Timeframe for reserving your chairs @ the pool.

[Noah_t]

Last thing I would say,,,if all families just take a few chairs,,,a family of 4,,like us never took 4 chairs,,,90% of the time it would be just 2 chairs,,,with sometimes a 3rd. How often is your group of 7 all lounging on the chairs together,,,come on we all just want a place to set our things, some people lounge,,,but others that come by for a quick bite or drink, sit on the end of the lounger.

Yes I couldn't agree more with this sentiment.

 

[WillGan]

Still There is one caveat that I rather not share because it’s my secret lol. We always go 4th of July window and this is the most packed of the packed! By 8-830, everything is reserved!

I’ll see you there! I’m preparing mentally, physically, and emotionally to be up and out there by 6:30 AM.

 

[WillGan]

Yes I couldn't agree more with this sentiment.

We always happily give our chairs away to those with children as well! You feel for those who make around 3 laps searching! Hopefully this thread at least prepares most for how to handle this important part of their stay.

 

[Boopuff]

I despise chair hogs. If people would be decent human beings, this wouldn't be a problem. Just come down when you're ready to swim. You're not entitled to a chair for the full day while you shop, eat, tour etc. If you leave to eat, take your stuff. If more people would just be nice humans, maybe this garbage would stop. I totally agree that most families do not need chairs for every, single, family member.

 

[kboo]

Last thing I would say,,,if all families just take a few chairs,,,a family of 4,,like us never took 4 chairs,,,90% of the time it would be just 2 chairs,,,with sometimes a 3rd.

Here now, for various reasons we haven’t been getting to the pool until the afternoon and we haven’t had much trouble near the kids’ play area getting 1-2 chairs (for 4 of us) which is fine for us and centrally located enough.

So far we have seen only a few chairs reserved at like 6:30/7. This afternoon I saw a CM come by and point to 2 chairs next to me and ask if they were mine, once she learned they were not, the towels went in the cart as well as a swim shirt and a portable device charger! I chatted with her a little about how serious they were and she said, “they weren’t here at 4:09 so now it’s time .” (It was 5:10.)

(I was there for a half hour and no chair occupant came by, even after their stuff was gone.)

 

[mz-s]

I get if you want to be right by the pool or whatever you have to get out there early (which I think is ridiculous but what can you do about it). But are there enough loungers so that there are always loungers available, even if you may not be able to be right in front of the pool or whatever?

 

[kboo]

I get if you want to be right by the pool or whatever you have to get out there early (which I think is ridiculous but what can you do about it). But are there enough loungers so that there are always loungers available, even if you may not be able to be right in front of the pool or whatever?

Eh. Sort of. We got to the pool around 9:50a and found 2 chairs in the last row at the beach. Later, around 1:30p, after we came back from our room (1 adult who had a work zoom in the room, + 2 kids, DH at spa), I did 2 circuits and couldn’t find a single chair. Got a CM to help and they located 2 chairs a few rows back by the pool formerly known as the quiet pool (near the spa).

DH came back from the spa and said his therapist told him that the resort has a max capacity of 4000 and there are only 200 loungers! So even if not every room is maxed out (but all the rooms are booked this week), conservatively there’s 2000 people here. And even everyone only tries to get 1/2 the # chairs in their family that’s still 5:1. Eek.

That said:
*If you are vacating some chairs and you see forlorn people with folded towels looking around, you would do them a great favor by pointing out your newly-vacant chairs.
*CMs can also help - they will radio around to see if there are any chairs. They may not be in a great location but they’re better than nothing.
*there are cubbies near the lazy river and slides, and also the snorkeling area, so you don’t *have* to have a chair if you’re doing this activities.
*Splash pad and children’s play areas start clearing out around 2.

 

[AustinTink]

Eh. Sort of. We got to the pool around 9:50a and found 2 chairs in the last row at the beach. Later, around 1:30p, after we came back from our room (1 adult who had a work zoom in the room, + 2 kids, DH at spa), I did 2 circuits and couldn’t find a single chair. Got a CM to help and they located 2 chairs a few rows back by the pool formerly known as the quiet pool (near the spa).

DH came back from the spa and said his therapist told him that the resort has a max capacity of 4000 and there are only 200 loungers! So even if not every room is maxed out (but all the rooms are booked this week), conservatively there’s 2000 people here. And even everyone only tries to get 1/2 the # chairs in their family that’s still 5:1. Eek.

That said:
*If you are vacating some chairs and you see forlorn people with folded towels looking around, you would do them a great favor by pointing out your newly-vacant chairs.
*CMs can also help - they will radio around to see if there are any chairs. They may not be in a great location but they’re better than nothing.
*there are cubbies near the lazy river and slides, and also the snorkeling area, so you don’t *have* to have a chair if you’re doing this activities.
*Splash pad and children’s play areas start clearing out around 2.

