Just got back from a six-night stay 12/29-1/4 at Aulani followed by 2 nights at the Hyatt Waikiki. This was our 3rd trip to Hawaii and definitely the most time we had spent on Oahu. It was a good trip and I have a new appreciation for the island.
We arrived at Aulani on Thursday at 4:30 pm after a long flight from St. Louis. Rental car from Enterprise was a snap and getting to Aulani was just as easy. The check-in process was a little confusing as we were seemingly passed from person to person. The last one handed us our keys and sent us to our room. We were in Ewa, Room 853, a 1 BR Island view (view of Ko Olina mountainside and the parking lot.) I had requested a high floor in the other tower but was too tired too ask for a change.
We were awestruck by the beauty of the resort. The room, however, was a different story. It seemed smaller than other DVC resorts. There was an awful smell when we arrived and we soon discovered overflowing trash under the sink. The bellman remarked how bad it was the trash had not been taken out and quickly emptied it and apologized. There was also buttered fingerprints on the cabinets which we cleaned. Having only one bathroom was a challenge for 4 adults. The appliances ended up being the worst we've ever had in a vacation rental. The dryer took 3-4 cylces to dry. When we called to have it fixed, the engineer came and said there was nothing wrong with it. We also had issues with the AC which seemed to improve after the filter was changed.
That first night, we walked to Just Tacos for dinner. Ko Olina is a great resort area. Just Tacos was just okay. Service was annoyingly slow. Then, we went to Target to grocery shop and headed off to bed by 9pm.
The next morning, my wife and I woke up early and walked the grounds before anything opened. We found the Oleo Room and met the server, Alohaland. We enjoyed having coffee in this room every moring and Alohaland was a wonderful hostess.
When the kids (adult girls 18 and 22) awoke, we had breakfast and went and found spots by the pool (lots of chair saving going on but Disney seems to be trying their best to control it.) We enjoyed our day by the pool even though the water is cold and the pool is crowded and the lunch poolside was "okay" at best and expensive. That night, we had professional photos taken of the family by Jerry of hawaiianpix.com (it was a surprisingly fun experience) and then headed off to Outback for dinner (good meal, great service at a reasonable price as you would expect in the Mainland.)
The next day was surf lessons by boat through hawaiiansurfadventure.com. Awesome experience. Girls both got up first time and I at least got to my knees. Someone pointed out Dog the Bounty Hunter (didn't know who he was until we watched his show later that night.)
That night was New Year's Eve. We had reservations at Roy's but due to fire, they were closed. I had made a back up reservation at Makahiki as well and we decided to use it to stay close to the resort.
At Makahiki, we were seated promptly. I was a little bothered by the fact the price had been increased for NYE w/o warning ($51 instead of $43.) A few items had been added to the buffet though to account for the increased price (lobster claws, crab legs). It's a good thing though as the standard buffet leaves a lot to be desired. I had read all the reviews but thought I needed to try both Makahiki and AMA AMA for myself (after Makahiki, I changed my mind about trying AMA AMA.) I don't mind paying $50 pp for a meal or even $75-$100 for a more memorable meal. However, the food at Aulani (at least Makahiki) is just plain bad. The next day, they began serving breakfast sandwiches in the Oleo Room so it is clear that they are trying to make changes. In my view, the problem with the food cannot be tweaked. It needs a major overhaul--as in firing whoever is in charge and starting over. It would be nice if Disney could contract it out to someone like TS Restaurants (Duke's, Chucks, Hula Grill, etc.)
I was also a little bothered by the style of dress at dinner. Some people were dressed in resort wear while others looked as if they just came in from the pool. I would have thought that this being NYE, everyone would have dressed for dinner. This is a minor complaint though.
After dinner, we returned to our room and did our best to stay awake for the midnight fireworks display (watching Dog the Bounty Hunter for the first time.) At 11:45, we headed down to the beach for an absolutely awesome fireworks display--one of the best ever. Great way to end the year.
I'll continue this later. A hint--a rough start the next morning but a terrific end at the Spa.
