Aulani June 2012

[DenLo]

That would be disappointing to miss seeing the Arizona. I never thought that the harbor might be closed at Pearl Harbor. Hope the rest of your trip goes well. And I'm looking forward to any photos you're willing to share.

 

[belle26]

We are in San Francisco now, using points to stay at the Fairmont. Nice hotel, but we are missing Aulani! I wish I had saved the points, and booked the Holiday Inn near Fisherman's wharf. We would have been closer to the action, and would have had tons of points left to bank for fun next year. Don't get me wrong, the Fairmont is impressive, just a little far from where we want to be.
Aulani is spectacular, we loved every minute there. Can't wait until we have enough points to go back again. We enjoyed the one bedroom, because of the connivence of the washer, we packed lighter. We even used the kitchen, although that was not the original plan. One morning, we managed to set the smoke detector off and received not only a call from the front desk, but a visit from security. Security actually said they were there for breakfast! Once we get home, I'll work on some pictures. My husband certainly took enough!

 

[belle26]

We have been home now since Saturday, and are wishing we were back at Aulani everyday! Vacation beats reality every time!! I'm put pictures up on flickr, here's the address:http://www.flickr.com/photos/vacations26/sets/72157630546076848/

So far, it's just of our room and some of the resort.

 

[belle26]

Just a little note, we used Royal Hawaiian round trip from the airport, it was $136.00 plus whatever you tip. We rented a car at Aulani on Thursday, and returned it on Monday to drive over to Diamond Head, the North Shore and other short trips. Although it might have cost us a less to just rent a car from the airport for the week, since we had no clue about traffic and routes, we felt this worked best for us. When we go back, we will probably do the same, just for the ease at the airport. We felt you definitely needed a car, we went out to eat, to shop, (we did use our kitchen) and to see places not included in tours offered. Definitely recommend the Polynesian Culture Center tour and the Arizona/Missouri tour recommended by Aulani. They worked out well for us. this is what worked for us, will not work for everyone.

 

[treborq]

Even though it's only the 2 of us, we took a 1 bedroom garden view. We plan on stopping in San Francisco on the out, and Disneyland on the way back and figured the kitchen and washer and dryer would come in handy. We decided to splurge this time, normally we would have just taken a studio. We figured it's only your 25th once!

If you really want a treat in SF and have the points to splurge check out staying at the Fairmont (concierge collection). We stayed there last July and as DVC guests we were treated royally. View room was spectacular, brunch (included) was unbelievable and kept us till dinner with small snack during day, located at top of the hill in center of town at crossroads of 2 differant cablecar lines this was a highlight of our vacation! Well worth the splurge!

 

[belle26]

If you really want a treat in SF and have the points to splurge check out staying at the Fairmont (concierge collection). We stayed there last July and as DVC guests we were treated royally. View room was spectacular, brunch (included) was unbelievable and kept us till dinner with small snack during day, located at top of the hill in center of town at crossroads of 2 differant cablecar lines this was a highlight of our vacation! Well worth the splurge!

That's exactly where we stayed! Neat hotel, and you are so right about the brunch! We were not able to get onto the cable cars there because they were packed every time, might have been because it was 4th of July.