Pool & Beach Chairs - how bad is it?

[nkereina]

David's DVC Rental posted some pics from Aulani yesterday on Facebook. The pics were taken at 8am and showed multiple lounge chairs at the pool with towels and items draped over them, in an effort to "reserve" them for when the families decided to mosey down after breakfast, etc. Having been on cruises and at other resorts, I know how this goes.

My question is whether anyone has had any success showing up at 10-11am and actually getting chairs? Some commenters said by 9am, it was virtually impossible. So how about after lunch? How about lounge chair availability on the beach?

FWIW, we'll be looking for two chairs together in the sun and will be there late September, so not really peak season. We'll be on our honeymoon so I'd like to sleep in and relax, rather than worry about chair stalking. Thanks!

 

[Girimama33]

During that time, you may be okay...especially if you do not mind locating one at the beach. During times when the resort is close to max capacity, you do need to grab a chair by the pool by 9am. The beach spots take a little longer to fill. You should also be able to find a spot by the adult pool (assuming the two of you are adults).

 

[Amw1064]

We were there for 10 days last June. We NEVER had an issue with getting at least 2 chairs. Sometimes we went down early and other times not til later. We just sat in different areas that had chairs.

 

[OKW Lover]

Aulani has a fairly aggressive policy about saving chairs. After a certain amount of time (I forget how long) a CM will come by and fold/place a towel on one of those chairs. After a further interval (again I don't remember how long) if that towel is undisturbed they will pickup the belongings and take them to a central location. When the owner finally comes back, they are directed to that location to reclaim their belongings.

 

[Regan117]

This stresses me out. I don't want to wake up early and stake out pool chairs for 17 people. We just got cabanas. I hate how expensive they are, but it's worth the peace of mind.

 

[nkereina]

Aulani has a fairly aggressive policy about saving chairs. After a certain amount of time (I forget how long) a CM will come by and fold/place a towel on one of those chairs. After a further interval (again I don't remember how long) if that towel is undisturbed they will pickup the belongings and take them to a central location. When the owner finally comes back, they are directed to that location to reclaim their belongings.

I've read about this policy, however some of the commenters on David's FB post the other night said they have never seen it enforced or in action. Makes me nervous!

 

[DSNYDREAMER]

I have seen this policy enforced regularily on my last 2 visits. I was very interested in the policy and how it was policed. I spoke to a supervisor in the area who explained the policy and how they were trying to deal with this issue. I witnessed 4 separate instances where people had complete melt downs because their towels were removed from their saved chairs. As Jeff said, the towels would be folded and placed a certain way, and timed. I believe the window was an hour. I'm going again in 2 weeks and plan to again watch closely to see if this policy is being enforced.

I have to say, this is not unique to Aulani. I've seen it on every cruise I've been on and every resort where the pool area is a main source of entertainment.

 

[OKW Lover]

Looking forward to your report Tracey!

 

[lorimay]

We visited in early Sept. and always were able to find chairs. One day we booked a casabella lounger on the beach for less than $50, it was nice had an umbrella cover that came over the lounge. It was great. We were able to stay out for hours and not worry about the sun.

 

[hilarys]

We were there during Thanksgiving week and never had problems on the beach for regular chaises (umbrellas did get snapped up before noon). We also saw them policing the chair reservation while we were there.

 

[AZMermaid]

Last June we had no trouble finding chairs on the beach at any time, especially if we weren't picky about location.

I also saw them folding the towels on the chairs at the pool but didn't watch closely enough to see if they removed items. We were reminded every time we picked up towels about the policy. Pool chairs were scarcer between 9-2, but I don't think everything was full full full- again if you are not particular about location. Especially since you are two adults, I would guess availability at the adult pool is easier to come by.

 

[EWL]

We were just at Aulani over MLK weekend. I can only share what we saw-- which was a very, very crowded pool area with people continually walking around looking for chairs, especially in the afternoon. We did always find spots in the morning (before noon), just not where we would have preferred. One morning when we were up early for a snorkeling excursions and went to Ulu Cafe for breakfast around 6:30am, we were astounded to see people claiming chairs already. No one ever mentioned the 1 hour policy to us, although we knew about it from these boards, and we never saw any CMs marking chairs (I was watching for folded towels out of curiosity) or removing anyones' belongings. Chairs on the beach looked more plentiful. It's worth noting that the situation changed greatly once the weekend was over; Tuesday when we left was MUCH less crowded and we saw many available chairs.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

stayed mid-September and there were no issues with chairs. Especially in the adult only pool and spa areas.

 

[Deirdres]

We were there last May, six of us, and we never had any trouble getting chairs together. We did prefer the beach, and the chairs there were plentiful, but we also managed to get near the pool when we wanted to.

 

[nkereina]

Thanks all for sharing your experiences! Two questions on related topics:

1. The casabella loungers on the beach - any availability issues with these? It's my understanding these can only be reserved same day.

2. The adult pool - I've read this is a very shaded area. Is that accurate? We're sun worshipers but were still hoping to visit the adult pool.

We visited in early Sept. and always were able to find chairs. One day we booked a casabella lounger on the beach for less than $50, it was nice had an umbrella cover that came over the lounge. It was great. We were able to stay out for hours and not worry about the sun.

stayed mid-September and there were no issues with chairs. Especially in the adult only pool and spa areas.

 

[lorimay]

We were the only ones that had a casabella that day.
We were there to rent it around 9am.

Have a wonderful time!

 

[OKW Lover]

2. The adult pool - I've read this is a very shaded area. Is that accurate? We're sun worshipers but were still hoping to visit the adult pool.

There are areas with shade and areas with sun.

 

[rlk]

We were at Aulani the last 2 weeks of August, including the weekend leading to Labor Day. I was up early a few mornings (6:00am) and secured two loungers by the infinity pool were I sat watching the sun rise while my family slept. This was my favorite time at the resort! I witnessed a lot of people coming down between 7 - 9 to place towels on lounge chairs. The Cms do not start monitoring the lounge chairs until 8:00am when the towel huts open. During the day, I did watch the Cms folding towels and eventually removing said towels after one hour. When the Labor Day weekend started the Cms stopped folding towels because the place was a zoo. People were placing their belongings on rocks, under other people's chairs, etc. I was told that on three day weekends Aulani is a popular destination for Islanders. There definitely seemed to be a lot of large family groups taking advantage of the Islander discount for the weekend.

 

[Gorechick]

I'm at Aulani right now. I've haven't adjusted to Hawaii time and pretty much have been up in the middle if the night and down to the cafe for coffee in the dark at 6am. People will get a stack of towels from the pool area the night before and send someone down (usually guys) to claim prime spots by the pool or overlooking the beach. Between 8am and 10am there have been plenty of chairs. Mid to late afternoon has been pretty busy by the pools with fewer open chairs. I have not seen any CS removing people's items, though I've talked to a few who have said the summer months are when people are fighting over chairs.

 

[Mom2disneygirls]

Uggghh just tried to book a cabana for July and all booked up except one in the adult area (which won't work for us with kids). Oh well still Aulani so can't be too bummed.
They were so nice checking all possible days I asked and pleasantly telling me to keep calling back and checking for cancellations.