Just back. Some tips on navigating the chair situation.

I'm gathering from this thread that spring break, Christmas vacation and weekends are bad times to go to Aulani if you want it to be relaxing.

So how is Thanksgiving week? Just as bad? How is the first week of June? We can only travel during school vacations, but would like to stay at Aulani some time without it being the way the OP and some others have described.
We were there 2 years ago for Thanksgiving week. It was busy but not crazy. We could still find chairs around the pool. Sunday before Thanksgiving was crazy, but as others have said, weekends are really busy. We really had a good time!
 
I think these times can still be relaxing--you just have to go in with the right expectations. Agree with @tankin--we've done both WDW and Aulani at Christmas. Give me Aulani any day of the week. One thing that eases the "chair situation," if you have the funds to do so is to reserve a cabana or the executive lanai for one or more days when you plan to be at the resort for the full day--this ensures that you have a spot to land.
 
I think these times can still be relaxing--you just have to go in with the right expectations. Agree with @tankin--we've done both WDW and Aulani at Christmas. Give me Aulani any day of the week. One thing that eases the "chair situation," if you have the funds to do so is to reserve a cabana or the executive lanai for one or more days when you plan to be at the resort for the full day--this ensures that you have a spot to land.
We just booked a cabana for two of our days (early October) to help avoid the deck chair stalking. We will decide if we want to keep both as they are pricey even with the DVC 10% discount. The availability of cabanas will be limited during the pool refurb so call in early if you are thinking about it. They have a 24-hour cancellation policy so you can change your mind.
Mike
 


We just booked a cabana for two of our days (early October) to help avoid the deck chair stalking. We will decide if we want to keep both as they are pricey even with the DVC 10% discount. The availability of cabanas will be limited during the pool refurb so call in early if you are thinking about it. They have a 24-hour cancellation policy so you can change your mind.
Mike
Can you cancel up to 24 hours after booking, or up to 24 hours before the day of use?
 
Thanks so much! Question. My husband and I are going in January, after the kids are back in school. Our plan is either to sit on the beach or at the adults only pool. Is it hard finding a chair in those spots? We've stayed at the Four Seasons next door and definitely know that Aulani is much busier. We bought DVC at the Wilderness Lodge in December and thought we'd try Aulani first. Thanks for your help!

Just got back from Aulani. We really liked it and will likely be back, but the first few hours were so overwhelming and loud that we almost left. We actually spoke with guest services and they were going to release us and give us a refund but we were so tired we decided to stay the night and decide in the morning what to do. Ultimately we ended up staying the full 4 nights we had booked there and ended up liking it once we figured out how to navigate the crowds and find some quieter little pockets to hang out in.

The check in process was very loud and chaotic and contributed to our initial impression. It was the not the peaceful island vibe I had imagined, but felt more like a firedrill or Armageddon. I was rattled from that and then we went out to the pool which is a madhouse. Someone bumped into my son and knocked him over which resulted in a bumped head, tears, and an ice pack. It was overwhelming. There were no pool chairs whatsoever. If you can check in in the morning or later at night, that is when the lobby is less crowded. We arrived mid-day and it was crazy so if you come at that time, be prepared mentally for it to be loud and busy. We did the online pre-checkin and it was still a disaster. It was so loud that the woman checking us in kept checking us in under different people's last names because she couldn't hear us even with full shouting voice spelling our names. We ended up having to write our last name which is a super common simple spelling name but couldn't be made out through the shouting. Our son was overwhelmed by the chaos and freaking out and truthfully so was I.

That being said, this is a very nice resort but you need to come with a strategy. It will make it so much more enjoyable.

THE POOL CHAIR SITUATION: The rumors are true. You need a game plan to get chairs.
Every morning around 7-7:15 people start coming down to the pool to claim the highly coveted rows of chairs. Generally these are the first two rows of chairs near the zero-entry big pool just across from the zero-entry point. Also, the chairs with umbrellas that face out to the ocean near the adult only pool. The row behind them that don't have umbrellas go next. Also to go first are the chairs in front of the splashpad. Generally people have one or several people in their group go sit on the chairs they want around 7-7:15. By 7:20 the chairs in the above mentioned spots are gone. By 7:40 almost all of the chairs that have umbrellas are gone except over in front of Ama Ama near the wedding chapel (this turned out to be our favorite spot but the deck does get very hot on your feet so you have to wear your shoes to the pool as its a bit of a walk). We don't let our son go to the pool unattended so we didn't feel we needed to have a line of sight to the pool, so that area worked well for us though our preferred spot were the chairs facing the beach near the adult only pool but we only secured those one morning.

The line for the towels is forming around 7:45. Typically one family member keeps the chairs while another gets towels. We tried having just one member handle both tasks and that didn't work out; someone stole the chairs and our sunscreen and magazines. The more stuff you have at your chairs, the less likely it is to get moved or stolen. Nobody moved our stuff when we had bags and bags of stuff and clothes and food items out, but leaving just sunscreen and magazines wasn't enough.

You can probably find chairs without umbrellas mid-morning and mid-afternoon through evening but you will wish you had an umbrella.

