Realistic Food Allowance.

[JJJD]

We are less than a month and I'm still trying to budget our food spending over there for the duration. I don't have a kitchenette, and though I am able to pick up a few stuff at Costco and Target, realistically, they'll be mostly snacks and water. So my question is, how realistic is a $150 a day food budget for a family of four (2 adults, a 5 year old, and a 1 year old)? We will moslty do, Ulu, MonkeyPod, Island Market, Off the Hook, Pizza Corner, Just Tacos, and some treats (shaved ice, dole, etc). And if possible, one drink a day. I can be a big eater but willing to share if portions are big enough.

 

[Westcoastwild]

I think it's a little tight, maybe? I usually budget 60 per adult per day. If my parents or younger sister are those adults, we usually go way over. But my parents are big drinkers and my sister will snack all day long if you let her.

But it really, really depends on your appetite, how much table service tipping is involved, and how big of an appetite you've got. Whether or not you can do without that one drink if you need to.

 

[happymommy]

Drinks - making them yourself and bring to the pool saves a ton. I bring a small soft side cooler (bought it at Walmart in Kapolei a few years ago) for drinks/snacks by the pool.

Eating out in town is much cheaper for dinner too. There are many choices nearby, like at the Kapolei Commons there are a few places (Ruby Tuesday, etc) and there is an Outback Steakhouse in town. Sushi Bay is awesome for sushi, and inexpensive.

There is California Pizza Kitchen at the new mall, as well as Applebee's (not that I care for that place, but just saying it's there).

I think it's okay, considering the 1 and 5 year old won't likely be much.

 

[alohamom]

I think to be realistic I personally would budget more like $200 for the day. That way you can splurge once in a while. If you were going into Kapolei or outside of Ko Olina every day to eat then I think $150 would be ok as @happymommy above suggests. Staying in the general area of Aulani will cost you a little more.

A typical very inexpensive breakdown for a day staying at the resort could be something like bagels & cheese, fruit and yogurt, coffee and juice in the room for breakfast which if purchased ahead of time at Target or whatever might run you a maximum of $20 for all of you. Then lunch could be a pizza from Ulu and drinks from your room which is approx $25 total. You might want a Mickey bar in the afternoon or some shave ice so there is $15-20 depending on what you have. Then dinner at Ulu runs about $15 per person for a hot plate, kids plates are $7 (I think) and drinks could again be from you room so dinner at Ulu might run you $50 for all four of you, assuming the baby is going to just nibble and might have their own baby food. This day adds up to $125 total for the day.

My point is it is do-able but limited.

Monkeypod is known on these boards for their happy hour appitizer specials, I think a family with two adults and two small children could easily eat during the happy hour for $60-70 with alcohol just to give you an idea of the pricing there.
The specials are half price apps from this list and $9 pizzas

Fresh Veggies & Babaghanoush Dip - 14.95
taro chips, kamuela cucumber, ho farm cherry tomato, local beets, butternut squash , baby romaine, fire roasted eggplant puree
Wood-Roasted Free Range Chicken Wings - 16.95
kiawe-roasted free range chicken, garlic, local rosemary, tzatziki sauce
Lobster Deviled Eggs- 16.95
big island lobster, maili moa farms free range eggs
Pumpkin Patch Ravioli - 14.95
kiawe-roasted squash, chevre, organic spinach, toasted walnut sage pesto
Hand Cut Fries - 7.95
whole grain mustard aioli, monkeypod ketchup
Garlic Truffle Oil Fries - 9.95
parmesan cheese, whole grain mustard aioli, monkeypod ketchup
Corn Chowder- 9.95
local coconut milk, yukon gold potato, celery, ma'o farm organic kale, hau'ula farm tomato, local lemongrass

 

[JJJD]

oohhh. That's what I'm afraid of. I always thought I'd be sharing with the Mrs. to save and not to overeat and the kids would be sharing from a kids menu. I only have the car for a day so I will try to maximize my run to Target and Costco but I know I'm limited to what I can heat up in the microwave. I'm sorta on the fence too about making this truly a splurge type of thing since this is our firs Hawaii trip and our first Aulani trip! But not in a way that it breaks the bank that we can't come back! Lol!

