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

[DLgal]

I see mountains and palm trees every day is socal as well…at the beach in 15 min too!…but Southern California isn’t Hawaii, and in my opinion just can’t compare to the beaches and tropical environment of the islands.

I'm sure that's true to an extent. Both my husband and I were born in Puerto Rico. Islands don't hold THAT much appeal to us. They are all the same after awhile.

We'll get to Hawaii eventually. For now the tropical flowers in my backyard will have to do.

 

[Paul Stupin]

I'm sure that's true to an extent. Both my husband and I were born in Puerto Rico. Islands don't hold THAT much appeal to us. They are all the same after awhile.

We'll get to Hawaii eventually. For now the tropical flowers in my backyard will have to do.

I understand, but for us Hawaii is always an amazing getaway.

 

[Inga]

What a difference a day makes. Most of our trip this week was phenomenal. Polite guests, fantastic cast, high level of service. Then the long weekend hit. Starting Friday, the resort was completely overwhelmed with the most obnoxious guests I've ever seen. Most were that one type of DVC member that takes "owning the place" a bit too literally. This one woman went so far as to collect a bunch of fresh towels in the evening, take them to her room overnight, then use them to reserve 10+ chairs the next morning at 7am before the towel stands were even open. I'm anti-mask but pro-following-rules, and was super annoyed when mask compliance went to hell as well. Cast did their best but staffing was nowhere near the level it needed to be, except at the bell and valet stands. Those guys took amazing care of us.

Curious if @Inga experienced the same switch in the whole vibe of the resort starting Friday.

Yes it went from a completely different level on Friday

 

[Inga]

Lazy River was not lazy those last few days. More kids swimming, splashing and wrestling than floating.

 

[SueInBoston]

I decided to break up my previous post into multiple posts, because I think the original falls into the TLDR category:

Outside Aulani, our best side trip was a boat trip with snorkeling in August. We swam alongside sea turtles. No sea turtles on this trip in March. We tried to take a whale watching tour, but it was cancelled. I happen to like the Dole "tourist trap," but opinions vary. I got a black pearl, which signifies wisdom. Then I misplaced it. Not very wise. We did not go to Honolulu on either trip, but that might have been interesting. We also did not go to Pearl Harbor, because I was sure that it would make me too sad. You might want to choose the performances at the Polynesian Cultural Center and the luaus somewhat carefully, if any in your party have had a recent break-up, since a number of the shows are oriented to honeymooners. The final evening show at the Polynesian Cultural Center was excellent. The walking tour at Waimea valley was lovely, and the people who offer activities in the area before you go on to the natural waterfall/pool are excellent! We did not go in the water because of signs posted about leptospiridosis (probably approximate spelling), though. I would have liked to see turtles at Turtle Bay, but our timing was off. The parking area there had really large potholes--and I am from Michigan so I know potholes.

Can you share which company did you do your snorkeling trip with? I'm looking for something August.

Thanks

 

[TheHulamuffins]

Hi SueInBoston, I have looked at my old emails, and found that we took an Ocean Joy trip in March. As a nice feature, they had a photographer who took your photo while you were snorkeling. And they managed to make me look good in the photo! Another nice feature if you wear glasses, or wear contacts and don't want to try snorkeling while wearing them: They had prescription goggles, strong enough for me, in terms of the diopters. The lenses were some variety of polymer. Later, ahead of a cruise, I purchased prescription goggles to use at Castaway Cay. They had much heavier, glass lenses. Although they were fine, before we go on a Disney cruise again, I will be looking for goggles with polymer lenses.

I am not sure whether we took a trip with that same company in August or not. August is a wonderful month to go!

I believe that many of the snorkeling tour boats put fish food in the water (they do it somewhat discreetly) to attract more fish. This may make some people uncomfortable.

Looking at the trips that are currently listed on Viator, the Oahu Catamaran Cruise: Wildlife, Snorkeling, and a Hawaiian Meal looks closest to the one that we took in August. It leaves from Ko Olina, which is convenient. The meal is okay. The snorkeling was excellent! The departure site is within walking distance from Aulani (maybe about a mile away). On one trip, one of the tour operators told us a lot about Hawaii while we were heading out to the snorkeling site, and I enjoyed the commentary.

We picked tours that were on the "Excursions" list for Aulani at the time. Aulani isn't showing snorkeling trips currently. Some of the snorkeling trips seemed to be of the "two or three men and a boat" variety, including the ones we went on! They seemed perfectly safe to me. It is possible that these tour companies have been badly impacted by the pandemic. They may return to operation (soon, I hope). Some of the snorkeling trips are pretty brief. I would recommend one that is at least three hours.

I am sure that other posters have more extensive experience with the snorkeling trips and can provide better advice!

