Here at Aulani now….

[scoobdoo]

Of course they can. I think I was very polite in my disagreement. Some of the complaints just struck me as, frankly, unreasonable.

you haven’t been to Aulani post-Covid; it’s clear Aulani today is a shadow of its former self

 

[Lilsia]

you haven’t been to Aulani post-Covid; it’s clear Aulani today is a shadow of its former self

I don't feel that way at all. We spent 16 nights there in May/June and had a wonderful trip. The pools are open, all of the restaurants, except for Ama Ama are open, they had activities, characters, entertainment, etc. The food thing is really a non issue for us since we want to eat locally when we travel. So more often then not, we would drive to some local place and enjoy the amazing food. The cast members at Aulani are helpful and friendly. There are some things that are not yet back, but that is hardly a "shadow of it's former self". Maybe we are just glass half full people and don't focus on what isn't there but enjoy what is.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

The Pool thing i totally get. But its not cause of covid. Pools close in Hawaii hotels anytime between 7-9 in my experience. Aulani has been no different.
I dont like it, but its the norm there. I think due to the timescale that the islands run in daily life. Eating at 7:30pm and we are some of the last people in the restaurant by 8pm, generally.
.
I do wish they made it clear you should reserve things ahead in the area. We booked the Aulami Luau and Makahiki as soon as the window opened up for us(cast member said 30 days before check in to us). We knew to do that because we have been before.

We also booked OpenTable reservations for dinners the rest of the nights at the walking distance hotels and monkeypod. And we did it as early as we could. Cause with AmaAma closed, people staying at Aulano looking for a fancy dinner have only a few choices nearby.
.
Olelo Room and Longboards are the only 2 places we do on a whim. But I'm pretty sure neither takes anything but in person reservations. But I might be wrong on that.
.
Similar to WDW, there is a learning curve. Its a lot less steep, but it exists. At least depending on the type of vacation you are looking to get.

Never knew that about pools in Hawaii. Learn something new every day!

 

[cgattis]

Exactly this! You don't "go on an Aulani vacation," you "stay at Aulani on your Hawaii vacation."

Exactly. But that’s precisely why the early pool closures (well, really the lazy river, but…) bugged me. Disney fully intended guests to stay gone much of the day (hence the relatively low number of chairs) but then closes the pools and food super early. You have to choose which things to do during the day and then nothing to do past 8 (and I just don’t watch TV on vacation).

But yeah, I imagine all those things are posted on the website if you look ahead of time.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Exactly. But that’s precisely why the early pool closures (well, really the lazy river, but…) bugged me. Disney fully intended guests to stay gone much of the day (hence the relatively low number of chairs) but then closes the pools and food super early. You have to choose which things to do during the day and then nothing to do past 8 (and I just don’t watch TV on vacation).

But yeah, I imagine all those things are posted on the website if you look ahead of time.

But remember where people are visiting from. "The thing to do" at 8 is "go to bed" because it's 10:00 in California, Midnight in Chicago, and 1am in New York.

 

[Lilsia]

Exactly. But that’s precisely why the early pool closures (well, really the lazy river, but…) bugged me. Disney fully intended guests to stay gone much of the day (hence the relatively low number of chairs) but then closes the pools and food super early. You have to choose which things to do during the day and then nothing to do past 8 (and I just don’t watch TV on vacation).

But yeah, I imagine all those things are posted on the website if you look ahead of time.

On our stays, we noticed that the pools cleared out by 5 anyway. On our resort days, we would spend the day at the beach and then hop over to the empty lazy river when everyone took their kids in to get cleaned up and dressed for dinner. The pools are pretty much empty those last couple of hours. So it is probably more demand then anything.

 

[Kmk2]

Never knew that about pools in Hawaii. Learn something new every day!

I checked and 50% of the four seasons pools next door to Aulani are open till 9PM (including their adults pool). I would love to know the timing on the Marriott pools too if anyone knows.

I saw 10pm on a message board - but maybe someone can update/clarify

 

[DLgal]

But remember where people are visiting from. "The thing to do" at 8 is "go to bed" because it's 10:00 in California, Midnight in Chicago, and 1am in New York.

