Room Type Poll

[CastAStone]

We booked a standard view and I’m thrilled with it. Had to stalk / walk to get it but it’s worth it

Looking around at some of the rooms one could get with Island view or Ocean view it seems unimaginable that someone would be happy with them. The ocean view studios through 2BRs are all partial ocean view, and some of them are pretty dang far away. Even the grand villas that are the only rooms that I would consider real ocean view, some are below the palm tree line and see mainly trees.

Disney is always overzealous with room classifications but this is the worst I’ve seen - an entire category is a lie.

 

[DanCali]

We booked a standard view and I’m thrilled with it. Had to stalk / walk to get it but it’s worth it

Looking around at some of the rooms one could get with Island view or Ocean view it seems unimaginable that someone would be happy with them. The ocean view studios through 2BRs are all partial ocean view, and some of them are pretty dang far away. Even the grand villas that are the only rooms that I would consider real ocean view, some are below the palm tree line and see mainly trees.

Disney is always overzealous with room classifications but this is the worst I’ve seen - an entire category is a lie.

Some of what you describe may also be due to foliage growing over 15 years... A great ocean view in 2010 may not be as good in 2025 once trees are all grown up, and with timeshares it's hard to reclassify room categories.

To me "Ocean view" does not have to be "ocean front" and some Marriott resorts, for example, do make that distinction. The Aulani grand villas are pretty much "ocean front" but, as you point out, the lower floors are less spectacular. Reminds me of when had a "sea front" unit at one of the Marriott Vacation Club resorts in Spain that was on the 1st floor (aka "ground" floor) and had a pool between our unit and the sea. You could still see the Mediterranean, but I definitely would have preferred to be a couple of floors up! Here's what I mean... for that resort it can't get any worse in that view category.



FWIW we were very pleased with the "ocean view" we got At Aulani last year (photo in post #11 in this thread) - it is probably one of the better options you can get. Would I pay $1800/night to rent that 2BR OV from an owner? Definitely not... - I'm a cheapskate! But it's much easier to justify when you pay AULs dues and only go there once every few years.

 

[CastAStone]

Some of what you describe may also be due to foliage growing over 15 years... A great ocean view in 2010 may not be as good in 2025 once trees are all grown up, and with timeshares it's hard to reclassify room categories.

To me "Ocean view" does not have to be "ocean front" and some Marriott resorts, for example, do make that distinction. The Aulani grand villas are pretty much "ocean front" but, as you point out, the lower floors are less spectacular. Reminds me of when had a "sea front" unit at one of the Marriott Vacation Club resorts in Spain that was on the 1st floor (aka "ground" floor) and had a pool between our unit and the sea. You could still see the Mediterranean, but I definitely would have preferred to be a couple of floors up! Here's what I mean... for that resort it can't get any worse in that view category.

View attachment 959215

FWIW we were very pleased with the "ocean view" we got At Aulani last year (photo in post #11 in this thread) - it is probably one of the better options you can get. Would I pay $1800/night to rent that 2BR OV from an owner? Definitely not... - I'm a cheapskate! But it's much easier to justify when you pay AULs dues and only go there once every few years.

The definition of ocean view at most resorts in Hawaii is “can I see the ocean from the bed”; “can i see it from the balcony” is the definition of partial ocean view across most of the other properties in Hawaii. Aulani categorizes all of the above as “ocean view”, and I think that’s deceptive at best.

“Ocean front” is beach immediately below and there’s no Aulani rooms that reasonably fit that description but Disney doesn’t claim that there are.

 

[gsdweller]

We booked a standard view and I’m thrilled with it. Had to stalk / walk to get it but it’s worth it

Looking around at some of the rooms one could get with Island view or Ocean view it seems unimaginable that someone would be happy with them. The ocean view studios through 2BRs are all partial ocean view, and some of them are pretty dang far away. Even the grand villas that are the only rooms that I would consider real ocean view, some are below the palm tree line and see mainly trees.

Disney is always overzealous with room classifications but this is the worst I’ve seen - an entire category is a lie.

