Feedback from recent trips

[Cliffside]

We are scheduled for a trip to Aulani in September for our 25th wedding anniversary…I am starting to get a little concerned about certain things.

We have a couples massage booked ..I know we have to wear masks ..but was wondering if that includes when you are face down on the table..I don’t think I can handle that.

Also the lack of an adult pool…recent videos have made it seem super crowded and not that relaxing..

What I was also surprised at so many negative reviews on TripAdvisor..I was really excited to visit for the first time..some reviews were done by people who had not read up on some of the limits due to COVID..but the ones that really disturbed me were the ones the dealt with cleanliness and the pictures of the the run down rooms..to me there is no excuse for that..

Hopefully those are not the norm…

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Honestly, the bad reviews I'm seeing on TripAdvisor seem to be from legitimately crazy people that seem less than credible. If you fully understand what's open and what's not due to COVID, I think you'll be fine. I do think that the lack of daily housekeeping is completely unacceptable for a resort of this caliber, but it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Regarding the "everything is so expensive!" complaint, I have two responses. 1) Hawaii is expensive and Disney is expensive. I don't find Aulani to be doubly-Hawaii-plus-Disney expensive. That's just what it costs to stay on a beachfront resort on Oahu. 2) I don't recommend that anyone go to Hawaii if they can't ACTUALLY afford it. If someone needs to scrimp and scrape where they need to buy groceries to cook every meal, skip a rental car, shorten their stay, drink nothing but tap water, etc., I simply wouldn't go.

 

[Lilsia]

Don't read those. I agree with Cap, those people seem like they are looking from something to complain about. We spent 16 nights at Aulani, with another 5 in Waikiki in May/June. My daughter and I had a great time. We knew what was available before we left because we did our research. There is still plenty to do on the Island and the resort. I can't help with the spa since it was not open then. As far as the rooms go, ours was just fine but they are in the process of redoing the rooms now. They are working from the top down. When we went, we were on the 14th floor and they were working on the 15th in the EWA tower. You can probably request a refurbished room. We spent most of our time on the beach. The way we look at it is that we go to a pool anywhere. But we are landlocked in the middle of the Country and so we wanted to enjoy the beach/ocean since that is not something we have access to. The Island is just beautiful and even just driving around was something we wanted to do over sitting at a pool. YMMV

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Don't read those. I agree with Cap, those people seem like they are looking from something to complain about. We spent 16 nights at Aulani, with another 5 in Waikiki in May/June. My daughter and I had a great time. We knew what was available before we left because we did our research. There is still plenty to do on the Island and the resort. I can't help with the spa since it was not open then. As far as the rooms go, ours was just fine but they are in the process of redoing the rooms now. They are working from the top down. When we went, we were on the 14th floor and they were working on the 15th in the EWA tower. You can probably request a refurbished room. We spent most of our time on the beach. The way we look at it is that we go to a pool anywhere. But we are landlocked in the middle of the Country and so we wanted to enjoy the beach/ocean since that is not something we have access to. The Island is just beautiful and even just driving around was something we wanted to do over sitting at a pool. YMMV

Not to derail the thread, but are cash and points rooms all getting the same refurb? I knew that DVC was on the slate, but wasn't aware that the standard hotel rooms were due as well.

 

[Lilsia]

Not to derail the thread, but are cash and points rooms all getting the same refurb? I knew that DVC was on the slate, but wasn't aware that the standard hotel rooms were due as well.

From what I know, the EWA tower has no standard hotel rooms. But anyone can pay cash for villa rooms. In fact, only a certain percentage are rented out to DVC on points and the rest are sold for cash. I imagine it is every room at the resort that is going to get their refurb.

 

[FinnFogg]

Does anytime know what the status of the refurb is? Have any rooms been redone yet? We are booked in a DVC Villa mid-Nov. hoping that the refurb (which was originally supposed to happen in 2020 and was confirmed for 2021) will be done by then!

 

[Lilsia]

Does anytime know what the status of the refurb is? Have any rooms been redone yet? We are booked in a DVC Villa mid-Nov. hoping that the refurb (which was originally supposed to happen in 2020 and was confirmed for 2021) will be done by then!

I just posted that, as of beginning of June, they were on the 15th floor of the Ewa building and working their way down. No idea how long it takes but I imagine it will be at least another year until the building is done. I would wait until closer to your arrival date and ask them for a refurbished room.

 

[nkereina]

We have a couples massage booked ..I know we have to wear masks ..but was wondering if that includes when you are face down on the table..I don’t think I can handle that.

You could call the spa directly to confirm, although it would be worth calling closer to your trip or checking in the days leading up to the massage because things can change on a daily basis with the way it is now. FWIW, I get massages regularly at home and the policy at every place I have been over the last year is that the mask must be worn when face up but can be removed when face down.

