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We started our back to back trips with Aulani. If you aren’t here for hearing the negatives skip down to “There are many upsides to our stay as well” I promise it all ends well.
The flight. We flew Hawaiian Airlines to Honolulu leaving at 7:00am. We loved flying Hawaiian last time and liked it again this time as well. Free complimentary Hawaiian cocktail yes please! The flight is 7 hours so food was served, although we can’t eat it due to dietary restrictions it’s a great offering for others. Hawaiian music plays and makes the aloha vibes start right away. Our flight was about 70% full which was amazing but also made me nervous that they will cut back on this route. Once we arrived we had to take a shuttle to the rental car garage, it seems Delta doesn’t require a shuttle which is a huge plus and has me considering Delta for future departing flights.
The arrival and check in. We stopped for some food at my favorite deli/grocery store Down to Earth Market. We arrived at Aulani around 11am. Our room was ready the second the clock struck 4pm. Which has me thinking that it was possibly ready earlier and they were just not giving it to me, a vibe I got from the front desk, I could very well be wrong. They said things with a pleasant voice and smile but I found things being said to be very condescending, this started at check in not even when we had approached again to inquire on room status. The lobby was full of people lounging waiting for check in. I wonder if the Four Seasons has tons of people lounging in the lobby? If you have been Id be curious to know!
Luana Lounge. I don’t recommend the Luana Lounge unless you like the feeling of a packed high school gym when changing. It really made me feel ashamed to be an owner at Aulani tbh, there were so many people and many of them were sleeping in the chairs and on the floor.
Characters. While waiting for our room we tried to meet characters but the lines were extremely long. After 30 min waiting and still being about 15 people back in line we gave up. CM were attempting to very everyone in line was staying at the resort, I witnessed people lying about being a guest and the CM gave up and let them remain in line, its a hard job for the CM. If you are familiar with Aulani I really think they should move all character meets to the lawn and have the CM verify prior entering. Seems like an easy solution and also would keep the pool area walkways clear. We also attempted to meet Stitch in the DVC area but the line extended down the lobby hallways. There were at least over 60 people in line, my husband estimated more like 75. (I wish I had gotten a photo but I didn't) While some disagree with me that this is a problem, it was very disheartening as an owner. If this had been my only experience at Aulani I wouldn’t want to be an owner there after seeing the lobby, the lines and the lounge. I can see why it hasn’t sold out yet, I can see why I see others complaining about the price vs the experience at Aulani on social media forums (I have always thought they were wrong) I am very glad I bought SUB contracts because they are my SAP+ points. I did have family with me that made my experience less relaxing than my previous visit but that ultimately doesn’t excuse these major short comings for Aulani as a resort. Our GV stay was 648 points for 4 nights. $3,500 in spending charged to the room plus TOT. $400 for a rental car plus around an additional $700 in tips/misc for things done off property. That is a lot of money to not leave feeling like it was money and points well spent. I am actually looking forward to going to Aulani again next year to see if this was just a fluke. I really hope it was because prior to this I was the ultimate Aulani fan girl.
We did leave the parking garage prior to our room being ready and the scan thing wouldn’t accept our key or magic band so we had to pay to exit and then get refunded. Refunds are a whole thing.. it’s not just a credit back you have to fill out paper work and get a cash refund.
There are many upsides to our stay as well. It wasn’t all bad. Many things did spark back my love for Aulani.
The room was amazing. Aulani is 14 years old and the rooms have held up so well. If you see me on the boards you know I am a shower snob. The showers and shower heads were great. The grand villa is amazing even with the weird empty hallway. The view from room 989 Ewa Tower
I would have loved to see a 2nd washer/dyer in the room. But hey I cant have it all. The cooking dishes in the cupboard were not clean, so be mindful of that when staying in a villa, I would wash before using. You could tell they had been washed but still had stuck on food. Back to the age old dishwasher question… to run or not run before checkout. We ran it on a heavy cycle around 8 am so it would be done by the time we checked out We requested late checkout since the room was empty that night. Denied.