I don't disagree with you, but from my experience, all of Hawaii and a lot of other tropical locations use the same skewed definitions of 'ocean view' etc.

 

[J-Dog]

We booked a standard view and I’m thrilled with it. Had to stalk / walk to get it but it’s worth it

Looking around at some of the rooms one could get with Island view or Ocean view it seems unimaginable that someone would be happy with them. The ocean view studios through 2BRs are all partial ocean view, and some of them are pretty dang far away. Even the grand villas that are the only rooms that I would consider real ocean view, some are below the palm tree line and see mainly trees.

Disney is always overzealous with room classifications but this is the worst I’ve seen - an entire category is a lie.

I have personally never been disappointed with our 2Bd "Ocean View" rooms. They aren't Ocean Front, but they have always had a significant view of the ocean. Having said that, we've never had a room lower than the 8th floor, so I can understand that trees blocking the view would be annoying.

 

[DanCali]

I have personally never been disappointed with our 2Bd "Ocean View" rooms. They aren't Ocean Front, but they have always had a significant view of the ocean. Having said that, we've never had a room lower than the 8th floor, so I can understand that trees blocking the view would be annoying.

I believe OV is 6th floor or higher, so if you were happy with 8th floor, it's probably not much worse than that.

The other issue some may not like is the distance from the ocean of some OV rooms, for example in the Ewa short wing (above the Luau area) or the Ewa lobby wing. But at least those rooms have a more "direct" view of the ocean as opposed to being perpendicular to the beach.

 

[PlutoNotPlanet]

We booked a standard view and I’m thrilled with it. Had to stalk / walk to get it but it’s worth it

Looking around at some of the rooms one could get with Island view or Ocean view it seems unimaginable that someone would be happy with them. The ocean view studios through 2BRs are all partial ocean view, and some of them are pretty dang far away. Even the grand villas that are the only rooms that I would consider real ocean view, some are below the palm tree line and see mainly trees.

Disney is always overzealous with room classifications but this is the worst I’ve seen - an entire category is a lie.

I would agree if you mean they are not “ocean front”. I actually love the ocean view with the view of resort. If I just want a beautiful ocean, I would stay at Waikiki, or maybe Some Caribbean resorts

 

[CastAStone]

I would agree if you mean they are not “ocean front”. I actually love the ocean view with the view of resort. If I just want a beautiful ocean, I would stay at Waikiki, or maybe Some Caribbean resorts

That’s not what I mean see

The definition of ocean view at most resorts in Hawaii is “can I see the ocean from the bed”; “can i see it from the balcony” is the definition of partial ocean view across most of the other properties in Hawaii. Aulani categorizes all of the above as “ocean view”, and I think that’s deceptive at best.

“Ocean front” is beach immediately below and there’s no Aulani rooms that reasonably fit that description but Disney doesn’t claim that there are.

 

[realana]

Island garden views in the Ewa wing offer good value with occasional ocean glimpses. Luau noise typically ends by 9PM. Ocean view rooms vary in quality but generally deliver what's promised. Consider if the extra points are worth the guaranteed water view.

 

[WinterSolider]

The definition of ocean view at most resorts in Hawaii is “can I see the ocean from the bed”; “can i see it from the balcony” is the definition of partial ocean view across most of the other properties in Hawaii. Aulani categorizes all of the above as “ocean view”, and I think that’s deceptive at best.

“Ocean front” is beach immediately below and there’s no Aulani rooms that reasonably fit that description but Disney doesn’t claim that there are.

Aulani does sell partial ocean view to cash guests, it's only the DVC points chart that is different.

 

[WinterSolider]

The ocean view studios through 2BRs are all partial ocean view.

I mean that is just objectively not correct. This is not "partial" anything, it's ocean view, full stop.

And because of the shape of the resort, you actually get a better angle of viewing the further you are away. With the resort shaped as a U, the rooms deeper towards the lobby are more directly facing the ocean while the rooms closer to the ocean are more angled.