Booked Aulani

[nikkistevej]

Well, I booked Aulani for June, it will be mine and DH's 25th wedding anniversary and my DD's high school graduation trip. Wanted to get the "cheapest DVC point" 1 bedroom we could so we could stay longer. Only thing available was ocean view, so could only book 6 nights ugh. And because of the only using 1/2 of your borrowed points rule from DVC going on right now, maybe that will change and we can add some days at some point. Wanted to do 9 nights, coming from East Coast, felt like that would be better. We may stay somewhere else on the island if we can't add to Aulani. Hopefully we will still be able to go with Covid.

 

[cgattis]

2022 is our 25th and our son’s HS graduation, plus daughters 21st bday! Hope y’all are able to take your trip and celebrate!!!!

 

[nikkistevej]

2022 is our 25th and our son’s HS graduation, plus daughters 21st bday! Hope y’all are able to take your trip and celebrate!!!!

Thanks so much!!!! Fingers crossed!!

 

[Lilsia]

I would stay in a studio and stay longer. We are going this May for my daughter's belated graduation trip. We had to cancel last years but I was able to bank all of my points and had access the 50% of 2022 points so we are staying in a garden view studio room for 16 nights.

 

[Christine & family]

We just got back, having flown from the east coast, and had a wonderful time. Weekends were busy but during the week it was very pleasant so we just planned accordingly. We connected through San Francisco and stayed at the Grand Hyatt in the airport to get some sleep and a shower. Definitely helped on the return trip when you are losing hours versus doing a red eye. Enjoy!

 

[wdp]

We just got back, having flown from the east coast, and had a wonderful time. Weekends were busy but during the week it was very pleasant so we just planned accordingly. We connected through San Francisco and stayed at the Grand Hyatt in the airport to get some sleep and a shower. Definitely helped on the return trip when you are losing hours versus doing a red eye. Enjoy!

Looking forward to trying that SFO Grand Hyatt en route to Hawaii next week...Any significant issues with social distancing/crowding on the train between the terminal and the hotel?

 

[nikkistevej]

I would stay in a studio and stay longer. We are going this May for my daughter's belated graduation trip. We had to cancel last years but I was able to bank all of my points and had access the 50% of 2022 points so we are staying in a garden view studio room for 16 nights.

We wanted to cook and have some meals in the room. Also wanted to have a separate bedroom for us. I'm gonna talk to DH about it, but I doubt he'll change his mind. LOL

 

[nikkistevej]

We just got back, having flown from the east coast, and had a wonderful time. Weekends were busy but during the week it was very pleasant so we just planned accordingly. We connected through San Francisco and stayed at the Grand Hyatt in the airport to get some sleep and a shower. Definitely helped on the return trip when you are losing hours versus doing a red eye. Enjoy!

Hoping we can add a few days to the trip at Aulani, if not, may stay a few days at the end in Waikiki. We'll see. Also, wanting to do a day or 2 in San Francisco at the end. Gotta see what we can add to this trip. LOL

 

[PattiPB]

We’ve got a week at Aulani after 3 nights in Waikiki. Hoping things will be stable enough to go in June. Taking my grown children for their first time!

 

[iloveftwilderness]

Well, I booked Aulani for June, it will be mine and DH's 25th wedding anniversary and my DD's high school graduation trip. Wanted to get the "cheapest DVC point" 1 bedroom we could so we could stay longer. Only thing available was ocean view, so could only book 6 nights ugh. And because of the only using 1/2 of your borrowed points rule from DVC going on right now, maybe that will change and we can add some days at some point. Wanted to do 9 nights, coming from East Coast, felt like that would be better. We may stay somewhere else on the island if we can't add to Aulani. Hopefully we will still be able to go with Covid.

I would check out the Hilton Hawaiian in Waikiki if you are adding more days.

 

[nikkistevej]

We’ve got a week at Aulani after 3 nights in Waikiki. Hoping things will be stable enough to go in June. Taking my grown children for their first time!

That's what I'm wondering about staying after/before. We may be disappointed if we stay at a regular hotel after Aulani. LOL

 

[nikkistevej]

I would check out the Hilton Hawaiian in Waikiki if you are adding more days.

Going to check them out! thanks

 

[Lilsia]

Hoping we can add a few days to the trip at Aulani, if not, may stay a few days at the end in Waikiki. We'll see. Also, wanting to do a day or 2 in San Francisco at the end. Gotta see what we can add to this trip. LOL

We have a few nights booked at the Embassy Suites Waikiki after our Aulani stay. I have not stayed there yet but it gets really good reviews. It also has a small kitchen area. I like spending a few nights in Waikiki. It's just my daughter and I that go and we love walking around the shops and trying new foods.

