First Timer's Trip to Aulani

[maxbuffmelvin]

Does foodland deliver to the resort?

Yes they deliver to the resort.

 

[ilikedvc]

Hello!

I am taking my very first trip to Hawaii and Aulani this September! We are staying in a 2 bedroom villa (ocean view). Are there any tips for getting a good room (away from elevator, high floor, not near Lu'au, great Ocean view)? I know it's based on availability, but trying to see if there is anything I can ask/request at check-in.

Also, any tips for food, must book experiences, places to go outside of Aulani, or things to avoid, would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks! Very excited!

Just got back last night from 8 day trip. As for your room request, try for as close to the elevators as possible. You are up and down a lot.

• Malasadas from Leonard’s Bakery Excellent
• Monkey Pod across the street - very good and relatively priced well
• Duke's in Waikiki - excellent
• Giovanni’s was very over rated
• Mina's Fish House at the Four Season - Excellent
• Island Country markets across the street has good food and groceries
• Roy's at Ko Olina Golf Club, amazing

 

[rosegold:)]

Just got back last night from 8 day trip. As for your room request, try for as close to the elevators as possible. You are up and down a lot.

• Malasadas from Leonard’s Bakery Excellent
• Monkey Pod across the street - very good and relatively priced well
• Duke's in Waikiki - excellent
• Giovanni’s was very over rated
• Mina's Fish House at the Four Season - Excellent
• Island Country markets across the street has good food and groceries
• Roy's at Ko Olina Golf Club, amazing

Thanks for all the amazing suggestions. We will check these out. I guess Leonard's Bakery is a must, I've been suggested it multiple times - it has been added to the schedule

I have heard other folks say a room close to the elevator is a good idea. Do you hear people/the elevators at night? That is usually why we request away from the elevator, but maybe it is more convenient for Aulani. Appreciate all the tips.

 

[OKW Lover]

I have heard other folks say a room close to the elevator is a good idea. Do you hear people/the elevators at night?

The elevator lobbies are in their own little alcove. Noise from the machinery cannot be heard. Loud people in the hallway might be the biggest concern. We've found the rooms at Aulani to be well sound proofed.

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

I have to rave about a new place we tried last week. It’s called “Broke Da Mouth Grindz”, and it’s about 5 min from Aulani, in Kapolei.

The restaurant is just a local place in a strip mall, so nothing fancy. But the food… YUMMM! The food is modern local food - so a combination of Hawaiian, Japanese, and Filipino influences. You can tell the chef takes pride in their cooking, because when we went, everything was prepared just perfectly. My wife wanted to go back the day after, but since we were going to be pressed for time, she ordered a couple dishes to go, to heat up in the morning.

They were happy to accommodate special orders - letting us order a 3 item combo instead of two, with items that weren’t offered on the combo plate, just so we could try different things out.

Very highly recommended - can’t wait to go back!

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

Thanks for all the amazing suggestions. We will check these out. I guess Leonard's Bakery is a must, I've been suggested it multiple times - it has been added to the schedule

I have heard other folks say a room close to the elevator is a good idea. Do you hear people/the elevators at night? That is usually why we request away from the elevator, but maybe it is more convenient for Aulani. Appreciate all the tips.

We just got back and I have to say I was disappointed with the Leonard’s truck for the first time ever. We’ve picked up from there at least a dozen times, and I’ve probably gotten Leonard’s malasadas over 100 times. The malasadas from the truck this trip were made larger than usual, which changes everything. The malasadas then have to be cooked longer to cook the insides, which makes the outer part overcooked.

I’m hoping this was just a fluke, but I actually didn’t eat all that I ordered. (I stopped at ‘only’ three )

 

[rosegold:)]

I have to rave about a new place we tried last week. It’s called “Broke Da Mouth Grindz”, and it’s about 5 min from Aulani, in Kapolei.

The restaurant is just a local place in a strip mall, so nothing fancy. But the food… YUMMM! The food is modern local food - so a combination of Hawaiian, Japanese, and Filipino influences. You can tell the chef takes pride in their cooking, because when we went, everything was prepared just perfectly. My wife wanted to go back the day after, but since we were going to be pressed for time, she ordered a couple dishes to go, to heat up in the morning.

They were happy to accommodate special orders - letting us order a 3 item combo instead of two, with items that weren’t offered on the combo plate, just so we could try different things out.

Very highly recommended - can’t wait to go back!

Thanks for the tip, we'll have to check it out!

 

[cgattis]

Trip was amazing. Since you are a big foodies, you should take a trip up to North Shore to try some food truck offering. We tried the Da bald guy, Haleiwa Bowls and Romy’s shrimp hut one day and we ended up going up again a few days later, but we skipped the shrimp truck on the second day. The 1st 2 pictures are the meal from Da bald guy.

There are lots of options down in Waikiki and we tried out Marugame udon, Monosan and Morimoto Asia and they are all amazing. Parking down in Waikiki can be a challenge. But if you dine in Monosan and Morimoto Asia, you can park in the hotel parking lot and the restaurant will validate your parking up to 3 hours.

