Beach cabanas?

boucheresq

Mouseketeer<br><font color="dark green">Broke her
Joined
Oct 20, 2004
Are there any beach cabanas to rent? I know there are poolside ones but we would be more interested in the beach. If so, were they worth it? Pictures would be awesome too. Thanks!
 
There are no cabanas on the beach. However, there is an executive lanai which is up maybe five or six steps from the walkway along the beach with a great view. We rented it once and loved it. Not accessible though so doesn't work for one member of our family.
 
No cabanas, but there are beach casabellas available to rent. They are two-person lounge chairs with cushions and a retractable awning over the top of it for shade. They sit on the lawn at the back of the beach between the sand and the walkway. They are available to rent day of only, and there always seemed to be several available. We didn't find them worth the cost because beach chairs are always readily available.
 
Executive Lanai.jpg Executive lanai view-smaller.jpg Executive Lanai 2018 4.jpg

I would HIGHLY recommend the executive lanai (see first pic). It is cheaper than a cabana and has a terrific view (see additional pics). Don't know if you are DVC, but if so, you get a discount on this, just like the cabanas. We've rented it four times and will use it again in the future. I would recommend calling to reserve as soon as possible, b/c there is only one. The only thing I will say is that there is a "public" staircase down to the beach level along the side (see woman walking in first pic), and sometimes people will wander onto the lanai, not knowing it is a reserved area--this is offputting to some, but it hasn't really been an issue for us.
 
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I would HIGHLY recommend the executive lanai (see first pic). It is cheaper than a cabana and has a terrific view (see additional pics). Don't know if you are DVC, but if so, you get a discount on this, just like the cabanas. We've rented it four times and will use it again in the future. I would recommend calling to reserve as soon as possible, b/c there is only one. The only thing I will say is that there is a "public" staircase down to the beach level along the side (see woman walking in first pic), and sometimes people will wander onto the lanai, not knowing it is a reserved area--this is offputting to some, but it hasn't really been an issue for us.
I agree with you—this is the best seating area at Aulani! But I really don’t know why they don’t at least put up a little rope across that side, like at the cabanas and umbrella areas at the water parks. Just a rope with a small sign saying “Reserved” and you just clip and unclip to come and go. It could spoil the day to have to tell people it’s “your” area :(
 
When we were there last year there was a sign. Like the fordable things you see outside of shops, saying it was a reserved area

Right--we've always had a sign too, BUT no rope or barrier across the opening--the small sign just sits atop the wall next to the opening, and it's easily missed. We had to shoo a couple people away, but it was really no big deal--definitely never spoiled the day. Just simply stating, "ohhhh....i'm sorry, this is a reserved area" worked perfectly! But you're right, it would be so easy to just put up a rope or something.
 


No cabanas, but there are beach casabellas available to rent. They are two-person lounge chairs with cushions and a retractable awning over the top of it for shade. They sit on the lawn at the back of the beach between the sand and the walkway. They are available to rent day of only, and there always seemed to be several available. We didn't find them worth the cost because beach chairs are always readily available.
A different point of view -- we really liked the casabellas. A little more room and more comfortable. We went over spring break and there was a line early to rent them, so if you want them, you have to plan ahead.
 
A different point of view -- we really liked the casabellas. A little more room and more comfortable. We went over spring break and there was a line early to rent them, so if you want them, you have to plan ahead.

I could see the value of them over spring break when chairs may be harder to come by. It gives you a reserved spot to camp out at all day, while you can come and go as you want, and its much cheaper than a cabana or the verandas. We were there in September, which is a slower time of year. We also found that as the afternoon sun crept in, the awning over the casabellas on the beach no longer provided us shade. I had to drape a towel over my legs to prevent suburn and eventually the sun was beating on our faces. The awnings only come down so far, and it wasn't enough for the late afternoon sun of late September. We ended up giving up and heading back to the room early.
 
I could see the value of them over spring break when chairs may be harder to come by. It gives you a reserved spot to camp out at all day, while you can come and go as you want, and its much cheaper than a cabana or the verandas. We were there in September, which is a slower time of year. We also found that as the afternoon sun crept in, the awning over the casabellas on the beach no longer provided us shade. I had to drape a towel over my legs to prevent suburn and eventually the sun was beating on our faces. The awnings only come down so far, and it wasn't enough for the late afternoon sun of late September. We ended up giving up and heading back to the room early.
I agree the afternoon sun is a killer. I will also note that the executive lanai gets intense afternoon sun. Although there are casabellas and umbrellas, it's really not enough to get out of the sun.
 
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I would HIGHLY recommend the executive lanai (see first pic). It is cheaper than a cabana and has a terrific view (see additional pics). Don't know if you are DVC, but if so, you get a discount on this, just like the cabanas. We've rented it four times and will use it again in the future. I would recommend calling to reserve as soon as possible, b/c there is only one. The only thing I will say is that there is a "public" staircase down to the beach level along the side (see woman walking in first pic), and sometimes people will wander onto the lanai, not knowing it is a reserved area--this is offputting to some, but it hasn't really been an issue for us.

At the risk of being dim, the executive lanai is a shared space of sorts with whomever else rents or is it private?

Watching the american idol show, I was surprised at the large number of rows of loungers set up on the beach.

Should I assume they are first come, first served?

Are they set up around the same time the wristbands are distributed?

Not a fan of the casabella chairs, never seem to throw shade right for me. There were few actual umbrellas on the beach, can you rent them?
 
At the risk of being dim, the executive lanai is a shared space of sorts with whomever else rents or is it private?


The executive lanai is a private rental space--only one person/family can reserve it for the day. It seats 8. There are 2 sets of casabellas, two lounge chairs, and 2 regular chairs, as well a table or two, and a cabinet with a locking drawer.
 
At the risk of being dim, the executive lanai is a shared space of sorts with whomever else rents or is it private?

PP is correct - its a private deck. If you reserve it, only you and your party are permitted.

I was surprised at the large number of rows of loungers set up on the beach.

Should I assume they are first come, first served?

They are. When we were there in September, there were ample chairs always available on the beach. Never had an issue any time of day. May have been towards the back of the beach, but always something.

Are they set up around the same time the wristbands are distributed?

They were there 24/7 when we were there. I don't believe they remove them at all.

There were few actual umbrellas on the beach, can you rent them?

Umbrellas are also first come first serve. They were plentiful so it was easy to get chairs under one.
 
Ty for all the responses! I definitely think I’ll try fir the executive lanai at least once! Is there cocktail service on the beach if we decide to use regular lounge chairs?
 
Is there cocktail service on the beach if we decide to use regular lounge chairs?

There is. We had a beach casabella which is serviced by the same wait staff as the regular loungers on the beach. We found the service to be slow and they didn't come around very frequently. It was a little frustrating in our experience.
 

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