Lucky enough for Aulani

[DisCopper]

I'm not a DVC member, but I was lucky enough to stay at the Aulani Resort in early December. What a great trip! The resort is amazing. Here are some thoughts.

The Resort Itself:
Wow! and Wow! again. What a great place. Very Disney, without throwing Disney in your face. I know they went out of their way to be respectful of the Hawaiian culture, and they did an outstanding job. Far better than most other resorts. The Mariott Beach Club next door had a silly luau straight out of the 70's. The Aulani pool area was impressive. It would be easy to spend all your time here and never leave the resort.

Construction:
They're doing a lot of construction to improve part of the resort. Overall, it didn't interfere with the visit. They had the standard wooden Disney construction walls. You did have to walk around the walls to get down to the beach, but it wasn't a hassle. It also didn't really disrupt the atmosphere. There was some construction noise during the middle of the day. It made the pool area a little less relaxing.

Food:
Ug... I'd heard this was a downside, but we REALLY hated it. Their premier restaurant is Ama Ama. It's got a beautiful entrance, and you've got an awesome view while eating. That said, the decor was a little lacking in the dining area. It was like they ran out of money: boring, barely decorated concrete walls. The food was very expensive, and terrible. We both ordered a fish plate, and we both sent it back. It was completely inedible: drowned in Terayaki sauce. It's rare (if ever) that I send food back, but I just couldn't eat it. Nothing else that came with it was at all impressive.
One Paddle, Two Paddle is a quick service window. We ate there the night we got in. It was basic counter-service fare: acceptable, but nothing special. We did try to go back several times, but in a week we never found it open again (closed at noon, really?).
Makahiki is their buffet restaurant. We didn't try it because, after looking at it, it didn't seem worth the price.
We tried to eat there during their character breakfast (the only breakfast option other than room service). We (two adults, no kids) were seated dead center of the kids festivities. Screaming kids, and dancing cast-members. OK, we thought we'd just ask to move. After 15 minutes & never seeing a server, we left.

There is a small strip-mall area across the street (easy walking distance). There is an ABC store where you can buy all kinds of basic necessities, including food. Very handy. There were also two other inexpensive counter service restaurants. They were ok, but nothing exciting.

Elsewhere in the Ko Olina resort area, we found a great restaurant at the Marriott Beach Club called Chucks. The JW Marriott had an amazing restaurant called Azul. Very impressive upscale Italian.

The Spa:
OK, I've been to spas all over the world, and this is the best I've found. Not only did I get a true sports massage where they actually pushed hard (rare), but the facility itself was very cool. They have a private, shaded outdoor area that has hot-tubs, a cold dunking pool (45 degrees), and an area with about 8 different types of showers. I could have spent all day in here.

Parking:
It's about 45 bucks each day to pay to park (valet or not). Interestingly, we were told at the Ko Olina sales office across the street that the management there owned the parking garage, & charged Disney a fee per car, per day.

Even with the poor food experience, the resort was amazing. If you can get to Hawaii, it's worth the extra money to stay here!

 

[dvcterry]

Thanks for the post. Just the kind of information I was looking for but disappointed to hear the food review. That's too bad. Did the store in the strip mall across the way have a decent selection of food, or just basics like a convenience store? Just trying to find out if we could pick up items there to cook in villa. March trip reserved-Thanks.

 

[miyta]

Thanks for the post. Just the kind of information I was looking for but disappointed to hear the food review. That's too bad. Did the store in the strip mall across the way have a decent selection of food, or just basics like a convenience store? Just trying to find out if we could pick up items there to cook in villa. March trip reserved-Thanks.

The food review is perfect for us
I hate to miss a great meal but would prefer to keep my $$$$
Knowing that the food is less than desirable makes it easy to stop at Costco/grocery store and use the kitchen in the unit.

 

[dsneygirl]

We were there for 10 days and ate 90% of the time in our villa. We never wanted to leave the resort or get out of our bathing suits so we had picnics by the pool or ate in the room.

 

[kritter]

We are headed there this summer any tips anyone can share with me wold be greatly appreciated!! TIA!!

 

[Iceman93]

My food experience was pretty much the direct opposite of the OP. I'm not discounting their experience, because they explained specifically what was wrong. The character breakfast was a bit raucus, but character breakfasts are. And 'Ama 'Ama is open for breakfast, with a wonderful selection, so it's not just the buffet or room service.

We liked 'Ama 'Ama so much we had dinner there three nights. We didn't try Chuck's because we were scared off by the horrible online reviews, but we did go to Roy's one night and had another fantastic meal. All in all, I have very few complaints about the dining at or near Aulani.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

My food experience was pretty much the direct opposite of the OP. I'm not discounting their experience, because they explained specifically what was wrong. The character breakfast was a bit raucus, but character breakfasts are. And 'Ama 'Ama is open for breakfast, with a wonderful selection, so it's not just the buffet or room service.