Regarding the drinks, I'm not a big drinker. But it'll be more like for the experience. I've never mix drinks so going out and buying and mixing drinks and carving pineapple(haha) out is quite challenging for me. I can do vodka and cran but it wont be that tropical. Any tips on this dept would be appreciated but again not a big deal!

I didn't have much time planning this. Just did it back in March on an impulse so didn't account for all the expenses that has been going over here in preparation and the upcoming ones over there. I thought I saved a whole lot booking this trip with flight and all but really under estimated food budget.

Thanks all for the tips! I'll adjust my budget accordingly but we'll see how creative we can be with our microwave and rice cooker!

P.S. Are kids allowed at MonkeyPod during happy hour?

 

[alohamom]

Lots of kids at monkey pod during happy hour, all ages too!

As far as the tropical drink thing, one poster in a trip reports on these boards (I will see if I can find it) said she just bought a bottle of her favorited alcohol, might have been vodka or coconut rum, and mixed it with P.O.G. Juice in her room. POG is short for passion orange guava and you can buy it everywhere, including across the street at Island Market. It is so good, we buy it in a six pack of cans and it is about 3.99 for that, maybe less

 

[alohamom]

Here is the TR that had the POG cocktails (post #7) Thanks once again to @Vernie822 for her great TR!

https://www.disboards.com/threads/just-mauid-maui-aulani-trip-report.3552835/#post-56591252

 

[blondietink]

The food at Aulani is very expensive, IMHO, for what you get. And the mixed drinks are around $12 to $13 a piece. They used to have a happy hour for some discounted drinks, but don't know if they do that now. However, at Costco you can pick up a big bottle of premixed drinks like Mai Tai's including the alcohol and while not the best, it will cut down on the drink expense a lot. You can buy the POG juice and like others have said, just buy a bottle of alcohol and mix it in. We literally drink POG juice by the gallon it is so good and for the 4 of us adults a gallon will last a day, maybe 2 at the most.

Otherwise, I think you will need to up your daily food allowance to $200.00 per day since you won't have a car but only one day. This severely limits the price of food eating out all the time, other than breakfast which can be made in the room easily and cheaply.

 

[Vernie822]

We did 5 nights at Aulani and like alohamom mentioned, made some cocktails in our room I'll give you a breakdown of what we spent to give you a good idea. We had a kitchenette but we didn't use anything other than the fridge, really.

I did a lot of reviewing of food in my TR that alohamom linked to above. We budgeted around $125 per day, I think, for food. We weren't really trying to budget too much, but also didn't want to waste money. We also did a 2 week honeymoon so we were fine not going to breakfast/lunch every day. We spent about $100 at Target and got ham and cheese and buns for lunches, chips and pretzels, fresh fruit, bagels and cream cheese, coffee creamer, water and Diet Coke, and alcohol. I can't eat really heavy every day anyways, so it worked for us. We generally spent $100-125 per day. We maybe each bought one or two alcoholic drinks per day. Buying alcohol and keeping it in our room helped us cut down on that. Mixed drinks are fun but at $13-15 apiece, only one per day is plenty. You can buy a bottle of alcohol for that price!

We did Monkeypod for dinner. You can make a reservation on Open Table - which I suggest doing maybe a night or two before, as it gets busy. Definitely go during happy hour. We didn't and we wish we had! Their prices are a little expensive for what you get, IMO.

We felt as if we got to experience nicer places for dinner (Ama Ama, Roy's, Monkeypod) by cutting down on our breakfast/lunch expenses!

We did one lunch at Off the Hook, for 2 entrees, one non alcoholic drink, and a beer, plus tip it was about $40.
In contrast, it cost us ~$20 to eat at the snack shack by the pool another day (hot dog, chicken tenders and fries, and a Diet coke).

Here is roughly what I recall spending...
First night - Target - $100 on food for the room - Bagels, coffee creamer, ham, cheese, buns, chips, Cheetos, case of water, case of Diet Coke, bottle of vodka, bottle of wine, bottle of margarita (premixed), fresh fruit. I think we got a few random things as well.

