ddoconnell
Tink's biggest fan
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2007
This is my first real attempt at a trip report so here goes...we spent April 7 through April 13 at the beautiful Aulani! Here are my impressions of our stay:
Arrival: the resort is away from the more touristy resorts. The drive up to the lobby had my family saying: "Now that looks like Disney!" We didn't mean that it looked like Magic Kingdom....just that the attention to detail was so evident. We were greeted by the valets who called up the front desk to let them know that we were there. Then we were taken to a greeter who gave us beautiful leis (flowers for the girls and nuts for the guys), and they led us into the lobby. While walking thru the lobby, she pointed out the murals, architecture and the meaning of many of the items found there. The front doors are directly across from the beautiful view of the water park and on to the ocean. More on the water park later! Check in was a breeze (and no I didn't do online check in....kinda like the old fashioned way of just walking up to the desk....I am on vacation, so no need to get stressed out!) Our room was ready, and was absolutely or gorgeous! A dedicated two bedroom with a garden view....amazing!
Water park: loved the water park! The slides, lazy river, pools and hot tubs were all amazing! I will agree with others that an adults only hot tub would be nice. My DH did say that when he was in a hot tub, a woman came into the tub with two hands full of food! She proceeded to drop some in the tub, left it there to float around and continued to eat. DH said that he got up and left....along with some kids that had been there when he arrived. Guess maybe it's not just the kids that can be a problem! But heads up on getting the colored bands for each day....there are two locations, one just at the entrance to the kids area, and another one on the back side of the kids area. The second one is never crowded! We never had a problem finding chairs. You didn't always find it in the area you wanted, but you could always find one. As a side note, this is a salt water park....no chlorine!
Room: like I said before, we had a dedicated two bedroom villa. Gotta say it was amazing! It was so quiet that we didn't hear the water park unless we opened the doors to the balcony. The kitchen had everything we needed and was a great size for the four of us. We cooked most meals in the villa so that we could maximize our resort time. Ample seating for down time and the table had plenty of elbow room when we were eating.
Dining: we did eat at Off the Hook a couple of times as well as trying the shaved ice stand. Both were fantastic! Expect resort/Hawaii prices for the food. For those unaware, prices are very expensive in Hawaii for everything, so keep that in mind when you plan your trip. Back to the food....the sandwiches and salads we had were fresh and delicious. We did not try the "fancy" restaurants since we had not heard anything good about them. Sorry that I can't update you on those.
Shopping: they were constructing a new store while we were there. They told us it was an expansion of the mercantile and it will add a few more food options. If you want to stock the cabinets in your villa, I would head to Food Land...as it had the best buys. We went to Costco and Target and found that Food Land had the best stuff for us. The kitchen had a coffee maker and a rice cooker as well as all the pots, pans and dishes needed for your stay. The mercantile had very few items and all were priced high even for Hawaii. Hopefully the new store will have an expanded grocery section. The nicknacks at the store were great with some distinctly Aulani items available.
The Spa: Cue the amazing music you hear when something wonderful is about to be revealed. My DD and I enjoyed a wonderful spa day. We were there the week before they closed the outside relaxation garden due to the pool area construction. The outside area was amazing, with two heated tubs, a hot tub, plunge pool and a reflexology walk. You could enjoy any of these of just sit and relax. Inside the spa was a sauna, steam room and relaxation rooms. We tried all of these except the sauna....didn't want to try that as dry air makes DD get nose bleeds! We enjoyed a "couples" massage so we could be in the same room. The massages were amazing! I highly recommend making time to enjoy this amazing spa!
The Kua loa Ranch: DH and DS enjoyed an adventure at the Ranch. They did the ATV tour, jungle tour, ocean adventure and a tour of the movie and TV locations used there. They loved it and would have loved for the ATV tour to have been longer since riding thru the jungle on ATVs is amazing! The scenery there was beautiful and it is what we all think of when we think of Hawaii. They got a lesson on how old the ranch is and how property lines were marked out during the time of the Hawaiian kings. Lots of history lessons during our trip!
