Aulani - are the views worth the extra points?

[jerseygal]

Locks for the sliders are from the inside, unless for some reason the "first floor" is different..

 

[tidefan]

One important note:

It is "Island/Garden" view, not "Island" view. When we went in May 2012, we had a view on the 2nd floor Waianae Tower looking straight into the wall of the spa.

Still had a phenomenal stay, but do be aware you run the risk of getting those if you book Island/Garden view. I'll try to find my photos from that trip and upload them later...

 

[Iceman93]

Locks for the sliders are from the inside, unless for some reason the "first floor" is different..

That's correct. It was great to just head out the sliding doors when someone else was still going to be in the room. But it was also incredibly convenient when going out the front door of the room to have access to the pool area, restaurants, Aunty's, etc. without needing stairs or an elevator.

 

[Cinderpamela]

One important note:

It is "Island/Garden" view, not "Island" view. When we went in May 2012, we had a view on the 2nd floor Waianae Tower looking straight into the wall of the spa.

Still had a phenomenal stay, but do be aware you run the risk of getting those if you book Island/Garden view. I'll try to find my photos from that trip and upload them later...

Tidefan- would love to see those photos.... if you get a chance could you post them over on the "Aulani Villas and Views" thread? There are hardly any (if any at all) photos of that view category in the Waianae Tower overlooking the spa. It would be great to have them.

Here is the link:http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2907389

 

[tidefan]

Tidefan- would love to see those photos.... if you get a chance could you post them over on the "Aulani Villas and Views" thread? There are hardly any (if any at all) photos of that view category in the Waianae Tower overlooking the spa. It would be great to have them.

Here is the link:http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2907389

Will do!

 

[tidefan]

From looking at the Villas and Views Thread, we must have had Room #209 in the Waianae Tower. Here were the views:

Left

Straight

Right

 

[wdrl]

As tidefan's photos show, there is a wide variance in views within the "Island/Garden" category at Aulani. Some villas in the Island/Garden category include very nice views of the ocean. But there are a large number of Island/Garden villas that will give you nothing more than views of landscape and island.

Anyone who books the island view category thinking they will get views of the ocean runs the risk of being disappointed.

Personally, I like views. We spend a fair amount of time on our balcony during our trips, whether at the start of the day or in the afternoon or evening when we are relaxing after a long day. And when we are sitting on our balcony, I like having a view. We always book a Savanna View villa at AKV and we prefer the Theme Park View when staying at BLT.

 

[lovetotraveltx]

As tidefan's photos show, there is a wide variance in views within the "Island/Garden" category at Aulani. Some villas in the Island/Garden category include very nice views of the ocean. But there are a large number of Island/Garden villas that will give you nothing more than views of landscape and island.

Anyone who books the island view category thinking they will get views of the ocean runs the risk of being disappointed.

Personally, I like views. We spend a fair amount of time on our balcony during our trips, whether at the start of the day or in the afternoon or evening when we are relaxing after a long day. And when we are sitting on our balcony, I like having a view. We always book a Savanna View villa at AKV and we prefer the Theme Park View when staying at BLT.

Well said, I think people should book what they want, if they would be disappointed with no view. I would never stay at AKV without the savannah.

 

[Halefamilyof6]

We just got home from an amazing trip to Aulani! For us, yes, the ocean view rooms is worth it...we had a partially blocked view (I'll try to figure out how to get our room view pics posted, so people can see) from the master bedroom balcony. The other bedroom and living room had a better view. With that being said, I wouldn't have traded our view for anything. Sometimes at night, hubby and I would sit on the balcony and just watch the activity. Other times, for us, it was great to gauge pool business/chair accessibility

We became friends with a family who had an island view and wouldn't have traded their view for the world. They got to watch the sunrise every morning.

It's all in what YOU want. I DEFINITELY suggest a high room. We were originally given a seventh floor room for ocean view and I declined it, and requested a higher room and was willing to wait...there was one open on the 15th floor and that's what we took. Even with the bit of blocked view, I'm glad I didn't settle for the seventh floor.

 

[Live4Surf]

For us it was worth it! We live on the East Coast and knew we wouldn't be going back for a long time. I didn't know I would love the ocean view so much especially since we live on the coast. Waking up early in the morning and having breakfast on the balcony was worth the extra money. We were in a two bedroom on the 14th floor. Gorgeous!

 

[Mrmouse4me]

We had a 2 bedroom ocean view for 490 points for the week. In the future I would stay in a much lower category. The resort is AMAZING and we spent very little time in the room.