The pool area is VERY loud, crowded, and not particularly relaxing. If you want to be close to the pool to see your kids swimming, bring and Ipod and headphones to listen to some music and tune it out. If you don't need to see your kids swimming because they are old enough to swim unattended or too young and you plan to be with them at the pool, I would get a chair further away from the chaos over on the deck in front of Ama Ama with the beautiful views of the ocean where it is much quieter and serene.

If you want to paddle board, go early in the morning before the waitlist has started. Also, less windy. If the beach feels loud and crowded, step over to the Four Seasons beach. They do have ropes up to distinguish between the beaches, but both beaches are public and you can build your sand castle at the Four Seasons where it is much more chill.

Other general comments:
The spa is amazing, worth the expense.

Ama Ama was the best food onsite. Other food was generally pretty bad. We liked the Mina's Fish House and Noe at the Four Seasons for splurge meals. Food at the luau was bad, but the entertainment was good. I've heard good things about the Paradise Cove luau nearby.

Line up for character meet and greets about 15 minutes before they arrive.

The lobby is best enjoyed in the morning.

You can follow the walking trail in front of the Four Seasons to walk over to some beautiful beaches. You have to walk over large slippery rocks in some places, but our four year was able to navigate it in crocs with the help of Dad and its worth the trek.

Longboard's at the Marriott nearby has very good frozen Mai Tais. Worth the walk, and its a pretty paved path with nice views of the lagoons.


Pack water shoes for the kiddos. The pool walking area is very slick and dangerous.

Overall a really beautiful resort that felt the most Hawaiian of the resorts at Ko O'lina. Nice Hawaiian music is piped in along the paths and the landscaping is so lush and tropical. Once you adjust to the initial shock of the crowds and noise level, it is quite nice. Bring lots of money for food. LOTS. We didn't eat any meals in the room and we spent $500 a day on food and drinks for two adults and one child. Breakfast at Ama Ama was $100 for the 3 of us. We'd probably do breakfast in the rooms next time but we sure did love those peaceful morning meals looking out at the ocean! :) We generally spent about $150 on lunch (kids hotdog, pork tacos, coconut shrimp, pineapple juices for our son, and 4 mai tais). We generally spent about $250 on dinner at neighboring restaurants (Mina's Fish House, Noe, Roys). If you eat at Monkeypod for happy hour you can eat for $80-100 as a family.
 
Hi All - new member here, planning my first visit to Aulani later this year. I'm not sure I really understand the situation with chairs. Do you need to claim them early so you can have somewhere to sit during the day and watch the pool? Couldn't I just leave my hotel room, go swimming whenever I want, get some towels to dry off afterwards, and then head back to my room? Or it it to keep things like glasses, wallets, etc. while swimming, if the hotel rooms are really far from the pools? Sorry for my ignorance - I've just never been to a beachy resort (or to Hawaii), so I am just a little confused!
 


Hi All - new member here, planning my first visit to Aulani later this year. I'm not sure I really understand the situation with chairs. Do you need to claim them early so you can have somewhere to sit during the day and watch the pool? Couldn't I just leave my hotel room, go swimming whenever I want, get some towels to dry off afterwards, and then head back to my room? Or it it to keep things like glasses, wallets, etc. while swimming, if the hotel rooms are really far from the pools? Sorry for my ignorance - I've just never been to a beachy resort (or to Hawaii), so I am just a little confused!
You really only need to claim early if you want the prime chairs in the shade immediately next to the pool. And yes, that is for hanging out by the pool and/or to put your stuff on while you swim. Depends on how many chairs you want, but you can generally find a chair somewhere in one of the pool areas most of the time, except on the busiest of days. Perhaps not in the shade, but a place to put your stuff. Also there are almost always chairs on the beach available. And the beach is just down a set of stairs from the pools. Again, perhaps not in the shade, but they are there. If you don’t want to lounge, you can just tuck your stuff out of the way somewhere, and swim. It is a big resort, and the pools are a ways from the rooms, but you could certainly swim, dry off, and return to your room and hang out on the balcony.
 
Thanks so much! Question. My husband and I are going in January, after the kids are back in school. Our plan is either to sit on the beach or at the adults only pool. Is it hard finding a chair in those spots? We've stayed at the Four Seasons next door and definitely know that Aulani is much busier. We bought DVC at the Wilderness Lodge in December and thought we'd try Aulani first. Thanks for your help!
Been twice and never had a problem finding a chair in either of those locations. May not have much shade, but there are chairs. And you can always shift around as people leave. 🙂
 
You really only need to claim early if you want the prime chairs in the shade immediately next to the pool. And yes, that is for hanging out by the pool and/or to put your stuff on while you swim. Depends on how many chairs you want, but you can generally find a chair somewhere in one of the pool areas most of the time, except on the busiest of days. Perhaps not in the shade, but a place to put your stuff. Also there are almost always chairs on the beach available. And the beach is just down a set of stairs from the pools. Again, perhaps not in the shade, but they are there. If you don’t want to lounge, you can just tuck your stuff out of the way somewhere, and swim. It is a big resort, and the pools are a ways from the rooms, but you could certainly swim, dry off, and return to your room and hang out on the balcony.

Mamasarges, thank you so much for taking the time to explain and help!! :) Much appreciated.
 

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