Okay, here's my take on the Aulani. It's beautiful. And, I love just walking through it and taking in all of the detail that went into it. This is no average hotel. It's an experience. I think that I could stay here a month and still find new details. That said, there are some not so nice things too.
Our experience began with walking up to the front doors of the Aulani. We were immediately greeted by cast members who cheerfully asked our names. I noted that the young lady who greeted us had an earpiece in and whoever was on the other side of it instantly told her that we had completed online registration. She reached under her podium and produced our personalized packet while other cast members offered a refreshing drink of lemon water and fresh flower leis for my wife and daughter and kukui shells leis for me and my son. We all stepped into the lobby area where she proceeded to tell us all about what we needed to know during our stay. It was amazing, an excellent example of customer service at its best. I was reminded of that wow moment I got at the apple store when I was talking to a customer service rep and told her that I wanted to buy an item and she immediately whipped out her iPhone and charged my account right then and there. Like Apple redesigned the retail experience, Disney redesigned the hotel check-in experience at Aulani.
First thing we did was check out our room. Like all that we had seen so far the detailing was fantastic. The only clear indication this was Disney and not some other high end hotel room was Mickey greeting us from under a desk lamp. However, there were hidden mickeys scattered throughout the décor that were fun to find. But as nice as the room was, it was also small. And for the four of us it was going to be a tight fit. The sofa pulled out into a bed and unlike those I remember from my childhood it seemed to be a fairly nice construction that minimized that feeling of a bar to the back while sleeping. (For those of you who don't know, older sofa beds were notorious for being able to feel the mechanism through the thin mattress). But once we pulled out the sofa bed there was precious little room left to walk about and I stubbed my toe in the middle of the night as I made my way across the room. The other problem I had with the room was the inability to control room temperature. Now, I'm not the type that needs the room to be ice cold to sleep. But I do need the room to not be hot and muggy. This room was temperature controlled. No matter how hard I tried no amount of fooling with the thermostat that would bring a tolerable temp to the room. To be fair our room at the Marriott had this same setup but it was motion activated and so if I woke in the night to a hot room all I had to do was walk by the thermostat and it would cycle on. Disney did not do the same here. Equally annoying was that the ceiling fan seemed to be either off or on slow. So I couldn't speed it up to help cool us off. Had we been spending more than one night here, I'd have complained and had the temperature better controlled. But morning would be here soon and just wasn't worth it to call guest services and have to get dressed before they came down to adjust the locked out thermostat. We did have a small kitchenette and that was nice. We had planned to eat breakfast in the room so it came in handy.
Now when I booked this room I didn't want to spend a small fortune for what would amount to a couple of days in a water park for us. As a result we only booked a studio. To be fair Laura and I wanted to see a one bedroom and compare it to the one bedroom that we were staying in at the Marriott. So we went to the DVC preview center. There we could experience the room that we would really want to stay in. Compared to the other I'd have to say it was smaller. It had an odd angular configuration that stole square footage that was utilized in the more boxy Marriott. Otherwise the room was outfitted nearly identically. It had a full kitchen. (Believe me after my article you will see how this will save you gobs of money). One bathroom and a separate little area off the bedroom with a sink and Jacuzzi tub. (The Marriott had this same area but the tub was not jetted). Adding on a studio will give you room for nine people. Very nice. The dining table at the Marriott is a full size table that seats six. The Aulani table was more the size of a restaurant booth and looked to be more comfortable for four. Needless to say, you'll find that Disney felt that you'd spend far more time outside of your room than in.
Next we went to experience the absolute awesome water park that Disney built up. They track guests with wristbands that you collect each day of your stay from one of three different stations. Once you have your band you are free to roam. The lazy river was first on our agenda. For such a small area the river feels quite long. It winds in and out of various areas with a lot of watery surprises. The water was warmed to perfection. We then roamed about the rest of the area. There seemed to be pools and jacuzzi's scattered all about. I kept finding different places. Some large and inviting and others secluded and private. There was a marvelous two level infinity pool for adults only and just in case the kids feel left out there is the grotto pool which also was an infinity pool. Toward the center of the area was the large volcano which housed not one but two water slides. There literally was so much to do here that I think I could spend a week here and still find new stuff. This is why the rooms are not what they could be, Disney spent all their money here. But now it's time for dinner and we need to head back to the room and clean up.
For dinner we had reservations at Malahiki. It's an all-you-can-eat buffet. The dining area was really nice. Here's a fun fact. Look closely at the ceiling and walls. Examine the tile. It's all made of coconut and absolutely beautiful. The buffet line itself is fantastic. Prime Rib, crab, chicken, a well appointed salad bar and all of it delicious. The dessert bar however would rival anything the Disney Cruise line would prepare. That said, the price was stunning. We paid about $45 a plate including tip. That’s a lot of money folks especially when the kids primarily ate pizza and rice.
Now, we had every intention of going back to our room and donning the bathing suits and spending a wonderful evening in the Aulani pool area under the stars. But two things conspired against us. We had spent the morning at the beach watching our daughter get surfing lessons and with the subsequent sunburns that we all got doing so we were beat! So, instead we made it an early night so that we could awaken early and enjoy the amenities.
The next morning we did just that. The pool areas of Ko Olina are exclusive to the guest of the respective hotels. As a result, you have to get a wrist band to be allowed in the pools. Since we only stayed one night and were checking out, we needed to get to the pool area while our key cards still worked to get banded. Once that was accomplished the rest of the day was all fun. Here’s my run-down of the Pool area or Waikolohe Valley (Mischievous Waters) as Disney calls it.
