Aulani vs Four seasons vs Turtle Bay

[nycdisneygal]

Anyone able to compare? We will do 5 days Waikiki (we are city people LOL) and then wanted 2 more relaxing days. Was leaning towards FS over Aulani but then was thinking about Turtle Bay. There must be someone here who has done all 3 and can compare! Trip is in April.

 

[alohamom]

I think it depends on your travel party and what is important to you in your hotel experience.
If it is 2 adults looking for relaxation maybe FS is better over Aulani but imo the lazy river pool at Aulani is a stand out and makes me choose Aulani over the Four Seasons every time. If you are a family with kids, do Aulani for sure.
Is the Marriott Ko Olina a consideration at all? It is just down from Aulani and the Four Seasons and although it is full of families, the resort feels more spread out than Aulani so it just feels a little less crowded. It is about the same price depending on how you book. If you have not looked at it, you might want to throw it into the mix as well. The pools are not quite as nice as the ones at Aulani but leaps and bounds over Four Seasons.
Turtle Bay is very nice but kind of isolated. It is really a very different experience than the other two.
Turtle Bay does have a mix of families and couples that stay but the biggest thing to me is that it is a very old hotel and the infrastructure kind of feels it. Idk, it just feels lived in or something. The rooms have been redone but the architecture has not. Having said that, if you are rounding out your 5 days in Waikiki, being up in the North Shore might make for a nice break. There is a little town called Haleiwa that is fun to explore and some fantastic beaches. I love to snorkel at a place called Sharks Cove up in the North area and you can "hike" (paved path and entrance fee) to Waimea Falls.

 

[nycdisneygal]

I think it depends on your travel party and what is important to you in your hotel experience.
If it is 2 adults looking for relaxation maybe FS is better over Aulani but imo the lazy river pool at Aulani is a stand out and makes me choose Aulani over the Four Seasons every time. If you are a family with kids, do Aulani for sure.
Is the Marriott Ko Olina a consideration at all? It is just down from Aulani and the Four Seasons and although it is full of families, the resort feels more spread out than Aulani so it just feels a little less crowded. It is about the same price depending on how you book. If you have not looked at it, you might want to throw it into the mix as well. The pools are not quite as nice as the ones at Aulani but leaps and bounds over Four Seasons.
Turtle Bay is very nice but kind of isolated. It is really a very different experience than the other two.
Turtle Bay does have a mix of families and couples that stay but the biggest thing to me is that it is a very old hotel and the infrastructure kind of feels it. Idk, it just feels lived in or something. The rooms have been redone but the architecture has not. Having said that, if you are rounding out your 5 days in Waikiki, being up in the North Shore might make for a nice break. There is a little town called Haleiwa that is fun to explore and some fantastic beaches. I love to snorkel at a place called Sharks Cove up in the North area and you can "hike" (paved path and entrance fee) to Waimea Falls.

Initially I saw bad reviews of the Marriott but just last night I saw great ones. So will take another look....Kind of leaning towards FS. Yes kids- the teen wont go in water (she can swim but wont) but the 8 year old will. This will be the relaxing part of the trip

 

[monsterkitty]

Initially I saw bad reviews of the Marriott but just last night I saw great ones. So will take another look....Kind of leaning towards FS. Yes kids- the teen wont go in water (she can swim but wont) but the 8 year old will. This will be the relaxing part of the trip

We have stayed at the Marriott several times and have never had an issue. The rooms are very clean, spacious, and updated.

There are three pools at the Marriott, one of which is an adult only pool. Both Longhi's and Longboards, as well as the Market Place have excellent food. It is within walking distance to the strip mall that has Monkeypod and an ABC store that has really good quick service food at a very reasonable price.

We do walk over to Aulani every day for a Mickey Bar or some other Disney snack because it is a rule in this house that when in close distance to a Mickey Bar or Disney snack, one must be eaten every day.

 

[alohamom]

Initially I saw bad reviews of the Marriott but just last night I saw great ones. So will take another look....Kind of leaning towards FS. Yes kids- the teen wont go in water (she can swim but wont) but the 8 year old will. This will be the relaxing part of the trip

We have stayed at the Marriott Ko Olina twice and I find it comparable to the resorts on Maui along the Ka'anapali Beach resort strip so if you have been there then you can think about it that way. Spacious, lush and tropical grounds. 90's era super pools which were stunning in their time but pale in comparison to the Aulani lazy river. I like how laid back the Marriott is but I am a laid back type of person.