Now what everyone wants to know…. pool chairs!! At 7 am there were pool chairs to be had. I don’t subscribe to saving chairs and stressing over being back within an hour and hoping someone hasnt just taken our chair. By 8am most chairs were taken with stuff/people. Around 4pm you can easily get a chair at the pool. Beach chairs are easy to obtain most of the day as well. The paid Casabellas on the beach are a huge waste imo. $85 for a terrible spot (we did this last trip not this trip). They should really look into moving them somewhere else (no I don’t know where). We experienced the upper veranda and the lower veranda during our trip and think they are well worth the money spent. The only downside of them is there can be ants. Next year our goal is a casabella on the pool deck. We were told you have to be in line at 6am for 2 hours til opening time for those. Challenge accepted!
Rainbow Reef is amazing and we had a blast. If you are there more than 2 days get the week long pass. You can also get snorkel gear at the beach if you pay for Rainbow Reef. We didn’t know this last time.
Paddleboards. Amazing! Well worth the money.
Aunties Beach House. My 10yo son went every day and still loved it. He did 3 free 1.5 hour times. And also the Galactic Games paid 3 hour experience. They gave him this medal. It’s super heavy duty and high quality.
Animation Class. Free and amazing! DO IT! Am I embarrassed to show my drawing? Yes. Hahaha when I unpack I will post it
Ukulele lessons. Free and pretty cool. These are so hard to book. If you stop by there is a strong chance you can get in. Our class was booked up online and by phone but our class had 16 empty seats! It’s very sad that people don’t have enough respect to cancel in advance just because it’s free.
Firepit Storytelling. Free and we loved it. We missed doing this last time.
Pool Party … awesome!!
Makahiki Character Breakfast. Food is average even for the non vegans in our party, for the vegans it was meh. They need to get some recipes from DLR for sure, but we do appreciate that there is an option for us. Our server was absolutely amazing and then some, when gratuity is auto applied they don’t have to go the extra mile to be nice and she did. So we tipped her twice. We go for the Characters. It was much busier than our last visit, line for the pre meal photo was about 30 minutes long. Pro Tip. If you are starving you can ask to have your photo taken after eating. We did this after waiting about 15 minutes and only making it through half the line. Last year there was virtually no line
Member Party. Loved it. I need to remember to arrive 45 minutes early in the future. We were in the way way back arriving 20 minutes early. We won trivia and got a sketch that a CM had drawn. We got photos with Minnie, Chip & Dale, Goofy and Mickey. We stayed until the very very end and Mickey was alone!! My son headed over and danced with him. Mickey danced like Michael Jackson and it was everything.
Welcome Home Weeks. T-Shirt stamping was the activity. You can only book in person on Saturday I tried to book for Tuesday times and it was full, no T-Shirts for us.
PhotoPass. We loved our photo pass experience. It was much better than last year. Photos were better too. They got new cameras they said. I recommend right at 6pm because once the sun goes down out comes the flash and nobody wants that. We made it down there every day. There were always 3 photographers and they were all so so nice. They invite you to get back in line to get a new photographer so you don’t feel awkward getting more shots. They were out in the morning once and they left because nobody was wanting photos. I wasn’t ready or I would’ve loved some morning shots.
Hawaiian Ocean Adventures canoe ride. Expensive but amazing. The ride, the location, the employees, all of it.
On checkout day we booked KoOlina Glass Bottom Boat to kill some time. We didn’t want to go far from the resort due to traffic and having to come back to the resort for our bags. We went down to the marina about half a mile away. We did this last time and was nervous it would be not as good since we already did it. Experience felt very different and was amazing! We saw many dolphins and turtles. Its very affordable. Highly recommend. Photo from the boat.
I wanted to change into comfy pants for our red eye flight home and I didn’t dare go near the Luana Lounge so I found a clean quiet large bathroom near photo pass desk and it was just what I needed. This small thing made me very happy.
Flight home. There were many Navy Men and Women in uniform that were at our gate and boarded our flight but we didn't see them on the plane. We learned that our flight was a flight home for a fallen service member and they were in the belly of the plane with him. Really puts into perspective all my above complaints and how I am so grateful to have went on this vacation with my family even if everything was not perfect.
Honolulu airport is easy. Really enjoy flying in and out of there. We flew Delta home so we didn’t need the rental car shuttle. No food on Delta but they have Tv’s that Hawaiian didn’t have. Slept about 30 minutes only. Landed back to home to some rain. Slept a few hours and now Im needing to unpack and repack for our next adventure!