We arrived at Aulani on Thursday at 4:30 pm after a long flight from St. Louis. Rental car from Enterprise was a snap and getting to Aulani was just as easy. The check-in process was a little confusing as we were seemingly passed from person to person. The last one handed us our keys and sent us to our room. We were in Ewa, Room 853, a 1 BR Island view (view of Ko Olina mountainside and the parking lot.) I had requested a high floor in the other tower but was too tired too ask for a change.
We were awestruck by the beauty of the resort. The room, however, was a different story. It seemed smaller than other DVC resorts. There was an awful smell when we arrived and we soon discovered overflowing trash under the sink. The bellman remarked how bad it was the trash had not been taken out and quickly emptied it and apologized. There was also buttered fingerprints on the cabinets which we cleaned. Having only one bathroom was a challenge for 4 adults. The appliances ended up being the worst we've ever had in a vacation rental. The dryer took 3-4 cylces to dry. When we called to have it fixed, the engineer came and said there was nothing wrong with it. We also had issues with the AC which seemed to improve after the filter was changed.
That first night, we walked to Just Tacos for dinner. Ko Olina is a great resort area. Just Tacos was just okay. Service was annoyingly slow. Then, we went to Target to grocery shop and headed off to bed by 9pm.
The next morning, my wife and I woke up early and walked the grounds before anything opened. We found the Oleo Room and met the server, Alohaland. We enjoyed having coffee in this room every moring and Alohaland was a wonderful hostess.
When the kids (adult girls 18 and 22) awoke, we had breakfast and went and found spots by the pool (lots of chair saving going on but Disney seems to be trying their best to control it.) We enjoyed our day by the pool even though the water is cold and the pool is crowded and the lunch poolside was "okay" at best and expensive. That night, we had professional photos taken of the family by Jerry of hawaiianpix.com (it was a surprisingly fun experience) and then headed off to Outback for dinner (good meal, great service at a reasonable price as you would expect in the Mainland.)
The next day was surf lessons by boat through hawaiiansurfadventure.com. Awesome experience. Girls both got up first time and I at least got to my knees. Someone pointed out Dog the Bounty Hunter (didn't know who he was until we watched his show later that night.)
That night was New Year's Eve. We had reservations at Roy's but due to fire, they were closed. I had made a back up reservation at Makahiki as well and we decided to use it to stay close to the resort.
At Makahiki, we were seated promptly. I was a little bothered by the fact the price had been increased for NYE w/o warning ($51 instead of $43.) A few items had been added to the buffet though to account for the increased price (lobster claws, crab legs). It's a good thing though as the standard buffet leaves a lot to be desired. I had read all the reviews but thought I needed to try both Makahiki and AMA AMA for myself (after Makahiki, I changed my mind about trying AMA AMA.) I don't mind paying $50 pp for a meal or even $75-$100 for a more memorable meal. However, the food at Aulani (at least Makahiki) is just plain bad. The next day, they began serving breakfast sandwiches in the Oleo Room so it is clear that they are trying to make changes. In my view, the problem with the food cannot be tweaked. It needs a major overhaul--as in firing whoever is in charge and starting over. It would be nice if Disney could contract it out to someone like TS Restaurants (Duke's, Chucks, Hula Grill, etc.)
I was also a little bothered by the style of dress at dinner. Some people were dressed in resort wear while others looked as if they just came in from the pool. I would have thought that this being NYE, everyone would have dressed for dinner. This is a minor complaint though.
After dinner, we returned to our room and did our best to stay awake for the midnight fireworks display (watching Dog the Bounty Hunter for the first time.) At 11:45, we headed down to the beach for an absolutely awesome fireworks display--one of the best ever. Great way to end the year.
I'll continue this later. A hint--a rough start the next morning but a terrific end at the Spa.
Also, strange about the dryer - when we used ours, it seemed to do a good job but OTOH, we were only asking it dry a medium sized load so maybe not the same as a load for 4 adults. 
Bill