1. Waikolohe Stream (Lazy River). Like I said before, the Waikolohe Valley area is not huge. But Disney does a great job of packing as much fun in there as possible. The Lazy River is HUGE. It wanders and wanders and really if one is not paying enough attention one could run through it twice before realizing that things are getting rather familiar. It’s that varied. The main entry is a zero entry area (no steps) and you grab a tube and start floating. (many opted for no tube and just swam the river). The water is warmed and feels warm enough to be inviting while cool enough to be refreshing. Remember that I told you that the pool area is called Waikolohe Valley and that means Mischievous Waters? Well, here it earns its name. There are numerous turns where the swimmer is suddenly confronted with a spout of shooting water (cold, no less) the river winds through beautiful gardens and under bridges and through the iconic Disney Mountain volcano, Pu’u Kilo. This river is where I spent most of my time.
2. Rainbow Reef. Here, Disney has built a snorkeling experience that rivals the real thing. For a day pass we paid $15 per adult and $10 per child to snorkel and that included all the equipment that we’d need. For only $5 more you can get a length of stay pass. The fish were beautiful and the artificial reef was fun to look at with hidden animals carved into the rocks. The kids and I had a great time.
3. Menehune Bridge. The Menehune are mythical mischievous spirits. They populate the Aulani and Waikolohe Valley. This Bridge area is a water play area for small children. My kids were too old to really get much out of this area but it looked like a lot of fun for toddlers and pre-swimmers. It is full of fountains, splash areas, guns for squirting unsuspecting people and a large canoe in the sky that is manned by the Menehune who occasionally bail the water out of their canoe by tipping it over onto your head.
4. Pu’u Kilo volcano. Disney is famous for its mountains and this one is as full of fun as any of its park-bound brethren. Inside is secreted two marvelous waterslides. Volcano Vertical is a long dark tube that snakes through the mountain and deposits you into the Waikolohe Pool. Tubestone Curl is a twisty long slide that you ride through on an inner tube. It is mostly open-air and takes you through the mountain. It will deposit you into the lazy river where you can either decide to exit and go again or finish off your slide with a languid float down the river.
5. Waikolohe Pool. Here is a large family pool which is also warmed to perfection. It has a zero entry and never gets too deep. Next to the pool is an adults only infinity pool that is split level with the uppermost level spilling out over to the lower pool creating a wonderful waterfall effect. Heated to hot tub temperatures, it is a perfect way to let the cares of the day slip away.
6. Ka Maka Grotto. Are your kids jealous of the adults only infinity pool? Ours were until we found this lovely pool. Like the Waikolohe Pool it never gets too deep and like the adults only infinity pool it seems to stretch out into the Pacific Ocean. This pool also features a grotto which is a covered area to shield you from the sometimes harsh South Pacific sun. The thing I liked best about this particular pool is near the infinity edge. The wall slopes in such a way that you can lay upon it and look over the ocean lagoon. It was a wonderful view from a wonderful location.
7. Wailana pool. Here is an adults only pool to get away from all of the kiddie craziness. We really didn’t go into this area as we were having family time. But, I could see this area being important if you had older children that you could leave alone in the water play area and wanted an escape from them. It was a quiet area with an adjacent bar.
8. Keiki Cove. Do you have a swim diaper child? If so, this is the best area to play. It’s a shallow pool with pop-up fountains that will elicit excitement and giggles from any toddler.
9. Eateries. What would Disney be without expensive places to eat? While these “snack shack” areas are nowhere near the outrageous cost of the sit-down eateries of the hotel, they are more than you’d spend across the street at Zippy’s or Pizza Corner. The Ulu café had a wide variety of foods to choose from and it ranged from about $7-14 a plate with drinks extra. Then there’s Mama’s Snack Shop which is where we ate it has snack oriented fast food from $6-12 with drinks extra. The best part of the drinks at the Aulani is that there’s a refill station near this snack area, so buy once and drink up all day. At Mama’s I highly recommend the coconut fried shrimp. It’s the most expensive item on the menu but well worth it. Next to Mama’s is the Shaved Ice Stand. Authentic Hawaiian Shaved Ice can be found here and it’s a really nice treat on a hot day. I can’t really speak to many of the other eateries in and out of the hotel as these are the only ones that we had experience with.
10. As if all of the above wasn’t enough to keep you busy, Disney has thrown in even more. If you head over to the Pau Hana Room you can check out an iPad mini with a special app on it that interacts with Waikolohe Valley in very magical ways. If you’ve ever been to Disney World and played the Kim Possible games or Phineas and Ferb Games at Epcot you’ll have some experience with this activity. If not then I’ll explain what to expect. Once you start the iPad you will be sent on an errand to a place either in the Valley or in the hotel. I believe that there are many different experiences that you can have with these iPads. When you complete the errand you’ll be rewarded with an interaction with the environment. Here’s an example. We were sent to find a conch shell with magical properties. Once found the iPad sent out a “Chant” that activated the conch shell and caused it to sound. On another errand, we were able to activate secret flowers that squirted unsuspecting Lazy River floaters below. Be warned, however, the Menehune are everywhere and they like to play tricks on guests and this game is no exception.
Well, that about concludes my review of this incredibly entertaining hotel. It definitely left us wanting more and as we walked away we all knew that this would not be the last time that we stay here. Returning to the lush beautiful pool of the Marriott we were struck at how now it seemed somehow less. It just couldn’t compare to the wonderland of the Waikolohe Valley. Now, I just need to find out the best way to afford to return.
Thanks, Steve
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