Pearl Harbor: no trip to Oahu is complete without a trip to Pearl. Very moving! We booked the tour through the concierge and I highly recommend it. We had an amazing guide in Rocky (yes, his name was Rocky and he jokes about it when he Introduces himself!). He was wonderful at giving us a lot of Hawaiian history that you don't see in the history books. He was also great at making sure that we could actually get to the Arizona memorial as the tours book up fast, and the tickets get scarce! You have to take this tour even if you aren't a history buff. To see the Missouri where the surrender agreement was signed and to look at the oil (or tears as they call it) still bubbling up for the Arizona is something everyone should see. The names of all those people lost on that day. It starts with the viewing of an amazing movie and then a boat ride to the Arizona. You feel a reverent air about the memorial and everyone speaks in hushed tones....no loud talking or laughing. Just remember that this is on an active military base, and when they say no bags, they mean no bags! You will also see the memorial for the Oklahoma which is quite moving. All in all this was a great excursion.
Surf lessons: My DD took surf lessons from the Hawaii Fire group. They were fantastic and had her up in the board in no time! She took a group lesson, and everyone got up on the board at least once. The beach where she took her lessons was part of a state park and all but deserted. It was beautiful and great fun to watch everyone try to hang ten! If you want to try your hand at surfing, let the concierge set this up for you! They have someone taking pictures with a long lens....buy the thumb drive, it is worth it to get those shots of your family up on the board!
Kayaking: my DS tried his hand at kayaking from the beach at Aulani. He rented one of the kayaks from the resort and enjoyed paddling around. He saw sea turtles and other sea life while he was outside the lagoon. They also have paddle boarding in the lagoon and snorkeling at the reef just off the pool. We just ran out of time and couldn't get to everything they had to do there.
So the take away from all of this is that we highly recommend that everyone go to Aulani at least once....just research, research, research the area and the resort and set realistic expectations for the trip. Remember to take some time and just slow down to island time. We saw a bumper sticker that read: "Slow down....you're not on the mainland!" That is the best advice I can give....slow down, relax and take in the beauty and serenity that is Hawaii. We will definitely going back!!
Arrival: the resort is away from the more touristy resorts. The drive up to the lobby had my family saying: "Now that looks like Disney!" We didn't mean that it looked like Magic Kingdom....just that the attention to detail was so evident. We were greeted by the valets who called up the front desk to let them know that we were there. Then we were taken to a greeter who gave us beautiful leis (flowers for the girls and nuts for the guys), and they led us into the lobby. While walking thru the lobby, she pointed out the murals, architecture and the meaning of many of the items found there. The front doors are directly across from the beautiful view of the water park and on to the ocean. More on the water park later! Check in was a breeze (and no I didn't do online check in....kinda like the old fashioned way of just walking up to the desk....I am on vacation, so no need to get stressed out!) Our room was ready, and was absolutely or gorgeous! A dedicated two bedroom with a garden view....amazing!
Water park: loved the water park! The slides, lazy river, pools and hot tubs were all amazing! I will agree with others that an adults only hot tub would be nice. My DH did say that when he was in a hot tub, a woman came into the tub with two hands full of food! She proceeded to drop some in the tub, left it there to float around and continued to eat. DH said that he got up and left....along with some kids that had been there when he arrived. Guess maybe it's not just the kids that can be a problem! But heads up on getting the colored bands for each day....there are two locations, one just at the entrance to the kids area, and another one on the back side of the kids area. The second one is never crowded! We never had a problem finding chairs. You didn't always find it in the area you wanted, but you could always find one. As a side note, this is a salt water park....no chlorine!
Room: like I said before, we had a dedicated two bedroom villa. Gotta say it was amazing! It was so quiet that we didn't hear the water park unless we opened the doors to the balcony. The kitchen had everything we needed and was a great size for the four of us. We cooked most meals in the villa so that we could maximize our resort time. Ample seating for down time and the table had plenty of elbow room when we were eating.
