Thinking of upgrading to 1 bedroom

[wfgamble]

Renting DVC points for our november trip. We currently are booked in a studio but the DVC member has enough for a 1 BR upgrade. The thought of eating out every meal is just wearing me and my budget out so I thought the kitchen would really help with this. Does anyone have any insight they would care to offer? Very excited about this trip and I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks!

 

[twodogs]

We are going for the first time in about 2 months, so I can't speak from direct Aulani experience, but our experience at WDW and other vacations is that having the kitchen is amazing. We have two kids, us and my parents, so going to a restaurant with 6 people is not so fun at times. And, my kids are picky eaters so we feel like we waste a lot of food when we go out. At Hawaii restaurant pricing, that would be costly! We love being able to have breakfast in the room to save time and money. At Aulani, I predict that lunches in the room will be common on resort days (we usually don't do lunch in the room when at WDW because we are at the parks all day). Dinners will be a mix of room and out to eat. It saves us money, aggravation, and calories. I can't eat out every meal for 9 days, which is the length of our trip! Everyone would be sick from all of the restaurant food by the end. So, I say GO FOR IT!!!

 

[wfgamble]

Thank you so much for your DVC experience! Your reasoning is exactly the same as mine. We are there for 9 days as well and I just can't imagine all of that eating out. I feel that the space offered by the kitchen in a 1 BR will be so worth it. Plus, who knows when we will ever get back there--may as well blow it out

 

[Loveallthingsmouse]

We were in a studio when we visited almost 2 years ago...it was doable to "cook" in the studio. We went to costco and purchased some items for the grill that they have onsite and picked up easy things for breakfast and lunch. We enjoyed the meals that we had in the studio (there were 4 our us and stayed 9 nights). We are visiting again this summer and have opted for the 1 bedroom. Our children have gotten older and feel the space in the 1 bedroom is needed, plus I love having a washer and dryer in the villa, so much more convenient. Enjoy your trip, Aulani is absolutely beautiful!

 

[cedricandsophie]

We have been t Aulani 4 times and are going again in May. We always get a one bedroom ocean view using our own DVC points. We rarely leave the resort. We always rent a car, stop at the grocery in Kapolei on the way to Aulani. We get soda, milk, bread, eggs, lunch meat, fruit, cereal, wine, etc. we eat breakfast in the Room every day. Many days I take lunch down to the pool although we do buy lunch about half the time. I cook dinner two or three times, out of 10 days, and we go out otherwise. We go across the street for sushi, pizza or to monkeypod for dinner or down the street to Roy's. We also go into Kapolei for dinner sometimes. There are several chains. We have never grilled although grills are available. We also got the refillable cups the first year and bring them back every year. So we can soda refills at the pool very day.

 

[wfgamble]

We were in a studio when we visited almost 2 years ago...it was doable to "cook" in the studio. We went to costco and purchased some items for the grill that they have onsite and picked up easy things for breakfast and lunch. We enjoyed the meals that we had in the studio (there were 4 our us and stayed 9 nights). We are visiting again this summer and have opted for the 1 bedroom. Our children have gotten older and feel the space in the 1 bedroom is needed, plus I love having a washer and dryer in the villa, so much more convenient. Enjoy your trip, Aulani is absolutely beautiful!

Thank you for pointing out the pros for both set ups! I think we will be just fine either way but you're helping me justify that 1 BR

 

[wfgamble]

We have been t Aulani 4 times and are going again in May. We always get a one bedroom ocean view using our own DVC points. We rarely leave the resort. We always rent a car, stop at the grocery in Kapolei on the way to Aulani. We get soda, milk, bread, eggs, lunch meat, fruit, cereal, wine, etc. we eat breakfast in the Room every day. Many days I take lunch down to the pool although we do buy lunch about half the time. I cook dinner two or three times, out of 10 days, and we go out otherwise. We go across the street for sushi, pizza or to monkeypod for dinner or down the street to Roy's. We also go into Kapolei for dinner sometimes. There are several chains. We have never grilled although grills are available. We also got the refillable cups the first year and bring them back every year. So we can soda refills at the pool very day.

This sounds like our plan! I'm glad to see that it works and works well. We will be leaving the resort for zip lining and Pearl Harbor and maybe a surf lesson but we will have LOTS of resort time. Thanks!

 

[pamelaj]

We have only stayed in a 1 bedroom, but we LOVED it. With two small kids, we loved that we could put them to bed and then watch a movie or hang out in our room. We also used the kitchen for most breakfasts and several dinners. The big bath tub and washer and dryer were also great. If you can swing it, I would definitely recommend it.

 

[wfgamble]

We have only stayed in a 1 bedroom, but we LOVED it. With two small kids, we loved that we could put them to bed and then watch a movie or hang out in our room. We also used the kitchen for most breakfasts and several dinners. The big bath tub and washer and dryer were also great. If you can swing it, I would definitely recommend it.

I love the idea of having the washer and dryer as well. We definitely plan on cooking some if we get the 1 BR and the extra space for wet swimsuits and snacks will be great.

 

[vikequeen]

We stayed in a 1BR (2 adults, 2 kids) on our recent trip, but I also toured the two BR lock off so saw the studio set up. Its doable, but if you can reasonably swing it in your budget, I would get the 1 BR. With the price of meals, we figured we saved at least a few hundred dollars eating several meals in the room over 10 days. We ate all but 1 breakfast there, and some other meals. And we needed the washer dryer after zipling -- there had been a lot of rain and there was a lot of mud to wash off. Finally, with jet lag affecting sleep schedules, the ability to put the kids in separate beds in the living room (we used the couch and murphy bed), and have our own space was priceless. have fun!

