Aulani Villas & Views -- REVISED 07/22/2017

[TLHB70]

There is no charge if your teens just want to hang out at the teen spa area. Its much like a community hall at DVC resorts: Lots of things are free, but occasionally you'll find some pay-to-play items.

By the Way: Auntie's Beach House has lots of things to keep kids entertained, but its only available to kids ages 3 to 12.

Great. Thank you!

 

[DenLo]

Besides Aunties Beach House and the Painted Sky there also is a Community Hall where crafts and games (board and computer), and DVDs are available. When we went in there one day they were making leis. But other activities were listed in the daily Iwa.

 

[tchrrx]

What places can you recommend to stay on the Big Island? We are looking for a place that's nice (after all, we are used to DVC! ), but it doesn't necessarily need to be deluxe accomodations. A regular hotel room will work as long as it's decent.

We looked at some great resorts, but we honestly don't think we'll hang out there much. We're looking at 3 days on the Big Island doing sight seeing, then a week relaxing at Aulani.

 

[Anal Annie]

What places can you recommend to stay on the Big Island? We are looking for a place that's nice (after all, we are used to DVC! ), but it doesn't necessarily need to be deluxe accomodations. A regular hotel room will work as long as it's decent.

We looked at some great resorts, but we honestly don't think we'll hang out there much. We're looking at 3 days on the Big Island doing sight seeing, then a week relaxing at Aulani.

I would definitely stay on the Kona side rather than the Hilo side (a little more going on and terrific sunsets). We stayed at an old Outrigger hotel at Keauhou Bay on the Big Island when we went the last time (near the Sheraton). The place where we stayed is no longer open (while most Outriggers are OK this one was pretty old and dumpy so I wouldn't have recommended it). The next time we decide to stay on the Big Island we'll likely consider either the Waikoloa Marriott or the Hilton Waikoloa (although the offshore snorkeling at Keauhou Bay is excellent). The Waikoloa properties would be convenient to the Blue Hawaiian Helicopters if you decide to do a helicopter tour or to drive up around the Kohala Coast. There are also some more upscale hotels on the Big Island like the Fairmont & the Four Seasons if your budget allows but really I think for 3 nights either the Marriott or the Hilton would be great choices. Take a look at some Trip Advisor reviews http://www.tripadvisor.com/HACSearch?geoOrName=geo&q=The+Big+Island%2C+Hawaii&inDay=14&inMonth=08%2F2013&checkIn=8%2F14%2F2013&outDay=15&outMonth=08%2F2013&checkOut=8%2F15%2F2013#02,1367894293436,sponsors:AHOLIDAY_INN

 

[TLHB70]

Besides Aunties Beach House and the Painted Sky there also is a Community Hall where crafts and games (board and computer), and DVDs are available. When we went in there one day they were making leis. But other activities were listed in the daily Iwa.

That sounds perfect! Thank you!

 

[dianeschlicht]

At the beginning stages of thinking about Aulani, and DH has a few questions.

- Is it difficult to book this resort if you don't own there? (We have SSR)

- What is the best way to island hop? DH is convinced that if we travel to Hawaii, then we'll want to see several different islands.

- If you could choose any week between May 25 and August 1, which would you choose and why?

Not sure where you live, but if it's anywhere other than the West Coast, I would NOT go for just a week. The time change alone is a killer, and it will take most of a week to adjust to it.

Since summer and late summer is usually a slower time in Hawaii, I would guess that later would be better, but because Aulani is a DVC resort, and most members have children, I suspect that might not be true specific to Aulani.

The ONLY way to island hop is by air unless you are taking a cruise, and that's a whole other animal.

We live in the frozen upper midwest (Minnesota), so we find winter to be our favorite time to visit the islands. We have been in Hawaii as early as Jan. 1st but no later than May 16.

The temps and climate of Hawaii doesn't change much all year because of it's tropical island location nearer the equator.