Up next our first stay at Beach Club! Our first Moonlight Magic! As you can see I can be hard to please so Im hoping I can report back a great trip!
The flight. We flew Hawaiian Airlines to Honolulu leaving at 7:00am. We loved flying Hawaiian last time and liked it again this time as well. Free complimentary Hawaiian cocktail yes please! The flight is 7 hours so food was served, although we can’t eat it due to dietary restrictions it’s a great offering for others. Hawaiian music plays and makes the aloha vibes start right away. Our flight was about 70% full which was amazing but also made me nervous that they will cut back on this route. Once we arrived we had to take a shuttle to the rental car garage, it seems Delta doesn’t require a shuttle which is a huge plus and has me considering Delta for future departing flights.
The arrival and check in. We stopped for some food at my favorite deli/grocery store Down to Earth Market. We arrived at Aulani around 11am. Our room was ready the second the clock struck 4pm. Which has me thinking that it was possibly ready earlier and they were just not giving it to me, a vibe I got from the front desk, I could very well be wrong. They said things with a pleasant voice and smile but I found things being said to be very condescending, this started at check in not even when we had approached again to inquire on room status. The lobby was full of people lounging waiting for check in. I wonder if the Four Seasons has tons of people lounging in the lobby? If you have been Id be curious to know!
Luana Lounge. I don’t recommend the Luana Lounge unless you like the feeling of a packed high school gym when changing. It really made me feel ashamed to be an owner at Aulani tbh, there were so many people and many of them were sleeping in the chairs and on the floor.
Characters. While waiting for our room we tried to meet characters but the lines were extremely long. After 30 min waiting and still being about 15 people back in line we gave up. CM were attempting to very everyone in line was staying at the resort, I witnessed people lying about being a guest and the CM gave up and let them remain in line, its a hard job for the CM. If you are familiar with Aulani I really think they should move all character meets to the lawn and have the CM verify prior entering. Seems like an easy solution and also would keep the pool area walkways clear. We also attempted to meet Stitch in the DVC area but the line extended down the lobby hallways. There were at least over 60 people in line, my husband estimated more like 75. (I wish I had gotten a photo but I didn't) While some disagree with me that this is a problem, it was very disheartening as an owner. If this had been my only experience at Aulani I wouldn’t want to be an owner there after seeing the lobby, the lines and the lounge. I can see why it hasn’t sold out yet, I can see why I see others complaining about the price vs the experience at Aulani on social media forums (I have always thought they were wrong) I am very glad I bought SUB contracts because they are my SAP+ points. I did have family with me that made my experience less relaxing than my previous visit but that ultimately doesn’t excuse these major short comings for Aulani as a resort. Our GV stay was 648 points for 4 nights. $3,500 in spending charged to the room plus TOT. $400 for a rental car plus around an additional $700 in tips/misc for things done off property. That is a lot of money to not leave feeling like it was money and points well spent. I am actually looking forward to going to Aulani again next year to see if this was just a fluke. I really hope it was because prior to this I was the ultimate Aulani fan girl.
We did leave the parking garage prior to our room being ready and the scan thing wouldn’t accept our key or magic band so we had to pay to exit and then get refunded. Refunds are a whole thing.. it’s not just a credit back you have to fill out paper work and get a cash refund.
There are many upsides to our stay as well. It wasn’t all bad. Many things did spark back my love for Aulani.
The room was amazing. Aulani is 14 years old and the rooms have held up so well. If you see me on the boards you know I am a shower snob. The showers and shower heads were great. The grand villa is amazing even with the weird empty hallway. The view from room 989 Ewa Tower
I would have loved to see a 2nd washer/dyer in the room. But hey I cant have it all. The cooking dishes in the cupboard were not clean, so be mindful of that when staying in a villa, I would wash before using. You could tell they had been washed but still had stuck on food. Back to the age old dishwasher question… to run or not run before checkout. We ran it on a heavy cycle around 8 am so it would be done by the time we checked out We requested late checkout since the room was empty that night. Denied.
