Aulani, A Disney Resort And Spa

Our room was absolutely fantastic, the views were amazing. The complex is beautiful. We ate at off the hook a couple of times and had drinks and nibbles at Ole Bar. Food at both was great. The sun loungers are somewhat of an issue. Day One, we strolled down to swim and chill. All chairs were taken, taken by towels. We finally got some around 4pm. I ventured out around 7:15am the next day in the hope of securing 4 chairs for our 9 strong party. Too late! All chairs overlooking the beach with umbrellas were already taken. Families had sent a sacrificial lamb down very early to claim the prime spots. Ironically these families claim the same spots as the day before. They are also responsible for taking about 30 towels per family. Resort antics in full flight. I guess if you can't beat them, join them! These seasoned campaigners outsmart the resort staff with their antics with timed activities to avoid chair loss. Oh well, who cares, first world problems, just very funny to watch these folks feeling so chuffed that they secured their little slice of paradise. Happy New Year!

We were a family of 10 and decided to splurge for one night at Aulani on our last night for the grandkids (ages 7, 5, and 1). We were able to use the facilities in the late morning as our room wouldn't be ready until after 3pm and they had a family lounge area to change and were also able to stay for the majority of the day after checkout. However, for two villas (a 2br and a 1br) I feel that the $2,000 wasn't well spent - at least I didn't pay full retail due to DVC Rental Store. Yes, the staff is amazing and extremely helpful, but not sure what I was paying for as there weren't the amenities in the rooms that you would expect for this price. The pools were great, even though the lines were pretty long for any of the slides and in the late afternoon it was very crowded. We were lucky to find 4 chairs together, but most of the chairs around us that had towels we never saw anyone in them! The kitchen was well appointed and the in-room washer/dryer was great and the views of the pool from the two lanais were amazing. I really wanted to love it more than I did and while it was a great experience for the kids, I would not stay here again.

WARNING...if you have a trip planned during the week of January 25th to the 31st of 2026, American Idol will be taping during that entire week. DVC members received an email notification confirming these dates. If you have a trip planned during this time, you can expect a HUGE stage on the beach, blocking your views and taking up guest beach space. You can expect loud rehearsals and sound checks from early morning until after dark. You can expect crews blocking pathways around the pool area. You can expect the parking garage to be full. Don't expect nightly storytelling or pool entertainment, that will all get cancelled. Don't expect Aulani staff to care about your discomfort or complaints, there is nothing they can do. Don't expect any compensation or consideration for the inconvenience! Idol week at Aulani is not ideal!

This is the greatest place on planet earth!! It truly is the perfect place!! Beaches, pools, lazy river, constant cool breeze, amazing staff——it’s just perfect!!

I have mixed feelings about Disney Aulani. On the positive side, the staff is excellent. Everyone—from valet and front desk to the bellhops and grounds crew—was consistently helpful and warm. Where things broke down for us was the pool area. It’s extremely overcrowded. Guests reserve lounge chairs with towels and, in many cases, never return, making it tough to find a spot. I know chair-saving happens at many resorts, but it was surprisingly frustrating here. If you want a seat, you basically need to claim it around 8:00 a.m. After that, the lines start forming for the two tube-channel slides. Also check ahead to see if all pools are open. During our stay, the main pool with the ocean view, hot tub, and waterfall was closed for repairs, which added to the congestion. Overall, Aulani can be a great experience, but the pool area gets intensely crowded. If you’re comfortable navigating that, you’ll likely enjoy your stay.

Aulani as any Disney resort is spectaculor. The outside area is so nice. A lazy river, slides, kid pools, adult pools and jot tubs. Snack shacks and restaurants. I only went on lazy river once because there were so many kids in to without a tub. The beach area had plenty of seats and servers for food and drink. There is 3 sit down resturants. 2 very expensive. There a take and go or order food cafe and a lounge that offers food too. The rooms are great. Service was excellent.

The Aulani resort is great in many ways. It has one substantial drawback that may or may not be important to each visitor: It is quite crowded. Too many guest rooms and facilities are crowded onto a small piece of land. The positives include a multi-faceted water park that will keep kids engaged for hours. There are also a wide range of other kids' activities, some for an extra charge. The rooms are large and handsome, done in the style of old Hawaii (except for the statue of Mickey holding a lamp). The beach is great, assuming you are OK with VERY calm water; again, it's great for kids. Beach chairs are numerous and close together. It's usually possible to find empty chairs here, unlike around the pool where most everything is claimed early in the morning. The overall setting is beautifully landscaped, between a Marriott Vacation Club and a Four Seasons hotel, in a rather quiet part of Oahu. We enjoyed this location, but it's a bit of a drive (with heavy traffic at rush hours) to get to Honolulu and Waikiki. Except from the ocean-view guest rooms and the gourmet restaurant, it can be hard to find a spot with a view of the ocean. Both of the upper-scale restaurants have only Prix fixe meals, at $85 and $135 before drinks etc. We enjoyed "Off the Hook'" which had a substantial variety at reasonable (for Hawaii) prices and good table service. If you were lucky you could even get a table with a partial view of the ocean. The fast food restaurant Ulu was very disappointing. It's back in a corner with just picnic tables, rather claustrophobic, and no view whatsoever. The menu is quite limited, but the pizza was good. We suggest trying either the informal beach restaurant or the more formal Italian restaurant at the Marriott. In summary, we had a great time and will happily return. We just wanted to point out some aspects that might or might not bother another person at all.