I would never plan a trip to Hawaii for less than at least a 2 week duration. I also would not plan to do more than 2 or 3 islands in any one trip. Actually, 2 is ideal. Our favorites are the Big Island of Hawaii and Kauai. To me Oahu is to urban. Aulani, however, is out far enough that it seems more remote than most Oahu regions.

 

[phyllisnnj]

Here's a link to the rest of my Aulani photos from last year - http://www.flickr.com/photos/40089311@N05/sets/72157629608370877/show/
I love this resort

The balcony extends the full length of the room (from the living to the bedroom)

 

[Psychodisney]

Awesome pictures. I enjoyed reliving all the details!

 

[wdrl]

I love this resort

The balcony extends the full length of the room (from the living to the bedroom)

Thanks for the photos, especially for the photo of your balcony. One of the frequent questions asked about the Aulani villas concerns the layout and size of the balconies. Villa 552 is in the Ewa Building Phase 1, and all villas in this building have the non-angled balconies.

 

[ACDSNY]

Here's a link to the rest of my Aulani photos from last year - http://www.flickr.com/photos/40089311@N05/sets/72157629608370877/show/
I love this resort

The balcony extends the full length of the room (from the living to the bedroom)

I love Aulani too! We absolutely loved room 552, the evenings spent on the balcony were magical!

 

[wdrl]

Thanks to tjkraz at DVCNews.com, I have a list of the handicapped accessible villas at Aulani. I have added the information to Post #1 of this thread, and I have also listed the villas in this post.

The handicapped accessible villas are scattered all over Aulani in every view category and accommodation type. Some HA villas have Roll in Showers and some have Accessible Tubs. Thanks to BCV23, there is a photo of a Roll in Shower in Post #318 of this thread. We don't yet have a photo of an Accessible Tub, so if anyone has one please share it with us.

I don't know what other modifications have been made in the HA villas. If anyone has stayed in an HA villa at Aulani, I'd love to hear your comments about the villa.

Here is the list of Handicapped Accessible Villas at Aulani:


Villa #301 - Ocean View Grand Villa; Accessible Tub
Villa #456 - Pool View Studio; Roll in Shower
Villa #512 - Pool View One-Bedroom; Roll in Shower
Villa #558 - Pool View One-Bedroom; Roll in Shower
Villa #559 - Standard View One-Bedroom; Roll in Shower
Villa #757 - Standard View Studio; Accessible Tub
Villa #772 - Ocean View Studio; Accessible Tub
Villa #808 - Ocean View Dedicated Two-Bedroom; Accessible Tub
Villa #809 - Ocean View Dedicated Two-Bedroom; Accessible Tub
Villa #859 - Island View One-Bedroom; Accessible Tub
Villa #870 - Ocean View One-Bedroom; Accessible Tub
Villa #875 - Island View Dedicated Two-Bedroom; Accessible Tub
Villa #1057 - Island View Studio; Accessible Tub
Villa #1072 - Ocean View Studio; Accessible Tub
Villa #1073 - Island View Studio; Roll in Shower
Villa #1108 - Ocean View Dedicated Two-Bedroom; Accessible Tub
Villa #1109 - Ocean View Dedicated Two-Bedroom; Accessible Tub
Villa #1112 - Ocean View One-Bedroom; Roll in Shower
Villa #1158 - Ocean View One-Bedroom; Accessible Tub
Villa #1159 - Island View One-Bedroom; Accessible Tub
Villa #1175 - Island View Dedicated Two-Bedroom; Accessible Tub

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

Thanks so much for posting all the HA villas and what kind of accessibility they have! What a tremendous resource.

When I was booking one, the CM I spoke to at the resort told me the HA villas do NOT have the fold down Murphy bed in the living room, due to accessibility by wheelchair. Can anyone confirm this? My reservation also did not list the single sleeper. We ended up changing to a regular lock off (since we needed the Murphy bed) and having my FIL use the shower in the master bedroom rather than having a roll in one in the studio. I can tell from this list that our original reservation would've been for villa #456, pool view studio HA -as part of a 2 bedroom lockoff.