People adjust after a day or 2, otherwise everywhere would have to operate like that because people travel across timezones ALL the time. Do you think people who fly to CA from the east coast to visit Disneyland call it a night at 7pm because "it's 10pm back home!"

I mean, it's fine to just say that island life in HI just shuts things down early. It's not known for its nightlife. It doesn't have anything to do with time zones though.

 

[Kmk2]

People adjust after a day or 2, otherwise everywhere would have to operate like that because people travel across timezones ALL the time. Do you think people who fly to CA from the east coast to visit Disneyland call it a night at 7pm because "it's 10pm back home!"

I mean, it's fine to just say that island life in HI just shuts things down early. It's not known for its nightlife. It doesn't have anything to do with time zones though.

And from what I’ve heard it’s very popular with locals -
So that kind of takes the time zones out of the equation.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I checked and 50% of the four seasons pools next door to Aulani are open till 9PM (including their adults pool). I would love to know the timing on the Marriott pools too if anyone knows.

I saw 10pm on a message board - but maybe someone can update/clarify

I looked at Hilton Hawaiian Village just for fun.

Two pools close at 9, two pools close at 6. Towels stands all close at 6.

 

[DLgal]

And from what I’ve heard it’s very popular with locals -
So that kind of takes the time zones out of the equation.

Exactly! I think a lot of people would be livid if the Disneyland resort pools closed at 6pm because "its bedtime for people who visited from the east coast." Can you imagine?

By that logic, the restaurants at Aulani would stop serving dinner at like 5 or 6pm.

 

[Kmk2]

I looked at Hilton Hawaiian Village just for fun.

Two pools close at 9, two pools close at 6. Towels stands all close at 6.

But the Marriott next door - anyone know? Does anywhere close everything down at 8 other than Aulani? Doesn’t seem like we have any examples here yet!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

By that logic, the restaurants at Aulani would stop serving dinner at like 6 or 7pm.

'AMA 'AMA's last seating was regularly around 8pm and it was EMPTY at that time.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I checked and 50% of the four seasons pools next door to Aulani are open till 9PM (including their adults pool).

You're cherry picking though.

Yeah half of the Four Seasons pools close at 9. The other half closes at 7. Half closing at 7 and half closing at 9 isn't more than everything closing at 8.

 

[Kmk2]

You're cherry picking though.

Yeah half of the Four Seasons pools close at 9. The other half closes at 7. Half closing at 7 and half closing at 9 isn't more than everything closing at 8.

Yes, they keep the kids pool and the adult pool open till 9. They close the spa pool (likely because the spa closes) and the pool near the restaurant. How many spa pools does aulani have? How many adult pools does aulani have? How many pools does aulani have open between 8 and 9? The answer to all the foregoing questions is zero.

 

[alohamom]

But the Marriott next door - anyone know? Does anywhere close everything down at 8 other than Aulani? Doesn’t seem like we have any examples here yet!

I must admit, we were kind of shocked by the early pool closures at Aulani the first time we stayed there, but we just adjust for it. It is one of the few things I don't like about Aulani.
In my experience it is the earliest of all the resorts we have stayed at
I don't know about post covid but the last time I was at the Marriott Ko Olina all the pools were open till 10pm
Pools on the Big Island in private condos and the Marriott Waikoloa have been open late, 10 and 9 respectively.
Pool at the Hyatt Waikiki was open late, like 11 or something crazy but they have a bar up on the pool deck so maybe that is why
I know all the pools at the Grand Hyatt Kauai are open late but idk the actual hour
It has been over 10 years since I was in Maui but I know the pools in the hotels along Ka'anapali Beach I have stayed at (Sheraton, Weston, Marriott and Hyatt) all closed around 9 if not earlier.
I know my husband took my daughter down to the Hyatt Maui pool around 8 or 9 and it was closed.