The Four Seasons was originally a JW Marriott and I guess in my mind it always will be. Yes, they refreshed it and made it a little more bougie but imho it just doesn't have the panache of other Four Seasons. I think of it as Four Seasons Junior LOL. I think if the only thing you want from this portion of your trip is to relax, the FS might better than the more family centric resorts in the area.

 

[Sydnerella]

Only have stayed at Aulani and in Waikiki as we too are City people. I think the Four Seasons looks very bland and basic as a property. Probably not worth the money, save for service quality. Dining there is reported to be fantastic though and one could stay at Aulani and get a brunch and dinner or two at FS. Aulani service on my one visit was excellent.

FS may be quieter than Aulani but the Lanikai Spa is incredible for relaxing at Aulani and has a more authentic chill Hawaiian vibe, but you would need to situate yourself in areas away from some of the family activities and groups.

TB always gets good reviews too. Not sure you can go wrong with any TBH if you are able to be in this price bracket.

 

[Imurhuckleberry]

I've done all 3 and would start with which part of the island you want to be on. North shore or leeward?

Next questions to ask yourself:

1. If you choose turtle, will you get a standard room, bungalow, or go airbnb in the area? If bungalow, it's an easy choice for us... Stay at turtle
2. Do you mind there being a lot of kids around? Bc that will be aulani no matter the time of year
3. Do you have any loyalty memberships for those resorts or affiliates?

For us, it's easily aulani. In fact, we did a split turtle+aulani last time and will be skipping turtle until our son gets older. But if course, we're here in a disney forum so the answers you get will be skewed

 

[jimmymc]

Four Seasons and Aulani are both great resorts, but the vibes are very different. Aulani can be loud and feed crowded, but there are Disney characters and some of Imagineering's best work around every corner. Four seasons will be quieter and probably more relaxing, but that's not the best if you get bored easily and want more things to do.

Turtle Bay isn't as nice in terms of resort amenities, but it's location to the north shore activities can't be beat. I would only stay there if I had a rental car and was willing to go off-property to eat and do things. You can't really walk to anything else, other than the neighboring beaches.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

We did a week at Aulani and ate a couple meals at FS over Thanksgiving. Our kids are 7 and 9 and we’ll probably keep it that way for a few years. We are considering, for future trips, potentially tacking a night or two on at FS...but ultimately will probably spend the time doing city stuff in Waikiki instead, or island hopping.

Aulani was very nice and less stressful/chaotic than the parks (and I’m a huge Disney Parks person…but with 7AM VQ/ILL wake and all day long lines and crowds it’s not a relaxing experience), but honestly still lots of waiting in line and planning and things being sold out if you don’t plan far in advance, etc.

Without kids who like Disney (and love Aunty’s Beach House) we’d probably stay at FS but honestly we wouldn’t be at FS Ko Olina, we’d be at Hualalai or Lanai’i. We love Michael Mina but found Mina’s Fish House to be a big disappointment compared to all of the dining options at the other Hawaiian FS properties (and around the world). We were also shocked by how few fish options were on the Aulani dining menu at Makahiki…there were (at most) 3 fish options and one of them was salmon. If you’re used to eating at the high end spots in Maui, Kauai, or Big Island, the dining options at both properties may be disappointing. I did find things I liked at every Disney restaurant but was surprised how little of it was Hawaiian (e.g. fish and chips were good).

I would describe Aulani as enchanting and enriching with lots of great family memories, and I think you *could* have a more relaxing trip at Aulani than I did (especially if you don’t mind waking before 7 to stake out the best chairs—though they are all very close together) but because there IS so much to do, I feel compelled to try to do a lot…so I think the FS would be more relaxing. I did notice every day that the FS beach chairs closest to the water were still available long after the first 3 rows at aulani were all claimed. Also, this may sound spoiled but it made me nuts that you could not rent a cabana or clamshell with an unobstructed view of the ocean, or even less than 50% obstructed. I was told that some cabanas had some view of the ocean but not guaranteed and a lot are tucked way back on the property with no ocean view at all. The FS pools were honestly sad compared to Aulani but they did have beautiful views from the pools and the chairs.