Now what everyone wants to know…. pool chairs!! At 7 am there were pool chairs to be had. I don’t subscribe to saving chairs and stressing over being back within an hour and hoping someone hasnt just taken our chair. By 8am most chairs were taken with stuff/people. Around 4pm you can easily get a chair at the pool. Beach chairs are easy to obtain most of the day as well. The paid Casabellas on the beach are a huge waste imo. $85 for a terrible spot (we did this last trip not this trip). They should really look into moving them somewhere else (no I don’t know where). We experienced the upper veranda and the lower veranda during our trip and think they are well worth the money spent. The only downside of them is there can be ants. Next year our goal is a casabella on the pool deck. We were told you have to be in line at 6am for 2 hours til opening time for those. Challenge accepted!
Rainbow Reef is amazing and we had a blast. If you are there more than 2 days get the week long pass. You can also get snorkel gear at the beach if you pay for Rainbow Reef. We didn’t know this last time.
Paddleboards. Amazing! Well worth the money.
Aunties Beach House. My 10yo son went every day and still loved it. He did 3 free 1.5 hour times. And also the Galactic Games paid 3 hour experience. They gave him this medal. It’s super heavy duty and high quality.
Animation Class. Free and amazing! DO IT! Am I embarrassed to show my drawing? Yes. Hahaha when I unpack I will post it
Ukulele lessons. Free and pretty cool. These are so hard to book. If you stop by there is a strong chance you can get in. Our class was booked up online and by phone but our class had 16 empty seats! It’s very sad that people don’t have enough respect to cancel in advance just because it’s free.
Firepit Storytelling. Free and we loved it. We missed doing this last time.
Pool Party … awesome!!
Makahiki Character Breakfast. Food is average even for the non vegans in our party, for the vegans it was meh. They need to get some recipes from DLR for sure, but we do appreciate that there is an option for us. Our server was absolutely amazing and then some, when gratuity is auto applied they don’t have to go the extra mile to be nice and she did. So we tipped her twice. We go for the Characters. It was much busier than our last visit, line for the pre meal photo was about 30 minutes long. Pro Tip. If you are starving you can ask to have your photo taken after eating. We did this after waiting about 15 minutes and only making it through half the line. Last year there was virtually no line
Member Party. Loved it. I need to remember to arrive 45 minutes early in the future. We were in the way way back arriving 20 minutes early. We won trivia and got a sketch that a CM had drawn. We got photos with Minnie, Chip & Dale, Goofy and Mickey. We stayed until the very very end and Mickey was alone!! My son headed over and danced with him. Mickey danced like Michael Jackson and it was everything.
Welcome Home Weeks. T-Shirt stamping was the activity. You can only book in person on Saturday I tried to book for Tuesday times and it was full, no T-Shirts for us.
PhotoPass. We loved our photo pass experience. It was much better than last year. Photos were better too. They got new cameras they said. I recommend right at 6pm because once the sun goes down out comes the flash and nobody wants that. We made it down there every day. There were always 3 photographers and they were all so so nice. They invite you to get back in line to get a new photographer so you don’t feel awkward getting more shots. They were out in the morning once and they left because nobody was wanting photos. I wasn’t ready or I would’ve loved some morning shots.
Hawaiian Ocean Adventures canoe ride. Expensive but amazing. The ride, the location, the employees, all of it.
On checkout day we booked KoOlina Glass Bottom Boat to kill some time. We didn’t want to go far from the resort due to traffic and having to come back to the resort for our bags. We went down to the marina about half a mile away. We did this last time and was nervous it would be not as good since we already did it. Experience felt very different and was amazing! We saw many dolphins and turtles. Its very affordable. Highly recommend. Photo from the boat.
I wanted to change into comfy pants for our red eye flight home and I didn’t dare go near the Luana Lounge so I found a clean quiet large bathroom near photo pass desk and it was just what I needed. This small thing made me very happy.
Flight home. There were many Navy Men and Women in uniform that were at our gate and boarded our flight but we didn't see them on the plane. We learned that our flight was a flight home for a fallen service member and they were in the belly of the plane with him. Really puts into perspective all my above complaints and how I am so grateful to have went on this vacation with my family even if everything was not perfect.
Honolulu airport is easy. Really enjoy flying in and out of there. We flew Delta home so we didn’t need the rental car shuttle. No food on Delta but they have Tv’s that Hawaiian didn’t have. Slept about 30 minutes only. Landed back to home to some rain. Slept a few hours and now Im needing to unpack and repack for our next adventure!
Up next our first stay at Beach Club! Our first Moonlight Magic! As you can see I can be hard to please so Im hoping I can report back a great trip!
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