We loved our 7 night vacation here!!! We're all very sad to be leaving these slices of paradise called Aulani and Oahu, but we had a great time. Here are some thoughts as I sit on the little couch in our room since I'm not ready for bed even though it's 2:00am and I'm getting up at 6:45 for breakfast before the shuttle to the airport...
- Aulani is beautiful. It has a Disney vibe in its design, but you should note that it doesn't seem as Disney-fied as the WDW property resorts are. Of course, the service is 100% Disney. I am always amazed at the quality of people Disney hires. Above and beyond is the standard practice, and the CMs here at Aulani do not disappoint at all.
- Our room (Deluxe Studio Ocean View in Ewa tower, 12th floor) was nice, but it's a standard Disney resort room. Small...tiny even...for what you're paying. No different than a room at Animal Kingdom Lodge. The bed was not good at all...not good...you can do better Disney...and it's tough to sleep two adults in the bed (but we're spoiled by a true king bed at home). The pillows were also not good, but a call to housekeeping got us four feather pillows which were much better.
- The lagoon is very nice, but the water was cold (December/January). The sun was hot, but it was cold and more windy when you hit some shade (like on the walk back to the lobby through the pool area). We were not prepared for the temperature variations we experienced even on the walks from the room to the lagoon, or the cold nights. What did we know...it's Hawaii...it's always 85 degrees, right?
- We went around the lazy river once, and it was nice. We hit the adult pool twice to cool off after laying on the beach, and its water was warmer than the lagoon, which was nice. The entire pool area is very kid centric, which is great...they have a blast. The adult pool seemed like an afterthought, even in its location.
- For dining, here's what I recommend. Eat breakfasts at Ama Ama (the two eggs, potatoes and Portuguese sausage, egg white frittata, acai bowl and bread basket are all awesome!). Get reservations for all meals there if you can. Skip lunch (after the big breakfast, especially if you'll be at the resort all day), and try these restaurants:
Ichiriki - traditional Japanese Shabu Shabu (hot pot) in Aeia, about a 20-30 minute drive toward Honolulu on H1. By far our favorite restaurant on the trip. It's always a good sign when you're the only tourists in a restaurant...this place is a favorite of the locals.
Nico's Pier 38 - great lunch or dinner spot in Honolulu. Try their Loco Moco...it was delicious!
Odoriko - great sushi in Waikiki (30-40 minute drive)
Monkeypod - cool farm-to-table place across the street from Aulani, in the marketplace area.
- Here's how our itinerary played out. It doesn't match the pre-planned itinerary, the one I spent a long time planning, but that's what happens with four kids between 15 and 18 and unknown weather. Luckliy the weather worked out great for us, as the only completely cloudy and cold day was our North Shore day, and every other day was beautiful for laying out to tan or other outdoor activities.
Tuesday: Arrived at Aulani as the sun was setting. Tired, so we split up, got some dinner, and went to sleep.
Wednesday: Resort day. Got the recommendation for Ichiriki from a concierge, and it was awesome.
Thursday: Helicopter tour. Do this! Don't not do it! We used Blue Hawaiian and it was great. I had never been in a helicopter, and it may be a while before i do it again, but it was really fun and exciting and beautiful. And I'm proud to say I did not have to use any "comfort bags." Interestingly, I noticed that our route was not the route shown on their website, but as far as I can tell, we didn't fly over the east coast of Oahu because the President and his family were in the Lanikai Beach area after his Pearl Harbor memorial visit. We had to go through TSA at the Blue Hawaiian office, which I believe is not the standard routine.
Diamond Head hike. This was more difficult than i expected, but I did it, and I'm super proud of myself. The views are spectacular.
Malasadas at Leonard's in Honolulu. Delicious!
Friday: North Shore. Hiked/walked to Waimea Falls, and three of the girls swam. Lunch at Ted's Bakery near Sunset Beach (get the garlic shrimp). I went a few steps into the water at Sunset Beach and let some 5-8' waves hit me, so I could say I did it (be careful...the shore break can be dangerous and really hurt you if the waves are big, and the undertow back out to sea is strong!). Shave ice at Matsumoto's in Haleiwa...so good (grape/pineapple/coconut)!
Saturday: Resort day. We all had spa treatments (so awesome!!!), attended the Aulani luau (very nice show and great food), then we rang in the new year with Aulani's fireworks (well done!).
Sunday: Resort day.
Monday: Ko'Olani Ocean Adventures, snorkeling with dolphins, turtles and fish, with some bonus whale watching. We snorkeled with the fishes, saw one turtle on that swim, saw a pod of dolphins that followed the boat for a while and loved swimming in the boat's wake, but we did not get into the water with them, and we saw several whale's throughout the trip.
