Crazy Question... Anyone else think Aulani is overrated?

[CaptainAmerica]

I don't want to have to leave for both lunch and dinner most days... that is annoying.

I guess we just have a different cadence. I don't go out for lunch and dinner, I just happen to be out at lunch and dinnertime anyways most days.

 

[dreamit]

We have a car when we visit and enjoy exploring off-resort for food to a degree. The lack of food variety hurts Aulani for us more from a convenience factor. After a long afternoon out, sometimes we don't want to venture out again for dinner. Olelo room frequently has long waits due to the small size, I have no need to do the luau on a trip 6 months after the first, 'AMA 'AMA isn't open right now, and we didn't think Makahiki was very good. Pool food gets repetitive quickly. We stayed for 8 nights and the food situation got boring fast, even with daily excursions out. I don't want to have to leave for both lunch and dinner most days... that is annoying.

For the luxury status of the resort, I would just expect more/better food options. It isn't deal-breaking for staying at Aulani (clearly since we are about to go back) but it is a real inconvenience of the resort that I feel warrants being called out.

I agree with you on the repetitiveness on the food and not always wanting to leave to deal with it. This is coming from someone who left the resort most days. We frequently would be up bright and early out exploring the island. By the time we were back at Aulani and supper time rolled around, I often wanted convenience versus it being “a thing”, especially because we were often heading to bed at 8:00 or 9:00 (never tried adjusting to the time difference). After 5:00, it seemed like all that was available was poke bowls and flatbread. Good a few times, but not every night.
This trip, we’re planning on most breakfasts and lunches out. We will have some simple prepared things in the room to eat on those nights where we don’t want Ulu or Monkeypod and have nothing else planned. I do, though, intend to try Mina’s this trip, but that’s “a thing” versus convenient. We all have our own priorities.

 

[longboard55]

Dining is always our issue with any resort. Great for a few days, but by then we have tried everything and everything is expensive. At least Aulani has the little shopping center across the street. Turtle Bay has nothing nearby.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

everything is expensive

I feel like lunch food is "normal" expensive. Whether you want to call it Disney-expensive or Hawaii-expensive, I don't think it's doubly Disney-Hawaii-extra expensive.

Breakfast is nuts. The breakfast flatbread for $15 is a lot but tolerable. The breakfast sandwich for $15 is offensive.

 

[Lilsia]

I feel like lunch food is "normal" expensive. Whether you want to call it Disney-expensive or Hawaii-expensive, I don't think it's doubly Disney-Hawaii-extra expensive.

Breakfast is nuts. The breakfast flatbread for $15 is a lot but tolerable. The breakfast sandwich for $15 is offensive.

I found the breakfast platter to be reasonable and can be shared if you are not a big eater. The child's portion breakfast platter is what I usually get. They will have a kalua pork sandwich that has a generous amount of meat that is a decent value. But most things are resort prices. The prices, and the limited menu is one of the reasons why we like to drive to Kapolei for food. That and we love trying new food items.

 

[dreamit]

I think there are GREAT breakfast options across the street. In just about every thread I find an opportunity to mention the amazing açaí bowls from Island Vintage Coffee. (I seriously think about it every day.) There are good hot food items, including breakfast sandwiches, at the ABC store. I haven’t tried it, but I hear good things about Eggs n Things.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I think there are GREAT breakfast options across the street. In just about every thread I find an opportunity to mention the amazing açaí bowls from Island Vintage Coffee. (I seriously think about it every day.) There are good hot food items, including breakfast sandwiches, at the ABC store. I haven’t tried it, but I hear good things about Eggs n Things.

My only problem with Island Vintage is that it's almost always very busy. If I were at Aulani with just a couple, I'd be there every morning. But we have a hard time getting a seat depending on who we're traveling with (large party, limited-mobility elderly, young kids, etc).

 

[djnrook]

Where is the swim up bar? Now I’m even more excited!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think there are GREAT breakfast options across the street. In just about every thread I find an opportunity to mention the amazing açaí bowls from Island Vintage Coffee. (I seriously think about it every day.) There are good hot food items, including breakfast sandwiches, at the ABC store. I haven’t tried it, but I hear good things about Eggs n Things.