Dining: we did eat at Off the Hook a couple of times as well as trying the shaved ice stand. Both were fantastic! Expect resort/Hawaii prices for the food. For those unaware, prices are very expensive in Hawaii for everything, so keep that in mind when you plan your trip. Back to the food....the sandwiches and salads we had were fresh and delicious. We did not try the "fancy" restaurants since we had not heard anything good about them. Sorry that I can't update you on those.
Shopping: they were constructing a new store while we were there. They told us it was an expansion of the mercantile and it will add a few more food options. If you want to stock the cabinets in your villa, I would head to Food Land...as it had the best buys. We went to Costco and Target and found that Food Land had the best stuff for us. The kitchen had a coffee maker and a rice cooker as well as all the pots, pans and dishes needed for your stay. The mercantile had very few items and all were priced high even for Hawaii. Hopefully the new store will have an expanded grocery section. The nicknacks at the store were great with some distinctly Aulani items available.
The Spa: Cue the amazing music you hear when something wonderful is about to be revealed. My DD and I enjoyed a wonderful spa day. We were there the week before they closed the outside relaxation garden due to the pool area construction. The outside area was amazing, with two heated tubs, a hot tub, plunge pool and a reflexology walk. You could enjoy any of these of just sit and relax. Inside the spa was a sauna, steam room and relaxation rooms. We tried all of these except the sauna....didn't want to try that as dry air makes DD get nose bleeds! We enjoyed a "couples" massage so we could be in the same room. The massages were amazing! I highly recommend making time to enjoy this amazing spa!
The Kua loa Ranch: DH and DS enjoyed an adventure at the Ranch. They did the ATV tour, jungle tour, ocean adventure and a tour of the movie and TV locations used there. They loved it and would have loved for the ATV tour to have been longer since riding thru the jungle on ATVs is amazing! The scenery there was beautiful and it is what we all think of when we think of Hawaii. They got a lesson on how old the ranch is and how property lines were marked out during the time of the Hawaiian kings. Lots of history lessons during our trip!
Pearl Harbor: no trip to Oahu is complete without a trip to Pearl. Very moving! We booked the tour through the concierge and I highly recommend it. We had an amazing guide in Rocky (yes, his name was Rocky and he jokes about it when he Introduces himself!). He was wonderful at giving us a lot of Hawaiian history that you don't see in the history books. He was also great at making sure that we could actually get to the Arizona memorial as the tours book up fast, and the tickets get scarce! You have to take this tour even if you aren't a history buff. To see the Missouri where the surrender agreement was signed and to look at the oil (or tears as they call it) still bubbling up for the Arizona is something everyone should see. The names of all those people lost on that day. It starts with the viewing of an amazing movie and then a boat ride to the Arizona. You feel a reverent air about the memorial and everyone speaks in hushed tones....no loud talking or laughing. Just remember that this is on an active military base, and when they say no bags, they mean no bags! You will also see the memorial for the Oklahoma which is quite moving. All in all this was a great excursion.
Surf lessons: My DD took surf lessons from the Hawaii Fire group. They were fantastic and had her up in the board in no time! She took a group lesson, and everyone got up on the board at least once. The beach where she took her lessons was part of a state park and all but deserted. It was beautiful and great fun to watch everyone try to hang ten! If you want to try your hand at surfing, let the concierge set this up for you! They have someone taking pictures with a long lens....buy the thumb drive, it is worth it to get those shots of your family up on the board!
Kayaking: my DS tried his hand at kayaking from the beach at Aulani. He rented one of the kayaks from the resort and enjoyed paddling around. He saw sea turtles and other sea life while he was outside the lagoon. They also have paddle boarding in the lagoon and snorkeling at the reef just off the pool. We just ran out of time and couldn't get to everything they had to do there.
So the take away from all of this is that we highly recommend that everyone go to Aulani at least once....just research, research, research the area and the resort and set realistic expectations for the trip. Remember to take some time and just slow down to island time. We saw a bumper sticker that read: "Slow down....you're not on the mainland!" That is the best advice I can give....slow down, relax and take in the beauty and serenity that is Hawaii. We will definitely going back!!
- whenever that may be