 

[wfgamble]

We stayed in a 1BR (2 adults, 2 kids) on our recent trip, but I also toured the two BR lock off so saw the studio set up. Its doable, but if you can reasonably swing it in your budget, I would get the 1 BR. With the price of meals, we figured we saved at least a few hundred dollars eating several meals in the room over 10 days. We ate all but 1 breakfast there, and some other meals. And we needed the washer dryer after zipling -- there had been a lot of rain and there was a lot of mud to wash off. Finally, with jet lag affecting sleep schedules, the ability to put the kids in separate beds in the living room (we used the couch and murphy bed), and have our own space was priceless. have fun!

Great point! We are zip lining too and I didn't even think about possibly getting muddy. Did you go to Climbworks?

 

[vikequeen]

Yes -- we went there the past two years. Love it! But I suggest having a change of clothes (and shoes) in your car. and a plastic bag for muddy stuff. We have been rained on both times we went. We were really glad we had dry clothes in the car (mainly for the kids). Make sure you wear shoes that can get very muddy. I wish I had a second set of tennis shoes for my kids on the trip -- they needed it after the zipline this year. Last year they had not had as much rain so while we got a little dirty, it was not as bad as our trip 2 weeks ago, so hopefully you won't get as muddy as we did.

 

[wfgamble]

Thank you so much! I would have never thought about a change of clothes or anything. Great tip! We are so looking forward to Climbworks. It looks INCREDIBLE! There are 3 of us--myself, husband and our 10 year old daughter (barely 11 at trip time). Celebrating my 40th birthday. It's going to be great!

 

[vikequeen]

my kids are 8 and 11 (7 & 10 last year). I hope you have nice weather. Wind kept us off the long zip on our last trip. we were so bummed, but it just means we will have to go back again. Its better to be safe. I am terrified of heights, but they do such a good job there I loved it enough to go back. Happy Birthday!

 

[alohamom]

The 1 bedroom VS studio is certainly something I have debated as well. For me, I factor in how much touring we are planning to do because if I am not spending all day at Aulani and eating most of my meals around the island then a full kitchen isnt worth the extra bucks for me and means we can stay 2 more days at the resort if we budget down to a studio.

1 bedroom Pros for me are:

-If you are going to be hanging out at the resort for the majority of your vacation then the 1 bedroom and cooking makes sense, since your restaurant choices are fairly limited and pricey.
-Having a full sized refrigerator means you can do one large grocery shop on the way there and you dont have to run back to the store everyday, the bar fridge in a studio is ample but not really big enough to store a weeks worth of food
-Obviously, the size and space
-The pull down bunk making enough beds for a family of 5

Studio pros for me are:

-Substantially less in price then a 1 bedroom, especially when you compare standard or island view studio prices to one bedrooms
...For example, if I look at the 7 nights we are booked in August on Davids DVC cost calculator my price is a total of 2450/USD for the island view studio and 4312/USD for the standard 1 bedroom. That is a difference of $1862 more. Our family has no food allergies or dietary restrictions so we dont need the kitchen and I honestly dont think that we are going to save $1862 by eating in because you still have to pay for the food you buy at the grocery store so that adds to the equation. I used an island view studio for comparison because that is what I have booked however the price difference is even greater when you compare the same standard to stand views.

 

[wfgamble]

alohamom--these are all GREAT points. I agree that if you can stay longer then you definitely should In my case, I can't--work restrictions, flight prices, etc. You are absolutely correct about the price difference--it's big. I figure after all is said and done we will end up spending about $1000 extra on the 1BR but that is probably my Disney math

 

[alohamom]

alohamom--these are all GREAT points. I agree that if you can stay longer then you definitely should In my case, I can't--work restrictions, flight prices, etc. You are absolutely correct about the price difference--it's big. I figure after all is said and done we will end up spending about $1000 extra on the 1BR but that is probably my Disney math

I think pricing depends on when you go too, and believe me, if I had the money to spare I would put us up in a Grand Villa in a heartbeat. The value of extra space in a hotel room can be PRICELESS when your children have a meltdown or someone is sick. Watch, now I have totally jinxed myself-LOL, enjoy your planning!

 

[MouseOfCards]

We visited Aulani a couple of years ago when our son wasn't even 1 at the time. We rented points and planned to book a studio, but when my mom said she would join us, we stretched the budget and reserved a 1BR. When my mom had to cancel last-minute, we were bummed that we had wasted the extra money for the 1BR. When we arrived and saw the room, those regrets totally melted away. We loved all the space, the full kitchen, the dining area, the 2 bathrooms, the washer/dryer, the 2 balconies, etc! During our stay, we cooked several breakfasts, dinners, and late night snacks (we drove to Costco for shopping). We made use of the washer/dryer many times (they leave a small box of detergent for you, and I think you can request more, but we bought our own larger box). As others have mentioned, the onsite dining options aren't that great. We also got free parking and free DVD rentals (and caught up on all the new and old Disney movies) - they allowed us to borrow 3 DVDs at a time, which we exchanged for 3 more almost everyday. Unlike in Disneyland and Disney World, at Aulani we easily returned to our room several times each day for a break or to wash up, and the extra space really helped to make the trip that much more relaxing! We also ordered some items from Amazon and we picked them up from the front desk without a problem. If we had to go back and do it again, we would not even consider the studio at this point. You're going to have a great time! (Just talking about this makes me want to go back, sigh.)

 

[wfgamble]

Thank you! I've thought about how easy it is to pop in and out of the room so that's a big reason we are hoping to upgrade. We are on the waiting list so fingers crossed!

 

[micminmom]

Are there 2 bathrooms on the 1 BR? Somehow I thought it was only 1? With kids, that is good news!