We liked 'Ama 'Ama so much we had dinner there three nights. We didn't try Chuck's because we were scared off by the horrible online reviews, but we did go to Roy's one night and had another fantastic meal. All in all, I have very few complaints about the dining at or near Aulani.

Our experience was like yours and though we had read the food was not good we did not have a bad meal and were surprised by the poor reviews. Perhaps it's the dishes we ordered but ours were flavorful, well prepared and had good presentation.

And yes - Ama Ama serves breakfast so it is more than the buffet and room service. In addition there also is the continental breakfast offerings at the 'Olelo Room and they had the most awesome almond crecent rolls! I ended up having that 2 mornings and I'm usually not going for the continental.

 

[bluedoggy]

We stayed at Aulani for 5 nights in September. What an amazing resort. This was our 1st trip to Hawaii, and we made sure that besides Maui and the Big Island that Aulani was a must.

As far as meals, we had amazing food and Service at Ama Ama. Out of the 5 days we ate there for at least 1 meal every day. Breakfast was delicious and the lunches (we found it to be best to do a late lunch each day - around 2:30 or so...) we got lower prices than dinner, but the portions and meals were great. If you have a chance- a server we had great service from is Lokelani. She is from the Ko Olina area and gave us some great ideas of things to do.

We did try the buffet, but were disappointed, so would not do that again.

If you can get to Hawaii... Aulani is a MUST DO

 

[Anal Annie]

Food:
Ug... I'd heard this was a downside, but we REALLY hated it. Their premier restaurant is Ama Ama. It's got a beautiful entrance, and you've got an awesome view while eating. That said, the decor was a little lacking in the dining area. It was like they ran out of money: boring, barely decorated concrete walls. The food was very expensive, and terrible. We both ordered a fish plate, and we both sent it back. It was completely inedible: drowned in Terayaki sauce. It's rare (if ever) that I send food back, but I just couldn't eat it. Nothing else that came with it was at all impressive.
One Paddle, Two Paddle is a quick service window. We ate there the night we got in. It was basic counter-service fare: acceptable, but nothing special. We did try to go back several times, but in a week we never found it open again (closed at noon, really?).
Makahiki is their buffet restaurant. We didn't try it because, after looking at it, it didn't seem worth the price.
We tried to eat there during their character breakfast (the only breakfast option other than room service). We (two adults, no kids) were seated dead center of the kids festivities. Screaming kids, and dancing cast-members. OK, we thought we'd just ask to move. After 15 minutes & never seeing a server, we left.

There is a small strip-mall area across the street (easy walking distance). There is an ABC store where you can buy all kinds of basic necessities, including food. Very handy. There were also two other inexpensive counter service restaurants. They were ok, but nothing exciting.

Elsewhere in the Ko Olina resort area, we found a great restaurant at the Marriott Beach Club called Chucks. The JW Marriott had an amazing restaurant called Azul. Very impressive upscale Italian.

The Spa:
OK, I've been to spas all over the world, and this is the best I've found. Not only did I get a true sports massage where they actually pushed hard (rare), but the facility itself was very cool. They have a private, shaded outdoor area that has hot-tubs, a cold dunking pool (45 degrees), and an area with about 8 different types of showers. I could have spent all day in here.

Parking:
It's about 45 bucks each day to pay to park (valet or not). Interestingly, we were told at the Ko Olina sales office across the street that the management there owned the parking garage, & charged Disney a fee per car, per day.

Even with the poor food experience, the resort was amazing. If you can get to Hawaii, it's worth the extra money to stay here!

We're hoping to spend about 5 nights there in August....will likely try some of the food onsite as well as locally....will probably head into Waikiki for at least 1 dinner too.

$45 a day for parking? Really? At Aulani? Is this for DVC members too?? Holy smokes!! We've never rented a car on Oahu before but figured we'd need one for Aulani...but $45 a DAY? I think we paid around $25 / night at the Sheraton on Maui the last time....that seems steep enough!! WOW.

 

[aymekae]

First, parking is free for DVC members staying on points. Thank goodness!

Second, I'll chime in briefly with my food experience at Aulani, as it seems people are interested. Did not try Ama Ama at all, but my DH is picky and I knew he'd have a hard time finding something to eat (and stomaching the cost). We really, really wish we had never gone to Makahiki for breakfast (non-character buffet) or lunch. We actually liked One Paddle Two Paddle. I don't recall offhand, but I believe this one was only open for a few hours in the evening. That said, we enjoyed the food there the most. My personal fave, though, was the shave ice stand. I was there almost every day. We had a studio, so while we had a few quick meals and snacks in our room, we generally ate in Kapolei and other places along our daily adventures. We were much happier paying much less for more and better food at places like Koa Pancake House and Auntie Pasto's than eating at Aulani, sadly.

