Need help with meat prices in Hawaii

[bmwdw]

We are taking a trip to Aulani in June of 2014. My family likes to cook in the room to save money. We know food prices in Hawaii are more expensive and are looking at ways to save money. We are thinking about ordering our meat from Omahasteaks.com and having it shipped to us at Aulani. With the meat and shipping that will probably cost about 300 dollars. Does anyone know about the prices of meat in Hawaii and if we should just buy there? Also, would the quality be better going with Omaha Steaks or on the island? TIA

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Wow, I wouldn't even consider shipping meat to Hawaii. Are you a Costco member? I would go there to stock up on groceries. They do have locations in Hawaii!

I do hope that when you say you like to cook in the room that you have a room with a real kitchen.

 

[bmwdw]

We are dvc members and have a 2 bedroom with full kitchen. We are not Costco members but we will probably just buy the meat at wal mart. After looking at the prices wal mart even at island prices will still probably be cheaper.

 

[Janet Hill]

If you are renting a car, you would probably benefit from the lowest level of Costco membership.

Gas at Costco was about .40/gallon cheaper than at regular gas stations.

Meat was about same price, but better at Costco than Wal-Mart.

Costco pizzas (which are quite tasty) are only 9.95 (cheapest good pizza on the island).

Fresh veggies were cheaper at Costco

Loved Costco.

 

[ready123go]

We are dvc members and have a 2 bedroom with full kitchen. We are not Costco members but we will probably just buy the meat at wal mart. After looking at the prices wal mart even at island prices will still probably be cheaper.

I know it isn't what you were asking, but I agree with pps - you might just be further ahead paying for a Costco (or Sam's Club) membership for the trip. You could potentially save enough to cover the cost of the membership. Bonus: If you live near a Costco at home, you can use the membership until it ends.

Look to see where the warehouse clubs are in relation to the resort (I looked once, but don't remember).

If you go the membership route, FWIW, I prefer Sam's Club beef to Costco's, but many people seem to like Costco's just fine.

 

[bmwdw]

Ok looking on-line at costco all I see are packages with 8 to 10 steaks. We will only need 5 steaks at most. At the actual store are there packages with fewer steaks?

 

[Janet Hill]

Ok looking on-line at costco all I see are packages with 8 to 10 steaks. We will only need 5 steaks at most. At the actual store are there packages with fewer steaks?

Yes smaller packages are available in store. I buy in packages of 4 to 5. Costco also sells marinated flank steak that is pretty tasty and ready to hit the grill.

 

[bmwdw]

Yes smaller packages are available in store. I buy in packages of 4 to 5. Costco also sells marinated flank steak that is pretty tasty and ready to hit the grill.

Sounds good. We are thinking of doing some Fajitas so the flank steak would be great. Thank you all for the replies.

 

[Spoot]

Ok looking on-line at costco all I see are packages with 8 to 10 steaks. We will only need 5 steaks at most. At the actual store are there packages with fewer steaks?

Wait! You are only getting 5 steaks and it is going to cost you $300?? I find it really hard to believe that buying it in Hawaii (even at a non-Costco store) is going to be more than that!

 

[bmwdw]

Sorry. No, it was not just 5 steaks we were getting. It was 4 18 oz. ribeyes (we were going to divide them up for everyone) 4 chicken breasts that equaled a pound, 4 lbs of ground beef, and a 20 oz. marinated flank steak. Plus shipping it was actually going to cost around $250. But buying on the island is still probably cheaper than that.

 

[PrincessKymm]

Sorry. No, it was not just 5 steaks we were getting. It was 4 18 oz. ribeyes (we were going to divide them up for everyone) 4 chicken breasts that equaled a pound, 4 lbs of ground beef, and a 20 oz. marinated flank steak. Plus shipping it was actually going to cost around $250. But buying on the island is still probably cheaper than that.

Yes it's much cheaper than what you priced out. Buying on the island is more expensive but not as much as you think. We ate out a lot and it wasn't much more per meal than what we pay at home and that includes alcoholic beverages with almost every dinner.

 

[happymommy]

Costco, Walmart, and Super Target are all right by each other in Kapolei - about a ten minute drive (we own at the Marriott and go every other year for two weeks).

We tend to have lunch out if we're driving around sightseeing, and eat in for dinner a lot. It's not only money saving, but for us it's just plain more relaxing (and healthy). We make rice (I'm Irish/German but my husband is Korean so we do both traditional midwest, where I grew up, food and Korean food too), sometimes get a big veggie tray from Costco, and grill stuff (fish, burgers, chicken terriyaki, etc...).

Last trip, we had the 4 of us, our 4 older friends from back home (we moved from Missouri to Maryland years ago and lived in Hawaii too for a few years), plus another family of 4 (husband's high school friend who lives in Arizona now) so 12 at some point of the trip. We made a few large shared meals, and one that we all liked was chicken terriyaki - you can buy a huge bottle of Yoshida's sauce at Costco (only place other than Sam's and BJ's that sells it) for not too much - it's good sauce. I bought a big pack of chicken thighs also at Costco and marinated it all - grilled it a couple days later and it is really good!

