Just back! Random thoughts & tips

[nkereina]

Just got back last weekend from an amazing 16 day Hawaiian honeymoon! DH and I spent 3 nights in Waikiki, 3 nights on Maui, 3 nights in Kauai, and 6 nights at Aulani. I'll probably post a full trip report soon, but wanted to share some random thoughts and tips on Aulani while everything is still fresh:

*Casabellas - We were really disappointed with the upper & lower veranda casabella loungers by Ama Ama. I had reserved them in advance and when we got there, their location was WAY off the beaten path and in full shade. It was a walk to the pool and quite a walk to the closest restroom. We also wanted some sun. Luckily, we were able to get a refund and got a beach casabella for the day instead. We did not find it worth the $75 though.

*Pool Chairs - I took special note that pool chairs were available throughout the day. You had to hunt a little bit, but I saw a row of 4 chairs open next to the zero entry pool around 12pm, 2-3 chairs together near the kid's play area still at 10am, and as many chairs as you want available all day on the deck in front of Ama Ama. There were also tons on the beach all day long. We had no issue getting chairs regardless of the time. I don't know if it's because it was a slow time of year or if they were enforcing the pool chair policy. I only saw CMs folding towels on chair one time while we were there, and I did hear a CM at Rainbow Reef explaining the policy and showing a photo of the folded towels when giving people wristbands/towels. I thought that was a good effort by them.

*Weekends - Saturday and Sunday were very way more noticeably crowded than the weekdays, defintiely because of the locals. One of our pool days was on Sunday but had I known, I would have planned an excursion for that day instead.

*Spa - The spa was amazing! We had a couples massage and enjoyed every minute of it. Considering how upscale it is and the amenities that come with it, I thought the pricing was relatively reasonable.

*Starlit Hui - It was only shown once on Monday night during the week we were there. We saw it but as two adults, we didn't care much for it. We had to sit on the ground for over an hour which was uncomfortable to us and found the show very much geared towards kids.

*Menehune Adventure Trail/Tablets - We had time to kill before going to the airport so we rented tablets from the community room and had so much fun with this! Helps you appreciate the little details of the resort that you'd never know about it otherwise. For those not familiar, it's like a scavenger hunt around the resort and the places it takes you to do different things, similar to the interactive wands at Harry Potter World in Universal. Fun for all ages!

*Room - We were in the Ewa Tower, Room 567, standard studio overlooking the courtyard of the conference center. We were fine with the view as we did not use the balcony much, and the room location was good for proximity to the elevator. The lower floor was good for faster/easier elevator rides as well, because the elevators were slow moving at times. The room itself was nice, but it was the smallest room of all 4 resorts we stayed at during the course of our trip. The room was mostly clean, but there was some crumbs under the table from a previous guest as well as a clothing tag stuck to the side of the bed. Also, our TV did not work when we got in so someone from Engineering had to come up. He had to reset the TV and said that the satellite signal goes out on them, which happens often.

*Laundry - I did laundry on our first day at Aulani and brought all my clothes down to the first floor laundry room in the Ewa tower. I walked in and surprisingly found only 3 wash machines in the laundry room. 2 of them were out of order, and the third one was in use. So, I trucked it all the way over to the Waianae Tower where luckily 2 of the 3 washers were available. I thought 6 washers for the size of the resort seemed like too few, especially considering each room had 6-7 dryers. I will say that both the washer and dryer worked well and quickly!

*Dining - We got the pizza from Ulu Cafe for dinner and thought it was pretty good! A good, inexpensive option and gave us leftovers for lunch the next day. We also got refillable drink mugs which worked well for us. We used them more than we ever do at our WDW resort and they make a nice souvenir to bring home. Didn't care much for the sweets or other meal offerings at Ulu. Breakfast at AMA AMA was incredible - the vanilla mac nut pancakes and breakfast sandwich were to die for. I was kind of bummed we had it so late in the trip, but grateful at the same time for my wallet and waistline The Makahiki character breakfast was very good, but loud and crazy busy. Very much like a character meal at Chef Mickey's, for example. The Makahiki dinner buffet (not the character one), was much less busy and very good. We also enjoyed drinks at Olelo Room which was a relaxing way to end the day. Catch Ben & Maila performing there on Thursday nights - they were great! Kids loved them too! We also ate across the street at Monkeypod twice and Pizza Corner, all were delicious!

