Aulani room or villa

[BeachMouse1]

Hi
Will be going to Aulani for our fist time. We are DVC but will not be using points. Just me and my wife and we don’t cook in the room or anything like that. Would you recommend staying in a hotel room or villa? I don’t think we would need the villa but also don’t know if the villas are in a better location, the rooms are bigger anything like that? Pros and cons of each if paying cash stay? I know when looking there is cash rooms available on both hotel and villa side

 

[planningjollyholiday]

I think a hotel room and studio are pretty comparable. With the studio you would get a microwave and a couch to sit on but basically the same. Location will just depend on the view you choose and there is no big difference between dvc and regular hotel rooms location. I have stayed in both and enjoyed both. I would honestly just pick whatever is cheaper.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Hi
Will be going to Aulani for our fist time. We are DVC but will not be using points. Just me and my wife and we don’t cook in the room or anything like that. Would you recommend staying in a hotel room or villa? I don’t think we would need the villa but also don’t know if the villas are in a better location, the rooms are bigger anything like that? Pros and cons of each if paying cash stay? I know when looking there is cash rooms available on both hotel and villa side

Can you narrow it down a bit:

1) View type?
2) Time of year for travel?
3) Hotel vs DVC Studio or Hotel Suite vs DVC Villa? If it’s not like in the commercials and gets really humid/rainy/windy are you OK with that space?
4) Rental car?
5) Cash prices with incentives vs cost of renting points?

 

[PiratesOfTheSea]

The hotel rooms are all in the Waianae lobby wing so you will either be facing the pool/ocean or parking garage/island. The hotel rooms are ~30sqft larger than the studios.

 

[BeachMouse1]

Can you narrow it down a bit:

1) View type?
2) Time of year for travel?
3) Hotel vs DVC Studio or Hotel Suite vs DVC Villa? If it’s not like in the commercials and gets really humid/rainy/windy are you OK with that space?
4) Rental car?
5) Cash prices with incentives vs cost of renting points?

Thanks. We would want ocean view
Going in May
Hotel vs DVC studio just two of us so rather than spend on a suite would rather use extra funds for food, tours, etc. what do you mean about humid/rainy/windy regarding the room type?

 

[AstroBlasters]

Thanks. We would want ocean view
Going in May
Hotel vs DVC studio just two of us so rather than spend on a suite would rather use extra funds for food, tours, etc. what do you mean about humid/rainy/windy regarding the room type?

Since it is a tropical island you might get hit with some very humid, rainy, or windy weather that would cause you to stay in your room more often than you may initially plan on.

What is the price you are seeing for cash rates at on the hotel side (with discounts)?

 

[BeachMouse1]

Since it is a tropical island you might get hit with some very humid, rainy, or windy weather that would cause you to stay in your room more often than you may initially plan on.

What is the price you are seeing for cash rates at on the hotel side (with discounts)?

No discounts yet as we’re not going until May next year and an ocean view room is $799. That’s another question am I better waiting or booking now and watching if prices go down and get a price adjustment don’t know if these rooms sell out

 

[crisi]

There aren't a lot of places to eat near Aulani and food in Hawaii is very expensive. You may want that kitchen you don't think you want - even if just for breakfast and lunch.

(This comes up fairly regularly, but there are other resorts and other islands. Aulani is a great resort with kids, but it isn't the best resort for couples unless you are very invested in the Disney bubble. The pool is halfway between SAB and Typhoon Lagoon - and that makes the whole resort very loud and kid focused. If you are looking for romantic Hawaii, there are a ton of better choices. We've been because we've had points to spend - and its good for that as well.)

 

[AstroBlasters]

No discounts yet as we’re not going until May next year and an ocean view room is $799. That’s another question am I better waiting or booking now and watching if prices go down and get a price adjustment don’t know if these rooms sell out

Most of May is 26 points per night for an OV studio.

If you rented points at $20pp then it would be $520 a night + free parking. Thats a 35% savings by renting points.

If you wanted to wait and try to get less expensive SAPs points for a 7m booking maybe you could get $17pp, so $442 a night. Thats a 45% savings by renting points.

