Questions about Aulani/Air bnb/hotels on Oahu

[nikkistevej]

So I booked Aulani for June 2021, my family of 3(me, DH, and DD18)celebrating DH and my 25th wedding anniversary and my DD's high school graduation. So we wanted to stay 9 nights in a 1 bdr, we wanted to cook some meals and have food. I was only able to book 6 nights because we could only get an ocean view, that was all that was available. Plus, we could only borrow 50% of next years points. Sooooo, now we still want to stay somewhere for the next 4 nights? We were thinking at an Air bnb (never done that) not sure what area in Oahu. Thinking Waikiki area or North Shore. Maybe a hotel, it's gonna be hard to go from Aulani to a hotel. LOL

We have never been to Hawaii, DH does NOT want to island hop, but there is so much to do, plus we want to relax a few days.
Any help, advice or guidance on this hotel situation would be helpful.

Thanks!!

 

[happymommy]

I’d suggest looking into a hotel in Waikiki, but at the front end of the trip. That way, you can do some of your sightseeing from there, and going from a hotel to a condo is MUCH better than vice versa (plus after the first few days, you can do your laundry at the condo).

We’ve done this a few times (we own and stay at the Marriott Ko Olina right by Aulani, but similar in that it’s a condo).

This also gives us a day to adjust to the time difference. You likely won’t need a car in Waikiki (if you book things that you can get a ride to or just walk around Waikiki, since it’s quite easy to walk from one end to the other, and traffic there is horrendous).

We’ve done it where we stayed 5 nights at the Moana Surfrider, then gotten an Alamo car in Waikiki to return to the airport after Ko Olina. Used a car service to get to the hotel, but you can Uber or taxi too.

There are lots of places to eat, even very reasonably, in Waikiki. Then you can get groceries on your way to Aulani (I get sick of eating out sometimes so making easy meals is a welcome change).

There are lots of options of hotels to choose from. We stayed at the Moana, as DH is lifetime titanium so we got the lounge for free food and drinks, plus free full breakfast buffet (we didn’t need much more on top of that other than a few lunches).

 

[nikkistevej]

I’d suggest looking into a hotel in Waikiki, but at the front end of the trip. That way, you can do some of your sightseeing from there, and going from a hotel to a condo is MUCH better than vice versa (plus after the first few days, you can do your laundry at the condo).

We’ve done this a few times (we own and stay at the Marriott Ko Olina right by Aulani, but similar in that it’s a condo).

This also gives us a day to adjust to the time difference. You likely won’t need a car in Waikiki (if you book things that you can get a ride to or just walk around Waikiki, since it’s quite easy to walk from one end to the other, and traffic there is horrendous).

We’ve done it where we stayed 5 nights at the Moana Surfrider, then gotten an Alamo car in Waikiki to return to the airport after Ko Olina. Used a car service to get to the hotel, but you can Uber or taxi too.

There are lots of places to eat, even very reasonably, in Waikiki. Then you can get groceries on your way to Aulani (I get sick of eating out sometimes so making easy meals is a welcome change).

There are lots of options of hotels to choose from. We stayed at the Moana, as DH is lifetime titanium so we got the lounge for free food and drinks, plus free full breakfast buffet (we didn’t need much more on top of that other than a few lunches).

I want to do it ahead of Aulani, unfortunately nothing is available right now(we are using our DVC points), so it's gonna have to after. I'm gonna keep trying to look for availability, cause that's ideal. Thanks so much!!

 

[sparks&whimsy]

Just so you are aware as of October of 2020 a new bill went into effect in regards to short term rentals/Airbnb’s on Oahu. So make sure the place you are staying is certified. Also Under the law, B&B owners can only rent just two bedrooms to guests. And expect a housemate: The property owner is required by law to reside in the home, with the guests.

 

[nikkistevej]

Just so you are aware as of October of 2020 a new bill went into effect in regards to short term rentals/Airbnb’s on Oahu. So make sure the place you are staying is certified. Also Under the law, B&B owners can only rent just two bedrooms to guests. And expect a housemate: The property owner is required by law to reside in the home, with the guests.

Oh great, another wrench in my plans. LOL Maybe we will just do a hotel then. thanks for the info!!! Much appreciated.