I remember eating at Eggs n Things back when we went but it wasn't at the Ko Olina location. From what I remember it was mighty good.

 

[tidefan]

We have a car when we visit and enjoy exploring off-resort for food to a degree. The lack of food variety hurts Aulani for us more from a convenience factor. After a long afternoon out, sometimes we don't want to venture out again for dinner. Olelo room frequently has long waits due to the small size, I have no need to do the luau on a trip 6 months after the first, 'AMA 'AMA isn't open right now, and we didn't think Makahiki was very good. Pool food gets repetitive quickly. We stayed for 8 nights and the food situation got boring fast, even with daily excursions out. I don't want to have to leave for both lunch and dinner most days... that is annoying.

For the luxury status of the resort, I would just expect more/better food options. It isn't deal-breaking for staying at Aulani (clearly since we are about to go back) but it is a real inconvenience of the resort that I feel warrants being called out.

This is where I think that the DVC experience is so different than the hotel side. We have been 4 times and each time gotten a villa that included a kitchen and stayed at least a week. The first stop we do is to go to Costco/SuperTarget to load up on groceries, etc. During the week, we do eat out a few times, but mainly use the kitchen to cook after enjoying a day at the resort. Also, the full-size coffee maker allows for an ample supply of the 2.5 lb bag of Royal Kona Vanilla Macadamia Coffee that I get at Costco that I can enjoy while sitting on the balcony watching the luau, etc...

 

[MiraclesTakeTime]

I haven't been but think it looks really nice. That being said, there are a lot of nice beaches that aren't such a far flight. If I had DVC, I may consider the flight a bit more.

 

[longboard55]

DVC is a total game changer. We stay at Aulani and Grand California. Getting rooms that are $700-800 for $125 a night based on the maintenance point costs.

 

[DLgal]

DVC is a total game changer. We stay at Aulani and Grand California. Getting rooms that are $700-800 for $125 a night based on the maintenance point costs.

You can't just ignore the buy in price.

 

[tidefan]

You can't just ignore the buy in price.

I think the point is for those that already own DVC, the economics at Aulani are different.

Also, about the buy-in price, I could sell my DVC points today and have more than what I paid for them. Can’t ignore that either…

 

[longboard55]

You can't just ignore the buy in price.

Hate to sound like a timeshare salesman but DVC points go up in value if you buy retail and not direct from Disney

 

[tidefan]

Hate to sound like a timeshare salesman but DVC points go up in value if you buy retail and not direct from Disney

Oh, you can buy direct. We bought VGF direct at $145 a point and could sell them around $200 a point.

 

[longboard55]

I never considered buying a "timeshare" those were for dummies. But when we went on a Disney cruise and talked to the east coasters, it seems like everyone owned one. One of the big perks is just the amount you save on parking and room taxes. Aulani room tax is up to 18%

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I do think generally people agree Aulani is a good DVC value but DVC is an investment so someone who has just purchased it will take a while to break even and then eventually get ahead. If a person is considering only going to Hawaii once or twice purchasing DVC probably would not really work just to get the rooms for significantly less than what they go for on a cash rate.

There's sorta multiple points of view that can change the "value" conversation. IMO that might be established DVC members vs a non-DVC member vs a newly DVC member. Some of this also deals with grandfathered in rules regarding direct benefits, minimum point purchasing requirements, etc.

 

[DLgal]

I think the point is for those that already own DVC, the economics at Aulani are different.

Also, about the buy-in price, I could sell my DVC points today and have more than what I paid for them. Can’t ignore that either…

Ok, then you can't ignore the opportunity cost of the money you sank into buying DVC vs investing it wisely. How about that?

The point is, it is disingenuous to claim that you are only paying $125/night for your Aulani villa.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I never considered buying a "timeshare" those were for dummies. But when we went on a Disney cruise and talked to the east coasters, it seems like everyone owned one. One of the big perks is just the amount you save on parking and room taxes. Aulani room tax is up to 18%

Nope. Hawaii law requires you to pay Transient Accomodations Tax on points stays.

Separately, I always recommend that people pay for valet parking even if they're staying on points. That self-parking lot at Aulani is depressing.