Day 1
Breakfast @ Ulu Cafe - Malasadas and a breakfast sandwich, maybe $15-20
Lunch - In the room
Dinner - Ama Ama - Maybe $100ish?
Snacks - Roughly $10
= $130

Day 2
Breakfast & lunch in room
Spent ~$20 on random snacks @ Aloha Swap meet.. flavored macadamia nuts, banana bread, pepperoni roll - Snacked on these in the room during our trip.
Monkeypod Dinner - ~$75 for two entrees, an app, one Diet Coke, one beer.
= ~$100ish

Day 3
Breakfast in room
Lunch @ pool bar, $20
Snacks - Dole whip and ice cream bar, $10ish
Luau @ Paradise Cove ~$220ish
= $250 (Not sure I'd count the luau as food, considering it's mostly the show and experience you are paying for).

Day 4
Breakfast in room
Lunch @ Off the Hook, $40
Happy Hour cocktails @ Olelo Room, ~$20ish for one each
Dinner @ Roy's, ~$100-125
= $185

Day 5
Breakfast in room, stopped and got Leonard's Malasadas ~$10
Lunch @ Food Trucks on North Shore, plus Shave Ice from Matsumoto, ~$30
Dinner @ Pizza Corner, maybe ~$25?
I think we also had ice cream or a snack so maybe $10
= $75

 

[SylviaL]

If you can't make it to Monkeypod during happy hour, you might consider getting take out from there. We had a big party so they couldn't accommodate us until late at night. We ordered take out and that worked out well. You could eat by the pool or beach and supplement with stuff from Aulani, if needed.

 

[alohamom]

If you can't make it to Monkeypod during happy hour, you might consider getting take out from there. We had a big party so they couldn't accommodate us until late at night. We ordered take out and that worked out well. You could eat by the pool or beach and supplement with stuff from Aulani, if needed.

@SylviaL so do you mean they allowed you to take out the happy hour priced food or just regular menu items? WOW if it was the happy hour stuff!

 

[scrappydew]

That food budget adds up quickly! We averaged about $100/day for two adults and two teens, but ate lots of meals in our room (soups, microwave noodles, etc.) We did like Pizza Corner, and got some things at the little food stands at Aulani (also bought the refillable mugs.)

 

[happymommy]

Have you looked into a rental car for the whole trip?

 

[SylviaL]

No--I doubt they would let you take-out happy hour priced food. I meant that if you couldn't make it to Monkeypod to take advantage of the happy hour, getting regular take-out from there could still save you a little bit of $$ and it would be easier on the kids!

 

[JJJD]

Here is the TR that had the POG cocktails (post #7) Thanks once again to @Vernie822 for her great TR!

https://www.disboards.com/threads/just-mauid-maui-aulani-trip-report.3552835/#post-56591252

Great info about this. POG ftw! Thank you so much! this just opened up a whole new avenue as far as drinks!

 

[JJJD]

We did 5 nights at Aulani and like alohamom mentioned, made some cocktails in our room I'll give you a breakdown of what we spent to give you a good idea. We had a kitchenette but we didn't use anything other than the fridge, really.

I did a lot of reviewing of food in my TR that alohamom linked to above. We budgeted around $125 per day, I think, for food. We weren't really trying to budget too much, but also didn't want to waste money. We also did a 2 week honeymoon so we were fine not going to breakfast/lunch every day. We spent about $100 at Target and got ham and cheese and buns for lunches, chips and pretzels, fresh fruit, bagels and cream cheese, coffee creamer, water and Diet Coke, and alcohol. I can't eat really heavy every day anyways, so it worked for us. We generally spent $100-125 per day. We maybe each bought one or two alcoholic drinks per day. Buying alcohol and keeping it in our room helped us cut down on that. Mixed drinks are fun but at $13-15 apiece, only one per day is plenty. You can buy a bottle of alcohol for that price!

We did Monkeypod for dinner. You can make a reservation on Open Table - which I suggest doing maybe a night or two before, as it gets busy. Definitely go during happy hour. We didn't and we wish we had! Their prices are a little expensive for what you get, IMO.

We felt as if we got to experience nicer places for dinner (Ama Ama, Roy's, Monkeypod) by cutting down on our breakfast/lunch expenses!

