Aulani Q and A! Is It Worth It?

[@pixiegirl131415]

We went with small kids for a week, and never got bored. They loved the kids club, crafts, etc, and the beach was very safe for little ones, due to the sheltered cove shape. We only did 2 day excursions, and had plenty to do.

[@vicoregano]

This was probably the most honest and sincere review of this resort I have seen yet and I really appreciate that!! Thank you for your honest feedback, it’s so refreshing. I also found the way you view the purpose of traveling so very interesting. Thank you again!

[@JenLefforge]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your kind words. Much appreciated!

[@anthonymg73]

Thanks Jen. I stayed there a week with my family. Totally agree that staying in a DVC is the only way to go. Some tips. 1. 100% Stop at Costco first! Especially if you drink. Pick up your beers and favorites. This will literally save you thousands. 2. The kids club is soooo good. My kid loved it and it’s free and included! 3. I would go back as the service level is close to Cruise quality more than any other resort.

[@kaylaandmarkalan]

LOVE that you pointed out that Hawaii shouldn’t be a beach vacation! We’ve never been and we have that expectation for when we do finally go. There’s so much more to Hawaii than just the beach. The hiking there looks absolutely amazing!

[@gretchenmittelstaedt6703]

Love the information you provided, especially your closing message!

[@gloriadorau4585]

thank you for this video. i totally agree with you about the learning aspect of going some place different from where you live. you can have fun no matter what. I really enjoy your blogs.

[@malloryconnor4550]

Thanks you for the wonderful video. My sister stays at the Marriott next to Aulani and says it is very nice.

[@bronniepaterson4694]

I really would love to visit Hawaii. It’s the same everywhere you go there’s always a rush hour…morning n evening! The resort dose look super.. Great Q&A thanks Jen…👍🇬🇧

[@vanessap2591]

Was waiting on this video!!! Thanks Jen!

[@kbgreen23]

Coming from someone with smaller kids, the location of Aulani and the price per night. We have found it best to add aulani to the end of our vacation for a few nights and just enjoy the lazy river, the pool the beach and pretty much stay on property. We might go over to monkey pods across the street or the ABC store but we've always found the best value is to stay on property as much as possible. Use all the perks you're paying for in aulani.

[@FormatException]

We got back a month ago from two weeks in Hawaii, one in Oahu and one in Maui. We, of course, stopped at Aulani for dinner one of our nights at Makahiki and it was truly incredible. The service was amazing and the food was out of this world and the price was more than reasonable for resort prices. After dinner we wandered around Aulani and just found it really hard to justify paying the regular price on a room there, supporting your assertions. It was beautiful but I can't imagine not doing anything else Oahu has to offer. We stayed at Hale Koa near Waikiki, for disabled veterans, military retirees and active duty. It was so great being central to everything and even with a week there we left with more we missed and could have probably spent another week. The other nice thing about starting in Honolulu is when we were headed out to Kualoa ranch or the north shore (or the Kaneohe Sandbar or the one of a million other things to do there outside of the hotel), we were going against traffic and it never seemed too bad. Yes, there was some struggle to get to the highway, but once we got there it was super fast through the tunnel on 3 or straight up on the 2. (and if anyone reads this far and is a disabled veteran, military retiree or active duty, check out Bellows. The beach there was incredible with virtually no one else around. It was a little rough but perfect for boogie boarding.)

[@nicoletwisk5122]

A DVC island garden view is amazing. In the Ewa Tower you can see the ocean and watch the luau. Ask for a higher floor. We had room 777 and could see the ocean but any lower and it would start getting difficult as the trees are getting tall.

[@Lifeandtimeswithcyndi]

Best part about visiting Hawaii is visiting Hawaii!! We went for two weeks and it was one of our most memorable vacations!! We drove the whole island and thanks to friends who lived there we got to see and experience so much!!

[@JenLefforge]

I totally agree!

[@EricMobley1]

Thank you so much, Jen! Our 10 year wedding anniversary is in 2026. That is the year we plan to go to Aulani! ❤

[@Wendy-vn1fi]

We have a girls trip planned for January. We are doing a split stay starting in Waikiki and finishing out trip at Aulani. We have booked our cabana and I look forward to a couple of restful resort days after a week of touring the island with the girls. Using DVC points was very helpful since we were able to get a 2 bedroom villa. I really enjoyed your series on Hawaii and your thoughts on visiting the island. I have friends that live on the islands and they have taught me so much. There are so many issues that the locals face and we need to be respectful of our impact.

