Aulani: What's the One Thing You Wish You Knew?

[lovetotraveltx]

We haven't had a costco near anywhere we live so I'm not familiar with it. I belong to Sam's and all of their food items, fresh, frozen and dry are very large isn't Costco that way. Thinking beer, coffee, fish, eggs, etc. would be way too much for a weeks vacation?? Am I missing something?

 

[poohj80]

We haven't had a costco near anywhere we live so I'm not familiar with it. I belong to Sam's and all of their food items, fresh, frozen and dry are very large isn't Costco that way. Thinking beer, coffee, fish, eggs, etc. would be way too much for a weeks vacation?? Am I missing something?

Yes, Costco is just like Sam's but we find them much cheaper than Target or grocery stores especially for fruit, bottled water and milk. If Costco carries Kona beer, we can put a good dent in a case over a week. There will be some things we get at the regular store like eggs and butter that we don't need a huge amount. Plan to load up on pineapples too.

 

[Anal Annie]

We haven't had a costco near anywhere we live so I'm not familiar with it. I belong to Sam's and all of their food items, fresh, frozen and dry are very large isn't Costco that way. Thinking beer, coffee, fish, eggs, etc. would be way too much for a weeks vacation?? Am I missing something?

Yes, Costco is a warehouse store that sells things in bulk like Sam's Club. I also can't imagine buying very much stuff there….water by the case…if you have an oven in a 1-bedroom+ you could buy pre-made meals to heat up (like penne and chicken with alfredo sauce or large pizzas). If you were planning to make a lot of sandwiches for lunches you could buy lunchmeats & sliced cheese. Breads…pastries…chips…steaks. While I could see DH putting away 2 cases of beer by himself over the course of a week if he's just lounging by the pool I would imagine we could get that anywhere (does the Costco there sell beer? Due to state laws ours here at home does not). But I don't think it will be very practical for our family of 3 to buy very much there.

 

[owensamo]

We haven't had a costco near anywhere we live so I'm not familiar with it. I belong to Sam's and all of their food items, fresh, frozen and dry are very large isn't Costco that way. Thinking beer, coffee, fish, eggs, etc. would be way too much for a weeks vacation?? Am I missing something?

We are planning to shop at Costco in June - but we have a party of 10 in a Grand Villa, so I'm sure we can do some damage on bulk food!

That said, for my family of 3 in a room with a kitchen, I'd still stop there to pick up:

Take-and-bake pizza (18")
Take-and-bake entrees (pasta, salmon, enchiladas, etc) (usually feeds 4-6)
Bread (usually 2 packs - I'd get their fresh baked)
Pineapple (each)
Fruit (I'm pretty careful about how I pick fruit - but berries, etc. for smoothies would be great)
Bagged salad (It's a 2lb bag - would last a week for DH and myself)
Water (1 case)
Wine (by the bottle)
Beer (6-12 packs)
Muffins/pastries (6-12 packs)

That should cover most necessities. I might get eggs - ours has 18ct Eggland's Best at a reasonable price, maybe some additional veggies, and stop at the grocery store for milk and deli meat/cheese.

I'd also look for snorkling gear - our Costco has adult sets for $40 right now. I'd also be on the look out for Hawaii-specific stuff (I know our Costco has dark chocolate coconut/banana snacks right now - sounds like a great snack for vacation! ). On the way out - pizza/hot dogs, drinks and frozen yogurt for lunch. With some planning, we could probably save a bunch on eating out - maybe enough to afford eating at Ama Ama!

 

[Doingitagain]

Thank you doingitagain, do you think we should book ahead of time? or can we wait until we get Aulani. Were still a little unsure if we want to do it. I want this trip to be relaxing and at times I feel like we are booking too much.

It really depends on the time of year. You could book in advance and it could be canceled if there aren't enough people, or it could fill up quickly. You could see what the cancelation rules are for booking in advance.

