Aulani is full...now what?

[traceyg]

I got an email for $158 rt airfare on Hawaiian Airlines so I threw caution to the wind and booked it for myself, DH and DS 10. Now I'm working on the logistics. Our dates are 9/17 to 9/22.
As of right now, Aulani is sold out but I have my name on two waiting lists. If I cannot get into Aulani what resort would you pick? From my limited research so far I think we are the laid back, beach goer type of family with a few excursions thrown in. Ko'Olina area or is there another place in Oahu (besides Waikiki) that is recommended?
If we can't get reservations at Aulani and end up at a nearby Marriott, etc can we still visit Aulani? What would be open to us as a day visitor? Thanks!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I don't know all the details right now regarding Aulani, but are they currently running at full capacity? There might still be a chance they could open more rooms over the upcoming weeks, and your waitlist will come through (although I do not know that for certain - sorry). I sure hope Aulani can still work out for you. Good luck.

 

[Lilsia]

We walked over the the Marriott resort in Ko'Olina when we were there a few weeks ago, got something to eat and bought stuff in their giftshop, and thought it was a very nice resort. We would stay there. As for what you can do at Aulani while not staying there, not much. You can walk around the resort, shop in the giftshop and eat at Ulu Cafe. They did close Makahiki to those not staying there but that might change. The spa is reopen but I am not sure if that is open to outside guests yet either. 3 months can make a huge difference.

 

[traceyg]

I don't know all the details right now regarding Aulani, but are they currently running at full capacity? There might still be a chance they could open more rooms over the upcoming weeks, and your waitlist will come through (although I do not know that for certain - sorry). I sure hope Aulani can still work out for you. Good luck.

Ahhh!! I hope that they're just not completely open yet. I'd hate to take the place of someone who can't go. (Waitlists are always bittersweet for me). A newly opened room would be magic!

 

[traceyg]

We walked over the the Marriott resort in Ko'Olina when we were there a few weeks ago, got something to eat and bought stuff in their giftshop, and thought it was a very nice resort. We would stay there. As for what you can do at Aulani while not staying there, not much. You can walk around the resort, shop in the giftshop and eat at Ulu Cafe. They did close Makahiki to those not staying there but that might change. The spa is reopen but I am not sure if that is open to outside guests yet either. 3 months can make a huge difference.

I hope so too! I guess I have three months to stalk the DVC website to see if anything opens up. Here's hoping for some Pixie Dust!

 

[Paul Stupin]

We walked over the the Marriott resort in Ko'Olina when we were there a few weeks ago, got something to eat and bought stuff in their giftshop, and thought it was a very nice resort. We would stay there. As for what you can do at Aulani while not staying there, not much. You can walk around the resort, shop in the giftshop and eat at Ulu Cafe. They did close Makahiki to those not staying there but that might change. The spa is reopen but I am not sure if that is open to outside guests yet either. 3 months can make a huge difference.

Agreed. Marriott Ko Olina is within easy walking distance of Aulani, on a beautiful park like path right by the beach, and seems pretty nice. We’d stay there as well if Aulani wasn’t available. There are four lagoons on the beach at Ko Olina….the Marriott‘s is almost identical to Aulani’s. There are plenty of resort tours on YouTube.

 

[corgi_monster]

Word of mouth is that Aulani is operating at 70% right now. DVC rooms are supposedly operating at 100% less any pulled out of inventory for the soft refurb. Keep checking, though - just this past week, studios that had been sold out for months suddenly became available and I was able to move my Dec. booking to August.

 

[traceyg]

Agreed. Marriott Ko Olina is within easy walking distance of Aulani, on a beautiful park like path right by the beach, and seems pretty nice. We’d stay there as well if Aulani wasn’t available. There are four lagoons on the beach at Ko Olina….the Marriott‘s is almost identical to Aulani’s. There are plenty of resort tours on YouTube.