 

[kyton]

Definitely safer to stay in a hotel - Waikiki is a great place to visit. For our family we have always dome a split stay combining one of the resorts at Ko Olina with Waikiki (although our kids have pretty much decided that they are close to being done with Ko Olina all together and are happy to stay in Waikiki).

It will all come down to your budget which will determine where to stay in Waikiki. There are only a handful of hotels actually on the beachfront but every other hotel is within a 5-10min walk to at least one beach.

 

[nikkistevej]

Definitely safer to stay in a hotel - Waikiki is a great place to visit. For our family we have always dome a split stay combining one of the resorts at Ko Olina with Waikiki (although our kids have pretty much decided that they are close to being done with Ko Olina all together and are happy to stay in Waikiki).

It will all come down to your budget which will determine where to stay in Waikiki. There are only a handful of hotels actually on the beachfront but every other hotel is within a 5-10min walk to at least one beach.

Thanks so much! We will probably do Waikiki, I think maybe a few blocks away. Trying to get a schedule together of what we want to do also.

 

[wassily]

Like others have said... if this is your first time in Oahu, I would book Aulani at the back end of the trip. Do your sightseeing first... can base in Waikiki, though traffic can be bad, so plan for that.

Maximizing time zone differences depends on where you are coming from. Schedule your early morning boat trips during the first few days, especially if you are coming from mainland.
Like swimming with dolphins/sharks in the open water. After a few days, you'll get adjusted to the time zone and late openings of establishments. So waking up early for those early morning excursions could be much harder to do.

The ultimate maximization of time zone differences would be if you went to Maui first and do Haleakala sunrise. But that can be for another trip.

 

[nikkistevej]

Like others have said... if this is your first time in Oahu, I would book Aulani at the back end of the trip. Do your sightseeing first... can base in Waikiki, though traffic can be bad, so plan for that.

Maximizing time zone differences depends on where you are coming from. Schedule your early morning boat trips during the first few days, especially if you are coming from mainland.
Like swimming with dolphins/sharks in the open water. After a few days, you'll get adjusted to the time zone and late openings of establishments. So waking up early for those early morning excursions could be much harder to do.

The ultimate maximization of time zone differences would be if you went to Maui first and do Haleakala sunrise. But that can be for another trip.

Unfortunately there is no availability for Aulani using our DVC points during that time, I wish. I definitely want to do early excursions- getting used to the time change, I think that will help. Hubby doesn’t want to island hop this trip, I want to, but maybe that means we can plan another in a few years!

 

[starry_solo]

Maybe keep an eye out to see if people are dropping standard view nights that you could possibly modify your reservation?

 

[nikkistevej]

Maybe keep an eye out to see if people are dropping standard view nights that you could possibly modify your reservation?

I have waitlist for “lower” category rooms, hoping something comes through!

 

[FinnFogg]

Another great destination is Turtle Bay Resort on the north shore. You could head straight there on arrival, or even better do a night or two in Waikiki and then drive up the east coast to Turtle Bay...2 nights there then head to Aulani! Drive by the Dole Plantation on the way to Aulani to cross it off the list and get your Dole Whip fix.

 

[kyton]

I wouldn’t do 3 places in 9 days - Oahu is not that big! You can easily drive from Aulani to the North Shore for a day trip without staying there plus Aulani plus Waikiki. In my opinion, Turtle Bay is very similar to Aulani - it’s remote, very relaxing but also very pricey.

 

[happymommy]

I wouldn’t do 3 places in 9 days - Oahu is not that big! You can easily drive from Aulani to the North Shore for a day trip without staying there plus Aulani plus Waikiki. In my opinion, Turtle Bay is very similar to Aulani - it’s remote, very relaxing but also very pricey.

I totally agree. When we lived on Oahu, Turtle Bay was not considered a desirable place to actually stay. There is very little in the immediate area. It is also the area with very high crime (we had friends who lived in Hauula and the wife was always on edge with how much crime there was right there, so they moved to Kailua after a short rental stay there).

 

[nikkistevej]

We definitely wouldn’t do 3 places. I wanted to just have our home base in Aulani and then do day trips. Hoping we can get our waitlist accepted and then we can stay longer there. I don’t want to switch, we might have to do though.