Unfortunately disappointed compared to WDW resorts

[dvcgirl67]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to comment on my post.....definitely a lot to consider. We're not going until May of next year, so have time to switch locations/resorts for sure. SueInBoston, 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay has a beach. It was formerly the St. Regis Princeville Resort....Starwood purchased it a few years back I think. So if you google that older name...and look at images....there's a beach. I've read there are better areas/beaches on Hanalei Bay. We're renting a jeep on Kauai and so we plan to be out exploring in the mornings for sure.

MacKenzie Click-Mickelson.....your photos are beautiful! I know there are different areas on Oahu, but you captured the vibe we're looking for when you said..."beautiful landscape and plenty of adventures". With 12 nights, we have to pick and choose a bit....originally though about 4 on Oahu, 4 on Maui and 4 on Kauai but we lose 1/2 day of travel with the extra flight/transfer...etc. I guess we're thinking that on Maui....at the Four Seasons Wailea that we'll chill when we first arrive and can snorkel from the beach. I think we're planning on doing the Road to Hana, and not sure what else. Then to Kauai for lusher landscaping that just looks amazing from the photos. I have a feeling that we'll love Hawaii and will plan to go back. This time we're looking for perhaps a few full days of sightseeing, a few resort only days, and then some 1/2 day-1/2 resort days. But I imagine that we'll make it back to Hawaii and then really sightsee on Oahu and the Big Island as well.

Paul Stupin....yes, we know it's not swimmable. I think our friends said the beach is called Shipwreck Beach. They seemed to head out in the morning to explore....doing some hikes along the coastline....and brought snorkeling gear and chairs that they rented. They said they were back at the resort early afternoon and then enjoyed the pool and then watching surfers on that beach. But it's definitely something to consider. We did just return from a resort in Cabo with a beach that is not swimmable, but the setting is so beautiful that we enjoyed just seeing it from the infinity pool. We've been to that resort (Esperanza) three times...and I know there are swimmable beaches in Cabo. But....we have to think that through for sure. I guess we can consider resorts right on Poipu Beach. Do you have one that you'd recommend?

 

[tidefan]

I guess we're thinking that on Maui....at the Four Seasons Wailea that we'll chill when we first arrive and can snorkel from the beach. I think we're planning on doing the Road to Hana, and not sure what else.

I would also try to make it up Haleakela for sunrise if you can, followed by breakfast at Kula Lodge on your way back down. Makes for a great morning...

 

[scoobdoo]

With regard to quality... Wow. Aulani is superior in quality to Walt Disney World hotels in every conceivable way. You can debate value all day long because value is subjective, but the comparison of quality is not close.

true for most WDW hotels, yes, but not Riviera

 

[CaptainAmerica]

true for most WDW hotels, yes, but not Riviera

Hm you may be right. Riviera has better food and rooms but I really hate the grounds and the architecture.

 

[dvcgirl67]

I would also try to make it up Haleakela for sunrise if you can, followed by breakfast at Kula Lodge on your way back down. Makes for a great mor

I would also try to make it up Haleakela for sunrise if you can, followed by breakfast at Kula Lodge on your way back down. Makes for a great morning...

Yes, we're definitely looking at that! We're also going to Costa Rica in December and will be staying near Arenal Volcano. Initially we were just going to stay on the Papagayo peninsula, but I found this cool "tented camp"....it's part of a nice resort, and each tent has an amazing view of the volcano....it's also a sloth sanctuary (tons of other rainforest wildlife too obviously)....but looking forward to staying near that volcano . So we're going to split our stay between the coast and the rainforest/volcano. .

 

[Paul Stupin]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to comment on my post.....definitely a lot to consider. We're not going until May of next year, so have time to switch locations/resorts for sure. SueInBoston, 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay has a beach. It was formerly the St. Regis Princeville Resort....Starwood purchased it a few years back I think. So if you google that older name...and look at images....there's a beach. I've read there are better areas/beaches on Hanalei Bay. We're renting a jeep on Kauai and so we plan to be out exploring in the mornings for sure.