 

[amym2]

Has anybody bought fresh seafood (like Mahi Mahi) at the Safeway or Costco?? How are the prices? We'll just be in a studio so I was thinking about grilling one night. I thought I could grill some asparagus, Mahi and baked potatoes….was hoping there would be a good selection and reasonable prices on the Mahi Mahi.

We checked both Safeway and Target for seafood when we were at Aulani in October and the selections were lousy. The prices were definitely higher and the fish looked much worse than it does here in Indiana. We were really disappointed and ended up ordering pizza instead of grilling. We bought fresh fish on Kauai to get our fish fix instead.

 

[lovetotraveltx]

Thank you everyone for your useful Costco comments. They really helped. I was thinking for water/soda, but didn't realize they had meals that serve just 3 or 4 and I forgot about single bottles of wine.

Do they have hawaii items there like beach towels, t-shirts and/or macadamia nuts?

Thank you!

 

[jerseygal]

Your trip report was particularly HELPFUL, especially the excursions!

Thanks VERY MUCH! So excited to do the Kuloa Ranch ATV's! We all have never been on an ATV and the scenery is supposedly breathtaking!

CANNOT WAIT!

 

[Anal Annie]

We checked both Safeway and Target for seafood when we were at Aulani in October and the selections were lousy. The prices were definitely higher and the fish looked much worse than it does here in Indiana. We were really disappointed and ended up ordering pizza instead of grilling. We bought fresh fish on Kauai to get our fish fix instead.

Thanks. That's a bummer. Here I thought for sure there would be some fresh fish available and I could plan 1 cheap eat-in dinner. OH WELL. Guess we will just have to eat out.

 

[bamor]

Thanks. That's a bummer. Here I thought for sure there would be some fresh fish available and I could plan 1 cheap eat-in dinner. OH WELL. Guess we will just have to eat out.

Annie, I will be there before you. I'll report back. I read, and now I cannot remember where, about Costco having sushi, fresh poke bar (by the pound), the POG juice, good coffee by the pound, as well as Hawaiian merchandise. We were hoping to grill one or two nights as well, I will let you know!

 

[aboveH20]

As we're closing in on our Aulani trip (19 sleeps to go ) I've started thinking about how much cash to take and small bills for tipping.

We are renting a car. When we get to Aulani do we park and then register or will a valet materialze to take the car and a bellhop materialze to take our bags? If so, I assume we tip the valet. How much? And then how much when we get the car back? We will have two suitcases. Is the bellhop who takes the bags out of the car the same one who will take them to the room? If so, how much do we tip, if not, how much do we tip the two bellhops?

To be clear, I do not object to tipping. I just don't go on enough "fancy" vacations to always know the proper way.

 

[Anal Annie]

As we're closing in on our Aulani trip (19 sleeps to go ) I've started thinking about how much cash to take and small bills for tipping.

We are renting a car. When we get to Aulani do we park and then register or will a valet materialze to take the car and a bellhop materialze to take our bags? If so, I assume we tip the valet. How much? And then how much when we get the car back? We will have two suitcases. Is the bellhop who takes the bags out of the car the same one who will take them to the room? If so, how much do we tip, if not, how much do we tip the two bellhops?

To be clear, I do not object to tipping. I just don't go on enough "fancy" vacations to always know the proper way.

This is why I prefer to avoid valets and bell services altogether if I can - I'd rather just park my own car and retrieve it myself and we can handle our own bags if they'll just loan us a cart (isn't that why I have a husband and teenage son?!). I would guess if you arrive early and have to store your luggage with bell services until your room is ready it will involve 2 diff. persons. I think the "going rate" is about $1 / bag handled… You can really get nickel and dimed to death over some of these things.

 

[Anal Annie]

Annie, I will be there before you. I'll report back. I read, and now I cannot remember where, about Costco having sushi, fresh poke bar (by the pound), the POG juice, good coffee by the pound, as well as Hawaiian merchandise. We were hoping to grill one or two nights as well, I will let you know!

Thanks…(although I don't do any of the raw sushi so I'm guessing I'll pass on the poke bar….)