[@tracyross6896]

Thank you for this video!! Was super helpful and always love your honest reviews!! We are dvc members and were looking to stay at Aulani in a few years :) We live in the UK so the travel to Aulani is super long but it would be a dream come true to stay at least once and experience it there 💕

[@sade66119]

Aulani has an Enterprise rental car desk onsite, we rented a car for the day, went to the Dole Pineapple farm (that was fun, definetly a tourist trap but, when in rome right ;)), and then we also did the Polynesian cultural center which was a wonderful day and we do recommend

[@roxannae3]

I totally agree with you that visitors should be willing to learn about Hawaii and the culture and respect the people. Also, visitors from the main land should remember that Hawaii is part of the United States of America! It is not a foreign country. You would be surprised at how may Americans don't seem know that for whatever reason. Just like Puerto Rico. My daughter and I visited Aulani and, as you said, having DVC points made all the difference. It was our stopping off point and we spent time at the resort which we really enjoyed. We, also, did many different excursions, including some that said you and Scott did. I do not like having to drive when I am out of town, so we booked tours right there in the hotel lobby and, even with several excursions that included transportation to and from, the cost of our trip was far less than it would have been had we paid rack rate for our stay at Aulani. We even experienced some of that horrific afternoon traffic that you mentioned. 🙂 I agree that Aulani is a beautiful resort, but the room prices are too high. It looks like you guys had a great trip. I hope to see more video footage in the near future. Thanks for sharing!

[@JenLefforge]

Thanks for your great comment and I love the perspective that if you’re using points do the disney excursions - great tip!

[@joannewilliams41]

Such a fantastic helpful vlog 😍 thank you 🥰🥰xxx

[@JenLefforge]

You’re welcome 😊

[@rebeccareznicek3478]

Thanks for this, Jen. My hubby and I really trust your opinion - you've never steered us wrong! It sounds like we may enjoy staying elsewhere but visiting Aulani for dining and shopping.

[@JenLefforge]

You are so welcome!

[@jenniferlauri5512]

Like your husband, I made hubby & friends go to the Turtle Bay resort (north shore) where they filmed "Lost". Later, I realized that we ate lunch at the same restaurant in the film "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"...as you can see, I am a cinema/TV fan. Lanikai Beach was my fave in all of Hawaii, but the others preferred Polihale on Kauai. Lastly, I loved your final thoughts--and---you look lovely! Thanks for all that you put into your videos.

[@suziequeue2]

We stayed for a week and we loved it! My husband and I are not dvc, our room had a partial ocean view and we rented a car at Aulani and had a full day touring Pearl Harbor and the North Shore. We enjoyed all the dining in the area and at Aulani. We did the luau. We took ukulele lessons, met characters, swam with sea turtles at a beach we walked to, we did the interactive activity, my husband did the snorkel tank at Aulani and I made my own Disney ears. We loved the lazy river and enjoyed the pools, hot tubs, and beach. We loved relaxing at Aulani. It was beautiful, better than any other beach vacation! Hope to return soon.

[@kimymarie596]

Thank you for the video and honest opinions 😊

[@amyvoncannon8336]

I would love to see Christmas decorations at different resorts! That's a bucket list trip for me.

[@JenLefforge]

Definitely!! All of the resorts are so nicely decorated this time of year

[@trishsp3160]

Sounds wonderful! Thanks for the review.

[@Mommyingthis]

I agree with you. I think if I’m only gonna sit on a beach I’d pick places like bora bora or even florida keys or carribean for that where the water is actually warm and BLUEEEEE. Hawaii is to go to Hawaii and do all things Hawaii lol. As for Aulani in 2016, I find that it’s a bit too busy for me for a Hawaiian destination. It’s so hard to find a lounge chair unless you’re there 7am, it’s packed with kids which is fine but know it’s not quiet or relaxing. If you want that go to a neighboring hotel like Marriott or four seasons for ko olina…. Or Maui … it’s hard to describe. It’s fun and clean and beautiful but just a different vibe.

