Aulani: What's the One Thing You Wish You Knew?

[Dugette]

Where do you put your room key when you go in the pools?

I know for men in their shorts but what about us women?

I put it in the pocket of my cover-up that I left on the chair and hoped for the best. It was fine. Most days, I actually used my toddler's key card because it could open our room, but didn't have charging privileges, so I wasn't as worried about it being stolen. A lot of people use lanyards for stuff like that, so they can bring them in the pool, but I never bothered.

 

[carissa1970]

Where do you put your room key when you go in the pools? I know for men in their shorts but what about us women?

We have a KYSS bag that we used to lock everything up to the chair. I wasn't too worried because usually there was one of us there, but if we were all gone, someone was back within a few minutes. I just checked our cards and there is no room number on it, so they couldn't do much with it anyhow.

 

[kyton]

I stick it down the top of my swimmers.

 

[DenLo]

DH has a small pocket on his trunks and I often tuck in the my bra top. But we try to take one of these on our trip. http://www.amazon.com/Cruise-Travel...it+Card,+ID+&+Paper+Money+Holder+With+Lanyard

They sell them at Aulani. We bought a small one at WDW and another on the DCL Fantasy.

We noticed a lot folks had waterproof bags for their cell phones. Like this: http://www.amazon.com/JOTO-Universa...sr=1-2&keywords=waterproof+bag+for+cell+phone

You could probably use that for both your phone and KTTW card.

 

[Anal Annie]

Where do you put your room key when you go in the pools?

I know for men in their shorts but what about us women?

We just put ours in our pool bag along with our other valuables - which we locked with a cable combination lock like we use on our Owners Locker. Then we used a small lightweight (bike) cable to secure the bag to the chair whenever we were all away playing in the lazy river or whatever.

 

[AZMermaid]

This question got me looking. Speedo makes a swim skirt that has a pocket. I might look into that. I am seriously debating a KYSS bag. I have SO many bags so I am not sure I need it.

 

[carissa1970]

This question got me looking. Speedo makes a swim skirt that has a pocket. I might look into that. I am seriously debating a KYSS bag. I have SO many bags so I am not sure I need it.

We bought our KYSS bag a couple years ago to take on our cruise, for beach excursions, etc. turns out we have used it at Aulani, several water parks, just about anywhere you want your stuff safe and can't carry it all with you. It has been great!

 

[calif disney 1]

is renting a car a must..or do they have magical express?

 

[Sur]

No magical express, taxis if no car rental.

This question got me looking. Speedo makes a swim skirt that has a pocket. I might look into that. I am seriously debating a KYSS bag. I have SO many bags so I am not sure I need it.

a bike lock with existing bag works too, or a simple padlock.

 

[DenLo]

No magical express, taxis if no car rental.
a bike lock with existing bag works too, or a simple padlock.

When we were at Aulani in October 2014, the CMs were making guests remove locked items from the chairs. I heard them tell guests it was not permitted as it prevented the CMs from removing items from the chairs after an hour of non-use. Since the resort was 98% full the CMs were very diligent about removing items from chairs.

 

[Sir William]

is renting a car a must..or do they have magical express?

A rental car is not a "must" but may be more cost effective depending on how long you are staying, what you want to do, and how many people are in your party. I personally prefer the freedom and flexibility of having a car so I can do more than just the resort.

You can get a shuttle or taxi from the airport to Aulani, and then back to the airport. You can find links on the Aulani website as well the airport website.

If you want to get out and explore the island, you'll either need a car or take one of the (expensive) excursions offered at the resort. Aulani also has a shuttle that goes into Honolulu every few days.

If you want to get groceries and want a better selection than that of a convenience store, you'll either need a car or take a taxi.

You can also rent a car at Aulani and prices vary on the time of year. You can find out the price while you're visiting using the Alamo website.

When I priced the shuttle and the cost of an on-site rental for a few days, I found it was more cost efficient for me to get a car for our entire upcoming 2 week stay.

 

[Girimama33]

is renting a car a must..or do they have magical express?

Renting a car is not a must...especially if you do not want to pay $35/day for parking.
When we went in July, we only toured a few days with shuttles picking us up at the resort. One day we rented a car from the Aulani Alamo desk (can be cheaper if you have a Costco membership booked through Costco travel).
There is no free shuttle, but you can get a cab or take Speedi Shuttle (which can be booked through Aulani).

 

[OKW Lover]

The trick to renting a car at Aulani is to just book with Alamo for the single day you need it. You won't incur any parking charges that way.

I also understand its possible to just book on-line from your room and then walk downstairs to get the car. I've heard you can often get a better rate than just walking up to the counter.

 

[luv2sleep]

The trick to renting a car at Aulani is to just book with Alamo for the single day you need it. You won't incur any parking charges that way. I also understand its possible to just book on-line from your room and then walk downstairs to get the car. I've heard you can often get a better rate than just walking up to the counter.

You can rent from Alamo at the hotel?

 

[calif disney 1]

Great, thank you all, my wife is under the impression that DVC members get free parking.... but that does not sound like the case..

 

[poohj80]

Great, thank you all, my wife is under the impression that DVC members get free parking.... but that does not sound like the case..

DVC members staying on points do get free parking. We found a good weekly rate which made more sense for us even though we really only needed it a couple of days as it saved on an airport shuttle.

 

[OKW Lover]

You can rent from Alamo at the hotel?

Yes, there is a desk there.

 

[Girimama33]

There is an Alamo desk onsite. The cheapest rates I found for them was booking with Costco Travel (if you are a Costco Member). We had a party of 13 and wanted to rent 2 minivans one day while we were there. Through Alamo, it was almost $400. When I checked the car rental through Costco Travel, it was half as much...even cheaper than discounthawaiicarrentals.com.

If you are staying on points, parking is free. When we went in July, it was a better rate for us to book with my SILs CM discount vs. DVC, so no free parking.
This time, we are staying on points and bringing a car, but once we get there, I know we are not going anywhere.

 

[Sir William]

.....once we get there, I know we are not going anywhere.

I am clearly in the minority on this one, but I'm not traveling 4800 miles to sit by a pool or on a beach all day, every day. Aulani is a beautiful resort but Hawaii has a lot to offer as well. Even after 7 visits, I still like to get out to see and do other things. An hour or two by the pool or snorkeling in the lagoon each day is more than enough for me. Consequently, I "need" a car just to keep my sanity.

Besides, me being out and about frees up a chair by the pool for other guests.

 

[Girimama33]

I am clearly in the minority on this one, but I'm not traveling 4800 miles to sit by a pool or on a beach all day, every day. Aulani is a beautiful resort but Hawaii has a lot to offer as well. Even after 7 visits, I still like to get out to see and do other things. An hour or two by the pool or snorkeling in the lagoon each day is more than enough for me. Consequently, I "need" a car just to keep my sanity.

Besides, me being out and about frees up a chair by the pool for other guests.

To each their own, right?
I used to live on Oahu for many years and was just there in July. When I go in March, I will be in Maui for a week sightseeing, and then Waikiki a few days for some sightseeing. When we go to Aulani, we are staying there for a few days in order to enjoy a resort my family loves. If we don't want to leave, it is our choice not to. Not every HI vacation is the same for us.