Where to stay before the Aulani portion of your trip?

[JCornell]

Like a lot of others, we stayed at Waikiki. We stayed at the Pacific Beach Hotel at an incredible deal since they were in the middle of retheming it and it's now the 'Alohilani Resort. Great location and views. We spent the first half of the trip exploring the island and figured this would be a good starting point for Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, Kualoa Ranch, North Shore, Honolulu, as well as some spots in Waikiki.

One lesson learned for us, though. The family took a while to get used to the 6 hour time change and our busy first half meant we were pretty exhausted for the second half at Aulani. We said that next time we'd probably do the kick back and relax at Aulani part first and venture out more on the second half.

 

[wishiwasindisneyjen]

We spent two weeks in Hawaii and before Aulani we went to these : Wayfinder in Waikiki; Kiahuna Plantation in Poipu (Kauai); Turtle Bay Resort on the North shore or Oahu.

We wish we started at Aulani since it was the one we least appreciated. Turtle Bay was the best, and the two others were great. Aulani was not.

What did you not like about Aulani?

 

[Benoit]

What did you not like about Aulani?

I didn't like that it was so crowded with people and that there was never a chair available to sit or put our things down no matter the time of day, that these chairs were filled with piles of wet towels and leftover food, and there was no table available to eat the dishes people ordered at the cafe.

I was told it was a high-end resort and I thought so given the price, but that's not the case. Among other things, the rooms are a little dated.

On the other hand, we were surprised by the vert good quality of the food served in Olelo Room and Off the hook, at a fair price. Our daughter loved everything, though.

 

[DisneyDad0315]

If you do a four or five stay on the island before you check into Aulani, where do you stay? Great places to book for exploring and venturing out before settling in at Aulani?

I go to Aulani yearly with my wife, 2 kids (3 and 8) and my mother in law. We usually stay at the Marriot Waikiki for 3-4 days before staying at Aulani. They all like the party atmosphere in the evening/night. There is a lot of places to eat by the hotel and the beach in front of the hotel has minimal waves. My mother in law likes to drink wine and my kids love to stay up late. Waikiki is great for that.

 

[TylerAggie]

We also spent 3 days at outrigger beach resort and loved it. Very convenient location. We booked the Club 47 with our room and definitely got our moneys worth. We ate breakfast and dinner with a beautiful beach view.

 

[Mazz519]

Halekulani is a great place as well as Hilton Hawaiian Village, we have stayed at both places, right in the middle of downtown right on the beach.. Aulani is further away but when your there thats all you need to do except for a few nice dinners

 

[IrishTink]

If you are eligible to stay (military affiliation), the Hale Koa hotel is one of the best locations/value in Waikiki. It’s a beautiful resort right next to Hilton Hawaiian Village.

 

[Finerfam]

I have not seen it mentioned yet, but after researching a bunch of Waikiki hotels, I'm pretty sold on the Outrigger Reef!

 

[monsterkitty]

I have not seen it mentioned yet, but after researching a bunch of Waikiki hotels, I'm pretty sold on the Outrigger Reef!

We stayed at the Outrigger Reef for our honeymoon and absolutely loved it!

 

[Tigger's ally]

S

I have not seen it mentioned yet, but after researching a bunch of Waikiki hotels, I'm pretty sold on the Outrigger Reef!

So, is there a difference between the Outrigger and the Outrigger Reef?

 

[Finerfam]

S

So, is there a difference between the Outrigger and the Outrigger Reef?

Outrigger Reef is next to Halekulani and has the Monkeypod restaurant onsite. Outrigger Waikiki is more in the middle of things between the Royal Hawaiian and Moana Surfrider and has Duke's onsite.

Edited to add: Outrigger Reef also went through a total refurb recently (completed in 2022 I believe) and the rooms look so pretty! Modern but still a nice aloha feel

 

[alohamom]

S

So, is there a difference between the Outrigger and the Outrigger Reef?

One thing to note is the beach in front of the "Outrigger Reef" is quite rocky and is not as good as the beach in front of the "Outrigger Waikiki". You can walk to the other beaches because it is really all kind of one big area but just fyi. The Outrigger Reef is also a little closer to the West end of Waikiki where as the Outrigger Waikiki is more central.

 

[NerfHerder99]

Just got back from a week on Oahu and split it between the Moana Surfrider and Aulani. We enjoyed the location of the Moana and also checked out the properties next to it such as the Outrigger Waikiki and Royal Hawaiian. I would say either of those 3 would be a solid option. Just steps outside you have plenty of dining options.

We have some friends who are Waikiki locals and they told us that if you use the more open/public beaches that aren't in front of the resorts (the beach at Duke statue comes to mind) you should be very careful with belongings since local tweakers will see you put your wallet/phone under a towel and then just come back off the street, grab your stuff while you are in the water, and disappear into the crowds. They said the beaches in front of the resorts are more set back from the street and have more eyes on them so you don't get that problem.

 

[alohamom]

you should be very careful with belongings since local tweakers will see you put your wallet/phone under a towel and then just come back off the street, grab your stuff while you are in the water, and disappear into the crowds.

100% so what we do if we go to any of the Waikiki area beaches is wear flip flops or slides, maybe bring towels but maybe not and my husband keeps the room key in a zipped portion of his swim shorts.

 

[iheartglaciers]

I loved doing a split stay between Turtle Bay and Aulani. It was nice to have proximity to the food and other things we wanted to do around the North Shore for a few days.