I recognize that soft shell crab bao! We did Morimoto Asia on Maui in June, and we ordered those. My DD21 lost her MIND when it came out looking like a crab, not “unidentifiable fried seafood” . I had to, let’s say “disassemble “ it to make it more palatable for her LOL Glad to hear you found some good food!!

 

[algae]

If you have a car:

• For malasadas, I'd recommend Pipeline Bakeshop and Creamery. The Leondard's trucks tend to burn the malasada's and they come too oily for my tastes. Even the Ulu Cafe had better malasadas, but they don't have them anymore.
• Next to Leonard's in Waikele, there's Dick's Lechon. Get the Lechon over fried rice. Their lechon is very juicy with crispy skin. A bit on the rich, fatty side, though.
• Giovanni's garlic shrimp are good. Don't get the spicy shrimp there. I think the spicy shrimp sit in spicy sauce too long and come out mushy. Get the Kalbi 2 trucks over from Giovanni's at Honos. Amazing Kalbi despite being another shrimp truck. Way shorter line also.
• Paia Fishmarket in Waikiki and Kailua have great grilled and blackened fish.
• Aiea Bowl has fantastic ox tail soup and fried noodles.
• Get a lot of chocolate from Manoa Chocolate (free tastings!)
• Shay's Filipino cafe has fantastic adobo rice.

We also hit Costco on the first day to load up the fridge with water, Hawaiian juice drinks, and teas. More cost effective than the mugs and Coke Freestyle machines at Aulani. Plus, having the drinks in the fridge is way more convenient than running downstairs to fill up the small-ish mugs all the time.

 

[rosegold:)]

If you have a car:

• For malasadas, I'd recommend Pipeline Bakeshop and Creamery. The Leondard's trucks tend to burn the malasada's and they come too oily for my tastes. Even the Ulu Cafe had better malasadas, but they don't have them anymore.
• Next to Leonard's in Waikele, there's Dick's Lechon. Get the Lechon over fried rice. Their lechon is very juicy with crispy skin. A bit on the rich, fatty side, though.
• Giovanni's garlic shrimp are good. Don't get the spicy shrimp there. I think the spicy shrimp sit in spicy sauce too long and come out mushy. Get the Kalbi 2 trucks over from Giovanni's at Honos. Amazing Kalbi despite being another shrimp truck. Way shorter line also.
• Paia Fishmarket in Waikiki and Kailua have great grilled and blackened fish.
• Aiea Bowl has fantastic ox tail soup and fried noodles.
• Get a lot of chocolate from Manoa Chocolate (free tastings!)
• Shay's Filipino cafe has fantastic adobo rice.

We also hit Costco on the first day to load up the fridge with water, Hawaiian juice drinks, and teas. More cost effective than the mugs and Coke Freestyle machines at Aulani. Plus, having the drinks in the fridge is way more convenient than running downstairs to fill up the small-ish mugs all the time.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[The Foolish Mortal]

Great thread! My family just booked our first visit to Aulani for next summer. Been to Maui before, but never Oahu. We are excited. I have also now learned what a malasada is, lol.

I will keep monitoring this thread for ideas as we plan our trip. But a couple questions for now:

*How much is parking for non DVC stays?
*You can make on-site dining reservations no sonner than thity days out, correct?
*Anything on site (or off, I guess) you can recommend for a six year old's birthday? My niece will be celebrating her bday on the third day of the trip and we want to plan a surprse for her.
*Are there snorkeling options at the resort other than the aquarium? We will likely do the aquarium one day, but when we stayed in Maui a few years ago, the resort had snorkeling equipment you could borrow and take into the ocean right off the resort's beach.
*Anything we should avoid? Great recommendations of things to do in this thread. Is there anything overrrated we should skip?

Thanks!

 

[jimmymc]

Great thread! My family just booked our first visit to Aulani for next summer. Been to Maui before, but never Oahu. We are excited. I have also now learned what a malasada is, lol.

I will keep monitoring this thread for ideas as we plan our trip. But a couple questions for now:

*How much is parking for non DVC stays?
*You can make on-site dining reservations no sonner than thity days out, correct?
*Anything on site (or off, I guess) you can recommend for a six year old's birthday? My niece will be celebrating her bday on the third day of the trip and we want to plan a surprse for her.
*Are there snorkeling options at the resort other than the aquarium? We will likely do the aquarium one day, but when we stayed in Maui a few years ago, the resort had snorkeling equipment you could borrow and take into the ocean right off the resort's beach.
*Anything we should avoid? Great recommendations of things to do in this thread. Is there anything overrrated we should skip?

Thanks!

Last I checked parking was $37 for self or valet.

Luau's are the traditional Hawaiian way to celebrate a birthday, either at Aulani or off-site.

You can take snorkel equipment into the ocean at Aulani, but there isn't much to see, since it's a man-made lagoon.

Waikiki and the stadium swap meet are both overrated in my opinion. It's just like any other tourist city, with expensive shopping and restaurants.