Standard vs. Garden vs. Ocean View

[christianweecare]

DH & I are hopeful to be retiring in a few years and Aulani is on our list. We are DVC members so we would use points for our stay. We are looking for opinions as to what kind of studio to book from those of you that have made the trip. Standard, garden, pool, or ocean? Thanks for your help!

 

[NancyDVC]

I am at Aulani right now. We have an Ocean View. It is amazing! I knew that this might be our only trip so we used banked points as well as some of this year's points. This resort is simply amazing. The ocean view is spectacular! We also were on the Pride of America last week. An amazing 7 day cruise and a great way to see 3 major islands easily. ( 2 days in Maui, 2 days on the Big Island-one in Hilo and one in Kona, then 2 days in Kauai)
My DBF and I are DVC members and retirees. I retired just 2 years ago and have been planning this trip since then.
Garden views are of the mountains but some may have a bit of ocean view. Pool views are on the lower floors. The Ocean views are on the upper floors wth views of the pools and ocean.

 

[nkereina]

We just got back from a stay in a standard studio. We were in Ewa Tower, room 567. There are photos of the view in my trip report link in my signature.

For us, view was not important because we did not have much time in the room planned. We were more concerned with room location, for ease of getting around the resort. The lobby is on floor 3, so only being two floors up from that was nice so we didn't have to wait for the elevator constantly. Our room was also not far from the elevator, which was also important to us because there are some long hallways. Its my understanding that some ocean view rooms can be at the end of those long hallways.

 

[heaven2dc]

Any view at Aulani is a good view But in perspective if you book using DVC points, Standard view is of the area by the convention center. Island Garden view can be overlooking the mountains in front of the resort or overlooking the Hala'wai Lawn where the luau and movies are shown or over by the Laniwai Spa area. Poolside Garden view rooms are the first five floors surrounding the pool/lazy river/slides area. And Ocean View speaks for itself (generally 6th - 16th floors). Some Island Garden View in the higher floors overlooking the Hala'wai Lawn in the Ewa Tower can overlook the lawn area and view of ocean.

 

[jollygreengirl]

We had a standard view and it was still very lush and pretty. We overlooked the walkway from the lobby to the parking garage on the 5th floor (I think, we were pretty low). It wasn't noisy and we were near the stairwell, which meant we could pop in and out from the lobby and from the parking garage easily with my 18mo dd at the time. We aren't people that need a view, so we were very happy with it. The grounds are so lush, I think most standard views will be pretty. It is an amazing resort and you will love it no matter your view!

 

[NancyDVC]

The view from our balcony

 

[christianweecare]

Wow!

 

[JimandLuz]

DVC room 1168, listed as Ocean View, had no pool views but overlooked that lawn, where we watched a dress rehearsal of the new Luau show last night. We DID have a clear ocean view. But we reserved rather late and were wait listed for the ocean view rooms until about two weeks ago, so no complaints.

BTW, the Luau show, even without the pauses for food, looks great.

 

[MouseOfCards]

Loved our 9th floor Ocean View! Spent alot of time sitting on the balcony enjoying it. Very clear views of the pools and lazy river. Really looking forward to our next trip there - already planned and booked.

 

[DieHardJoe]

We are also DVC members and will be spending our 40th anniversary at Aulani in May, 2017. This will be our first, and most likely only, visit to Hawaii and were curious as well regarding the room categories. The difference in points for a 1-BR between Ocean View and Standard is 91 for a week. We go often to WDW and we could use those saved points for a week during down season in a Studio at OKW or even a 5 or 6-night stay somewhere else. So we have started to think that we may want to go Standard, especially since we plan on spending most of our time exploring the island as well as the resort. Would the difference of 91 points sway anyone to reconsider a Standard view instead of an Ocean View?

 

[christianweecare]

We are also DVC members and will be spending our 40th anniversary at Aulani in May, 2017. This will be our first, and most likely only, visit to Hawaii and were curious as well regarding the room categories. The difference in points for a 1-BR between Ocean View and Standard is 91 for a week. We go often to WDW and we could use those saved points for a week during down season in a Studio at OKW or even a 5 or 6-night stay somewhere else. So we have started to think that we may want to go Standard, especially since we plan on spending most of our time exploring the island as well as the resort. Would the difference of 91 points sway anyone to reconsider a Standard view instead of an Ocean View?

Excellent question!

 

[MouseOfCards]

We are also DVC members and will be spending our 40th anniversary at Aulani in May, 2017. This will be our first, and most likely only, visit to Hawaii and were curious as well regarding the room categories. The difference in points for a 1-BR between Ocean View and Standard is 91 for a week. We go often to WDW and we could use those saved points for a week during down season in a Studio at OKW or even a 5 or 6-night stay somewhere else. So we have started to think that we may want to go Standard, especially since we plan on spending most of our time exploring the island as well as the resort. Would the difference of 91 points sway anyone to reconsider a Standard view instead of an Ocean View?

Short answer, no. If this is your only visit, and you can afford it, I would just go for the Oceanview. You're already spending so much money on the trip, including airfare, rental car, food, possible excursions, accommodations, that spending a little bit more to make it memorable is worth it, at least to us. Of course different people value different things. The views in Hawaii are beautiful.