Aulani - Questions regarding Casabella's and Beach

[VallCopen]

Hi and thanks in advance for any responses!! We are heading to Aulani for the first time this December and can't wait. We are owners at the Grand Californian and have never tried any other resorts yet, so this is exciting for us. I have gotten a lot of information from so many post but haven't seen (maybe missed) much on the Casabella's or beach. We have several kids in our party in the ranges of 7-16, so I am wondering if these are close enough to the beach to keep an eye on the kids? Also it says on line something about upper and lower and executive levels? Can anyone elaborate on the differences. It says on the Aulani site that upper includes 2 Casa's for 90, does that mean two different groups, each get one, or does that mean you get the whole upper level with both Casabella's? As far as the beach is concerned are there plenty of toys and boogie boards for free use, or do we need to be ready in line early? Also are there any waves in the lagoon to boogie board or is the water pretty calm? Any information regarding anything or even images of the Casabella's would be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone out there has any questions that I can look into for you in December, just let me know!!! Aloha!

 

[Girimama33]

Hi and thanks in advance for any responses!! We are heading to Aulani for the first time this December and can't wait. We are owners at the Grand Californian and have never tried any other resorts yet, so this is exciting for us. I have gotten a lot of information from so many post but haven't seen (maybe missed) much on the Casabella's or beach. We have several kids in our party in the ranges of 7-16, so I am wondering if these are close enough to the beach to keep an eye on the kids? Also it says on line something about upper and lower and executive levels? Can anyone elaborate on the differences. It says on the Aulani site that upper includes 2 Casa's for 90, does that mean two different groups, each get one, or does that mean you get the whole upper level with both Casabella's? As far as the beach is concerned are there plenty of toys and boogie boards for free use, or do we need to be ready in line early? Also are there any waves in the lagoon to boogie board or is the water pretty calm? Any information regarding anything or even images of the Casabella's would be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone out there has any questions that I can look into for you in December, just let me know!!! Aloha!

The Casabellas are located in the last row of the beach chairs, so not really close enough to the lagoon to keep an eye on kids. The lagoon is rather calm though...no waves.
The way the Casabellas work is you can purchase the single ones at the beach for $45 a day.
Ama Ama has an upper and lower veranda where one has 3 Casabellas and the other has 2. If you rented one of those, you get the amount of Casabellas you rent. They are not really in a private area, because there are usually other deck chairs around them. They are not at an executive level, just that they have groups of Casabellas on the Ama Ama verandas. Now there is the Executive Lanai (which we booked before and have booked again for March). There is more seating here, and this is a private area.

If you are going during the holidays, I would plan to get to the shack early for boogie boards and sand toys. Otherwise, they still may have some into the later morning hours.

 

[VallCopen]

Thank you Girimama33. We booked a Cabana for, I think, like 350.00 do you think the Executive Lanai is nicer than the Cabana? We just want to splurge once on something (not like the whole trip isn't a splurge), and with 9 guests it seems like it may be worth it, especially towards our last days when the resort is getting extremely busy.

 

[Girimama33]

Thank you Girimama33. We booked a Cabana for, I think, like 350.00 do you think the Executive Lanai is nicer than the Cabana? We just want to splurge once on something (not like the whole trip isn't a splurge), and with 9 guests it seems like it may be worth it, especially towards our last days when the resort is getting extremely busy.

The Executive Lanai is $50 cheaper than the Cabana. The only difference is the Lanai will not have any of the electricity features (fridge, fan, tv)...you also do not get the dessert plate. There is seating for 6 in the cabana and seating for 8 in the Lanai.
The Lanai is much quieter and overlooks the lagoon. You do not know what cabana you will be assigned to until the night before, so keep in mind you may not be in your desired location.
Hard to say which one is nicer since they are both so different. We had two days with a cabana and one day with the Lanai on our last trip, and I think most of our group preferred the Lanai. Just seemed way more relaxing...