We did one lunch at Off the Hook, for 2 entrees, one non alcoholic drink, and a beer, plus tip it was about $40.
In contrast, it cost us ~$20 to eat at the snack shack by the pool another day (hot dog, chicken tenders and fries, and a Diet coke).

Here is roughly what I recall spending...
First night - Target - $100 on food for the room - Bagels, coffee creamer, ham, cheese, buns, chips, Cheetos, case of water, case of Diet Coke, bottle of vodka, bottle of wine, bottle of margarita (premixed), fresh fruit. I think we got a few random things as well.

Day 1
Breakfast @ Ulu Cafe - Malasadas and a breakfast sandwich, maybe $15-20
Lunch - In the room
Dinner - Ama Ama - Maybe $100ish?
Snacks - Roughly $10
= $130

Day 2
Breakfast & lunch in room
Spent ~$20 on random snacks @ Aloha Swap meet.. flavored macadamia nuts, banana bread, pepperoni roll - Snacked on these in the room during our trip.
Monkeypod Dinner - ~$75 for two entrees, an app, one Diet Coke, one beer.
= ~$100ish

Day 3
Breakfast in room
Lunch @ pool bar, $20
Snacks - Dole whip and ice cream bar, $10ish
Luau @ Paradise Cove ~$220ish
= $250 (Not sure I'd count the luau as food, considering it's mostly the show and experience you are paying for).

Day 4
Breakfast in room
Lunch @ Off the Hook, $40
Happy Hour cocktails @ Olelo Room, ~$20ish for one each
Dinner @ Roy's, ~$100-125
= $185

Day 5
Breakfast in room, stopped and got Leonard's Malasadas ~$10
Lunch @ Food Trucks on North Shore, plus Shave Ice from Matsumoto, ~$30
Dinner @ Pizza Corner, maybe ~$25?
I think we also had ice cream or a snack so maybe $10
= $75

Thank you for the breakdown! I will use this as a template for us! We are not sophisticated diners so we will get by with finger foods for one of our meals a day!

 

[Vernie822]

Thank you for the breakdown! I will use this as a template for us! We are not sophisticated diners so we will get by with finger foods for one of our meals a day!

You're welcome! With it being so hot, we liked to keep it light during the day and "splurge" and have a bigger meal at dinner time. There are also lots of restaurants at the Marriott and Four Seasons nearby, if you're looking for another dinner spot. I was hoping to try one of those but we kind of ran out of time. We actually came back from the trip (we did Maui/Aulani/Disneyland) with money leftover. I honestly thought it would be more expensive than it was. But I also refused to buy more than a few $15 drinks!

 

[JJJD]

If you can't make it to Monkeypod during happy hour, you might consider getting take out from there. We had a big party so they couldn't accommodate us until late at night. We ordered take out and that worked out well. You could eat by the pool or beach and supplement with stuff from Aulani, if needed.

We will definitely take advantage of the happy hour and MonkeyPod in whole. That would be at least our main meal for each day. That and Island Corner Market for breakfast. I heard prices are pretty decent for a complete breakfast meal!

 

[JJJD]

That food budget adds up quickly! We averaged about $100/day for two adults and two teens, but ate lots of meals in our room (soups, microwave noodles, etc.) We did like Pizza Corner, and got some things at the little food stands at Aulani (also bought the refillable mugs.)

I'm realizing that now as I try my best to itemize each meals each day! I've been looking at menus for the restaurants around Aulani in walking distance. We will do the refillable mug mainly for coffee and ice teas and double as a souvenir. We are not big soda drinkers. I will do Pizza Corner and Just tacos as well!

Any tips for in room menus I can make and buy from Target using only microwave and rice cooker?

 

[JJJD]

Have you looked into a rental car for the whole trip?

Not really an option for us this trip. I have young kids that requires car seats and I'm not DVC so I'm gonna have to pay for parking. And we really want to just enjoy the resort. We are only staying 5 nights and have to leave really early on our last day. I only got a rental as part of the package and will only use it for maybe light sight seeing and mainly for groceries run! I know that is frown upon here as some have said "you can't say you've been to Hawaii if you don't explore the island". For us, there would be plenty of opportunities to do excursions, hiking, and really absorbing the culture. We want this trip to be about Aulani!!!