A Week at Aulani

[tfc3rid]

My wife and I just got back fro ma 7 night stay at Aulani.

We had a terrific trip and stay in a 1 Bedroom, Poolside Gardens view... Our room was located on the 1st Floor in the Ewa Tower. A large majority of rooms in the Waianae Tower are still under construction. Our room was clean upon check in. We used online check in and it worked very efficiently.

The Cast Members were very welcoming. There were a good number of new 'Hawaii' Cast Members working alongside some Disneyland Cast Members in operations.

The resort was wonderful. The grounds were immaculate. The pool area never really felt 'crowded'. It was busy but not overwhelming. A lot of folks would leave there stuff on poolside lounges and head to the beach. This had people taking up space but did notice that Cast Members did wrap up spots that were only towels and open up those spots.

We ate most meals out but I wanted to try Ama Ama for breakfast and dinner as well as try Makahiki for dinner.

Ama Ama overall was very good. The dishes may not be for everyone's liking but everything was very good. Expensive? Yes. But we felt it was worth it. For breakfast, pricey but the food was good, fresh and hot.

Makahiki was also very good.The selections are not what might be expected out of a normal buffet meal but the food is marketed as a higher end Asian-style buffet. The Guava Ribs were excellent, the Korean Short Ribs were great, the Lobster Couscous was excellent and the desserts were yummy. Again, food was plentiful and hot.

The beach area was very, very nice and never felt overwhelmingly busy.

My only concern is that the resort is going to be overly crowded once the remining villas open. In speaking with a Cast Member, one of the reasons that family of the Cast is getting invited to come to the pool on weekends is to test capacity and see if there are issues. In looking at the resort map, there is going to be a large grassy area next to the Waianae Tower that could be used for an additional pool and/or eating establishment, as Ama Ama and Makahiki are not very large.

Overall, we loved the resort and will definitely come back.

Any questions, please ask!

 

[living20057]

It doesn't hurt to add another and/or restaurant. Would my dues need to increase to help support this venture?

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Thanks so much for your review! We will be there in July in a one bedroom -- thinking of switching from ocean to pool view. We are super excited! It sounds like you had good luck with the restaurants --- more so than many others here.

Did you have any cocktails? What did you think about them?

Thanks again for posting your review!

 

[tfc3rid]

Thanks so much for your review! We will be there in July in a one bedroom -- thinking of switching from ocean to pool view. We are super excited! It sounds like you had good luck with the restaurants --- more so than many others here.

Did you have any cocktails? What did you think about them?

Thanks again for posting your review!

We had cocktails one night at the Oleo Room... Nice venue, good live music... It reminded me of Sessions on the Disney Magic... Drinks were pretty good and 'normally' priced for Disney resorts.

 

[boiseflyfisher]

Thank you for your review! We are leaving in a couple of weeks and I'm gathering all of the information I can to be prepared. I'm glad to hear that the pools didn't seem overly crowded.

 

[Disneypapa]

Paradise Cove, which is nearby, has a wonderful luau that I would highly recommend.

 

[mlholster]

Thanks for the revue.
We are thinking about summer 2014. Is there a completion date for the resort? We will need 6 rooms. I hope we will have luck getting them.

 

[Pattyanne08]

My wife and I just got back fro ma 7 night stay at Aulani.

We had a terrific trip and stay in a 1 Bedroom, Poolside Gardens view... Our room was located on the 1st Floor in the Ewa Tower. A large majority of rooms in the Waianae Tower are still under construction. Our room was clean upon check in. We used online check in and it worked very efficiently.

The Cast Members were very welcoming. There were a good number of new 'Hawaii' Cast Members working alongside some Disneyland Cast Members in operations.

The resort was wonderful. The grounds were immaculate. The pool area never really felt 'crowded'. It was busy but not overwhelming. A lot of folks would leave there stuff on poolside lounges and head to the beach. This had people taking up space but did notice that Cast Members did wrap up spots that were only towels and open up those spots.

We ate most meals out but I wanted to try Ama Ama for breakfast and dinner as well as try Makahiki for dinner.

Ama Ama overall was very good. The dishes may not be for everyone's liking but everything was very good. Expensive? Yes. But we felt it was worth it. For breakfast, pricey but the food was good, fresh and hot.

Makahiki was also very good.The selections are not what might be expected out of a normal buffet meal but the food is marketed as a higher end Asian-style buffet. The Guava Ribs were excellent, the Korean Short Ribs were great, the Lobster Couscous was excellent and the desserts were yummy. Again, food was plentiful and hot.

The beach area was very, very nice and never felt overwhelmingly busy.

My only concern is that the resort is going to be overly crowded once the remining villas open. In speaking with a Cast Member, one of the reasons that family of the Cast is getting invited to come to the pool on weekends is to test capacity and see if there are issues. In looking at the resort map, there is going to be a large grassy area next to the Waianae Tower that could be used for an additional pool and/or eating establishment, as Ama Ama and Makahiki are not very large.

Overall, we loved the resort and will definitely come back.

Any questions, please ask!

Hi,
I know the post is old but maybe you can help.....we are going to stay in a 1 bedroom at Aulani and would like a ground level one. According to what I had read, those ate located in Waianae Bldg. but you said you had one in the Ewa bldg.....just trying to figure out to make a reguest. Would like the best pool view as possible but ground level.
Thanks!

 

[YourEveryDayAdam]

Just ask for ground floor as your first request. If you want to be on a lower floor, make that your second request. You will likely need to call and ask for the request to Member services.

When doing online check-in, do not make ANY requests as those will overwrite what you made to Member Services. Just leave the requests blank.

When checking-in physically, you can ask there as well.

 

[Pattyanne08]

Thank you. I just called Member Services and requested ground floor. My husband has severe anxiety in elevators so hopefully they are able to do it.

 

[YourEveryDayAdam]

I that case, I would also put "low floor" as a second request as well. That way, at least if Ground floor isn't available, they can get you on the first 5 floors and taking the stairs won't be as much of an issue.

Be sure to check your room category as well. "Ocean View" or "Island View" categories, I think, tend to be mostly high floors. "Pool View", I think, is 5th floor or lower, and "standard view" is 7th floor or lower. Pool View is your best bet. Island and Ocean views are pretty much guaranteed to be higher floors. See https://www.disboards.com/threads/aulani-villas-views-revised-07-22-2017.2907389/

 

[AZMermaid]

Thank you. I just called Member Services and requested ground floor. My husband has severe anxiety in elevators so hopefully they are able to do it.

The lobby is on the third floor so that could be a backup request. Or maybe floor two, then it’s one up or one down to everywhere.