Hi Everyone. New to Aulani and a couple questions regarding time of year, length of stay and room view

[_auroraborealis_]

Be aware that you have to get a permit for Hanauma Bay and it is competitive. Cannot just drive in.

 

[maxbuffmelvin]

Visiting Waikiki is a highly debated topic on this forum, so I recommend checking out the various threads with Waikiki debates. Some recommend spending minimal time there (like myself), while others suggest one full day or multiple days.

 

[Maggie The Cat]

Visiting Waikiki is a highly debated topic on this forum, so I recommend checking out the various threads with Waikiki debates. Some recommend spending minimal time there (like myself), while others suggest one full day or multiple days.

We are going with someone who lived on Oahu for several years who knows me well enough to say I'd only want one afternoon/evening there.

 

[Splishsplash]

There will be 4 adults going in late April 2024. We plan to stay 9 or 10 nights at Aulani.

We plan to tour around Oahu as much as we can with a few hotel days thrown in there - do you think we will have enough to do on Oahu staying at Aulani for 9 or 10 nights? We will be renting a car.

As far as room views go, how terrible is a standard view? I mean, it's Hawaii, can't be that bad? This is just in the interest of saving money. We can book better, but I'd rather save and pay for other things.

April good time to go?

Also, how fast does Aulani usually book up? Booking for April 2024 is already open, but do we have some time to figure out exact dates or would you recommend booking now?

All advice welcome.

 

[Splishsplash]

There will be 4 adults going in late April 2024. We plan to stay 9 or 10 nights at Aulani.

We plan to tour around Oahu as much as we can with a few hotel days thrown in there - do you think we will have enough to do on Oahu staying at Aulani for 9 or 10 nights? We will be renting a car.

As far as room views go, how terrible is a standard view? I mean, it's Hawaii, can't be that bad? This is just in the interest of saving money. We can book better, but I'd rather save and pay for other things.

April good time to go?

Also, how fast does Aulani usually book up? Booking for April 2024 is already open, but do we have some time to figure out exact dates or would you recommend booking now?

All advice welcome.

I don't think you'll run out of things to do on Oahu. There is a lot to see. Standard rooms are ok and you probably won't spend too much time in the room. There was a time when we stayed in a standard room and had to pay to upgrade and move. That was because the smokers were right under our room. There is no smoking anywhere on the property now so that problem is solved.

 

[mort1331]

We just did our 1st trip in July and stayed 10 nights. If you dont have DVC,,you can rent and be cheaper. But not a lot of flex if needing to cancel.
10 days was perfect and we come from the east coast. We took the island view, asked for ewe tower and high floor. Got lucky and had perfect view of the luau and would watch most nights with our own drinks. Also in am have our coffee and see the ocean.
I think Island view is a great balance,,,just not a view of the pool.
Enjoy the planning and then dont forget the spa,,my wife loved it,,I had to stay with the kids.

 

[Hubie]

We've only been to the Big Island (2009) and (2011). But the cheapest time to go to Hawaii, at least back then, was in May and over Mother's Day. We booked both trip packages through Orbitz. In 2009 our package included 9 nights in a beautiful 2-bed, 2-story condo unit at the Houla Resort; a small rental car (we ended up getting a convertible for no upcharge because that's all the car rental agency had left when we arrived); and RT flight from Madison, WI for a total of $2400 due to the big recession occurring back then. In 2011 we repeated the trip but only for 8 nights for $3200. Those amounts obviously don't include groceries, gas, restaurants, souvenirs etc. and we'll never see them again. But I do think May is still best time to go because the whales leave and that attracts less tourists to the Islands. We also only had two nights when it rained, and we were in bed for the night. Otherwise, the weather then was fantastic!




View from our lanai in 2011.

 

[cgattis]

Yes, that's it! Thank you for tip on snorkeling too.

Hanauma Bay is my favorite snorkel spot, but Sharks Cove is fun too if you want something to do on the north shore besides surf.

 

[cgattis]

Ah, got it.

The pool area looks gorgeous, maybe we'd like that. Or the island garden view you suggested may be nice.

We stayed on the 5th floor, pool view, looking right at the water slides. Couldn’t see the ocean but really enjoyed that location. Also made it easy to use the stairs if elevators were slow (which we found them to be).

 

[Twohsieh]

You'd think! But it's the height of the rooms. Those below the trees inside the "U" are poolside gardens views, higher rooms are partial or full ocean view.

If you're looking at these rooms, note that noise isn't really an issue since the doors are insulated, but people can easily see your balcony.

The pool view rooms are floors 1-5, so it would be hard to see the ocean from this type of room.

 

[Twohsieh]

We stayed on the 5th floor, pool view, looking right at the water slides. Couldn’t see the ocean but really enjoyed that location. Also made it easy to use the stairs if elevators were slow (which we found them to be).

I love staying in the rooms facing the pool since you can open the balcony doors to listen to the wonderful music.