Aulani, A Disney Resort And Spa

We had a wonderful trip to the Aulani. The accommodations were first class. We loved sitting on the beach and swimming in the ocean. The pool, lazy river and slides were a lot of fun. We appreciated the private adult pool and hot tub with a gorgeous view. All the restaurants were delicious. We ate at almost everyone. I think the most fun was sitting on the beach, ordering lunch and eating there. We had no problems finding seats at the beach or at the pool. When you ask questions, everyone w as very accommodating. Our plane didn’t leave until the evening so they invited us to stay in their lounge until our shuttle got there. And did I mention the spa? It was out of this world. So beautiful with different hot tubs and saunas and Iloved my facial. It was truly a dream of vacation.

We wanted to love this trip since it was our first to Hawaii and what better way to experience it than with Disney. We love the parks and expected the Hawaii resort to be every bit as magical. We were wrong. Our first issue was when we tried to book an excursion through the Aulani app. My daughter wanted to take the "Pua's 'Ahiu Wild Boar Offroad Expedition" which we successfully booked through the app... or so we thought. 20 minutes after receiving the "confirmation" email from Disney, we received a call from someone at Aulani stating that a mistake had been made and the experience was fully booked. She then suggested a similar ATV experience which we agreed to, though with slightly less enthusiasm than the one we originally wanted. Despite Disney and Aulani having the age of my daughter on file, we go⁹⁹t to the end of a long series of disclosures only to be told that, at age 16, she was too young to participate. The Aulani rep was apologetic but unable to offer anything else similar. We also attempted to reserve a spot for the Luau well before our arrival. No luck. Booked out "months in advance" as we were told. Upon our arrival, we set out to get some seats by the pool for the day. Despite being at the pool at 7:30am, there was not a seat to be had as they were all "claimed" by phantom guests who apparently dropped towels on the back to reserve the seats. Disney purports to have a policy on this whereby they will remove the towel after an hour of vacancy, but this was never enforced. I can only guess that the towels were set out the day before as we saw a lot of towels, but very few guests in the seats. Overall, the property is beautiful but poorly run. This is not the Disney you're used to. Staff was not particularly friendly. Several times we heard employees complaining to one another in passing (work schedule, guest interactions, etc.). We were also surprised by how dirty the pool areas were (we even saw a dirty swim diaper tossed to the side of a walkway next to one of the pools). While I know there is little that can be done to prevent guests from doing these things, in the Florida Disney resorts, trash would not be allowed to pile up on walkways. Perhaps with some changes in leadership, Aulani will live up to the Disney brand,. Unfortunately, as it stands now, it does not.

Our family just returned from a week stay at Aulani, while our family enjoyed the waterslides and the lazy river and spending time on the beach as well as the meals there. Our children greatly enjoyed the underwater explorers program that they offered at the rainbow reef Lagoon. This was a discovery Scuba class that was run by Dive Instructor Nicholas, as well as dive master Troy. The instructions were very well detailed and underwater experience and training was excellent.

Great resort! We are not a full blown Disney family and found this resort when my wife and I stayed next door at the four seasons 2 years ago. Since we planned on coming back with our kids (14,15) we chose Aulani as they wanted big pools and lots of snacks (poolside dole whips, shave ice and grab and go.). The Aulani did not disappoint! Great pools, tons of restaurants, grab and go, good pool food/beverage service! I felt the restaurants and pool service was very reasonably priced. THIS RESORT IS ALSO CELIAC FRIENDLY! They are probably the best we’ve seen catering to food allergies! The housekeeping was also probably the best we have experienced at a resort. Shout out to Jean! The only downside is it is every other day and our family consumes and produces garbage. When we got home I asked my teenage kids if they would want to return and the immediately said yes. It wasn’t overly Disney and the didn’t feel too old there.