Bottom line: I don’t recommend either based on dining but if you’re there for family fun/entertainment 100% recommend Aulani, but if you want to chill and your kids are old enough to entertain themselves, I’d go FS (but I would really hesitate to recommend this FS unless it was much cheaper than the other Hawaiian properties).

 

[MsChristy12]

We just came home 2 weeks ago from our split trip at Turtle Bay Resort(TB) & Aulani. We spent 3 nights at TB, 6 nights at Aulani. Here are a few things that might be able to help you narrow down your choice:

1. You mentioned your city people, so for those couple days do you still want to be closer to the city? If yes, you can cross out TB because it is 45-60 mins away from Aulani/Honolulu without traffic.

2. Do you have young children? If yes, the beach at TB isn't as children friendly due to the bigger waves. The lagoon at FS/Aulani is a lot calmer and makes it more fun for younger kids.

3. If you want true relaxation for a couple days and away from the hustle & bustle, TB is no doubt your answer! FS is good too, they are like a little oasis in Ko'olina but because it's right next to Aulani, it's still a little busier. However, you can count on that 5-star FS service and get pampered! We didn't stay there, but had dinner at Noe. Even just a dinner experience, their staff deliver nothing but stellar service.

4. If you do decide to stay at TB, unless you're okay with eating at the resort for all your meals, otherwise you really need to plan out where to eat. A lot of the food trucks/restaurants up in North Shore have limited hours, so you can't just drive out and wing it otherwise you might drive around for awhile to look for food or get disappointed. Even morning coffee, unless you can drink straight espresso/Americano and you can use the ones they provide in the room, otherwise you'll be getting pretty pricey coffee at their coffee shop or you'll have to drive 10 mins out to Kahuku for better options. You need to have some kind of plans. So is that your cup of tea? Or you rather want convenience? In that case, FS will be more convenient for sure.

5. Someone mentioned TB is a very old hotel, yes it is but they completed a massive renovation last year and this resort looks brand spanking new inside! You can look up pictures/videos of the resort now, it is absolutely stunning! I can guarantee anyone walking into the TB lobby will stop, say wow and need to pick up their jaw on the floor! They did an amazing job w/ their reno, the resort feels like home to me. It is very comfortable and calm no matter which part of resort we were at. Perhaps we were there at the right timing, (1st week of December), the resort was rather quiet and I never saw more than 15-20 people at the lobby during the day and that's including the staff. It only gets busier around 5pm because everyone wants to be at the lobby/lobby bar to enjoy the sunset.

6. Do you have any credit cards that will give you extra perks for booking FS or TB? I booked our TB stay with our Amex platinum and got $150 resort credit, $30 daily breakfast credit per person, and room upgrade (there were more but those were the most beneficial to us). All rooms at TB have oceanview, just matter of standard or premium. I booked the standard so we got upgraded to premium, which is the top floor.

7. Parking @ TB - This is the one complaint I had to the resort. Not sure if it will be a deal breaker for you but I'll give my experience anyway. Self-park and valet are the same price, $35 per day for resort guests. We prefer self-park just because it's more convenient. TB parking lot is big but not when they allow beach goers to park there, FOR FREE!! This really irked me on our 2nd day when we came back from Haleiwa and we had to circle the lot 4x to finally find a parking spot. Yes, we could just roll up to valet, but again, we like the convenience of coming and going without waiting for our car. If you don't mind doing valet, this won't be an issue at all.

8. Resort fees - TB charges $49 per day, yes that's on top of the $35 parking fee, quite steep!!! I wish they could include the parking in their resort fees. That's the most I've ever paid at any resorts. FS doesn't charge resort fees. but I think their parking is valet only.

Honestly, all 3 are great options. Sorry my 2 cents went on forever!! Hope they can help you narrow down a great stay! Happy vacation planning!

 

[buzlite]

Do you have kids with you? Then Aulani will be an amazing experience. If not it's hard to beat the 4S if you have the money. The property is so much more relaxed then Aulani. We enjoyed Aulani as a couple travelling without kids specifically because of the Hawiian cultural aspects. But 4S was outside of our budget this trip as well. 2200 a night is ALOT.