*CMs - Two minor complaints. First, on check out day, we had a breakfast reservation at 10am. Before we got to it, we stopped by the front desk and I asked if we could have an 11:30am check out so we had time to stop at the room again after breakfast (DH wears Invisalign and brushes his teeth after each meal, plus we had a lot of luggage). The Front Desk CM said it would be $150. $150 for 30 extra minutes! She said they had no complimentary time slots left for late check out. We all know that housekeeping was not planning on cleaning our room at 11am exactly, so I thought that was just meh service on the front desk's part. I know it's not guaranteed, but still a big eye roll from me. Second minor complaint was at Makahiki breakfast - we tried to check in at 9:30am for our 10am reservation (in hopes we could make it back to the room by 11am), and she told me she couldn't check me in until 9:45. So we had to leave and come back and stand in line at the desk to check-in again in another 15 minutes. Just seemed silly, can't they just check us in and we'll take a seat and wait those 15 minutes? Instead of making us come back?

*Rental Car - I was apprehensive about renting a car, but we were very glad we did. Driving was mostly easy, Aulani was easy to find, and being able to stop at Target on the way in worked out really well. We picked up drinks, snacks, and breakfast items as well as floats and goggles to use in the lagoon. Make sure you buy an air pump if you get floats! Aulani will not inflate them for you. There are hand pumps for sale across the street at the ABC store if you forget.

The last thing I'll mention is that for two adults, I tend to agree with people who have said the resort lacks evening entertainment. We were always at the pool by 9am, came inside around 4pm to get cleaned up for dinner, and then by 7pm when we were done with dinner, we were looking for stuff to do. Too expensive to sit around and drink (plus we're bored after 2-3 drinks anyway). We did walk down to check out the Marriott one night which was nice, but smaller and quieter than Aulani.


Feel free to ask any questions! Full trip report coming soon!

 

[Leshaface]

Thanks for this!

I have a few questions. We leave Saturday morning and notice that the lows are anywhere between 68-71. Is the lows still pretty warm with the humidity? Debating on bringing light sweaters for everyone (6 of us total). Also, the Target you stopped at, is that a Super Target or just the regular Target?

 

[nkereina]

I have a few questions. We leave Saturday morning and notice that the lows are anywhere between 68-71. Is the lows still pretty warm with the humidity? Debating on bringing light sweaters for everyone (6 of us total). Also, the Target you stopped at, is that a Super Target or just the regular Target?

I never once wore pants or even a hoodie! I did bring some, because I tend to get cold in AC, but almost every place we went was open air. No AC to contend with. I suspect the lows you saw could be overnight lows (2-3am timeframe), so it will likely still be in the high 70s or warmer when the sun sets. And we found it very humid as well.

We went to the Target in Kapolei, the closest one to Aulani, and I believe it was a regular Target. It had the same grocery offerings as my local Target, which is a regular one and not a super one. The Target we went to did carry beer and wine as well as a couple baked goods, and some produce. It had everything we were looking for, but we kept it simple. There is also a Costco and a Safeway (their grocery store) in the same area.

 

[buffettgirl]

Thanks for this!

I have a few questions. We leave Saturday morning and notice that the lows are anywhere between 68-71. Is the lows still pretty warm with the humidity? Debating on bringing light sweaters for everyone (6 of us total). Also, the Target you stopped at, is that a Super Target or just the regular Target?

There's really not much humidity this time of year, but those lows are probably way in the middle of the night. Right now, you're not going need sweaters.

 

[Leshaface]

I never once wore pants or even a hoodie! I did bring some, because I tend to get cold in AC, but almost every place we went was open air. No AC to contend with. I suspect the lows you saw could be overnight lows (2-3am timeframe), so it will likely still be in the high 70s or warmer when the sun sets. And we found it very humid as well.

Good to know, since i'm always cold, even in the Summer I bring a sweater to work.

We went to the Target in Kapolei, the closest one to Aulani, and I believe it was a regular Target. It had the same grocery offerings as my local Target, which is a regular one and not a super one. The Target we went to did carry beer and wine as well as a couple baked goods, and some produce. It had everything we were looking for, but we kept it simple. There is also a Costco and a Safeway (their grocery store) in the same area.

Perfect thank you!

There's really not much humidity this time of year, but those lows are probably way in the middle of the night. Right now, you're not going need sweaters.