 

[jodybird511]

We were there in early July, and we were required to wear masks while face down on the table. Masks on 100% of the time inside. They do tell you that if you need to, you can take off the ear loops while face down, but the expectation is that the mask is still covering your nose and mouth. I also wouldn't give a lot of value to some of those really negative TripAdvisor reviews. We have been to Aulani 3x--once during the pandemic. I will admit that we were a little disappointed by how few activities were available, but I think if you go in knowing what to expect, you can still have a wonderful trip. I do look forward to our next trip when everything is more normal, we still had a terrific time. We spent a fair amount of time around the adult pool, which is not adult right now, and it was still enjoyable. I did read just yesterday on a FB group that the "adult pool" will not be returning to adult-only status--it will remain a family pool going forward.

 

[nkereina]

I did read just yesterday on a FB group that the "adult pool" will not be returning to adult-only status--it will remain a family pool going forward.

Wow really?! As in, a permanent change that will stick around after the pandemic is in the past? That's kind of disappointing news!

 

[Kristie71]

Regarding the "everything is so expensive!" complaint, I have two responses. 1) Hawaii is expensive and Disney is expensive. I don't find Aulani to be doubly-Hawaii-plus-Disney expensive. That's just what it costs to stay on a beachfront resort on Oahu. 2) I don't recommend that anyone go to Hawaii if they can't ACTUALLY afford it. If someone needs to scrimp and scrape where they need to buy groceries to cook every meal, skip a rental car, shorten their stay, drink nothing but tap water, etc., I simply wouldn't go.

I dont normally agree with what you post but with this you are spot on

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

Wow really?! As in, a permanent change that will stick around after the pandemic is in the past? That's kind of disappointing news!

Extremely disappointing. It definitely does not make me more inclined to book a stay at Aulani.

 

[jodybird511]

Wow really?! As in, a permanent change that will stick around after the pandemic is in the past? That's kind of disappointing news!

Sadly, yes...

 

[3dog2kidmom]

We are scheduled for a trip to Aulani in September for our 25th wedding anniversary…I am starting to get a little concerned about certain things.

We have a couples massage booked ..I know we have to wear masks ..but was wondering if that includes when you are face down on the table..I don’t think I can handle that.

Thank you for asking this. I just booked a couples massage during our December trip for our 35th anniversary, but I am not spending nearly $500 and have to wear a mask. That possibility hadn't occurred to me... we'll have to see what experiences are when we get closer or cancel.

 

[vacay77]

My family and I were there in May and we had a great time. Our room was very clean and not run down at all. I think it depends on what you consider as a dealbreaker. For example, if you don't think you can wear a mask, then yes, you'll probably want to put your trip on hold for now. We didn't mind, in fact I felt safer visiting the Aulani with my son with the restrictions that were put in place. However, my best advice - if you are having concerns or reservations, then it might be better to wait.

 

[Hunnybee]

We just got back from our Hawaii vacation...3 nights at Aulani, 6 nights at Embassy Suites Waikiki Beach Walk. We loved Aulani...celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary there this trip! We went with our two children, ages 21 and 18. None of us used the spa, so I can't speak to that. But, we were on the 9th floor of the Waianae tower. We could only afford the regular room, nothing fancy! But, I don't know if it was renovated or not...if it wasn't, it was still beautiful! And certainly clean! We didn't have ANY problems with cleanliness while there.

The only downside we all had was the lack of food choices...especially at night! We got a little sick of what was available at their grab & go restaurant...delicious as it was! There wasn't a lot of variety on the menu and what was on there was very expensive (and, yes, we knew it would be...Hawaii AND Disney!). Several restaurants are still closed and some required reservations. We had booked a character breakfast...it was good. We had actually considered going off-site to see what we could find for restaurants...we were just so tired at night, we just didn't feel like it! We hadn't transitioned time zones from EST to Hawaii time very well! We were exhausted by 8:00.

We did enjoy the adults-only hot tub a few times. As far as the pools go, we didn't mind that they didn't have an adults-only one! Actually, we had tried to find it...I didn't know it wasn't there any more until logging on today...that may be why we couldn't find it! My daughter was excited that she could finally go in at least to the hot tub, now that she is 18! We never found it to be ridiculously crowded. Busy... yes, outrageous...we didn't think so! We were also able to find a chair each time we tried. One day it wasn't until just after lunch, a CM showed us an open one. The next day my daughter went down at 8:00 and was able to find one that was somewhat out of the way. We were going to be in the water most of the time so we didn't need more than 1 to put our things on.

I'd be happy to share room pictures or answer other questions if you have any!

 

[Alexander]

Been home a few days now, but we had no problems finding chairs at the pool or the beach, and we didn’t go down until around 10:00. If you’re not picky about where you sit, there’s seating. I agree with a PP who said food is limited. While good, there’s just not many choices. Former adult pool only had one or two kids in it each time we were there. The infinity pool had so many unsupervised kids in water way over their heads however. Lazy river got rambunctious one day, again a group of unsupervised elementary aged kids horsing around. I really wish the lifeguards were more strict and spoke up.