MacKenzie Click-Mickelson.....your photos are beautiful! I know there are different areas on Oahu, but you captured the vibe we're looking for when you said..."beautiful landscape and plenty of adventures". With 12 nights, we have to pick and choose a bit....originally though about 4 on Oahu, 4 on Maui and 4 on Kauai but we lose 1/2 day of travel with the extra flight/transfer...etc. I guess we're thinking that on Maui....at the Four Seasons Wailea that we'll chill when we first arrive and can snorkel from the beach. I think we're planning on doing the Road to Hana, and not sure what else. Then to Kauai for lusher landscaping that just looks amazing from the photos. I have a feeling that we'll love Hawaii and will plan to go back. This time we're looking for perhaps a few full days of sightseeing, a few resort only days, and then some 1/2 day-1/2 resort days. But I imagine that we'll make it back to Hawaii and then really sightsee on Oahu and the Big Island as well.

Paul Stupin....yes, we know it's not swimmable. I think our friends said the beach is called Shipwreck Beach. They seemed to head out in the morning to explore....doing some hikes along the coastline....and brought snorkeling gear and chairs that they rented. They said they were back at the resort early afternoon and then enjoyed the pool and then watching surfers on that beach. But it's definitely something to consider. We did just return from a resort in Cabo with a beach that is not swimmable, but the setting is so beautiful that we enjoyed just seeing it from the infinity pool. We've been to that resort (Esperanza) three times...and I know there are swimmable beaches in Cabo. But....we have to think that through for sure. I guess we can consider resorts right on Poipu Beach. Do you have one that you'd recommend?

Re Poipu Beach, I’m not super familiar with the resorts, but it’s definitely worth investigating the options. I’m familiar with the Hyatt because I too investigated it, but ultimately decided against it because of the lack of a beach. The pools look very nice, though.

 

[Paul Stupin]

Hm you may be right. Riviera has better food and rooms but I really hate the grounds and the architecture.

Yeah, you’re right. Riviera’s food and rooms are great, architecture and small footprint not so much. Also, the pools are generic, and can’t compare to Aulani’s water park and lagoons. We also love the beach walkway down to the Marriott, far superior to the loop around the Caribbean Beach motel.

Nearby shopping center in Ko Olina and additional dining choices are also a nice feature for Aulani.

 

[pineapplepalms]

Outside the resort, in my opinion Hawaii was "meh".

Other posters have discussed this, but Hawaii has a lot to offer on the other islands too and I think anyone would be missing out by writing off all of them from one trip to Oahu. We haven’t been to Aulani yet (planning a DVC stay for the spring), so I don’t really have much to say about that. But I’ve been to Hawaii pre-kids several times and visited my friend who was living there a couple of times, when she lived on Maui and also when she lived on Oahu. She much preferred Oahu for living and working due to more opportunities, but for vacation she’d rather go to Kauai. I haven’t been there yet, but of the ones I’ve visited, I loved the Big Island the most, followed by Maui and then Oahu.

Hawaii is beautiful and even though we have mountains and beaches where we live, it’s still a different experience and worth going, especially when we have such easy access to nonstop flights. It’s actually cheaper for us to fly to Hawaii than WDW now since we can get nonstop flights on Southwest. WDW flights were $1k+ per person this summer! Luckily we had credit card rewards to cover the cost, but we used to be able to book for much less.

Our next Hawaii trip is probably going to be Aulani-heavy since our kids are little and we want to just relax and enjoy the resort for our first stay. The spa is calling my name and I can’t wait to introduce my older kids to snorkeling. I’m really looking forward to it, since this is a rebooking of a canceled trip from 2020. In the future I hope to take them to the other islands too, and maybe spend half a trip at Aulani or another resort and the other half at a rental house in a different area. I loved doing that before and getting essentially two different vacations on the same trip.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Hawaii is beautiful and even though we have mountains and beaches where we live...

