Visiting Aulani in Nov: Need opinion on Plan (A) or (B)

[CollegePrgm2000]

Hello!

Our family is staying at Aulani Nov 17-24. We are flying in on Nov 16 at 3:30pm and staying off site.

I am debating what we should do the first night/day:

Plan (A) = stay around Waikiki the night of the 16th. We will wake up early anyway due to the time change, hike Diamond head, have a nice breakfast, walk around Waikiki then head to Aulani early afternoon.
Plan (B) = stay at Hampton Inn in Kapolei on the 16th. Awaken early, head to Aulani in the morning (not expecting to be able to check in that early). Go to Cosco in the late afternoon.

I don't know want to check in at Aulani in the middle of a rush. I also don't want to go to Cosco too early and have nowhere to store our groceries. We last visited 7 years ago when our boys were 1 1/2 and 3 years old. Since my kids don't remember visiting Aulani/Oahu I want them to experience receiving a lei/necklace, etc.. without an insane long check in or the possibility of running out of necklaces/leis.

Thoughts? Thanks!

 

[kyton]

I’d stay in Waikiki - Kapolei hotels are in the middle of a car park in a residential area.

Then I’d leave Waikiki around 1pm so you don’t hit the traffic going to Ko Olina, which is usually a nightmare between 3-5.

 

[dachsie]

I would stay Waikiki and get your Diamondhead hike finished. I say this knowing that I am staying at the Hampton and will do Pearl Harbor and Dole before checking in at Aulani

 

[alohamom]

Unless you can get a late check out in Waikiki, I would do Plan B of staying in Kapolei. I am nervous keeping all of our things in the car. Plus then you get bonus Aulani time!

 

[abdgeek]

I would recommend going with plan A. That way you can see Waikiki. You will probably have to check out around 10am so see if the hotel will hold your luggage after you check out if you don’t want to put it in the trunk. Even if you can’t get into your Aulani room until 4pm, I would still recommend getting there early. That way you can use the facilities until your room is ready. If you don’t want to do the beach or pool, you can hang out in the day room.

 

[Mamasarges]

I would do plan A as well. Hanging out at Aulani waiting for your room is always nice. If you do check in on line, they will text you when your room is ready, and you should still be able to do the whole lei greeting bit whenever you arrive.

 

[nkereina]

I would do Plan A, but I would plan to Uber or take a taxi to Diamond Head and leave your luggage stored with bell services at your Waikiki hotel. This is for two reasons: 1) Theft is rampant in the tourist areas of Hawaii so I would not want to leave anything in the car, and 2) Parking at Diamond Head can be a challenge at times. A taxi should be able to drop you off relatively close to the start of the path so you're not walking a distance before you even reach the start of the trail!

I would also caution that we were in athletic clothes and were quite sweaty after our Diamond Head hike. I didn't want to do much else before taking a shower. Regardless, I would much rather stay in Waikiki than in Kapolei, which is your typical suburb with all the familiar chain restaurants and stores.

I see November 16th is a Saturday, so traffic wouldn't be as much of a factor. We also arrived on a Saturday. We stopped at Target around 2:30pm to get the groceries needed and pulled up to Aulani around 4-4:30. They were not busy at all and our room was ready by then. I wouldn't worry about a big rush at check-in. It might be a little busy, but we're not talking 45+ minute Vegas style waits to check-in.