Aulani Spa - what time to get a treatment?

[nkereina]

I want to book a couples massage for us at the Laniwai Spa but keep wavering on what time of day would be best. Here's the two scenarios I'm considering:

1. Spa treatment from 10am-11am with time for the water features of the spa before and after the treatment. Spend the afternoon at the pool/beach.

2. Spend the day at the pool/beach. Spa treatment from 5-6pm with time for the water features before/after. Late casual dinner wherever we feel like.

Any opinions on which timing might be better based on experiences? I was thinking that with option 1, we may find the pool/beach to be crowded arriving in the afternoon so that was pushing me towards option 2. Is the spa busier at certain times of day? Open to other suggestions as well! Thanks!

 

[StefR]

Do you get sunburned? I find a massage after a day in the sun to be a bad combo but if that isn't an issue, I'd rather get a massage later in the day.

 

[nkereina]

Do you get sunburned? I find a massage after a day in the sun to be a bad combo but if that isn't an issue, I'd rather get a massage later in the day.

Good point, and something I considered as well. We are both susceptible to sunburns but we'll be getting these massages on day 12 of us being in Hawaii, so hopefully we'll have acquired a base tan by then! LOL! But the other thing I thought is that we'd probably need to shower before going to the spa after being sweaty and full of sunscreen in the sun all day. I'm way over-analyzing this but want to consider all angles when spending THAT much on a massage!

 

[Mokat76]

I would think do your pool/ beach day first. You can shower at the spa before your treatments. I don't know that you'd want to gunk up your just massaged skin with suntan stuff and sweat after paying what you just paid to have those lovely lotions and potions massaged in.

 

[Mokat76]

PS. Either way, enjoy it. I've booked treatments for our last day in the afternoon so I take my redeye back to CONUS all relaxed.

 

[Soccerluvinmama]

Personally, I like the first appointment of the day. I've found that is the quietest time in the garden pools. I've done mid and late day too, and I just don't like the bustle that I feel during those times of day.

 

[Iggipolka]

On our last trip, I had a morning massage at 10:00 and later, an evening one at 6pm. They were both delightful and I really don't think you can go wrong with either time. My shoulders were a little sunburned, so the massage therapist put some lovely cooling/healing gel on them after the massage and they didn't hurt at all. The late massage was great, because we were the only ones in the garden pools and it was dark, so the pretty lights were on. Very peaceful.

 

[DixieDelights]

I just did 4:00 massages. Got to spa around 2 and then stayed afterwards to relax and then clean up. It was great to end the day that way!

 

[cleophus12]

Are there any dining options available at the spa? I was hoping to have a light lunch there. Is that an offering?

 

[Soccerluvinmama]

Are there any dining options available at the spa? I was hoping to have a light lunch there. Is that an offering?

It was not when we were there in February

 

[micminmom]

I thought I read some trip report where people ordered in lunch?

 

[Iggipolka]

There's no lunch available to order in the spa, however, we brought in salads and sandwiches with us and left them in the locker during our treatments. once you leave the spa area, you no longer have access to the therapy gardens, so you can't go out and get lunch and bring it back. We ate our lunch on the lounge chairs by the therapy pools and staff was fine with that.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

I did my spa appointment at 5 p.m. on our arrival day (we were coming from elsewhere on Oahu so coming off a flight was not an issue). I arrived at 4 to check in and use the facilities. The gardens were very quiet when I was there - I was the only one out there except for the tours of arriving spa patrons. TBH, an hour was probably more time than I needed out there. I did enjoy the relaxation room though, nice snacks and I almost fell asleep! I picked this time because I didn't want to take away from pool time on our other days and we had evening plans the next two nights so my only other evening would be our last night.