 

[charmed59]

Full disclosure, I haven't been there during COVID, so I can't say whether that's what impacted your experience, but I've stayed at every Disney resort in the country except for Vero Beach, and Aulani is head and shoulders above all of the rest in terms of "magic," as far as I'm concerned. Aulani is in a class by itself, followed by Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Grand Californian, followed by everything else. Obviously a lot of this is subjective taste, and like I said some of what you're feeling might be due to COVID measures, but "not magical enough" is a complaint I don't think I've ever heard about Aulani.

Can you say what you mean here? I’ve never been to the Aulani, but have stayed at many of the high end resorts in Hawaii and quite a few of them take my breathe away when I walk in. Is this what you mean by magic? Or is it the service is above and beyond what is expected?

 

[monsterkitty]

I checked and 50% of the four seasons pools next door to Aulani are open till 9PM (including their adults pool). I would love to know the timing on the Marriott pools too if anyone knows.

I saw 10pm on a message board - but maybe someone can update/clarify

When we were at the Marriott last March, the pools closed before 8. You also had to make reservations for a 2-hour time limit. They did end the reservations on May 1.

In normal times, the pools are open until 10

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Can you say what you mean here? I’ve never been to the Aulani, but have stayed at many of the high end resorts in Hawaii and quite a few of them take my breathe away when I walk in. Is this what you mean by magic? Or is it the service is above and beyond what is expected?

For me, it's sense of place. Creativity, art, immersion, culture, etc. The way sight, sound, smell, and texture interact with one another. There are many really really nice hotels that feel an awful like like... really really nice hotels. And that's fine. At some places, their niche is doing something well-established and doing it exceptionally well. Other places strive to be special, unique, different.

To keep it in Disney terms, because that's what most people here understand, Riviera is a "nicer" resort than Animal Kingdom Lodge in an objective sense. But it's boring. It could be any generic Marriott in any generic tourist city in the world. You walk into Animal Kingdom Lodge and you know you're in a unique space.

The Four Seasons Ko Olina is gorgeous. And the food is great, and they'll wipe your butt for you if you ask them to. But it's also duuuuuull. Their pool is a concrete rectangle. Even if it's then nicest concrete rectangle in the world, with the highest level of service in the world, it's still just a concrete rectangle. When you look over from Aulani towards the Four Seasons, you're going to see a lot of rich kids longingly staring back at you, because the people on our side of the lagoon are having way more fun.

 

[Kmk2]

For me, it's sense of place. Creativity, art, immersion, culture, etc. The way sight, sound, smell, and texture interact with one another. There are many really really nice hotels that feel an awful like like... really really nice hotels. And that's fine. At some places, their niche is doing something well-established and doing it exceptionally well. Other places strive to be special, unique, different.

To keep it in Disney terms, because that's what most people here understand, Riviera is a "nicer" resort than Animal Kingdom Lodge in an objective sense. But it's boring. It could be any generic Marriott in any generic tourist city in the world. You walk into Animal Kingdom Lodge and you know you're in a unique space.

The Four Seasons Ko Olina is gorgeous. And the food is great, and they'll wipe your butt for you if you ask them to. But it's also duuuuuull. Their pool is a concrete rectangle. Even if it's then nicest concrete rectangle in the world, with the highest level of service in the world, it's still just a concrete rectangle. When you look over from Aulani towards the Four Seasons, you're going to see a lot of rich kids longingly staring back at you, because the people on our side of the lagoon are having way more fun.

My kids will be waving back from the open kids pool at 830pm after a day at the kids club and the ability to eat at a restaurant that we didn’t have to plan to eat at 1 month in advance. And if MULTIPLE TripAdvisor reviews are to be believed the wiped bottoms and the cleaning of the sheets thereof are more of an issue on your side of the lagoon.

edit: and we are allowed to compare apples to apples. That is the whole point of this platform. Pete is amazing and speaks honestly even at his detriment as the owner of a travel agency. That type of integrity is why I used one of his agents to plan a very important upcoming trip.I hope aulani hears my feedback and also the feedback of people who love their experience. I don’t understand why nothing negative can be said about aulani. It’s unusual for this board.