Hawaii Help, Please :-)

[cindyzig]

I have also followed TA reviews, and I have wondered why some people react so differently regarding Aulani. I will arrive on Monday for 10 nights with my husband and 7 year old son. I feel confident I will love it for several reasons that might differ from some of the TA comments or objections I have seen. I agree that many look like they have not done research.

1. Some say it is too busy, but we purposefully booked the trip during one of their least busy times. It also cost us less points. I know I wouldn't like it as well with big crowds.

2. We have been to Maui three times ( 2 times with our son), and I have spend way too much time worrying about my son being pulled to sea because he is so thin. My husband, who is a big guy, almost got swept out when we stayed at Wailea the first time there. I am so looking forward to the beach (and lifeguards at the pools and lazy river) at Aulani and being able to leave that worry behind.

3. We were always running around and sightseeing in Maui. We purposefully planned most days at the resort when we get to Hawaii on this trip and plan on enjoying everything there is to offer at Aulani. I know it is not in the middle of the action, and I am very happy with that. In fact, I have been booking things like spa treatments, the pay classes for my son, a few days in a cabana, not booking but scouting the days and times when free classes at Aunties will happen, one whale watching trip, sunset reservations just for the hubby and I at Ama Ama when our son is at the Surfs Up with Chip and Dale, Starlit Hui, Movie Night, and so on. Even when relaxing at the resort, we actually have a schedule.

4. I know it is expensive to eat there so I have budgeted for that. I have checked prices and looked carefully at options across the street to visit and save some money. And, we upgraded from a studio to a one bedroom after 4 nights to have that kitchen so we can cook some in the room.

5. We are DVC, so we will not have to worry about the parking fees if we rented a car. But, we plan on only renting one day (Super Bowl Sunday) since we could care less about the game and plan on visiting the North Shore.

I know that everyone has their own vision of what a Hawaiian vacation would be, so this is just my opinion and my vision of a great visit. I love, love, love Hawaii and can't imagine that it won't be a wonderful time no matter where I am. But, I have a feeling we will not want to leave after this trip. I will share when I come back or if I get time there to verify whether it is everything I hope it to be. We cannot wait!!!!

 

[shelly3girls]

This time last year I was contemplating the same thing. We ended up staying at Aulani our whole trip. I thought I would not be happy but I could not have been more wrong. We went to Waikiki one day and all of us said how happy we were to not have to stay there. It was just like any other city but with a beach. We loved Aulani so much more and did not mind the drive to places at all. My kids are 8,13 and 15 and all of them loved Aulni but also enjoyed the exploring we did.

We came from the east coast so we got up early every day and were often back to the resort in time to enjoy the pool before dinner. We found everything to be much less crowded this way with less traffic. Coming from the mid-Atlantic are we did not find traffic to be any worse than what we experience at home.

 

[Dean]

I wanted to add that I would discourage people from putting too much importance into Tripadvisors reviews. Many are planted (both ways) and from what I understand, TA tends to suppress certain reviews. Also, TA reviewers tend to be negative and/or uneducated when it comes to timeshares. There's info that can be gotten such as restaurants or activities but often the opinion related to a specific resort is meaningless or close to it unless one is good at throwing out the outlying reviews. I find TUG (Timeshare Users Group) a much better place to make a decision about a given resort as a single source but there's a small yearly fee. Timesharing today may even be better because they have a more thorough rating system and excludes owners at a given resort.

Also realize there's a certain bias against timeshares in general and anything Disney. There's also a HI bias against development in general in the islands, esp the big chains that are not locally based. There are some legit concerns about the resort but mostly due to distance and location, not quality or decor.

 

[jondee]

I am at the airport leaving Aulani after 7 nights!!! It was amazing!!! We had a couple of resort days but most days explored the island then returned to the resort to enjoy the sunset! It is close enough to any part of the island to take day trips. I did not care for Wakiki... Way too busy. This would appeal to a college age crowd? We wanted to relax but also explore the island. The resort was at full capacity over the weekend and everything was still manageable... Getting chairs, etc. The Lagoon is very calm but if you walk over to the next lagoon, the waves break in the lagoon. That is to the left facing the ocean.. To the right is the secret beach. We also saw whales from our balcony! We bought everything we needed at Target, no Costco where we live. The prices were very close to the same as home.