This is good information but also disconcerting for us late risers. On beach vacations, we love to sleep late, have breakfast on the patio/balcony, go for a walk along the beach and then finally roll up to the pool around noon. The rest of the afternoon is adult beverages and snacks while in and out of the water. Not sure we will be able to accomplish this at Aulani.

 

[kboo]

This is good information but also disconcerting for us late risers. On beach vacations, we love to sleep late, have breakfast on the patio/balcony, go for a walk along the beach and then finally roll up to the pool around noon. The rest of the afternoon is adult beverages and snacks while in and out of the water. Not sure we will be able to accomplish this at Aulani.

So having walked around a bit there’s a lot more than 200 chairs, especially if you include the beach area. The time difference makes it moderately easy to get up early and it’s quite peaceful sitting at the chairs. Still, I agree that it’s annoying to feel like you have to do it. Knowing what I know now, for resort days I might go out a little early, but I’d have planned more day trips in the morning (we rented a car) and come back to the pool for some afternoon time. And then there will be chairs, especially if you’re not picky about where you go.

 

[AustinTink]

So having walked around a bit there’s a lot more than 200 chairs, especially if you include the beach area. The time difference makes it moderately easy to get up early

Good to know there are more chairs. Not sure what the time difference will do to us. We are visiting Aulani on our way home from Australia so we will already be a mess in general with the jet lag.

 

[pineapplepalms]

This is good information but also disconcerting for us late risers. On beach vacations, we love to sleep late, have breakfast on the patio/balcony, go for a walk along the beach and then finally roll up to the pool around noon. The rest of the afternoon is adult beverages and snacks while in and out of the water. Not sure we will be able to accomplish this at Aulani.

We were just there and never made it to the pool in the mornings, although when I looked down from our room I could see people camping out before 7am. When we did go the pool, it was after lunchtime or in the evening, and we didn’t have any issues finding a few free chairs, but we weren’t picky about where they were. Also, we specifically looked for chairs near the kids play areas since we have little ones, so maybe that’s why they had space in the afternoons if kids were napping or tired out from morning pool time. There are tons of chairs on the beach and those didn’t seem to fill up from what I saw.

 

[Curiousporpoise]

I feel like this isn’t that big a deal. When we go somewhere and get to the pool late, we head to the lagoon or not so secret beach where the kids play on the sand. If we get there early, we take 2 chairs and are good to go. If we want to go down the slides, we just throw our things in a cubby and hop in the lazy river. It has never been an issue and we eat at the picnic benches.

 

[AustinTink]

We were just there and never made it to the pool in the mornings, although when I looked down from our room I could see people camping out before 7am. When we did go the pool, it was after lunchtime or in the evening, and we didn’t have any issues finding a few free chairs, but we weren’t picky about where they were. Also, we specifically looked for chairs near the kids play areas since we have little ones, so maybe that’s why they had space in the afternoons if kids were napping or tired out from morning pool time. There are tons of chairs on the beach and those didn’t seem to fill up from what I saw.

We’ll likely just opt for beach chairs. Hopefully the waitstaff circles around the beach chairs often. We’re old, empty nesters who like to park it on a lounger and drink fruity drinks.

 

[BamaGuy44]

We’re old, empty nesters who like to park it on a lounger and drink fruity drinks

If that plan is wrong, I don't wanna be right!

 

[DVCSunDevil]

After this staycation (which ends today), I figure to share my experiences as to what times you’d want to start reserving your chairs in “prime” locations around the resort. We have now stayed during all 4 of the breaks in Hawaii’s school (Summer/Fall-Oct./Winter/Spring) calendar and here are my observations:
Summer time is nuts! Light starts coming prior to 6am and if you want ANYTHING near the pools, you need to get yours at least by 630! Some may say I’m exaggerating but I’m not! If you have a big group you’re trying to account for, don’t risk it! The later you go, the farther from the pool you get (3rd row). There is one caveat that I rather not share because it’s my secret lol. We always go 4th of July window and this is the most packed of the packed! By 8-830, everything is reserved! The first to go is the chairs near the pool. Last is the playground area. I’m sure you can figure out why.
Fall, light is still up early but not as crazy as summer! 7am is a nice window for those “prime” spots. You could push it till 745ish, but again, most people are coming in on a different time zone, so they’re up since 5 easy! When in doubt, send someone out!
Winter, light begins to come up around 7 so it’s not as bad as summer but it is just as crowded so those spots that are in demand, you can’t risk anything! Also, during NYE, there are those who position themselves for the fireworks and stay there all day! Good luck to those who do but from what we experienced, the best view is the ones that are closest to the room elevators to beat the crowd back up!
Spring- light is up around 615-630am but again, those coveted areas require that sacrificial lamb. To each their own but by 800, those pool areas are usually full!
Each Ohana will have their own time window but as a local, we come here to enjoy the pools so we go early to be safe! Yes there is always those who will go earlier than anyone because looking for a seat for a family of 5 at 11am is horrendously cruel! There are those chair rules but guests (like myself) know how to work it. Just thank goodness there’s coffee and Wi-Fi to entertain us for those 2 hours of relaxing before that 8am window where we can leave and return back to our personal “chaos”.
*Today we came down at 645am to get a favorite spot and someone already locked it up! This is battle when it comes to your preferred seating areas! I hope this helps shed some light for those new guests incoming and look fwd. to everyone’s experiences once this posts! Mahalo!

