Just back from first Aulani stay. Wow! Just wow!

[CaptainAmerica]

How long was your stay? We are going for a week in October. This will be our first time staying at Aulani, and I'm wondering if 7 days isn't too long...

7 days is borderline not long enough, assuming you're going to go do and see things around the island.

It's way too long if you're not going to leave the resort.

 

[Lilsia]

How long was your stay? We are going for a week in October. This will be our first time staying at Aulani, and I'm wondering if 7 days isn't too long...

Our last stay was 16 nights, and 4 nights in Waikiki. No way is 7 days too long. But we don't just sit at the hotel the whole time. The way that we look at it is that we are going on vacation to Hawaii and want to explore and enjoy what the Island has to offer. No way that I am traveling for 2 days, spending a small fortune on flights, going to a place that has the most unique and beautiful natural landscape, and sitting at the hotel the whole time. Aulani is great, but it is just a hotel. Nobody ever says that they are going to the Hyatt on vacation and never leave their hotel. Even the nicer resorts around the Island, people still explore. But for some reason, people seem to have that mentality about Aulani. I would think of it as you are going to Hawaii, with Aulani just being the hotel where you are staying. So ask yourself if 7 days is too long to spend on Oahu.

 

[PocahontasLookALike]

How long was your stay? We are going for a week in October. This will be our first time staying at Aulani, and I'm wondering if 7 days isn't too long...

i think 7 days is perfect. We came to Oahu without our kids a few years ago (before COVID) and stayed 7 nights, not at Aulani but in Kailua on the other side of the island, and it was perfect. I was only able to get 5 nights so we were grateful for that! 2 more nights would have been perfect and allowed us more resort time (which for us and our kids, they LOVED) and more exploring time. But I’ll never complain about ‘only’ 5 nights . Im so grateful for the chance to go especially so last minute.
But my husband and I both agreed that 2 more nights would have given us the perfect amount of more resort and island exploring time.

 

[Great3]

It is so strange that so many people think that it is going to be a theme park. If Disney had built another theme park, we would be hearing about it all over the place so I don't know why anyone thinks that. We also fell in love with Aulani and with Hawaii in general. There is such a peaceful feeling that you get there. That is why it is so shocking to hear the complaints. But when you really read the complaints, they are about silly things, like someone complained that there was a line to get food. LOL If you look for something to complain about, you will find it. If you have the mindset of enjoying yourself, then you will. Glad you had a great trip.

A line in Hawaii? Tell me it ain't so! They will learn quickly what island time means, LOL! I still remember people complaining about long time to get food after ordering at a place, I am mean like 1-1.5 hours, and people getting upset, and hearing the worker telling each one of them relax, you in Hawaii, slow down, and just enjoy. I learned quickly that if you plan on doing 3-4 things a day, know that you will only get 1-2 activities done. So, I just change my plan and learn to slow down. After all, you still spending time with your family even if you are waiting a long time for your food to show up, and are very hungry. It does make the food taste that much better, lol!

There is much to enjoy, and I agree with you, look for it, and it's an awesome trip with many fond memories.

Great3

 

[Lilsia]

A line in Hawaii? Tell me it ain't so! They will learn quickly what island time means, LOL! I still remember people complaining about long time to get food after ordering at a place, I am mean like 1-1.5 hours, and people getting upset, and hearing the worker telling each one of them relax, you in Hawaii, slow down, and just enjoy. I learned quickly that if you plan on doing 3-4 things a day, know that you will only get 1-2 activities done. So, I just change my plan and learn to slow down. After all, you still spending time with your family even if you are waiting a long time for your food to show up, and are very hungry. It does make the food taste that much better, lol!

There is much to enjoy, and I agree with you, look for it, and it's an awesome trip with many fond memories.

Great3

I don't mind waiting for food because it usually means that it is fresh and good. We like to eat local foods when traveling, and when we see a line out the door of locals, we know it is going to be good. I kid you not, someone complained recently on another forum about how they hated Aulani because they had to wait in line for things. There was a line at check in, and then a line to get food during lunch time, etc. I guess they thought that they would be the only people at the resort. I truly believe that some people will be miserable no matter where they go or what they do.

 

[Great3]

7 days is borderline not long enough, assuming you're going to go do and see things around the island.

It's way too long if you're not going to leave the resort.

This! I completely 100% agreed. For Hawaii, I always stay at least 12 nights, there's so much to do. If not leaving the resort, while I love Aulani, I would go nuts by day 4. And Aulani is just awesome, nothing to complain about, but not the reason why I go to Hawaii.

Great3

 

[Blondie58]

Another Canadian here. 60 = shorts, 65 = swimming and 70 = turning on the a/c to get the house back down to 65…

Oh that makes me laugh. My boyfriend is from Michigan and he feels the same. I am from Ohio but I missed the memo. I need 80 to 85 to swim.

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

7 days definitely isn’t too long - the real question is, would other options be better for you.

At Aulani you’re paying a premium for the amenities and the experience. If you’re going to get away from everything, it’s a good way to spend 7 days.

But if you plan on exploring the island, doing outside activities, etc, you have to determine if the premium is worth it, or of you’re not worried about the cost.

There are tons of great hotels on the island. It’s easy to find a room that’s just as nice, at much lower cost. So maybe a split stay - a hotel more centrally located for days you’ll be out exploring and Aulani for days you’ll just want to chill at the resort. Location wise, Aulani is a bit out of the way for 60-70% of the activities.

Personally, I hate switching hotels during a vacation, so I usually don’t do it unless there are major advantages (location, experience) from the change. But with the price difference at Aulani, It would become a possibility (DVC excepted).

 

[keikiworld]

7 days definitely isn’t too long - the real question is, would other options be better for you.

At Aulani you’re paying a premium for the amenities and the experience. If you’re going to get away from everything, it’s a good way to spend 7 days.

But if you plan on exploring the island, doing outside activities, etc, you have to determine if the premium is worth it, or of you’re not worried about the cost.

There are tons of great hotels on the island. It’s easy to find a room that’s just as nice, at much lower cost. So maybe a split stay - a hotel more centrally located for days you’ll be out exploring and Aulani for days you’ll just want to chill at the resort. Location wise, Aulani is a bit out of the way for 60-70% of the activities.

Personally, I hate switching hotels during a vacation, so I usually don’t do it unless there are major advantages (location, experience) from the change. But with the price difference at Aulani, It would become a possibility (DVC excepted).

i would ask captain karen

 

[cseca]

How long was your stay? We are going for a week in October. This will be our first time staying at Aulani, and I'm wondering if 7 days isn't too long...

This is just our family’s experience.
We went with another family pre covid (awhile back) for a whole week (8 nights). The family is a frequent HI visitor. So they took us all around the island on their favorite spots.
We had loads of fun but my kids (under 10 at the time) were bummed we didn’t get to spend more time at the resort.

I would say we spent half our time off resort. And that wasn’t enough.

This time we are traveling by ourselves and we are staying put the whole week. We want to see what the resorts have to offer. I know lots of the stuff will still be unavailable. But I want rest and relaxation. We will have a rental car so if we get bored maybe we will venture out of the resort.
But we aren’t planning anything outside so far.
We pay to be at Aulani and this time we want to make it worth the stay.

Mind you there’s no right or wrong way to vacation. Everyone does it differently. There’s a cost efficient vacation and time efficient vacation and then there’s planned down to the minute vacation or winging it all the way vacation. We do things differently depending on who we vacation with.