4 nights at Aulani/ switching hotels- Worth it?

[justkeepswimmin]

We are trying to workout a trip to Aulani in the fall but the best we can do is 4 consecutive nights. At first, I was going to waitlist for the other 3 nights but since we have committed our points for this use year elsewhere and I can't waitlist on borrowed points, that is not an option. As I have never been to Hawaii, I really did not want to mess around with hotel switching but there is a great deal on airfare so now I am considering it. We would be booking the 1st 4 nights at Aulani and the next 3 "somewhere else".

Does this seem like a good idea for our first trip or should we just wait for another time like next fall when we are able to call right at the 7 month window? The airfare sale is a good one ($355 rt pp total) and we are a family of 5 so it sort of feels like this fall is meant to be.

Just looking for some good advice from fellow disboarders..TIA. You guys are the best!

 

[bakenatj]

Have you called about doing a cash reservation for a Resort Room vs DVC room? Then you just change rooms and not resorts.

 

[Anal Annie]

How about island hopping over to another island after your 4 days at Aulani? A week in Hawaii is NOT enough - esp. for your first trip. We always visit 2 or 3 islands when we go. Each island is very different from the others - they all have their own personalities. Our personal fav. is Maui so we always END there. You can sometimes find good deals thru Costco Travel (and if you book a hotel thru them then you can include inter-island air and car rental). We're planning to visit Aulani next summer but will only stop there for 4 or 5 nights max. and will book our other hotel(s) and a rental car thru Costco. I would definitely move to another island and just look for a property that includes kids free. JM2C.

(BTW that DOES sound like a good deal on your airfare!! Go for it!)

 

[justkeepswimmin]

Have you called about doing a cash reservation for a Resort Room vs DVC room? Then you just change rooms and not resorts.

Last time I checked, the cash rate for a standard room at the hotel seemed really high. I would almost rather explore somewhere else. Do DVC mebers get a better rate than the website cash rates?

How about island hopping over to another island after your 4 days at Aulani? A week in Hawaii is NOT enough - esp. for your first trip. We always visit 2 or 3 islands when we go. Each island is very different from the others - they all have their own personalities. Our personal fav. is Maui so we always END there. You can sometimes find good deals thru Costco Travel (and if you book a hotel thru them then you can include inter-island air and car rental). We're planning to visit Aulani next summer but will only stop there for 4 or 5 nights max. and will book our other hotel(s) and a rental car thru Costco. I would definitely move to another island and just look for a property that includes kids free. JM2C.

(BTW that DOES sound like a good deal on your airfare!! Go for it!)

I know, a week is not very long but that is all the time my dh can take off as he was already out a week for our 1st cruise this past March. Might be able to add 1 or 2 nights, depending on how I bump up the weekends though and I had not thought about Island hopping. that might be a great idea if we could extend a day or two. Hmmm...