Are you happy with Aulani?

[WestCoastDVC]

Based on the West Coast and considering an Aulani purchase. We are in ROFR for 160 points at VGF and would be happy to go to Disney World every 2-3 years. Thought of Aulani as our back-up in case we had to cancel a Disney World Trip and had to use the points given there is usually more availability at Aulani. But now we’re also tempted to buy there for the busier times of the year, especially with prices as low as $84/point. It’s definitely a place we could see going to every year. A few questions to current owners:

1) did you only buy Aulani or Disney world resorts as well? How do you like to plan your vacations between the two?
2) Have you been happy with Aulani overall and do you think it provides good value compared to surrounding Ko Olina Hotels?
3) Is it easy to rent out the points if you need to?

would love to hear from current owners

 

[LilyJC]

Not an Aulani owner, but since no one else has responded...

Have you ever been to Aulani? I would strongly advise you to visit before purchasing points at the resort. We live in so cal and have used our points to book at 7 months. We really love Aulani, but we have no desire to own there. It’s a great resort, but it’s not quite the full Hawaii experience we’re used to. My in-laws own a condo on Maui, and the thing I missed at Aulani was hearing the waves from our villa. Plus it’s not exactly the peaceful experience we have on Kauai and Maui. In case you haven’t been to Oahu, you might also want to see if you enjoy that particular island. Again, we certainly enjoy it, but it’s not our favorite. YMMV

 

[WestCoastDVC]

Not an Aulani owner, but since no one else has responded...

Have you ever been to Aulani? I would strongly advise you to visit before purchasing points at the resort. We live in so cal and have used our points to book at 7 months. We really love Aulani, but we have no desire to own there. It’s a great resort, but it’s not quite the full Hawaii experience we’re used to. My in-laws own a condo on Maui, and the thing I missed at Aulani was hearing the waves from our villa. Plus it’s not exactly the peaceful experience we have on Kauai and Maui. In case you haven’t been to Oahu, you might also want to see if you enjoy that particular island. Again, we certainly enjoy it, but it’s not our favorite. YMMV

Thanks for your reply! I hear you on the differences between the islands. We’ve actually stayed in Ko Olina at the Marriott Beach Club, which has a very similar location as Aulani. And we walked up to Aulani and checked out the grounds. Not gonna lie, I was a bit jealous because it seemed more fun at Aulani. Certainly livelier and would be a blast for kids (we don’t have any yet but hopefully soon).

We’ll keep mulling this over - could be a good home base to combine with island hopping as well

 

[LilyJC]

Thanks for your reply! I hear you on the differences between the islands. We’ve actually stayed in Ko Olina at the Marriott Beach Club, which has a very similar location as Aulani. And we walked up to Aulani and checked out the grounds. Not gonna lie, I was a bit jealous because it seemed more fun at Aulani. Certainly livelier and would be a blast for kids (we don’t have any yet but hopefully soon).

We’ll keep mulling this over - could be a good home base to combine with island hopping as well

Definitely a blast for kids! My kids are older, but they both requested Aulani again next year to celebrate their milestone birthdays 16 and 13. Works for us since DH and I turn the big 4-0 next year!

Anyhow, it would be great for island hopping! Last time we started in Maui before heading to Aulani - easy peasy cheap flight!

 

[WestCoastDVC]

Mulling over didn’t take long - we made an offer on a subsidized dues contract

 

[LilyJC]

Mulling over didn’t take long - we made an offer on a subsidized dues contract

That’s definitely the best option if you choose to own Aulani. Good luck!

 

[shaunacb]

We love owning Aulani, can fly direct to HNL for about the same time/cost as MCO. We have sub dues and just added on another sub dues contract (I would suggest getting the same UY as your other points for ease of combining at 7 months). They are the least expensive points for sleep around points (cheaper than SSR), and since we do 1 bedrooms, we figure we can always get something at 7 mo at WDW. We also own VGC and small AKL contract to bank and borrow. We generally split our vacations, one year AUL, the next year WDW. We love Aulani, just walking into the lobby feels like home. The kids club is good, the menehune scavenger hunt is a fun diversion. The ocean is safe, and if you want waves, you can drive to the north shore. We could even see ourselves going there in retirement once the kids are grown up. I can't comment on how it compares to other Ko Olina hotels, but we used to go to Honua Kai on Maui, and we like Aulani better. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[WestCoastDVC]

We love owning Aulani, can fly direct to HNL for about the same time/cost as MCO. We have sub dues and just added on another sub dues contract (I would suggest getting the same UY as your other points for ease of combining at 7 months). They are the least expensive points for sleep around points (cheaper than SSR), and since we do 1 bedrooms, we figure we can always get something at 7 mo at WDW. We also own VGC and small AKL contract to bank and borrow. We generally split our vacations, one year AUL, the next year WDW. We love Aulani, just walking into the lobby feels like home. The kids club is good, the menehune scavenger hunt is a fun diversion. The ocean is safe, and if you want waves, you can drive to the north shore. We could even see ourselves going there in retirement once the kids are grown up. I can't comment on how it compares to other Ko Olina hotels, but we used to go to Honua Kai on Maui, and we like Aulani better. Let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks - super helpful! Luckily the one we found is the same use year (one reason we pulled the trigger so fast). We are in the process of signing the contract. Happy with the decision so far. The one concern I have is crowd levels at busy times and their system of rotating beach/pool chairs if you leave them unattended. Has that and crowds in general been a problem for you?

 

[shaunacb]

Thanks - super helpful! Luckily the one we found is the same use year (one reason we pulled the trigger so fast). We are in the process of signing the contract. Happy with the decision so far. The one concern I have is crowd levels at busy times and their system of rotating beach/pool chairs if you leave them unattended. Has that and crowds in general been a problem for you?

They are hard to find, good job on finding the same UY! We go during slow times (so far, that may change as kids get older with school schedules), so in February that has not been an issue at all. We hear that locals come for weekends, so have been given the advice to plan our daytrips away for the weekends rather than weekdays.

 

[WildernessMickey]

I've stayed at both Aulani and the Marriott Beach Club at Ko'Olina. We love it there at Ko'Olina. Aulani is a wonderful resort. It does get busy, but you can always take a walk on the lagoon and visit the other resorts if you want a slower pace. We like to have at least one meal over at the Marriott just for a change of scenery.
That's great that you found the right contract so quickly. Enjoy it!