 

[happymommy]

Hoping we can add a few days to the trip at Aulani, if not, may stay a few days at the end in Waikiki. We'll see. Also, wanting to do a day or 2 in San Francisco at the end. Gotta see what we can add to this trip. LOL

We go to Ko Olina (the Marriott where we own) every other year for at least 2 weeks. A couple of times, we’ve stayed in Waikiki for a couple nights at the front end of the trip (since it worked better using airline miles for the flights we wanted). I prefer doing it before going over to the condo, as we just eat out all the meals in Waikiki, and it gives us time to adjust. Then when we go to Ko Olina, we do a grocery stop on the way there and are fresh and ready to unpack and settle in. I’d prefer to do it prior rather than afterwards, and it’s easier to move from hotel rooms to the condo than vice versa.

Last time we did it, we just used a taxi to get to the hotel, then rented a car in after checking out in Waikiki (walking distance) and kept it until returning it at the airport. We don’t need a car in Waikiki, we just walked everywhere. Plus, traffic is horrendous there, and parking is expensive.

 

[nkereina]

I saw some recommendations for moving to a studio. A studio at Aulani is tiny and only has one real bed. I would not want to be in a studio with three adults, especially for 9 nights.

If it were me, I would also add the remaining 3 nights on at a resort in Waikiki. We did Waikiki at the start of our trip when we knew we'd be up early coming from the east coast. There were actually things open and people milling about at 5am when we were wide awake! We also took advantage of the plethora of organized tours that depart from Waikiki, and did Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head through tours. Between this, the trolley, and walking, we also did not need a rental car in Waikiki.

I saw a recommendation for Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki - beautiful property, but its at the far end of the strip making for long walks to the action of Waikiki. But if you want a resort similar to Aulani, that's the best bet. We knew we wouldn't be spending much time in our hotel at Waikiki since we were using that time for touring, so we stayed at the Waikiki Beach Marriott which was a great location. Also loved Moana Surfrider.

 

[happymommy]

The Moana Surfrider is where we stayed a couple times prior to Ko Olina. We used to do staycations there when we lived in Kailua (they had awesome kamaaina rates, like $100/night). DH is lifetime titanium with Bonvoy, so we get the lounge access for free continental breakfast, snacks all day, evening heavy pupu’s and wine & beer included, plus they give free full breakfast buffet which is really extensive! He spent hours in the gym/spa too. I agree the HHV is nice, but at the far end, and if you’re going to be touring about (we don’t) then why pay for a resort when you just need a hotel room?

 

[Lilsia]

I saw some recommendations for moving to a studio. A studio at Aulani is tiny and only has one real bed. I would not want to be in a studio with three adults, especially for 9 nights.

If it were me, I would also add the remaining 3 nights on at a resort in Waikiki. We did Waikiki at the start of our trip when we knew we'd be up early coming from the east coast. There were actually things open and people milling about at 5am when we were wide awake! We also took advantage of the plethora of organized tours that depart from Waikiki, and did Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head through tours. Between this, the trolley, and walking, we also did not need a rental car in Waikiki.

I saw a recommendation for Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki - beautiful property, but its at the far end of the strip making for long walks to the action of Waikiki. But if you want a resort similar to Aulani, that's the best bet. We knew we wouldn't be spending much time in our hotel at Waikiki since we were using that time for touring, so we stayed at the Waikiki Beach Marriott which was a great location. Also loved Moana Surfrider.

If someone spends any amount of time in their room, then I agree with you. We found that we were barely in our room during our stay. I would wake before my daughter and take my nook and coffee down to the adult pool and hang out there. We would also spend the evenings sitting on the beach. We live so far removed from any oceans that we soaked in as much as we could while there.

 

[nikkistevej]

I saw some recommendations for moving to a studio. A studio at Aulani is tiny and only has one real bed. I would not want to be in a studio with three adults, especially for 9 nights.

If it were me, I would also add the remaining 3 nights on at a resort in Waikiki. We did Waikiki at the start of our trip when we knew we'd be up early coming from the east coast. There were actually things open and people milling about at 5am when we were wide awake! We also took advantage of the plethora of organized tours that depart from Waikiki, and did Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head through tours. Between this, the trolley, and walking, we also did not need a rental car in Waikiki.

I saw a recommendation for Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki - beautiful property, but its at the far end of the strip making for long walks to the action of Waikiki. But if you want a resort similar to Aulani, that's the best bet. We knew we wouldn't be spending much time in our hotel at Waikiki since we were using that time for touring, so we stayed at the Waikiki Beach Marriott which was a great location. Also loved Moana Surfrider.

I'm really looking into a few days at Waikiki now, and we wouldn't need a car either.

 

[nikkistevej]

Now I'm wondering should we do Waikiki in the beginning, downtown Honolulu for a day(ish0, then after Aulani maybe visit another island? Maui or Big Island? Ughh, so many choices lol

 

[PattiPB]

We did 3 nights in Waikiki then Aulani one year. Last year we did Aulani then Maui for 3 nights.

Both were amazing!