Arrival Day thoughts

[CalifLynn]

Start to get down to the last minute planning as we arrive in 11 days!! Just thinking about our first day...we land at HNL at 11:30am, renting a car, stopping at Target for sunscreen and snacks, maybe a quick fast food-ish lunch, so we should arrive at Aulani no later than 2pm.

Thought is we will have swimsuits packed where we can easily grab them and head to the pool. If our room isn't ready yet, we'll leave the bags with the bellman, but we are just wondering if there is a place to change into our swimsuits? any type of locker room where we can lock up a few items that we might not want to take to the pool, but we might want sooner than the room is ready (i.e. wallet, camera, etc.)?

 

[Elima2015]

I agree - have swimsuits easily accessible to just snag out of your bag when you get out of the car. I would even put them in a separate tote bag that I could grab quickly and then use to stash clothes after we change. There is a high chance your room will not be ready, so just leave your bags with bell services. Aulani does have an arrival/departure lounge that you can get one-time access to - we did not use it, but I feel like I've heard people say that only one family goes in at a time, so the line can get a bit long? Not sure. Honestly, I would just use the bathrooms to change - there are nice ones near the buffet restaurant (Makahiki) close to the pools - if there is a line for the lounge. You won't need your wallet once you get your cards, so you could leave that with bell services as well. As for your camera, that is up to your risk tolerance. We left phones, cameras, room keys, etc on the chairs with our towels when we were off at the pool. Nobody touched them and we saw many others doing the same. If that makes you uncomfortable, then I'd consider leaving the camera with bell services that first afternoon. You might want to also put cover-ups or similar in the tote bag to get dinner if you think you'll be hungry earlier rather than later. We had friends arrive around 2:00 and left their luggage with bell services. They got access to their room around 4:00, but it took them a little over an hour to actually receive their luggage delivery as bell services was backed up delivering all the luggage from people who arrived during the day.

Have fun! I wish we were looking forward to going vs. just got home!

 

[nkereina]

I was under the impression that the lounge was available for those who have time between check-out and their flight home, but perhaps they would let you use it on check-in day? I'm not sure, it's a smallish lounge so I feel like it would get even more congested than it already is. I also would just use the bathrooms to change.

And I believe that leaving your luggage with bell services is the only secure option before your room is ready. No lockers or anything for quick access to items. I suppose you could leave them in the trunk of your car if you're self parking, but it's still risky and you'd have to lug it all in from the parking garage when your room is ready.

Honestly though - we arrived around 11:30am on a Saturday. By the time we got our car which took a bit, then made our way to Target, it was probably around 1pm. We then shopped and got lunch at Kua Aina Burgers which is just across the plaza. We didn't get to Aulani until 3:30pm-4pm. By then, our room was ready.

 

[CalifLynn]

Duh, I didn't think about locking things in the car. Even just a change a clothes maybe for dinner like mentioned above. Is the lounge available to all guests or just DVC guests? We are on a paid hotel reservation.

 

[nkereina]

Duh, I didn't think about locking things in the car. Even just a change a clothes maybe for dinner like mentioned above. Is the lounge available to all guests or just DVC guests? We are on a paid hotel reservation.

The lounge is available to everyone. I believe it is one time use, and I think it's meant for check-out day but don't quote me on that.