IMO the nature in Hawaii is almost besides the point. I don't go there for the nature, I go there for the culture. I love the Hawaiian people, their history, and their traditions, not to mention the influences from all the other cultures that have passed through the islands over the centuries. I can lay on a warm beach a lot closer and a lot cheaper if that's what I'm looking for.

That's why I always try to steer people towards the Bishop Museum for one of their first stops. It's good to learn something, you can go on a zipline any time.

 

[monsterkitty]

I wandered over here because we're taking a trip to Hawaii next year for our 25th anniversary. We're first timers to Hawaii....and figured I'd find some trip reports here where people island hopped a bit, but seems like most stick to Oahu and Aulani. Makes sense I guess, as that's what this board is about. We are staying four nights at the Grand Hyatt on Kauai. Reading the OPs comments, seemed like they were not just underwhelmed by Aulani, but also the setting and maybe Oahu? Hard to completely tell.

After consulting with our friends who did a two week vacation in Hawaii last year, we are skipping Oahu altogether. They did 4 nights in Oahu, 6 nights in Maui, and 4 in Kauai at the Grand Hyatt and they loved it....they said the grounds are incredible. They spent 4 nights at the Four Seasons in Ko Olina, and while they said the resort is nice, they advised we skip Oahu altogether....and go heavier on Kauai over Maui. We're going for 12 nights, and because they just raved about Kauai overall we decided to do just four nights in Maui at the Four Seasons Wailea, then four at the Grand Hyatt Kauai and the final four at the new 1 Hotel resort that is opening at the end of this year in Princeville on Hanalei Bay. They loved the GH Kauai, but wished they split their stay between the North and South shores of Kauai....so we took their advice.

The photos of the Hanalei Bay area are just breathtaking, so really looking forward to that. The Ko Olina area seems perfectly suited for families with those manmade lagoons but we are looking for more natural settings I guess. One thing is for sure that everyone here seems to agree on....Hawaii is *expensive*......having just been to Los Cabos....it's like three times as expensive for comparable resorts. I mean I've always heard it's expensive, but I was surprised at how crazy high it is. Everything we booked...including flights is refundable....not playing games getting our money back like we did for a canceled trip early on in the pandemic.

Hanalei Bay is my favorite place on earth. My second favorite place on earth is the Pololu Valley Lookout on the Big Island, as well as Volcano National Park.

If you were to ask me where I wanted to go on vacation, Kauai and the Big Island will always be my choices.

That said, I do agree with others that Oahu also has great choices that you can't experience anywhere else - Pearl Harbor, the Missouri, and Punchbowl National Cemetery.

Maui is our least favorite island. We can't describe why, but it's becoming more commercialized like the Waikiki area. Maui is beautiful but not our favorite.

 

[monsterkitty]

IMO the nature in Hawaii is almost besides the point. I don't go there for the nature, I go there for the culture. I love the Hawaiian people, their history, and their traditions, not to mention the influences from all the other cultures that have passed through the islands over the centuries. I can lay on a warm beach a lot closer and a lot cheaper if that's what I'm looking for.

That's why I always try to steer people towards the Bishop Museum for one of their first stops. It's good to learn something, you can go on a zipline any time.

In my opinion, the nature of the islands is a part of the culture. It's part of their history and their traditions. Much as nature was and is a part of the Native American history, culture, and traditions on the Main Land.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

In my opinion, the nature of the islands is a part of the culture. It's part of their history and their traditions. Much as nature was and is a part of the Native American history, culture, and traditions on the Main Land.

Well said, and good point.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

IMO the nature in Hawaii is almost besides the point. I don't go there for the nature, I go there for the culture.

I'm not sure you have immersed yourself in the culture if you actually thought like that all this time. Many cultures nature is steeped in their culture, history and more. The traditions they carry on. Goodness how can you not, and I say this respectfully, look at the landscape, the gardens, the waterfalls, the volcanoes, and more of Hawaii and feel it's almost besides the point? Sorta an insult if you will towards their culture if you actually thought that. A main part of the culture is that they and nature are not two separate things.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Maui is our least favorite island. We can't describe why, but it's becoming more commercialized like the Waikiki area. Maui is beautiful but not our favorite.

