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

[ianbikes]

Be kind in your responses! haha

Maybe my expectations were too high or we stayed one ay too long. Granted Aunties wasn't open, but I doubt that would swing the experience too much.

 

[dreamit]

I don’t think it’s overrated but I do get the impression that many look to it as a resort-only vacation. While there’s enough to do there to cover quite a few days, I’d be disappointed if I went there thinking of Aulani in that way. I think it’s a fantastic resort for the relaxation part of my trip. It’s a great place to come back to after a morning of other activities, but there is also plenty to do on the days we don’t leave the resort. Too, I really value the shops and restaurants across the street. I don’t know why, but they somehow really add to my positive feelings about staying at Aulani. They make it feel like a beach community vacation if that makes sense.

 

[corgi_monster]

I love Aulani. But I am DVC and since Aulani is "cheap" for me, I am always impressed with what I get for my money. I don't find it overrated.

However, if I were paying $1,000/night rack rate for an ocean view hotel room, I'd say it's very overrated for what is currently available. If the pool parties, toddler scavenger hunt on the beach, Aunty's, Ama Ama, complimentary sand toy rentals, sunrise yoga, etc. were back, the price would be somewhat justifiable. Look at these old daily Iwas to see just how much is missing from the "resort" experience: https://www.disboards.com/threads/aulani-daily-iwa-collection.3103331/page-2

Considering what other hotels are charging, I think $450-$700 is appropriate for what Aulani is currently offering and it wouldn't be overrated at that price point.

Granted Aunties wasn't open, but I doubt that would swing the experience too much.

Agree, Aunties is just one amenity. Reopening the space would help, but it wouldn't make-or-break the overall Aulani experience for most people.

What made Aulani great was the sum of its parts. It was the mana (energy) of all the happy children playing together at the pool party, the musicians singing in front of Ama Ama in the late afternoon, the excitement when a character made a spontaneous appearance, the novelty of trying a Mickey-shaped spam musubi (aka the Beverly of Aulani). Uncle used to tell stories of Pele, the goddess of fire, over a crackling fireplace. Now he tells them by the pool - kinda ironic lol. Much of the magic of Aulani was in the mana and until they get it back, Aulani is a shell of what it used to be. I would highly encourage you to give the resort another try when (if?) everything comes back.

 

[Great3]

Be kind in your responses! haha

Maybe my expectations were too high or we stayed one ay too long. Granted Aunties wasn't open, but I doubt that would swing the experience too much.

All I can say is while I loved Aulani, you are certainly entitled to your opinions and feelings. As someone else already mentioned, it's not worth it's cash price to me, but on DVC points as an Aulani owner, it good and downright cheap from my point of view.

We all have the things that matters personally to us, so it very possible for Aulani to be the best for some folks, and sucky for others, while offering exactly the same experiences, because we all value things differently.

Great3

 

[dreamit]

Piggybacking on the last two posts and qualifying my last comment—I completely, 1000% do not feel that its worth the non-discounted cash price, at least not in its current state. My perspective is from staying DVC. But, I’ve seen discounted rates comparable to a stay at the Poly. From that perspective, it’s a bargain.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

But, I’ve seen discounted rates comparable to a stay at the Poly. From that perspective, it’s a bargain.

Aulani RACK rates are cheaper than the Poly, pretty much year-round.

 

[Her Dotness]

Heck, yeah. But then, we both thought Hawaii vastly overrated.

Full Disclosure: Never been to Aulani. Stayed at the Waikiki Hilton once. Disliked the whole island "vibe."

 

[jujubiee4]

Everyone I know who is isn't DVC and visited thinks it is vastly overated. We had a wedding
shower party staying there once and all I heard is "This is sooooooo not worth it.".
My inlaws have DVC there so we like it with them because of price lol. It is a beautiful
resort though and I think people can admit that once they get past the dollar amount. Usually
when people think of something as worth it.....that pertains to what THEY paid for it.

Kinda like when my brother was dating someone high up at Ritz Carlton NY. When we went to
visit she comped our room. Well it was very nice but I know we would never pay the going rate.

