle beach, maybe Kualoa ranch (went there our first trip and did the atv tour)
 
I like Turtle Bay Resort. It's on the opposite end of the island, so it's easier to access things that are a further drive from Aulani.
 
We also did the Hilton Hawaiian Village (after our time at Aulani, we started on Big Island, then Aulani to relax and then HHV to see the area). We liked that it was on the edge, and relatively easy to get to highways, etc.
 
I feel like you need to take the time you land at the airport into consideration.
I am from Toronto and altough I love the North Shore, there is no way we are going to drive up on those dark roads if we land anytime after 7pm, epecially being very tired from the hours of flying.
 
If you do a four or five stay on the island before you check into Aulani, where do you stay? Great places to book for exploring and venturing out before settling in at Aulani?
Waikiki for us. Love the restaurants, shopping, views of Diamond Head, not far from the Honolulu airport. There are some local shows and if wanting to head out of Waikiki lots of easy bus tour pickups, including if you want to island hop for a day via Hawaiian air.

As for hotels we like Moana Surf Rider by Westin. Centrally located. For something more budget friendly the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani across the street from Moana is a good option.
 

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Of the hotels mentioned above, we have stayed at the Outrigger Waikiki, The Royal Hawaiian and the Hilton Hawaiian Village. We love the Hilton Hawaiian Village and the beach there, but it is not in the middle of everything (which could be a good thing). If you want to step out of your hotel and have tons of dining and shopping options, then the Royal Hawaiian or the Outrigger Waikiki. If you don't mind being about a mile away, then Hilton Hawaiian Village. The Ali'i tower in the Hilton Hawaiian has it's own pool and really nice ocean view rooms.
 
We spent two weeks in Hawaii and before Aulani we went to these : Wayfinder in Waikiki; Kiahuna Plantation in Poipu (Kauai); Turtle Bay Resort on the North shore or Oahu.

We wish we started at Aulani since it was the one we least appreciated. Turtle Bay was the best, and the two others were great. Aulani was not.
 
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