Thanks! I hadn’t thought about looking through YouTube. Good advice

 

[traceyg]

Word of mouth is that Aulani is operating at 70% right now. DVC rooms are supposedly operating at 100% less any pulled out of inventory for the soft refurb. Keep checking, though - just this past week, studios that had been sold out for months suddenly became available and I was able to move my Dec. booking to August.

That’s awesome! Now maybe you can squeeze in a December trip too!!

 

[Great3]

I have stayed at both Aulani and Marriott Ko Olina. Both of my DVC contracts at are Aulani, so I guess that makes me an owner there. I will say, while I loved Aulani, I actually personally like Marriott KoOlina better, I just feel more relaxed since it's a bigger, more spread out resort, where as Aulani feels more cramped with only 2 towers close by each other with the pool area in the middle.

But, if you never been to Aulani, you have to try it, it's an awesome place to be, especially the lazy river. Guess thru my rambling, I am just saying both places are really nice, so I wouldn't sweat it if I can't book Aulani.

If you are laid back, than Waikiki isn't for you. I like the slow down pace of the Ko Olina much more over the busy Waikiki vibe. But than again, I love to eat, and Waikiki has so much food choices, whereas whenever I say at Ko Olina area, I am always driving out to find new foods to try, so both areas cater to different parts of what I love about being in Hawaii, good food, and rest and relaxation.

I know I probably didn't give you much advice about what is best, but it really about what's important to you and what you like doing most. Best of luck securing the Aulani reservations needed, and deciding where else to stay if not.

Great3

 

[monsterkitty]

We own Marriott so we stay at the Marriott Ko Olina and not Aulani. When we went over spring break this year, which was the last week of March, Aulani seemed a lot more crowded than the Marriott.

We always, including this March, walk over to Aulani for a little shopping and snacks.

Personally, I would book the Marriott now if you can. If you get Aulani then you can cancel the Marriott. I would hate to have plane tickets but not have a place to stay.

 

[ajsanford]

My dates were originally full and I kept checking back and eventually they opened more rooms and I was able to bookl! I noticed they had rooms open up when I am going yesterday again (it was previously showing as completely booked)- this is on the hotel side though so keep checking back!

 

[traceyg]

I have stayed at both Aulani and Marriott Ko Olina. Both of my DVC contracts at are Aulani, so I guess that makes me an owner there. I will say, while I loved Aulani, I actually personally like Marriott KoOlina better, I just feel more relaxed since it's a bigger, more spread out resort, where as Aulani feels more cramped with only 2 towers close by each other with the pool area in the middle.

But, if you never been to Aulani, you have to try it, it's an awesome place to be, especially the lazy river. Guess thru my rambling, I am just saying both places are really nice, so I wouldn't sweat it if I can't book Aulani.

If you are laid back, than Waikiki isn't for you. I like the slow down pace of the Ko Olina much more over the busy Waikiki vibe. But than again, I love to eat, and Waikiki has so much food choices, whereas whenever I say at Ko Olina area, I am always driving out to find new foods to try, so both areas cater to different parts of what I love about being in Hawaii, good food, and rest and relaxation.

I know I probably didn't give you much advice about what is best, but it really about what's important to you and what you like doing most. Best of luck securing the Aulani reservations needed, and deciding where else to stay if not.

Great3

Your post was actually very helpful! Thanks! So many things to think about. What a fun problem to have. Lol

 

[traceyg]

My dates were originally full and I kept checking back and eventually they opened more rooms and I was able to bookl! I noticed they had rooms open up when I am going yesterday again (it was previously showing as completely booked)- this is on the hotel side though so keep checking back!

I’m usually stalking DVC for a hard to get dining reservation so this will be like old times for me. Last year I scored all of our wishlist dining and then a few weeks before we were due to leave, Disney cancelled everybody’s reservations so I had to go back and piece it all back together. I have two grown children and they were able to fly in for the week. So I invited their dad and his new family and gifted them their own room. We were all looking forward to the character breakfast at the Riviera but I couldn’t get the reservation back. I had bought aprons for the characters to sign and berets for all of us too. They’re now packed away in my Disney box for next time.
I’ll keep looking! Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[traceyg]

We own Marriott so we stay at the Marriott Ko Olina and not Aulani. When we went over spring break this year, which was the last week of March, Aulani seemed a lot more crowded than the Marriott.