We came from Japan, visited by a car and received very warm welcome by Valet parking staff members. The staff at the Robby was very helpful to navigate us to Makahiki restaurant where we booked the Disney breakfast. At the table, the staff assigned to us was really attentive and we had a wonderful breakfast with the entertainment with the Disney characters. These were really positive experiences we had on Aulani, however all those good things were ruined due to the attitudes by one staff who was very fluent in Japanese at the entrance of Makahiki restaurant. It was shocking experience that we never received at such high class hotels, as when a member of us asked the location of Rest room on English, she abruptly said “Look at the floor map!” in very rude and disrespectful way of Japanese. After that we asked other local staff and he showed the directions by accompanying us to get to the place. When we carefully observed her attitude, she changed the approach to Japanese and other nationals as she apparently disgraced Japanese people. Maybe no one including managers understood Japanese language and her terrible communication to Japanese people. It was pity that all other experiences on Aulani was almost perfectly positive but only one person can destroy everything…

This is our second trip to Aulani. Disney does do detail well. Lots of Hawaiian art, landscaping, the animals in the lazy river pool rocks, etc. It is so enjoyable. Loads of fun at the various pools and ocean. However, having to get up at 5:30 am in order to secure a pool chair that is partly shaded is ridiculous. Tip: if guests are taking the innertubes and keeping them at their chairs, staff needs to retrieve them and explain they can't do that. Many people were waiting for an inner tube for the river or the slide and none were to be found except at certain people's pool chairs. Love Dole Whip, shave ice with sweetened condensed milk, iced mochas in a.m. at Off the Hook. Malasadas are ok but way overpriced (go across the street to ABC store and pay less than half what you pay at Aulani and with the option of coconut filling). On last trip, we really enjoyed the various entertainment at the lounge, especially Jerry Santos. We were so glad that he was still performing there. We made sure to go the night he was there. Unfortunately, there was a very loud drunk yelling almost the whole time he performed. When the waitress came by to see if we wanted another round, I told her we just couldn't as I had a huge headache from this guy. Even though it was only us 2, she moved us to a table for 6 away from him and comped us a dessert. Finally, the bar cut him off and he left. However, long before that, some waitress or hostess kept coming to his table to gab because they went to high school together which made him even louder. Couldn't she tell how disruptive he was to all of the other guests? Some people are so selfish. We ate at every restaurant on site (see separate Ama Ama review). Surprisingly the fast food options at lunch are great. The adult pool bar, however, had a nasty bartender, who, when I asked for a refill on ice water and lime because waitress was missing in action, told me I need to go to Ulu cafe and help myself. I was sitting there being served lunch and that's what she told me. I do not understand people who work in service industry and are nasty. Speaking of pool bar restaurant, one day we both had a wonderful salad. We came back a few days later, ordered the same thing and waited forever. Once it came, it was missing half of the ingredients. I went to the bar, they had to get the waitress and she refunded us. We went to one of the fast food places instead as we weren't going to spend any more time there. We did go back a few days later, had a great waitress, explained what happened and she made sure that everything was correct. Housekeeping, when called, were prompt (usually) with requests. But this only cleaning the room every 4 days is ridiculous. I'll bet they clean the room every day at the next door 4 Seasons. Also we requested that the bed be flipped since we both have bad backs and need a firm mattress, and they refused to do so. So I was miserable the whole time. Literally crying out in pain constantly our last night there. Got no sleep. Had to go to doctor upon return home to get an injection because of it. This is service? I never stayed anywhere else that refused to honor this request. Since Aulani knows that folks are coming from quite a distance and that usually rooms are not available upon arrival, they should really have a huge lounge that is air conditioned for waiting. Trying to find a seat somewhere is nuts. We found a quiet area with a breeze but still we were exhausted, sweaty and just wanting at least A/C while we waited for our villa to be ready. Ditto for return flights home. Considering the price point, they really need to up their game. It's great now but it could be so much more.

Aloha! We spent just one night at Aulani Disney Resort during our Honolulu trip and it honestly felt like a six-star experience. Even though it was short, it was the highlight of our vacation — especially for our 5-year-old. This place is perfect for families. Parking is about USD 40 a night, which is reasonable for Hawaii. Check-in is at 3 p.m., but we arrived early, dropped our luggage at the concierge and were given access to a lounge to rest and change so we could start enjoying the pools right away. The changing rooms have bathrooms and lockers, and as long as you’re an overnight guest you can use all the water facilities any time before check-in and after check-out. There are multiple pools, lots of chairs, a calm private beach, and even a rainbow river for snorkeling with fish (USD 30 per day or USD 50 for your whole stay includes snorkel, surfboard, fins, life jacket and sand toys rentals). We were lucky enough to see a green sea turtle while snorkeling! Everywhere you look is Instagram-worthy and full of Disney touches, from character meet-and-greets to craft workshops for kids (check with the front desk for schedules). We treated ourselves to Mickey shave ice for USD 8, and Ulu Café turned out to be the most affordable spot on the resort , a bit pricey compared to off-property, but totally fine for Disney. Our standard mountain-view room was very clean (just a little older in style) and super comfortable. If you’re looking to add something magical to your Waikiki trip, even one night here lets you enjoy nearly two full days of fun. Highly recommend Aulani for an unforgettable family experience!