 

[dreamit]

Aulani RACK rates are cheaper than the Poly, pretty much year-round.

You’re right. I was comparing to typical Poly discounted rates. Though, these days it’s not as easy to come by discounted deluxe rooms at WDW.

 

[Inga]

Heck, yeah. But then, we both thought Hawaii vastly overrated.

Full Disclosure: Never been to Aulani. Stayed at the Waikiki Hilton once. Disliked the whole island "vibe."

Always interesting to hear this! i love the island vibe…love love love. Would move here if I could, or at least for a few winter months out of the year!

PS - i don’t think Aulani is overrated…

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Everyone I know who is isn't DVC and visited thinks it is vastly overated.

I came here to say exactly the opposite. DVC is a huge part of the problem here. DVC members, especially passholders, can reasonably expect to have an enjoyable Walt Disney World vacation for the cost of the flight and a few hundred bucks for food. It's very difficult to have a satisfying Hawaii vacation unless you're willing to commit thousands of dollars to activities, cultural experiences, transportation, and food. DVC members stay on points trying to "do Hawaii on the cheap," and I think that's a huge part of why many of them leave dissatisfied.

I mean we're talking about an oceanfront resort and the number of people willing to pay $37 for valet parking is like 2%. You're not going to enjoy Hawaii if you're overly frugal, no matter where you stay.

 

[jujubiee4]

I came here to say exactly the opposite. DVC is a huge part of the problem here. DVC members, especially passholders, can reasonably expect to have an enjoyable Walt Disney World vacation for the cost of the flight and a few hundred bucks for food. It's very difficult to have a satisfying Hawaii vacation unless you're willing to commit thousands of dollars to activities, cultural experiences, transportation, and food. DVC members stay on points trying to "do Hawaii on the cheap," and I think that's a huge part of why many of them leave dissatisfied.

I mean we're talking about an oceanfront resort and the number of people willing to pay $37 for valet parking is like 2%. You're not going to enjoy Hawaii if you're overly frugal, no matter where you stay.

I have had people ask me how can we go to hawaii cheap? I tell them you can't but you find ways
to go CHEAPER. My grandparents bought property on Hawaii long time ago so I grew up
going every summer. It was eye watering when they sold and we had to pay ourselves. lol

 

[OKW Lover]

Yes, that is a crazy question. The resort is absolutely beautiful and staying there is relaxing.

 

[Great3]

I came here to say exactly the opposite. DVC is a huge part of the problem here. DVC members, especially passholders, can reasonably expect to have an enjoyable Walt Disney World vacation for the cost of the flight and a few hundred bucks for food. It's very difficult to have a satisfying Hawaii vacation unless you're willing to commit thousands of dollars to activities, cultural experiences, transportation, and food. DVC members stay on points trying to "do Hawaii on the cheap," and I think that's a huge part of why many of them leave dissatisfied.

I mean we're talking about an oceanfront resort and the number of people willing to pay $37 for valet parking is like 2%. You're not going to enjoy Hawaii if you're overly frugal, no matter where you stay.

I consider myself frugal, and I sure spend thousands more on a Hawaii trip than a WDW trip. But when I look at Aulani, I only compare the hotel portion of the trip the Orlando hotel portion, and Aulani feels like so much more a bargain for what you are getting, especially compared to the going rate for even a 2-star motel on Oahu.

So, that's how I view things. Of course WDW is cheaper, and Hawaii/Aulani isn't done on the cheap. So, yeah, overrated or worth it is only in the eyes of the beholder! I just enjoy being in Hawaii much more than Orlando/WDW, it's my kind of vacation / relaxation, so the extra expenses comparatively speaking is worth it to me, and Aulani makes it even better! This is coming from someone where Aulani isn't even first choice, I actually like the Marriott Ko Olina next door much better!

Great3

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We stayed in Makaha so not too far away (by miles certainly could take a while by car lol) in 2016 and then had lunch one day at Aulani and while I did think it was a beautiful resort and I enjoyed the vibe I liked where we stayed at better in a for rent by owner condo.