We always, including this March, walk over to Aulani for a little shopping and snacks.

Personally, I would book the Marriott now if you can. If you get Aulani then you can cancel the Marriott. I would hate to have plane tickets but not have a place to stay.

Good point! Yes, I’ll get that done today. This has been a whirlwind.

 

[nkereina]

I agree with PPs to keep checking. Statistically, September is a slow time of year to visit. It was relatively quiet when we went the same week as you a few years back. Everything has changed in the current environment though, but I would suspect its because they're still booking at reduced capacity.

If it doesn't work out, I agree that Marriott Ko Olina is the next best bet. Its just as beautiful and seems like a pretty laidback resort. We'd have no qualms with staying there. There's also the Four Seasons in Ko Olina but they seems more high end to me, so I can't speak to how it compares. Alternatively, Turtle Bay Resort in the North Shore is another popular beach resort. Movies have been filmed there. We never made it there, but people love it. Its probably in a slightly better location in terms of sightseeing, but I don't think there's anything in the immediate vicinity of the resort that's walkable like in Ko Olina, where you can at least walk to Aulani, Island Market, Monkeypod, etc.

 

[badiggio]

We've always stayed at Ko OLINa Beach Villas.It's located between aulani and the Marriott Beach villas.Amazing big condos with some great views and way better value ,imo.I've always used vrbo.Between the 3,it's easily our choice.

 

[Paul Stupin]

I agree with PPs to keep checking. Statistically, September is a slow time of year to visit. It was relatively quiet when we went the same week as you a few years back. Everything has changed in the current environment though, but I would suspect its because they're still booking at reduced capacity.

If it doesn't work out, I agree that Marriott Ko Olina is the next best bet. Its just as beautiful and seems like a pretty laidback resort. We'd have no qualms with staying there. There's also the Four Seasons in Ko Olina but they seems more high end to me, so I can't speak to how it compares. Alternatively, Turtle Bay Resort in the North Shore is another popular beach resort. Movies have been filmed there. We never made it there, but people love it. Its probably in a slightly better location in terms of sightseeing, but I don't think there's anything in the immediate vicinity of the resort that's walkable like in Ko Olina, where you can at least walk to Aulani, Island Market, Monkeypod, etc.


We‘ve explored around the Ko Olina Four Seasons and would still prefer the Marriott. The Four Seasons has more fancy restaurants, but the hotel is also older, smaller, and for us seems kind of ugly and out of date. Frankly, it’s kind of an eyesore. I would assume the rooms are not as big too since it’s not a timeshare.
The Marriott’s pools and grounds are way more spectacular.

 

[Paul Stupin]

We've always stayed at Ko OLINa Beach Villas.It's located between aulani and the Marriott Beach villas.Amazing big condos with some great views and way better value ,imo.I've always used vrbo.Between the 3,it's easily our choice.

I’m sure the place is nice, but it’s pretty small, with no shops or restaurants, and the pool doesn’t look like anything special. I guess the trade off is the larger condos.

 

[badiggio]

I’m sure the place is nice, but it’s pretty small, with no shops or restaurants, and the pool doesn’t look like anything special. I guess the trade off is the larger condos.

Pretty small in regards to what exactly?More rooms?The condos are huge and modern with upscale appliances and free parking.The patio door wall opens up onto your lanai.You can shop and eat anywhere whether you're sleeping at aulani or not.We've eaten at roy's,Monkey pods and had wings over at marriott.The pools aren't anything special,true ,but they're pools.Aulani has a lazy river.I've visited Aulani every time and have rented vehicles from the car rental.It's ok but it's not the same as staying at DW or DL and being able to hit the parks.