Aulani photos from our stay

[3IAlienKid]

My wife and I traveled with another couple to the Aulani last week, so I thought I’d share some of our pictures. MiceChat - Vacationeering - Making Magical Vacation Memories - Blogs has several thorough blogs describing Aulani with a lot of really professional photos already, so I’ll try to stick to pictures of things not already there.

Bottom line – while a bit pricey this is a fantastic hotel and we really hope to return soon.




Fountains in the Maka’ala Guest Services Lobby




Inside Kalepa’s Store are 48 photos of actual Hawaiian rural general stores and their family owners. I thought this was a really cool touch.




2 of the 3 pins available for non-DVC guests, 3 keychains sold as a package, and a magnet. Most of the adult Aulani souvenirs did not mention "Disney" anywhere on the merchandise.


My first plate at Makahiki buffet for breakfast. Ricotta cheese blintz, loco moco, frittata, red potatoes, fish, cut of pork tenderloin, sweet bread w/ coconut, and pineapple juice.


View from our table at Makahiki.


The Olelo Room has all these boxes with koa wood carvings and the Hawaiian word for each object represented.


Here was my favorite carving.


There is a kids waiting area near the front desk and concierge. In the middle of the room there is a box with four peep holes. Here’s the view from one of the holes.


View of part of Waikohole Stream from our 7^th floor room.


Another shot of Waikohole Stream. For this photo I was mainly interested in the number on the bridge.


Pu’u Kilo Slides. You can see two people near the top of the volcano. The one in white is the lifeguard monitoring the entrance to both slides.


Here is one of the animals carved into the side of the volcanic rocks around the pools.


This is just outside the restrooms built into the Pu’u Kilo volcano structure.

More to follow...

[3IAlienKid]

This is a tray on the ottoman in our room. On the left is a room service menu. On the right is a magazine simply titled "Aulani" (volume 1, issue 1, published twice a year). If you look on the top of the photo, the rug pattern is taro leaves.


The Daily 'Iwa with the resort's schedule of events for the day. There seems to be a lot going on, but other than dining and spa reservations we didn't keep track of much else and ended up missing a lot of things we initially thought we'd want to see.


In the hallways outside the rooms is this carpet with a hidden Mickey pattern.


The Mikimiki Fitness Center where my wife diligently spent her early mornings. Top of the line equipment.


The Laniwai Spa lobby. This is a first rate spa with reasonable prices, relatively speaking of course. (Any spa is expensive but this was the one thing my wife and I considered not overpriced for what you get.) We were told this is the first Disney spa designed by Imagineers, and it is the only spa on Oahu to be partially outdoors. A cast member there said she went through a five level interview process to get hired.


Hallway from the lobby to the spa, lobby in the background.


I wish I’d paid more attention to the host’s explanation of the symbolism of this fountain. Just outside the lobby you're directed to a basket with stones that each have printed on it a word for various desirable qualities, like peace, or strength for example. You pick a stone with the quality that stands out to you and then place it in the fountain and I think he said this action symbolized the reciprocal exchange of that quality between you and the islands.




Here’s part of the outdoor amenities.


Therapy room.

A few more left...

[3IAlienKid]

Menehune statues are hiding throughout the resort. We wanted to do the Menehune Adventure Trail, but the entire technology was shut down much of the time we were there as a lot of the effects were not working properly. Still working out the bugs I guess. But you can still see the statues everywhere. And on the Waikohole Stream every once in a while you can hear them laughing or making strange noises.




Under the wooden bridge over the Waikohole Stream




The view from our table at the 'AMA 'AMA at around 7:30pm.


The fountain in the 'AMA 'AMA lobby. Behind the fountain there's a drop of several feet, so the two guys peeking out just above the fountain are standing on that level about 20 feet back.




View from our room. Notice there are no room lights on in the tower. That is because they are still unoccupied. Only something like a third of the rooms in the entire resort are currently open. The next third will open next month, and the rest in January 2012. This is likely the least crowded you will ever see this resort. Other than the Sunday we arrived, on the week days only about half the pool chairs were ever occupied, there was never a wait for the slides, and the Makahiki always had plenty of tables available.


Another view from our room.


Turndown service.

[Coheteboy]

Wow, amazing report! I so want to check this out for my own but it might be awhile.

[3IAlienKid]

Thanks Coheteboy, and I hear you. I hope you get there sooner than later.

[Michael808702]

Cant wait until my stay i wanna take one day of my trip and just photograph everything

[PaperCutter92]

What accommodations did you get? Studio? 1 bedroom? 2?
So many questions! Haha.

[3IAlienKid]

posted by PaperCutter92
What accommodations did you get? Studio? 1 bedroom? 2?
So many questions! Haha.

We got a standard ocean view room. We are not DVC members so no suite for us. There's a lot of high-end stuff in these rooms. The mattress is really soft. Bath can switch between rainfall and handheld massage shower heads which we thought was cool. The thermostat is the kind that makes hardly any noise at all. They have the most comfortable bathrobes with the Aulani logo embroidered on it. The soaps, hair products, & lotion are all by H2O which I'm told is usually an expensive brand - all I know is that they were noticeably better than standard hotel toiletries. We tried room service for breakfast once, which was light on portions but tasted pretty good. I ordered the Japanese breakfast which comes with tamago, miso soup, fish, rice, pickles, and tea or coffee.

[PaperCutter92]

We tried room service for breakfast once, which was light on portions but tasted pretty good. I ordered the Japanese breakfast which comes with tamago, miso soup, fish, rice, pickles, and tea or coffee.

Oh dang..that sounds SO good!
If only the airfare weren't so expensive!

[Fairy Godmother Travel]

Wow your pictures are amazing! The Menehune make me smile

Can't wait to see it all in person!!

Thanks for sharing!

[3IAlienKid]

Thanks, Fairy Godmother Travel. I still go back to your blog to look at your pictures. Hope you guys have a great time in June.

[SuperRob]

Love all of the pictures! Just booked a five-night stay in April for my wife and I for her 29th birthday. We're very excited, and it'll be my first time ever in Hawaii. We found cheap airfare (under $400 RT per person) on Hawaiian Airlines, so we're going to use two years worth of our meager DVC allotment to go spend a few days in paradise.

[3IAlienKid]

Hope you have a great time SuperRob!

[mkcoastie]

soooo beautiful, I am so going one day. Thanks for the pics. (i'm also glad to see I'm not the only one who takes pictures of carpets in Disney resorts)

[mickeyfan4ever]

wow it looks amzing i might make over thir after i go to walt disney world frist then i might save for aulini