You can get packs of 4 or 5 steaks at Costco. Also good wines too!

For smaller quantities of food, fill in with Walmart or Target.

I bring spices, small packs of pancake mix (free here with coupons sometimes, LOL), dry marinade mixes, splenda for my coffee, etc in my luggage.

 

[Shagley]

This doesn't answer your question about meat, but a few years ago when we went to Hawaii, we paid for a Costco membership because the $55 membership fee saved us over $200 off our car rental. You might find the Costco membership fee worth it between car rental and groceries.

 

[disykat]

This thread makes my head hurt. Can't you just make sandwiches?

I've been to Hawaii several times and we are budget travelers. We had "plate lunches," ate at shrimp shacks, etc. - local places. When we ate at "home" in our rental we had easy and relatively inexpensive stuff like sandwiches, salads, pasta, etc. or looked at what was on sale at the nearest market and threw it on the grill. We bought stuff in the deli section (fried chicken, salads, etc.) and took it to the beach for a picnic.

We used Costco and I too think it might be worth a membership, but we also shopped at Walmart and it was fine.

Yes, food costs more, but I think you're over thinking it!

 

[Mooshu]

Costco, Walmart and Target are all within a 10 minute drive if you have a car. If you have a friend that is a Costco member, they can purchase Costco giftcards for you and you will not need a membership card to shop at Costco.

There is a strip mall shopping area right across the street that has an ABC store and a couple of places to eat.

Have fun!

 

[bmwdw]

This thread makes my head hurt. Can't you just make sandwiches?

I've been to Hawaii several times and we are budget travelers. We had "plate lunches," ate at shrimp shacks, etc. - local places. When we ate at "home" in our rental we had easy and relatively inexpensive stuff like sandwiches, salads, pasta, etc. or looked at what was on sale at the nearest market and threw it on the grill. We bought stuff in the deli section (fried chicken, salads, etc.) and took it to the beach for a picnic.

We used Costco and I too think it might be worth a membership, but we also shopped at Walmart and it was fine.

Yes, food costs more, but I think you're over thinking it!

Yes, I realize we are probably over thinking this. And we have realized that we will either invest in a costco membership or buy from walmart and target. I was specifically asking about meat because my family does like to do more than just sandwiches but we also like to keep cost down and not eat out as much. We have chosen some experiences we feel are worth the money to eat out, but don't feel going out and having a steak dinner is worth it because we feel we can save cost by making that meal ourselves.

I realize some on this board, and rightly so, like to save a much as possible on vacation. I guess my family likes to be somewhere in the middle; save money where we can, but appreciate that we like to have different experiences and that is why we go on vacation. Having a steak dinner as a family is somewhat of a tradition and we were looking for ways to do what we like to do and save money at the same time.

I truly appreciate all the feed back on this thread because it has opened up ideas that we would not have thought of on our own; as getting a costco membership never even crossed our radar.

So I say, thank you, for all of the opinions and if you think of any others please feel free to share.

 

[bmwdw]

This doesn't answer your question about meat, but a few years ago when we went to Hawaii, we paid for a Costco membership because the $55 membership fee saved us over $200 off our car rental. You might find the Costco membership fee worth it between car rental and groceries.

Thank you for this! Car rental is a place we are looking to save money and I will certainly be looking into that.

I noticed you are from Central Illinois. I grew up outside of Peoria. My parents, who we are taking this trip with, still live there. If you want to talk more about "southern Illinois" send me a PM since on this thread is probably not the place to have a personal conversation.

 

[bmwdw]

Shagley--- I looked on costco.com and the prices on hotwire.com are cheaper than are currently on the website. We have not taken the membership plunge yet; does the price change with membership or are the prices I am seeing the same we would get with membership? Just trying to gather information. Thanks for helping.

 

[ready123go]

Shagley--- I looked on costco.com and the prices on hotwire.com are cheaper than are currently on the website. We have not taken the membership plunge yet; does the price change with membership or are the prices I am seeing the same we would get with membership? Just trying to gather information. Thanks for helping.

The prices are what you see. When you book through Costco it will ask you for a membership number before you can finalize it. The benefit is you can cancel later if you find a better price later. It's just a reservation. Hotwire is for keeps. FWIW I really hate being locked in.

Having said all that, it's good you're still looking, and keeping an open mind because I don't always find my best rental price through Costco. Often, but not always,

 

[Shagley]

I don't always book the car rental prices on the Costco website, I usually use the Costco code and book on the Alamo (or whatever car rental company) website. Make sure to check all the different place for prices, because Costco isn't always the lowest. We went to Hawaii in July of 2010, and for that time, the Costco price just happened to save us a ton of money.