 

[Anal Annie]

First, parking is free for DVC members staying on points. Thank goodness!

Second, I'll chime in briefly with my food experience at Aulani, as it seems people are interested. Did not try Ama Ama at all, but my DH is picky and I knew he'd have a hard time finding something to eat (and stomaching the cost). We really, really wish we had never gone to Makahiki for breakfast (non-character buffet) or lunch. We actually liked One Paddle Two Paddle. I don't recall offhand, but I believe this one was only open for a few hours in the evening. That said, we enjoyed the food there the most. My personal fave, though, was the shave ice stand. I was there almost every day. We had a studio, so while we had a few quick meals and snacks in our room, we generally ate in Kapolei and other places along our daily adventures. We were much happier paying much less for more and better food at places like Koa Pancake House and Auntie Pasto's than eating at Aulani, sadly.

WHEW!! Glad to hear we won't have to pay for parking!!

Meanwhile, back to the food subject....is there a menu posted online somewhere for Ama Ama? Although we've been to Hawaii several times it's been a few years and I am working on our budget....I am planning to bring at least $100 / day in Disney gift cards for our nights spent at DL and Aulani to help soften the blow to the wallet at checkout....wasn't sure how much dining we might do onsite & how much we might do in the room vs other local restaurants....but now I'm curious about the menu at Ama Ama....

We'll likely do a luau on Maui rather than Oahu...

 

[brenbrady]

WHEW!! Glad to hear we won't have to pay for parking!!

Meanwhile, back to the food subject....is there a menu posted online somewhere for Ama Ama? Although we've been to Hawaii several times it's been a few years and I am working on our budget....I am planning to bring at least $100 / day in Disney gift cards for our nights spent at DL and Aulani to help soften the blow to the wallet at checkout....wasn't sure how much dining we might do onsite & how much we might do in the room vs other local restaurants....but now I'm curious about the menu at Ama Ama....

We'll likely do a luau on Maui rather than Oahu...

I would highly recommend the Luau at Lahaina in Maui we have done it a few times and never disappointed.

 

[ACDSNY]

We enjoyed our 4 breakfasts at AMA AMA earlier this month and felt it was reasonable for what we got. Each day they had several specials not on the menu priced between $10 - $15.

 

[Iceman93]

We were much happier paying much less for more and better food at places like Koa Pancake House and Auntie Pasto's than eating at Aulani, sadly.

How can you make a statement like this if the only place you actually ate at Aulani was One Paddle Two Paddle? You may have found it to be true, but since you didn't even try 'Ama 'Ama for either breakfast or dinner, how can you state like it's a fact that the places you did go had better food for less money?

 

[eva]

How can you make a statement like this if the only place you actually ate at Aulani was One Paddle Two Paddle? You may have found it to be true, but since you didn't even try 'Ama 'Ama for either breakfast or dinner, how can you state like it's a fact that the places you did go had better food for less money?

I think they did eat at Makahiki too. Because they said they wished they hadn't tried it.

 

[DisCopper]

The food review is perfect for us
I hate to miss a great meal but would prefer to keep my $$$$
Knowing that the food is less than desirable makes it easy to stop at Costco/grocery store and use the kitchen in the unit.

The ABC store across the street is a little more than a convenience store. You can get fruit, muffins, etc... there. There's not a huge selection, but it's definitely helpful.

I'm glad to see others enjoyed the food. Maybe we just got a bad dish at Ama Ama.

 

[woodkins]

We spent 10 days at Thanksgiving at Aulani. Makahiki was great for back fast, dinner I felt was highly overpriced, not good. I had to spend $43 for my 10 yr old to get chicken nuggets because they were on the buffet and could not buy a la carte

Another great area restaurant is Roy's at the golf course across the street. 5 min walk and amazing food, we liked AMA AMA but loved Roy's, the chocolate soufflé was unbelievable! AMA AMA is much more hawaiian feeling.

We ate a few meals in the room and bought sandwiches from abc store as well. We hit Target for groceries which was great and a big savings.

 

[lodge]

First, parking is free for DVC members staying on points. Thank goodness!

Wondering if this applies to someone using their friend's points?

 

[Anal Annie]

Wondering if this applies to someone using their friend's points?

Although I've not been there yet to USE it I would still guess that if it's free for DVC members that you'd have to show your DVC member card to prove that you're a member just like you do for any other DVC member perk. I'm sure someone else will confirm that tho.

 

[robinb]

Although I've not been there yet to USE it I would still guess that if it's free for DVC members that you'd have to show your DVC member card to prove that you're a member just like you do for any other DVC member perk. I'm sure someone else will confirm that tho.

My guess would be BOTH. We visited the resort the first week it was open and just showed our card. I would assume that your key card works to get you in and out of the ramp.