We liked the views better, we liked the open waters better than the man-made lagoons and I do think staying out of too high of a tourist place allowed us to explore more.

We rented a car and the first day we were there we did a drive of look out points, another day we took a drive around the island (well as best that you can since no highway goes all the way around in a circle), we did Pearl Harbor (including the battleship and submarine), we went to the North Shore, we had lunch and then dinner another night (which is the meal you really want due to the view) to watch the sunset at this place near North Shore. We did a breakfast at Marriott Ko Olina, we did dinner at Monkeypod too, etc.

All of that to say I think we liked the freedom more and we liked how low-key our condo was. I know a lot of people do Aulani and tend to stick right there with exception to maybe renting a car for a day or so, going to Pearl Harbor. Having a few places to eat and shop within walking distance is actually a pro for Aulani in that Ko Olina area, where we stayed at you needed a car to really get anywhere which was fine by us. I did also like the water play areas. It's a great beach resort but I can understand why someone might feel it was overrated. That said we didn't really enjoy North Shore itself all that much and a lot of people recommend that area of Oahu sooo we might just be a bit different haha.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We stayed in Makaha so not too far away (by miles certainly could take a while by car lol) in 2016 and then had lunch one day at Aulani and while I did think it was a beautiful resort and I enjoyed the vibe I liked where we stayed at better in a for rent by owner condo.

We liked the views better, we liked the open waters better than the man-made lagoons and I do think staying out of too high of a tourist place allowed us to explore more.

We rented a car and the first day we were there we did a drive of look out points, another day we took a drive around the island (well as best that you can since no highway goes all the way around in a circle), we did Pearl Harbor (including the battleship and submarine), we went to the North Shore, we had lunch and then dinner another night (which is the meal you really want due to the view) to watch the sunset at this place near North Shore. We did a breakfast at Marriott Ko Olina, we did dinner at Monkeypod too, etc.

All of that to say I think we liked the freedom more and we liked how low-key our condo was. I know a lot of people do Aulani and tend to stick right there with exception to maybe renting a car for a day or so, going to Pearl Harbor. Having a few places to eat and shop within walking distance is actually a pro for Aulani in that Ko Olina area, where we stayed at you needed a car to really get anywhere which was fine by us. I did also like the water play areas. It's a great beach resort but I can understand why someone might feel it was overrated. That said we didn't really enjoy North Shore itself all that much and a lot of people recommend that area of Oahu sooo we might just be a bit different haha.

See for me it's both... I love staying at Aulani AND I like to rent a car and do stuff all over the island. I think the people who only stay at the resort are the most likely to be disappointed.

I agree that the North Shore is quite a bit overrated unless you're a world class surfer.

 

[cgattis]

Usually
when people think of something as worth it.....that pertains to what THEY paid for it.

Exactly this. We stayed using Disney Visa Rewards and a “fifth night free” promo. We thought it was by far the best Disney resort. We also didn’t use Aunties and everything else was open.

It's very difficult to have a satisfying Hawaii vacation unless you're willing to commit thousands of dollars to activities, cultural experiences, transportation, and food.

I disagree here. I don’t count transportation, since we’d have that anywhere we flew (and pre-Covid the rates were fairly comparable). Other than that, we really didn’t spend much at all on activities, across 4 islands. There is enough to do in Hawaii for free to fill the day, every day.

I agree that the North Shore is quite a bit overrated unless you're a world class surfer.

Pretty off-topic but yeah, totally agree with you on this. We enjoyed Sharks Cove but I definitely don’t tell people I think it’s a “must-do.”

 

[ianbikes]

That’s a good point. We paid hotel prices. We didn’t use our DVC points. I’ll do so next time. It was also my first time to Hawaii ever. And I regret not seeing more of the island.

Great points everyone! Thanks for the perspective!

 

[PetePanMan]

We love it but have not stayed during COVId period and we also use our DVC points. We always look at cost of rooms in WDW, Aulani, California etc. are always shocked at room rates. We would definitely feel differently if we paid these prices

 

[summermom2]

Yes I think Alani is overrated and I also think Hawaii is overrated but I am not an American so maybe that is why I think that.