We just got back from Aulani. The pool chair situation is crazy! We are east coasters, so luckily for us waking up early wasn't an issue since we were 6 hours time difference. The best chairs at Aulani have people taking them at 4:30 IN THE MORNING!! We were there during the week of west coast school breaks and Aulani was at 100% capacity, but we found that we could get the seats we wanted (other than those prized seats) if we were there at 6:30am. One morning we went at 7:00am and our "regular" seats were taken...we had to go to tier 3 seats. It's crazy.

And I will say that there is a heightened air of entitlement at Aulani, which is both crazy and hilarious. I witnessed several instances of grown adults having temper tantrums over pool seats. News flash...if you get to the pool at 11:00am you aren't going to find a seat! But that doesn't mean you can just move people's things and take their seats, which I witnessed and stopped BTW. There are some people who thinks the world revolves around them, I guess. It was crazy to see this behavior at a chill Hawaiian resort.

 

[mz-s]

News flash...if you get to the pool at 11:00am you aren't going to find a seat! But that doesn't mean you can just move people's things and take their seats, which I witnessed and stopped BTW. There are some people who thinks the world revolves around them, I guess. It was crazy to see this behavior at a chill Hawaiian resort.

I think your accusation of entitlement falls on the wrong party personally. Granted I have never been to Aulani so I don't know how things work there, but at most other resorts I've been to, loungers are shared resources and aren't supposed to be saved. If you're not using it, it's common courtesy to remove your belongings so someone else can use it.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

I think your accusation of entitlement falls on the wrong party personally. Granted I have never been to Aulani so I don't know how things work there, but at most other resorts I've been to, loungers are shared resources and aren't supposed to be saved. If you're not using it, it's common courtesy to remove your belongings so someone else can use it.

But people were using them. Aulani’s policy is that if you are gone from your seat from one hour then it can be given to someone else, which is totally fair. But if someone is laying on the lounger and goes in to the pool for literally 20 minutes, they shouldn’t have to lose their chair. That’s what people were doing…someone would be in the pool for 15 minutes and others were coming up and trying to take over their chairs. When those people were told that people were still sitting there, they lost their minds. Not everyone, mind you. Just the ones, who couldn’t deal with not being able to do whatever they wanted.

 

[mz-s]

But people were using them. Aulani’s policy is that if you are gone from your seat from one hour then it can be given to someone else, which is totally fair. But if someone is laying on the lounger and goes in to the pool for literally 20 minutes, they shouldn’t have to lose their chair. That’s what people were doing…someone would be in the pool for 15 minutes and others were coming up and trying to take over their chairs. When those people were told that people were still sitting there, they lost their minds. Not everyone, mind you. Just the ones, who couldn’t deal with not being able to do whatever they wanted.

I see, yes that is a different story.

 

[AustinTink]

The best chairs at Aulani have people taking them at 4:30 IN THE MORNING!!

Then they probably go about their morning, have breakfast at Mahahiki, etc. That part irks me to no end. If to want to get up at 4:30 and save a chair, your booty better be in it all morning when the normal people arrive.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

Then they probably go about their morning, have breakfast at Mahahiki, etc. That part irks me to no end. If to want to get up at 4:30 and save a chair, your booty better be in it all morning when the normal people arrive.

I agree. And to be fair, their booty WAS in those seats. The Aulani policy is that before 8am any seat that has been reserved (has a towel on it) must have someone there in the seat or else the towel will be removed and the seat made available. The staff was really good about enforcing the pool rules and before 8am staff members were patrolling every 15 minutes or so to remove towels from chairs with no one in them. Because of that, people were in their chairs up until 8am without question. After 8am the staff would come by about every 30 minutes or so to mark down the seats that were empty so they knew when to give those seats away. The staff was great. It was some of the people who got to the pool later in the day who were the problem. I witnessed a woman who tried to take over occupied seats being told that the family had literally just stepped away 10 minutes ago to take a dip in the pool and the woman went nuts. She said “this isn’t over” and went and got a staff member. When the staff member explained the rule to her she went full “Karen” and kept arguing. She finally gave up and left. Those are the kind of people I am talking about, and there were shockingly a lot of them. People know they have to be down at the pool early to get good chair spots, so if they chose not to then that is on them.