Are all Aulani towers complete now?

[Minnie222]

We were there in Jan 2013. I agree it feels empty, like a 10% occupancy. We lived on Ewa building. The corridor was so quiet that it feels like very few rooms on the floor had guests. We were at Makahiki for dinner at 8pm, and there were only 4 tables of guests.

After about 10pm, there are no more activities. I managed to take pictures of empty corridors on third floor (lobby floor).

I also think that Aulani is struggling. The high price holds off many people. For the same price, we can have a longer vacay at WDW.

 

[Iceman93]

Again I guess I'll be the voice of dissent. Granted I was only there once, for a week late last September, but I hardly think Aulani is struggling. If anything, I thought occupancy and spending must be exceeding projected levels.

We saw Japanese tourists all over the place. Thankfully we had restaurant reservations for both breakfast and dinner, because other guests were being turned away. It was difficult to find pool chairs, and my wife's time in the spa was severely limited due to the lack of availability of appointments. My parents (who were in a standard view hotel room) tried to pay to upgrade to a better view at check-in and were told that the hotel was sold out.

All of that being said, yes, the corridors were often empty. I think this is a credit to great design (the spread-out nature of the place) and the fact that people at Aulani want to be outside enjoying the amenities, not generally sitting in their rooms.

 

[csharpwv]

I think that September, and October are peak shoulder seasons if that makes sense - not absolutely peak seasons, but are peak...off peak...

I have a business acquaintance in Hawaii and she mentioned in conversation that they REALLY were laying off last year after November, rehired a few during December/January - but they still have not recalled all initial hires, and ramping up for summer... no recalls.

I have heard more than a few people say that once the entire resort is open and booked to capacity that spending time at the pool would be miserable due to the lack of space around the pools.

We really can't wait to go sometime - and will likely be within the next year to year and a half.

I hope all of the kinks are worked out by the time we travel! HAHA