 

[bamor]

Thanks…(although I don't do any of the raw sushi so I'm guessing I'll pass on the poke bar….)

I don't either, but my husband and daughter do . I forgot someone mentioned they did have the beer and wine as well as bottles of the prepared cocktails too. Wish I could remember where I read this!

 

[Soccerluvinmama]

This is why I prefer to avoid valets and bell services altogether if I can - I'd rather just park my own car and retrieve it myself and we can handle our own bags if they'll just loan us a cart (isn't that why I have a husband and teenage son?!). I would guess if you arrive early and have to store your luggage with bell services until your room is ready it will involve 2 diff. persons. I think the "going rate" is about $1 / bag handled… You can really get nickel and dimed to death over some of these things.

They will not loan you the baggage carts here. I know this because we tried yesterday when we came back from Costco. As per the usual excuse for things around here (like not having the grills on when it's raining), it's a "safety issue".

 

[poohj80]

Annie, I will be there before you. I'll report back. I read, and now I cannot remember where, about Costco having sushi, fresh poke bar (by the pound), the POG juice, good coffee by the pound, as well as Hawaiian merchandise. We were hoping to grill one or two nights as well, I will let you know!

This is the first I've heard of the POG juice at Costco. Is it like at Ohana? If so, do you know where it is carried in the store?

 

[bamor]

This is the first I've heard of the POG juice at Costco. Is it like at Ohana? If so, do you know where it is carried in the store?

I believe it is. It must have been in someone's trip report. I want to say it was like $2.98 compared to the $6 at the Dole Plantation.
I plan on looking for it in June

 

[poohj80]

I believe it is. It must have been in someone's trip report. I want to say it was like $2.98 compared to the $6 at the Dole Plantation.
I plan on looking for it in June

One more thing to look forward to! I'm hoping it's near the other juices so it's easy to find but I figure I will be going up and down every aisle so as not to miss anything.

 

[amym2]

As we're closing in on our Aulani trip (19 sleeps to go ) I've started thinking about how much cash to take and small bills for tipping.

We are renting a car. When we get to Aulani do we park and then register or will a valet materialze to take the car and a bellhop materialze to take our bags? If so, I assume we tip the valet. How much? And then how much when we get the car back? We will have two suitcases. Is the bellhop who takes the bags out of the car the same one who will take them to the room? If so, how much do we tip, if not, how much do we tip the two bellhops?

To be clear, I do not object to tipping. I just don't go on enough "fancy" vacations to always know the proper way.

We chose to self-park, so when we pulled up to Aulani, we were greeted and the bellhop took the bags out of the car and held onto them while we checked in. The valet moved the car out of the way. We didn't tip anyone at this point, as they ushered us quickly off to the registration desk. I *think* the bellhop came with us and our bags in the elevator to orient us and help us get to our room. We tipped him our usual $1 per bag (5 people so lots of bags). Then DH went back down to the front to retrieve our car and move it to the self-parking garage. I'm sure he gave the valet $1 or 2. The whole process was very friendly and tipping wasn't a big issue, so just go with what feels appropriate!

 

[aboveH20]

We chose to self-park, so when we pulled up to Aulani, we were greeted and the bellhop took the bags out of the car and held onto them while we checked in. The valet moved the car out of the way. We didn't tip anyone at this point, as they ushered us quickly off to the registration desk. I *think* the bellhop came with us and our bags in the elevator to orient us and help us get to our room. We tipped him our usual $1 per bag (5 people so lots of bags). Then DH went back down to the front to retrieve our car and move it to the self-parking garage. I'm sure he gave the valet $1 or 2. The whole process was very friendly and tipping wasn't a big issue, so just go with what feels appropriate!

Thanks for the detailed answer. Like I said, I don't mind tipping, but I want to make sure I know who to tip so it's not awkward trying to palm someone money.

I remember going somewhere a few years ago and really stressing about tipping maitre ds at restaurants. I guess I've seen too many movies where they slip the guy some money to get a table.