[@ginaperez1804]

Thanks for the video I would like to stay there one time

[@erincanova3316]

For what it’s worth, we went to Aulani in 2016 when our twins were 6. We all fell in love with it. We did get a good deal back then because we went in September which made it even more worth it but I think we would have gone regardless. My daughter sobbed on the way to the airport when we finally had to head home. We are finally going again this summer and are paying rack rate and to us I guess it’s just worth it. It’s such a magical destination. There are a few things we will do differently this time such as rent a car from the airport rather than on property and also stop in at Target and Costco and get stuff for easy meals and snacks to avoid going broke on the food there. I’m not a huge fan of Oahu, I much prefer Maui or Kauai so the only reason we go to Oahu is for Aulani lol.

[@bryanwheat4978]

Instead of the car rental from airport look into turo. It's like air bnb for cars and cheaper than rental from airport. I've used it twice. Last year rented a 2021 Toyota highlander in perfect condition. We're going to aulani in February and rented a 2021 explorer for 6 days for 360 total. Check it out!

[@fitplannermom8835]

Excellent video

[@Kate-np4ou]

If a discount comes out after I’ve already booked a reservation (and it doesn’t apply to existing reservations) should I rebook and cancel my old one? I’d like to plan my Spring 2024 trip now but nothing is on sale

[@sheilaa1333]

My husband prefers not to drive on vacations so we stayed four nights on Waikiki exploring and touring Pearl Harbor and three nights at Aulani just relaxing. I could have used one more day relaxing, but highly recommend the split stay.

[@EnglishPatient33]

Hi! I'm starting to plan our trip to Aulani with our DVC points (it will be my first time in Hawaii!). It will be me, my husband, and our daughter (who will be 7 at the time). I think that we will probably spend a bit more time at the resort due to my daughter's age, and I plan on doing three or so excursions (Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head...). Do you think I could get by with Ubers/taxis, or would a rental car be worth it for the type of trip we are planning, too? Many, many thanks! :)

[@TheUkrainianStar]

Rent a car for sure. Rent through Costco, do NOT rent though Budget rental.

[@susanmurphy7869]

So true, if I wasn’t a DVC member, I wouldn’t stay at the Aulani..far too expensive! I feel the same about my “home” resort VGC! Thanks for the review!

[@pumpkin462]

I think if you have points for a hotel (Disney or not) it makes sense to use it for wherever. But yes, we are on the east coast and been to the Caribbean / Mexico probably 20 times, never been Hawaii. I would however like to do a Hawaiian cruise where you island hop a few islands

[@tinas4946]

We go to Hawaii annually as we live in California, and it is a short flight for us. I've been to all of the island multiple times. I love it all. I also have a timeshare on Maui and Kauai. I rented out my week next summer on Maui (2 bedroom). For fun I thought I would look and see how much a hotel room in Ka'anapali area would be. Kind of high end like a Hyatt or Marriott. I was surprised that the Hyatt hotel room was $785 a night the week I rented out. So, my renters got a deal for sure with a 2 bedroom and full kitchen. Condo stays are of course cheaper on all of the islands. I'd say food prices at the national type stores are a higher than home by about the amount you mentioned 15% except things like eggs and milk or meat. At a local store I find the prices crazy. I saw a gallon of milk earlier this month in Maui at $9.99 a gallon. Shopping at Target, Walmart or Costco are totally worth it. I can't wait to watch the rest of the series. We are the type that go there to sit on the beach. LOL...

[@majorhollingshead5906]

Loved the video. ❤️😘

[@JenLefforge]

Thank you Major!

[@TheUkrainianStar]

There is Four Seasons Resort next door that charges double the price. Aulani is a deal 😂

[@dawnturpin]

Great info 🙂

[@cathyhamilton5131]

I would love to stay at Aulani but it's just too expensive. Being retired military we could stay at the military resort Hale Koa on Waikiki beach for about 3 nights for one night at Aulani. We definitely have visited, though!

[@barbaramallon4318]

Everyone forget how expensive the grand Floridian resort it and other expensive resorts in wdw

[@jcbnyc2009]

And unlike staying at Bay Lake or BCV, where one could walk to a park and have certain views that one could only get there. That Marriott and Four Seaons literally have rhe same views and are part of the same location. So the actual hotel needs to be extra special to warrant staying there. And isn't the space next to it empty?

[@gandsmeyer2957]

How close was the surfing nearby? It doesn't have to be huge waves, but there are a few of us that like to surf on vacation.