My SIL visited late August and said it was sticky and hot, but maybe it was for that time of year? Thanks for commenting @buffettgirl! I was actually going to PM you last week about the weather so this works out great!

 

[alohamom]

@Leshaface, I find I need a hoodie when I get out of the pools or ocean in Hawaii and I have been at many different times of the year. I tend to get chilled very, very easily in water but it is the trade winds that put me over the edge in Hawaii, especially in the evening when the sun has just set-that is brutal for me!

 

[buffettgirl]

it really depends. We had some really hot and sticky weather in August and September. Today it's a little humid. Yesterday it wasn't bad. But I find that by 4 or 5, whatever humidity we have is gone. And by humidity, I mean it's just mild humidity, but it really depends on your version of humid. Even during the most humid days here, it's nothing like the humidity I had in MA in July. Nothing at all. Nothing at all like the humidity I've had at WDW.

The plus side of that for me is that I'm comfortable if I throw a light jacket on or sweater if it's part of my outfit, especially out to eat at night, but, I"m also perfectly comfortable in a tank top. I hope that makes sense

Most places do not crank the A/C like you'd see in Florida for instance, so you're generally not freezing in a restaurant.

 

[nkereina]

We were there 9/15-10/1 and found it very humid in Kauai and Oahu, but found Maui more comfortable. It was very windy in Maui, so we sometimes would get chilly when getting out of the pool or ocean. But, we never did need pants or sweaters the whole time we were there.

 

[CalifLynn]

Thanks for your thoughts!

Room - We were in the Ew! Tower, Room 567, standard studio overlooking the courtyard of the conference center. We were fine with the view as we did not use the balcony much, and the room location was good for proximity to the elevator. The lower floor was good for faster/easier elevator rides as well, because the elevators were slow moving at times. The room itself was nice, but it was the smallest room of all 4 resorts we stayed at during the course of our trip.

That's the room type we have reserved for next March (Studio, Standard View) We are a party of 3, me DH and our 15 year old DD. Is the room smaller than most hotel rooms? worried about being cramped in a studio, I just keep telling myself we'll be Aulani, it doesn't matter what the room is like, lol!

Looking forward to your full Trip Report.

 

[nkereina]

That's the room type we have reserved for next March (Studio, Standard View) We are a party of 3, me DH and our 15 year old DD. Is the room smaller than most hotel rooms? worried about being cramped in a studio, I just keep telling myself we'll be Aulani, it doesn't matter what the room is like, lol!

The standard hotel room at Aulani is 382 sq ft and the studio at Aulani is 356 sq ft, so it is smaller. We did notice it was smaller than the other rooms we stayed in on the trip, which were at Marriotts and a Westin. The bathroom space at Aulani was fine and would be fine for 3 people IMO, but the bedroom space was small, and would be made even smaller with the sofa pulled out, which we never did. However, there was ample drawer and closet space, and large suitcases will fit under the bed for storage, so I think it will help if you unpack and get the luggage out of the way. I wouldn't stress about it, unless you spend a lot of time in the room.

 

[pangyal]

First of all, congratulations on your honeymoon and your wedding ! Sounds like you made a wonderful lifetime of memories on this trip!

May I ask whether you would say the ABC store across the street carries enough variety to use as the only source of groceries? As in, do they sell fruits, frozen pizza, meats (uncooked, like chicken breast, etc.) and those sorts of things? We don't have ABC stores in Canada so I'm not sure what to expect from it and we are having some logistical issues trying to figure out groceries without a car.

Thanks in advance and really looking forward to the full trip report!

 

[nkereina]

May I ask whether you would say the ABC store across the street carries enough variety to use as the only source of groceries? As in, do they sell fruits, frozen pizza, meats (uncooked, like chicken breast, etc.) and those sorts of things? We don't have ABC stores in Canada so I'm not sure what to expect from it and we are having some logistical issues trying to figure out groceries without a car.

If you won't have a car, I don't think you will have a problem making do with what's offered at the ABC Store. They did have meats and a frozen foods area. I don't recall seeing much produce. They did have a little deli and prepared foods area as well, with items ready to eat or heat up. I think they'd have enough options to get by.

I do recommend renting a car though, at least for a day, if you can swing it. The Ko Olina area is relatively small and secluded, and also very geared to the tourist if you know what I mean. It's a beautiful area, but its created for the visitors and not naturally beautiful Hawaii, if that makes any sense. Enjoy your trip!