 

[wdrl]

When I was booking one, the CM I spoke to at the resort told me the HA villas do NOT have the fold down Murphy bed in the living room, due to accessibility by wheelchair. Can anyone confirm this?

Maybe I can find out some info tomorrow when we are at WDW.

We are enroute to WDW and should arrive tomorrow. One of the first things we plan on doing is going by the DVC Preview Center to look at the VGF models. I'll ask if the HA villas at VGF and Aulani have the fold down Murphy Bed in the one-bedrooms.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Maybe I can find out some info tomorrow when we are at WDW.

We are enroute to WDW and should arrive tomorrow. One of the first things we plan on doing is going by the DVC Preview Center to look at the VGF models. I'll ask if the HA villas at VGF and Aulani have the fold down Murphy Bed in the one-bedrooms.

I'm going to bet they do have them but that they can't be used if a wheelchair is necessary.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

I'm going to bet they do have them but that they can't be used if a wheelchair is necessary.

Aulani told me they didn't have them at all due to accessibility requirements. Maybe it's Hawaiian law? When I called MS about it, they had no idea about it! But, when they looked up my reservation, it did indeed NOT include a single sleeper. I could not book the villa with 9, but could with 8 (just playing around with it). So, I wonder if the Murphy bed is really not there, or it just won't let you book with it?

 

[wdrl]

When I was booking one, the CM I spoke to at the resort told me the HA villas do NOT have the fold down Murphy bed in the living room, due to accessibility by wheelchair. Can anyone confirm this? My reservation also did not list the single sleeper.

Today, I talked to a DVC Guide at the Preview Center at Saratoga Springs and asked about the pull-down Murphy Bed at both Aulani and Villas at Grand Floridian. He spoke to a manager who confirmed that Handicapped Accessible Villas at both Aulani and VGF WILL NOT have the pull-down Murphy Bed.

 

[TagsMissy]

I've not looked at this thread in ages. We just ended up adding on at Aulani so these photos are just what I need to start planning

 

[wdrl]

I've not looked at this thread in ages. We just ended up adding on at Aulani so these photos are just what I need to start planning

We just added on at Aulani, too! We had been thinking about buying points at Aulani since sales began in July 2010, but we finally pulled the trigger yesterday. We toured the Villas at Grand Floridian yesterday thinking there was a slim chance we might add on there. But since we already own at BLT we didn't think we really needed another 'monorail' resort. We ended up buying 100 points at Aulani instead.

Having the home resort at Aulani will help us when planning our trips to Hawaii. We can start getting airfares, make island-hopping plans, etc., at 11 months instead of waiting until the 7-month window opens before we finalize our plans,

As I've said many times before, Aulani is a fabulous resort.

 

[TagsMissy]

We just added on at Aulani, too! We had been thinking about buying points at Aulani since sales began in July 2010, but we finally pulled the trigger yesterday. We toured the Villas at Grand Floridian yesterday thinking there was a slim chance we might add on there. But since we already own at BLT we didn't think we really needed another 'monorail' resort. We ended up buying 100 points at Aulani instead.

Having the home resort at Aulani will help us when planning our trips to Hawaii. We can start getting airfares, make island-hopping plans, etc., at 11 months instead of waiting until the 7-month window opens before we finalize our plans,

As I've said many times before, Aulani is a fabulous resort.

Yes I kept on telling my husband --- why didn't we add on when we were AT Aulani a year ago.. it was cheaper LOL We just added on during our cruise so we got a little bonus incentive which helped We tacked on 100pts since we know we won't go every year. Looks we like we're following the same trend -- BLT and Aulani

 

[eandesmom]

Straight out



to the left





to the right



Looking up to the right



LOTS of morning sun and a decent amount of highway noise. Other than that about what I expected for Standard View. I requested close to lobby and high floor and this met those requests. Only there one night and then moved to Ocean View.