Great hotel. Not overdone with disney stuff. Super expensive. Workers: Great customer service! They give stickers to the kids for no reason too. Hallways They pump some sort of smell in the hallways and it smells great. Resort Size Its Huge. Feels like it has its own zip code. Lots of tree and foliage around it. Super nice and it overlooks the ocean. Disney Credit Card Use it and you will save 10% on almost all merch. It also saved us 30% off the room when booking. Location. Only a coupe of miles from target and costco. Costco sells $10 large pizzas for a cheap dinner. Right across the street from a plaza with groceries. Not as cheap as target and costco but its walking. Literally right across the street. Sunset: The sun sets directly behind the ocean at the resort. Do the free pictures they offer at sunset. You can purchase all the pictures they take for $25 (digitally) on the disneyland app. Room We had a delux ocean view studio. Room size was large even for 3 adults and 1 child. Frig in room was much larger than we thought. The kitchen in the room was key to saving money. They provide paper cups, bowels, spoons etc. Pools: There were pools everywhere and most were really warm. They also allow you to check out life vests for children. Towel on chairs procedure: Someone had to explain this to me on the 1st day. If you put a towel a chair and they don't see anyone at the chair, they will fold a new towel and lay it across the back of your chair. They will come back 1 hr later and if that folded towel is still there, they take all your stuff off the chair(s). Painted sky spa: We had out daughters hair and makeup done there and they charged us $120. It was crazy expensive and def not worth what you get. Character breakfast. Costly but worth it. You get so much food that you can still practically eat it for lunch the same day. Characters come to your table and interact with you. Refill Mug This was the best bet. You get to keep the cup, good cup too! You get free refills all stay. 3rd Adult in room fee We added a 3rd adult to our room after the original booking and they charged us $100 a day, with 18% tax which came to $118 a day! It was insane stupid and no way around it. They said you need to pay it to get your wristband for the pool. I think you could prob get away with not having it and save the money Overall It was super nice! Don't regret doing it once. We will never go again because it was so expensive.

It’s typical Disney: long lines and lots of humans. The hotel is cute. The beach is beautiful. But NOT WORTH THE MONEY. There is no daily housekeeping. If you buy a room, you get it every other day. DVC. You get housekeeping every 4th day. That’s gross. If you rent a cabana on the beach, you have to hike up to the pool and get your own towels. People start reserving pool chairs at 6am. The luau starts at 540. People line up at 4:30. The waits are insane. $10 shaved ice for your kids? 20 minute wait. Breakfast? Grab and go or $55/person character breakfast. Towels? 10 minute wait. Characters. Sure. 45 minute wait. You can’t bring a drink in the pool. Even water! It’s like a cruise boat that doesn’t move.

What a great vacation! We took the kids/grandkids and had a blast. The accomodations are incredible and the staff is well trained to meet your expectations. It will be a vacation that we'll all remember for a very long time. The only thing to make a note of is excursions are not real close so getting anywhere requires a rental vehicle (which they have onsite) or Uber.

I came to Aulani to spend six nights. I was not disappointed with the beauty of the hotel and its surrounding grounds. The service was good but not exceptional. The room was the same, good, but not exceptional. Theming in the room was limited to a Mickey lamp that had to be unplugged to turn off. The pool area is great, as is the lagoon beach. The food and beverages were mostly good as well. I guess to get to the point, since it’s Disney, it all comes with a hefty price. I understand you’re not coming to Aulani to save money, but they’ve sure got wringing the money out of you down to a science. Sorry, $21 for a bad tuna fish sandwich at the pool is unconscionable. $18 for a bad mixed drink is ridiculous. I guess Disney just can’t make enough money fast enough. I would recommend Aulani, but be sure to bring plenty of money, you’ll need it.

The room is comfortable and well appointed. The service is great. IMO there is no reason to stay here more than 2 nights. . Even one night in two days would be great for a lot of people. There’s just not that much to do around here and for the price see the rest of the island. The fountains and pools are fun but only about one or two days worth. The parking was easy, the beach was OK – not the nicest but still fine. Value for $ is not there but if you can afford a splurge then go for it!!

This resort is very poor for disneys quality. The prices were insanely high for the quality, day 1 we got a peanut butter and jelly sandwich ( which is shown in the pictures below) that costed a whopping $25! And it wasn’t even spread! The customer service was very good (as is Disney) until we went to see Mickey, we waited for 30 minutes in a line just to be told that we should have spent extra money on a ticket! The slides were very good, so were the other pools. The food was good but way overpriced, for a bottle of apple juice it cost me $6. The rooms are nice very accommodating. All in all the experience at disneys Hawaii resort was good but tainted with bad experiences