[@JenLefforge]

15 minutes up the road - the link to the surf lessons we used is in the description box and the waves were goodn

[@barbaramallon4318]

We don’t have a kitchen in are room we have a standard room

[@Libra2go]

You don't need to stay at Aulani for a week. When you stay at Aulani, you should stay at Aulani. Four days there should be enough. I highly recommend staying somewhere else for less money the other 3-4 days to sightsee. When we flew in from the East Coast, we stayed near the airport the first night and then got Charlie's Taxi to Aulani at 8 am the next morning so we could get a full day at the resort our first night. We also didn't want to pay $40/day for parking. We stayed on Waikiki Beach at Hale Koa after Aulani which is only for active and retired military. Apparently post-COVID that is now booking up a year in advance. We rented a car after taking Charlie's Taxi from Aulani to Hale Koa. I would recommend you watch L & R Dreaming's KZbin vlogs for their trip to Hawaii which includes staying at Aulani (where they did not have the preferred ocean view of the inner courtyard from a room on a higher level above the trees so not worth it IMHO) and then staying at a rental property in Kailua. I would also highly recommend watching Ordinary Adventures KZbin videos of their trip to Aulani two years ago. They just went again recently. While not all vlogs are up yet, I did see they got a room with the better view on this most recent trip. Final point, when you stay at a hotel on Waikiki Beach and have a rental car, most hotels like Hilton will also be charging you $40/night to park. Parking at Hale Koa was less of course, but you have to be staying there.

[@JenLefforge]

I say this in the video but we are DVC members so paid nothing for our stay other than the $14 per night tax and also did not pay for parking (members get that included) so for us it was worth the money and a great choice.

[@TheUkrainianStar]

Totally disagree about Maui- there is nothing to do there. Oahu is my favorite - so much to see and do.

[@snycity]

So wait, when I'm writing my thesis, I can't footnote "Jen's intuition?"

[@JenLefforge]

😂🤪

[@TheUkrainianStar]

YOU CANNOT RENT A HOUSE ON LANAKAI BEACH. MIN RENTAL THERE IS 30 days.

[@d.a.ballou9740]

👍👍😁👨‍🚒

[@dojo3175]

Everyone likes what they like but to me that's not worth $100 a night. I have stayed in condos on different Hawaiian Islands for less than $200/night that have just as good of a view and way better beaches, plus you aren't isolated in a resort. I've also stayed in houses for around $200 to $300 in beautifu rainforest setting in Hawaii. In my experience, Hawaii is much better when you do it away from places like Aulani. I could afford to stay there too so that's not the issue, I just don't get why people wouldn't want to get out and see the real Hawaii. There is so much more that the Islands have to offer

[@stroejo7838]

It was really good when the kids were little and the resort was smaller. As they became teens, changed to the North shore. If kids are excited about Disney, aunties is fun for them and provides downtime for adults. The spa there was really nice ❤

[@TammySkipperTV]

Call me when there's a girls trip, that's all I'm saying 😁

[@JenLefforge]

Done!

[@marleneschick4768]

Please pronounce Lanikai correctly. It's more like "lawn" ikai.

[@korswe]

This is a ridiculous Q&A. You spend points to stay at the Aulani Disney. You’re telling us that we should pay $700+/night as a launching point to do all kinds of activities outside of the Aulani hotel? Come on! You should tell people to stay at much more affordable hotels/motels. If I were spending $700/night, I won’t be leaving the resort.

[@JenLefforge]

And THIS is a ridiculous comment.

[@korswe]

@@JenLefforge You’re out of touch. Your Q&A is akin to you flying First Class with Ethiad Airline with points and then recommending it as a means of travel for middle class/upper middle class families.

[@JenLefforge]

@@korswe If you watched the video in it's entirety I literally said DON'T pay $700 a night for this hotel. I am a timeshare member and stayed on points.

[@mydisgoals502]

We’re going in August on DVC points, it looks like it’s a beautiful resort but I’m not excited about the lagoons…we’re going to use it a place to stay and enjoy the rest of the island an culture!! Love your videos!!

[@yikesvikes]

We used to live about 3-4 miles from Aulani.... And every time we had visitors come, we would take them to the Ko Olina lagoons....

[@fionanoyce1676]

Check out Justbeout they have great vlogs on Hawaii