We got the idea to go to Maui because my cousin and his wife honeymooned there and they loved it. We still intend to visit someday there but in your opinion you think the other islands would be higher up than Maui? We specifically didn't stay in the Waikiki/Honolulu area but for our first night there (late flight in) because we didn't really like the hustle and bustle so your comment caught my attention.

 

[Lilsia]

IMO the nature in Hawaii is almost besides the point. I don't go there for the nature, I go there for the culture. I love the Hawaiian people, their history, and their traditions, not to mention the influences from all the other cultures that have passed through the islands over the centuries. I can lay on a warm beach a lot closer and a lot cheaper if that's what I'm looking for.

That's why I always try to steer people towards the Bishop Museum for one of their first stops. It's good to learn something, you can go on a zipline any time.

I go for both. I think that the Islands are amazingly beautiful, but I am from the midwest and see farm fields.

 

[Wakey]

Wow those prices are absolutely bonkers to us in the U.K. crazy. It has put me off going.

 

[Lilsia]

Wow those prices are absolutely bonkers to us in the U.K. crazy. It has put me off going.

American is actually pretty expensive. Our grocery and drug prices are way more expensive then they should be. Too much corporate greed here.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Hanalei Bay is my favorite place on earth. My second favorite place on earth is the Pololu Valley Lookout on the Big Island, as well as Volcano National Park.

If you were to ask me where I wanted to go on vacation, Kauai and the Big Island will always be my choices.

That said, I do agree with others that Oahu also has great choices that you can't experience anywhere else - Pearl Harbor, the Missouri, and Punchbowl National Cemetery.

Maui is our least favorite island. We can't describe why, but it's becoming more commercialized like the Waikiki area. Maui is beautiful but not our favorite.

Interesting....and this isn't the first time I've heard this about Maui, especially in the last two years since tourists have flocked back to the Hawaiian Islands.

The photos of Hanalei Bay are just incredible....my husband and I both feel so drawn to Kauai. Maybe we should investigate the Big Island instead of Maui. I have more work to do!

 

[DarthSkellington]

Interesting....and this isn't the first time I've heard this about Maui, especially in the last two years since tourists have flocked back to the Hawaiian Islands.

The photos of Hanalei Bay are just incredible....my husband and I both feel so drawn to Kauai. Maybe we should investigate the Big Island instead of Maui. I have more work to do!

Just back from 10 days in Maui, have visited all 4 islands and can't say I agree at all. I think picking the right spots are important. We stayed in the upcountry for half and then Kapalua. Big Island is huge and requires a lot of driving. Kauai is probably my favorite but we love Maui.

 

[monsterkitty]

We got the idea to go to Maui because my cousin and his wife honeymooned there and they loved it. We still intend to visit someday there but in your opinion you think the other islands would be higher up than Maui? We specifically didn't stay in the Waikiki/Honolulu area but for our first night there (late flight in) because we didn't really like the hustle and bustle so your comment caught my attention.

Interesting....and this isn't the first time I've heard this about Maui, especially in the last two years since tourists have flocked back to the Hawaiian Islands.

The photos of Hanalei Bay are just incredible....my husband and I both feel so drawn to Kauai. Maybe we should investigate the Big Island instead of Maui. I have more work to do!

Oahu and Maui have more nightlife. The Big Island Kauai are more small town feel and close down earlier. It really depends on your lifestyle and interests. We prefer Kauai and the Big Island because they are more laid back and not as crowded feeling. Our favorite places are on these two islands.

I love Punchbowl National Cemetery and would go back to Oahu for that. I'm not sure that there is anything to draw me back to Maui to revisit. Does that mean we would never go back to Maui? No! We would if someone else in our group wanted to go there instead of another island.