Is Aluani worth the money?

[thomas998]

Just in case you weren't convinced, some photos of the pool area.

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Above is the adults only infinity hot tub overlooking the ocean

Next we have our enclosed body slide...
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Above is the lazy river. An inner tube slide dumps you in

Kids water play area
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Above is the adults only pool

And last but not least, we have our infinity pool which features ocean creature sounds underwater
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And the beach for good measure...

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Aulani is easily the best Disney Resort. It trumps Poly, Contemporary, Yacht/Beach, Grand Californian...all of them. It is so worth it, even if you're only able to spend a few nights there and move someplace cheaper for the rest of your stay.

Okay... but when you go to Hawaii your not limited to Disney resorts... To be honest I would think going to Hawaii and staying at and as some people do never venturing outside the Disney property lines would be pointless. Hawaii has way more to offer than a resort with gardens and a fancy themed water park.

If there was a theme park connected to it I might stay there but without one I see no point in ever staying at a Disney resort then I travel whether it is to Hawaii to any other place... Their hotels are always way over priced for what they actually are and only manage to be worth the price when you add in outside things like theme park perks.

 

[R W B]

Yeah, but unlike WDW... Hawaii is bigger than Disney. You goto Orlando FOR disney.. and the resorts are where you stay. Its the opposite in HI.. you go there FOR hawaii. And Aluani is not really in a great spot for Hawaii, and there is WAY more competition, at these higher levels in the area.

This isn't about 'paying for disney...' - it should be 'is aluani a good way to visit hawaii? and worth its price?'

While I do agree with you, I think you missed understood what I meant. When I said we could of done a lot more with the $4500 we spent I meant we could of gone someplace else besides WDW. I wasn't talking about staying at a cheaper resort to save money. For instance we could of taken a 9 day European cruise with rd trip air fare for a little under $4k but it would of been a lot harder for us to get basically 2 weeks off work (not impossible, just really hard) and WDW is easier.

I do understand what you mean though, a lot of people want to explore Hawaii and this resort doesn't give you the best opportunity to do that.

 

[LAKid53]

My favorite spot in Hawaii was my parents' property on Kauai - but they sold it. Their neighbor was Alan Shepard, no less.

 

[Kevin_W]

I don't think so. I'd stick to higher end resorts. I'd say Disney AT Disney, Ritz, Four Seasons, Shangri-la, Penninsula, etc outside.

Honestly, those pics above don't seem that nice...the beach is not ideal, the ammenties seem old, the property seems dark and dingy, and the location is meh.

Ritz Maui:

I'm sure the Ritz is a very nice resort, but those pictures look like someone just found the Saturation slider in Lightroom/photoshop.

 

[TP2000]

My favorite spot in Hawaii was my parents' property on Kauai - but they sold it. Their neighbor was Alan Shepard, no less.

I've got a dear friend who has family property on Kaua'i, and it truly is a very special place. Mostly unspoiled by the mega-resorts and condos found on Maui and the Big Island, and worlds apart from the urban reality of Oahu.

Quite frankly, I'm glad Disney built on Oahu instead of trying to get into the unspoiled places like Kaua'i to spoil them with obnoxious Family Fun Time and Foamhead Character Breakfasts. And I own Disney stock!

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

This thread is great for us, because we're planning a 2017 honeymoon to Hawaii. My df hasn't had much travel opportunity, save for his annual trip to DisneyWorld ever since he was 4 years old. He really trusts the Disney name. We've been looking into the Hawaiian honeymoon for awhile and I priced other resorts, etc. and they were honestly comparable to Aulani and when you think about all the "extras" Aulani has such as the pools, lazy river, starlit hui, movies, etc, it seems worth it to me to pay for Aulani for our honeymoon. Yes, I know Aulani can be overpriced (reviews of Ama Ama tell me that) but for a couple who just wants to sit on the beach, play by the pool, cuddle under the stars while listening to "Uncle" or watching a Starlit Hui, it seems like it will be the right fit. I'll post a trip report in 400 days and let you know what I thought!