I have to plug Ichiriki and Ko'Olina Ocean Advenures, especially our captains Austin and John, again. We really enjoyed this restaurant and excursion.
I'll post some pics soon. We're going to miss this place.
- Aulani is beautiful. It has a Disney vibe in its design, but you should note that it doesn't seem as Disney-fied as the WDW property resorts are. Of course, the service is 100% Disney. I am always amazed at the quality of people Disney hires. Above and beyond is the standard practice, and the CMs here at Aulani do not disappoint at all.
- Our room (Deluxe Studio Ocean View in Ewa tower, 12th floor) was nice, but it's a standard Disney resort room. Small...tiny even...for what you're paying. No different than a room at Animal Kingdom Lodge. The bed was not good at all...not good...you can do better Disney...and it's tough to sleep two adults in the bed (but we're spoiled by a true king bed at home). The pillows were also not good, but a call to housekeeping got us four feather pillows which were much better.
- The lagoon is very nice, but the water was cold (December/January). The sun was hot, but it was cold and more windy when you hit some shade (like on the walk back to the lobby through the pool area). We were not prepared for the temperature variations we experienced even on the walks from the room to the lagoon, or the cold nights. What did we know...it's Hawaii...it's always 85 degrees, right?
- We went around the lazy river once, and it was nice. We hit the adult pool twice to cool off after laying on the beach, and its water was warmer than the lagoon, which was nice. The entire pool area is very kid centric, which is great...they have a blast. The adult pool seemed like an afterthought, even in its location.
- For dining, here's what I recommend. Eat breakfasts at Ama Ama (the two eggs, potatoes and Portuguese sausage, egg white frittata, acai bowl and bread basket are all awesome!). Get reservations for all meals there if you can. Skip lunch (after the big breakfast, especially if you'll be at the resort all day), and try these restaurants:
Ichiriki - traditional Japanese Shabu Shabu (hot pot) in Aeia, about a 20-30 minute drive toward Honolulu on H1. By far our favorite restaurant on the trip. It's always a good sign when you're the only tourists in a restaurant...this place is a favorite of the locals.
Nico's Pier 38 - great lunch or dinner spot in Honolulu. Try their Loco Moco...it was delicious!
Odoriko - great sushi in Waikiki (30-40 minute drive)
Monkeypod - cool farm-to-table place across the street from Aulani, in the marketplace area.
- Here's how our itinerary played out. It doesn't match the pre-planned itinerary, the one I spent a long time planning, but that's what happens with four kids between 15 and 18 and unknown weather. Luckliy the weather worked out great for us, as the only completely cloudy and cold day was our North Shore day, and every other day was beautiful for laying out to tan or other outdoor activities.
Tuesday: Arrived at Aulani as the sun was setting. Tired, so we split up, got some dinner, and went to sleep.
Wednesday: Resort day. Got the recommendation for Ichiriki from a concierge, and it was awesome.
Thursday: Helicopter tour. Do this! Don't not do it!
We used Blue Hawaiian and it was great. I had never been in a helicopter, and it may be a while before i do it again, but it was really fun and exciting and beautiful. And I'm proud to say I did not have to use any "comfort bags." Interestingly, I noticed that our route was not the route shown on their website, but as far as I can tell, we didn't fly over the east coast of Oahu because the President and his family were in the Lanikai Beach area after his Pearl Harbor memorial visit. We had to go through TSA at the Blue Hawaiian office, which I believe is not the standard routine.Diamond Head hike. This was more difficult than i expected, but I did it, and I'm super proud of myself. The views are spectacular.
Malasadas at Leonard's in Honolulu. Delicious!
Friday: North Shore. Hiked/walked to Waimea Falls, and three of the girls swam. Lunch at Ted's Bakery near Sunset Beach (get the garlic shrimp). I went a few steps into the water at Sunset Beach and let some 5-8' waves hit me, so I could say I did it (be careful...the shore break can be dangerous and really hurt you if the waves are big, and the undertow back out to sea is strong!). Shave ice at Matsumoto's in Haleiwa...so good (grape/pineapple/coconut)!
Saturday: Resort day. We all had spa treatments (so awesome!!!), attended the Aulani luau (very nice show and great food), then we rang in the new year with Aulani's fireworks (well done!).
Sunday: Resort day.
Monday: Ko'Olani Ocean Adventures, snorkeling with dolphins, turtles and fish, with some bonus whale watching. We snorkeled with the fishes, saw one turtle on that swim, saw a pod of dolphins that followed the boat for a while and loved swimming in the boat's wake, but we did not get into the water with them, and we saw several whale's throughout the trip.
I have to plug Ichiriki and Ko'Olina Ocean Advenures, especially our captains Austin and John, again. We really enjoyed this restaurant and excursion.
I'll post some pics soon. We're going to miss this place.
haha
