Is it worth the cost?

[Sara_H]

I know this may be a dumb question, but is Aulani worth the cost? I've been to Hawaii twice and love it so I know that atmosphere is great. However, is Aulani worth spending at least double what the Hilton Hawaiian Village is, for example? Also, what makes it so great? I'm not "knocking" the resort at all, it looks awesome, but I'm honestly wondering about the cost considering flights will cost us around $4,000 to get from Wisconsin to Hawaii.

Thanks!

 

[dclpluto]

I know this may be a dumb question, but is Aulani worth the cost? I've been to Hawaii twice and love it so I know that atmosphere is great. However, is Aulani worth spending at least double what the Hilton Hawaiian Village is, for example? Also, what makes it so great? I'm not "knocking" the resort at all, it looks awesome, but I'm honestly wondering about the cost considering flights will cost us around $4,000 to get from Wisconsin to Hawaii.

Thanks!

I’m a dvc member so I defintely will be staying at aulani. If I wasn’t there is no way I will pay the price for it. So many great things to see on the island. I know a multi millionaire who will say no way I’m spending that kind of money. I know someone who lives right by me who is in serious debt is trying to save money for aulani. For you since your not a dvc member I will just visit for the day. Walk the grounds take pictures go to lunch or dinner. Aulani is beautiful but not worth the cost if your not a dvc member imo.

 

[Sara_H]

Thank you for your honest opinion!

 

[parkhopmom]

I have not been to Aulani yet, so I can’t answer if it is worth the money. However, I am renting points for our Hawai’i trip next January. I was going to stay 2 nights in Waikiki and 3 nights at Aulani. When I priced it out, my point rental was about the same or less expensive than the hotels I was looking at in Waikiki. Since I have been to Waikiki before, I chose to do all 5 nights at Aulani. My only concern is parking when we go to Waikiki for the day- didn’t have to do that last time I was there!

 

[jodybird511]

I agree with both previous posters, I feel like the cash price is really outrageous. That being said, I adore Aulani, so if I were not a DVC member, I'd rent points to save a bundle and still stay at Aulani.

 

[dclpluto]

I have not been to Aulani yet, so I can’t answer if it is worth the money. However, I am renting points for our Hawai’i trip next January. I was going to stay 2 nights in Waikiki and 3 nights at Aulani. When I priced it out, my point rental was about the same or less expensive than the hotels I was looking at in Waikiki. Since I have been to Waikiki before, I chose to do all 5 nights at Aulani. My only concern is parking when we go to Waikiki for the day- didn’t have to do that last time I was there!

Parking is expensive in Waikiki. When I went there one time I parked at the mall another time I parked at the park the other side of the mall that has lots of free parking. Only a short walk to Waikiki from there or a easy bus ride. The outside parking is better a lot faster. I didn’t go to Waikiki late at night thou don’t know if they have times for parking.

 

[parkhopmom]

Parking is expensive in Waikiki. When I went there one time I parked at the mall another time I parked at the park the other side of the mall that has lots of free parking. Only a short walk to Waikiki from there or a easy bus ride. The outside parking is better a lot faster. I didn’t go to Waikiki late at night thou don’t know if they have times for parking.

Thanks for the info! I am going to look into my options!

 

[Lilsia]

Our first trip ever to Hawaii was last May/June. I am DVC so used my points. I would not have been able to afford to go if I had to pay cash. We did a split stay, a week at Aulani, a few nights in Waikiki, and then back to Aulani for another week. I have to say that although we loved staying in Waikiki, we could not wait to go back to Aulani. It was beautiful and peaceful. We have been home 8 months and we crave going back. If money was not an issue, then I would say "yes", it is worth it.

 

[pamelaj]

We just returned from our 3rd trip to Aulani. (So, yes, you can probably guess my opinion ) I think it really depends if you have kids and how old they are. We have now stayed in 2 other resorts on Oahu (Turtle Bay and Royal Hawaiian) and the biggest difference is the activities and options related to kids. We loved the life guards everywhere, the kids club and the amenities that make it easy to travel with kids (pack and play, included sand toys, included boogie boards, bed rails, many beds in the rooms, etc).

At other resorts we had to keep paying for everything. At Aulani, we are able to relax more, as we feed the kids breakfast in our room or cook them dinner, drop them off at the kids club, and then go to a nice restaurant. As our kids have gotten older, they have more freedom and Aulani has great activities for them, like the Menehune tour and I don't worry with life guards everywhere. If you can make it happen, we think it's worth it. (We rented points the first time and bought them after that) If you go for the day, your kids can't use the pools or water slides. That would be hard for my kids to handle. People mentioned parking. It's free if you stay dvc, $37 if you're there for the day. Hope this helps!

 

[nkereina]

Worth and value is very subjective. In my opinion, I would recommend Aulani to someone who can and will rent DVC points because as mentioned, it really helps on cost. I'd also recommend having a car because Aulani is in a secluded part of the island. I'd also recommend it to someone who's willing to go out and explore the island, because I think some people may be disappointed if they stay at Aulani without leaving the resort. We stayed 6 nights there, doing sightseeing every other day, and were satisfied we saw and did everything we wanted at Aulani.

I think Aulani is worth it to stay for at least a couple of nights, doing a split stay somewhere else. Particularly for the Disney fanatic. But I think it's important to remember its a resort and not a theme park, so its up to you to plan the rest of your trip and entertainment.

 

[Minniesgal]

I don't think we would pay the cash price and I love staying there. We use our DVC points otherwise I think we would be somewhere cheaper

 

[pepperandchips]

It depends on when you are going. If renting points during a high season means the per night price is unreasonably high, then no... as much as I love aulani and dream of a return, it’s not worth it. We went over Christmas last year staying on our own points (2 nights). Here are my thoughts (sorry for the lazy quote but I don’t feel like retyping):

Reflection on Aulani - recently, someone posted asking whether Aulani was worth it for couples without kids. Once again, I absolutely loved Aulani and am dreaming of a return. For kicks and giggles, I looked up the cost of renting DVC points or renting our Ocean View Studio directly from Disney. For the former, a home resort premium would certainly apply, if you could even get Christmas at 11 months. (We had to waitlist our stay) So the two nights would have come to a hefty $1,116.00 or $558 per night. Through Disney, the same stay in 2019 would run you $2,446.40 at rack rate including tax, or an incredible $1,223.20 per night. So, as incensed as I was at the people who weren't recommending Aulani for couples, at those prices, no I don't think it would be worth it. (I can't imagine any resort room the size of a DVC studio commanding $1200+ per night