I think you would be hard pressed to find a nicer resort on Oahu for $442-$520 a night with free parking.

You can see how I ended up with 950 AUL points.

If you are comfortable paying $799+ a night then I would just upgrade to a 1Bd OV for 50 points per night and taking advantage of the extra space.

 

[BeachMouse1]

Most of May is 26 points per night for an OV studio.

If you rented points at $20pp then it would be $520 a night + free parking. Thats a 35% savings by renting points.

If you wanted to wait and try to get less expensive SAPs points for a 7m booking maybe you could get $17pp, so $442 a night. Thats a 45% savings by renting points.

I think you would be hard pressed to find a nicer resort on Oahu for $442-$520 a night with free parking.

You can see how I ended up with 950 AUL points.

If you are comfortable paying $799+ a night then I would just upgrade to a 1Bd OV for 50 points per night and taking advantage of the extra space.

I am DVC and have points. Is it difficult to get at the 7 month window for May? Maybe I’ll just use some of my points. I have seen and am familiar with Dvc rentals to rent points I just worry about the cancellation policies just in case we have an issue?

 

[AstroBlasters]

I am DVC and have points. Is it difficult to get at the 7 month window for May? Maybe I’ll just use some of my points. I have seen and am familiar with Dvc rentals to rent points I just worry about the cancellation policies just in case we have an issue?

https://www.dvchelp.com/page/aulani-resort-spa-availability-charts

I think you should be OK if you have a flexible travel schedule. I’d definitely use your own points if you can.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I am DVC and have points. Is it difficult to get at the 7 month window for May? Maybe I’ll just use some of my points. I have seen and am familiar with Dvc rentals to rent points I just worry about the cancellation policies just in case we have an issue?

I booked May 11th to 18th at the 7 month window with no issue for this year. Was every view available? No but I was happy with the selection that existed. We ended up going with a 1 Bedroom Island View as we decided having the extra space is worth it despite it just being the two of us. We don't plan on cooking more than like breakfast either.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

I am DVC and have points. Is it difficult to get at the 7 month window for May? Maybe I’ll just use some of my points. I have seen and am familiar with Dvc rentals to rent points I just worry about the cancellation policies just in case we have an issue?

May is super easy to book with points.

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

May is super easy to book with points.

We booked our Studio Ocean View at 4 months out this year (last minute wedding).

I was concerned about the ocean view - in the hotel wing, many of the view units face the ocean by way of a parking lot, and there have been some complaints about that. The DVC wing doesn’t have that issue.

There aren't a lot of places to eat near Aulani and food in Hawaii is very expensive. You may want that kitchen you don't think you want - even if just for breakfast and lunch.

(This comes up fairly regularly, but there are other resorts and other islands. Aulani is a great resort with kids, but it isn't the best resort for couples unless you are very invested in the Disney bubble. The pool is halfway between SAB and Typhoon Lagoon - and that makes the whole resort very loud and kid focused. If you are looking for romantic Hawaii, there are a ton of better choices. We've been because we've had points to spend - and its good for that as well.)

If you have a car there are many good, ‘inexpensive’ restaurants 1-2 stops down the highway. Not as easy as walking across the street, but lots of good options. No food is really inexpensive in the islands, but you won’t pay the tourist premium at places like My Cafe or Broke Da Mouth Grindz

 

[crisi]

We booked our Studio Ocean View at 4 months out this year (last minute wedding).

I was concerned about the ocean view - in the hotel wing, many of the view units face the ocean by way of a parking lot, and there have been some complaints about that. The DVC wing doesn’t have that issue.


If you have a car there are many good, ‘inexpensive’ restaurants 1-2 stops down the highway. Not as easy as walking across the street, but lots of good options. No food is really inexpensive in the islands, but you won’t pay the tourist premium at places like My Cafe or Broke Da Mouth Grindz

We had a car, but didn't want to get into it to go have lunch or dinner, and interrupt our resort day every day that we didn't want to pay resort prices for food. Once or twice was fine.

 

[jimmymc]

If you only need one bed anyway, I like having the little kitchen counter in the studios. It's nice if you want to bring takeout up to the room or reheat leftovers. The DVC studios also have a wider range of locations available to request.