 

[SueInBoston]

Hi SueInBoston, I have looked at my old emails, and found that we took an Ocean Joy trip in March. As a nice feature, they had a photographer who took your photo while you were snorkeling. And they managed to make me look good in the photo! Another nice feature if you wear glasses, or wear contacts and don't want to try snorkeling while wearing them: They had prescription goggles, strong enough for me, in terms of the diopters. The lenses were some variety of polymer. Later, ahead of a cruise, I purchased prescription goggles to use at Castaway Cay. They had much heavier, glass lenses. Although they were fine, before we go on a Disney cruise again, I will be looking for goggles with polymer lenses.

I am not sure whether we took a trip with that same company in August or not. August is a wonderful month to go!

I believe that many of the snorkeling tour boats put fish food in the water (they do it somewhat discreetly) to attract more fish. This may make some people uncomfortable.

Looking at the trips that are currently listed on Viator, the Oahu Catamaran Cruise: Wildlife, Snorkeling, and a Hawaiian Meal looks closest to the one that we took in August. It leaves from Ko Olina, which is convenient. The meal is okay. The snorkeling was excellent! The departure site is within walking distance from Aulani (maybe about a mile away). On one trip, one of the tour operators told us a lot about Hawaii while we were heading out to the snorkeling site, and I enjoyed the commentary.

We picked tours that were on the "Excursions" list for Aulani at the time. Aulani isn't showing snorkeling trips currently. Some of the snorkeling trips seemed to be of the "two or three men and a boat" variety, including the ones we went on! They seemed perfectly safe to me. It is possible that these tour companies have been badly impacted by the pandemic. They may return to operation (soon, I hope). Some of the snorkeling trips are pretty brief. I would recommend one that is at least three hours.

I am sure that other posters have more extensive experience with the snorkeling trips and can provide better advice!

thank you so much for your detailed response. I'm glad to hear the positive review on Ocean Joy, they currently offer a sunset snorkel cruise that I am contemplating since it offers both the sunset and snorkel elements in one trip. One complain that I'm mostly concern about is that they filled the boat to capacity. My other option is Mana Cruise that Inga reviewed, that one will be private cruise with only my party of 6 people, but it's only a sunset cruise with appetizers. I would choose the private but I think the kids (all mid 20's) will have more fun with Ocean Joy.

 

[TheHulamuffins]

Have fun on your trip! I hope to go back fairly soon, but maybe not as soon as this August.

 

[GoBears79]

If you think the Grand Californian and Grand Floridian are overrated, you'd probably think Aulani is overrated. We love all three. It is common for us to end a 10 day Oahu vacation with 3 nights at Aulani just chilling and we love it. We stayed at the old JW Marriott at Ko Olina, we've stayed at the new Four Seasons that replaced it, and agreed we are happier at Aulani.

 

[OKW Lover]

We stayed at the old JW Marriott at Ko Olina, we've stayed at the new Four Seasons that replaced it,

Just for clarity for others that may not know the history: The present Four Seasons next door to Aulani was formerly a JW Marriott branded property. When it became a Four Seasons (~10 years ago?) they did not change the physical building, just upgraded the facilities to 4S standards.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

If you think the Grand Californian and Grand Floridian are overrated, you'd probably think Aulani is overrated. We love all three.

Setting aside "proximity to theme parks" and "personal preferences regarding theme," I think Aulani is much higher caliber than either of those resorts. In terms of service alone, I think it goes something like:

1) Disney Cruise Line
2) Aulani
3) Grand Cal
4) Disneyland Hotel
5) Animal Kingdom Lodge
6) Grand Flo
7) Poly, Contemporary, Yacht, Beach, Boardwalk
8) Other WDW Deluxes/DDV

 

[Bigmajor]

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.

 

[Bigmajor]

Can you tell me a little bit about what the shops and restaurants are like? Are they suitable to bring young children to. Thanks so much!

 

[gatechfan99]

Can you tell me a little bit about what the shops and restaurants are like? Are they suitable to bring young children to. Thanks so much!

No problems with kids anywhere on property. There's really just 2 shops and plenty of toys and kids clothes are in there. For the restaurants, most are poolside/quick service type. The nicest restaurant (Ama Ama) is closed right now. The only other waitress-type restaurant has a character breakfast and a good dinner with Kids' Menu. My kids are pretty picky with their eating, but they never had any problem finding enough food on property.

 

[dreamit]

Can you tell me a little bit about what the shops and restaurants are like? Are they suitable to bring young children to. Thanks so much!

Across the street the restaurant/eateries are all suitable for children. There is Monkeypod, Island Vintage Coffee (which also has Acai bowls and breakfast and lunch/dinner sandwiches), an ice cream shop, Eggs-n-Things, and hot food at the ABC store. The shops are touristy gifts and apparel shops. The ABC store has pretty much everything.