Studio vs. One Bedroom

[justme0729]

We are planning to go to Aulani for spring break and having our friends, another adult couple, come with us for 4 -5 nights of our trip. We are trying to decide whether we should go for a one bedroom for 7 nights or if we should do 8 nights by doing half one bedroom while our friends are there/ half studio or just get 2 studios. What do you think would be the best set up for us? I do like the idea of having the one bedroom for at least part of the time to keep meals cheap but we could also use the grills. We’re also thinking about whether it is worth switching rooms to gain just 1 extra night and saving about 10 points. We will be booking at 7 months.

 

[Pete W.]

We are planning to go to Aulani for spring break and having our friends, another adult couple, come with us for 4 -5 nights of our trip. We are trying to decide whether we should go for a one bedroom for 7 nights or if we should do 8 nights by doing half one bedroom while our friends are there/ half studio or just get 2 studios. What do you think would be the best set up for us? I do like the idea of having the one bedroom for at least part of the time to keep meals cheap but we could also use the grills. We’re also thinking about whether it is worth switching rooms to gain just 1 extra night and saving about 10 points. We will be booking at 7 months.

I think it would depend on what's more important to you -- having 'real beds' for both couples, in which case the studios are the way to go, or having a full kitchen, washer/dryer, and a nice living room to relax in during the day, in which the 1BR would be better. I love the space and amenities of the 1BR, but we don't cook much while on vacation so I think if we had another couple traveling with us, the 2 studios would be preferable but YMMV. And I am absolutely not a big fan of switching rooms during a resort stay -- who wants to be a 'nomad' while on vacation, even for a few hours? Again, this is just my opinion.

BTW we spent 6 nights in a 1BR at Aulani in April as part of our 25th anniversary trip in Hawaii and absolutely loved the resort and thought the adult areas (pool and spa) were tremendous and true oases for couples.

 

[justme0729]

I think it would depend on what's more important to you -- having 'real beds' for both couples, in which case the studios are the way to go, or having a full kitchen, washer/dryer, and a nice living room to relax in during the day, in which the 1BR would be better. I love the space and amenities of the 1BR, but we don't cook much while on vacation so I think if we had another couple traveling with us, the 2 studios would be preferable but YMMV. And I am absolutely not a big fan of switching rooms during a resort stay -- who wants to be a 'nomad' while on vacation, even for a few hours? Again, this is just my opinion.

BTW we spent 6 nights in a 1BR at Aulani in April as part of our 25th anniversary trip in Hawaii and absolutely loved the resort and thought the adult areas (pool and spa) were tremendous and true oases for couples.

Thanks for your thoughts!! We've never been to Hawaii...When you were at Aulani for 6 nights, did you stay at the resort the whole time or explore Oahu too? We want to enjoy the resort and keep costs low but we might want to also do some exploring to look at the beaches, waterfalls, etc. but we know we will be back again so we don't feel we need to do it all. We're just curious if you felt 6 nights was enough for Aulani and doing a few things around Oahu if you did?

 

[nkereina]

I would do 2 studios. That way each couple would have their own space. You're still provided with a microwave, toaster, and mini-fridge so we purchased groceries for breakfast and lunch utilizing these items. We also got free laundry tokens to use in the laundry room since we were staying points and didn't have laundry being in a studio.

 

[Pete W.]

Thanks for your thoughts!! We've never been to Hawaii...When you were at Aulani for 6 nights, did you stay at the resort the whole time or explore Oahu too? We want to enjoy the resort and keep costs low but we might want to also do some exploring to look at the beaches, waterfalls, etc. but we know we will be back again so we don't feel we need to do it all. We're just curious if you felt 6 nights was enough for Aulani and doing a few things around Oahu if you did?

6 nights at Aulani was perfect for us. Well, we would've loved to stay in Hawaii longer, but all good things must end.

Our trip consisted of 5 nights on Maui, 2 nights on the Big Island (got a chance to experience Volcanoes National Park only a few weeks before it closed due to the eruptions!) and then 6 nights at Aulani. This was also our first trip to Hawaii, and on Oahu we alternated between resort days and 'explore the island' days as follows:

• Day One - arrived at Aulani on a Saturday afternoon so just soaked up the atmosphere, ate and drank
• Day Two - chose to tour the eastern and northern parts of the island on this day because it was Sunday and we wanted to avoid weekday traffic and this worked really well. We also had a rental car so went at our own pace including stops at Nu’uanu Pali Overlook, Byodo-In Temple, Kualoa Beach (not the ranch), Sunset Beach and Banzai Pipeline, Haleiwa, and the Dole Plantation. Traffic got a bit heavy during the afternoon at the north shore, but was worse heading east while we traveled west toward Haleiwa so we weren't impacted much
• Day Three - resort day + Sunset Cruise out of Ko Olina Marina with Mana Cruises (one of the absolute highlights of our trip)
• Day Four - our actual anniversary spent at the resort including a couples massage at the spa, and VIP tickets to the luau
• Day Five - Pearl Harbor mid-morning to mid-afternoon, followed by shopping/dining in Waikiki (timed to miss weekday traffic both ways and succeeded!)
• Day Six - another resort day enjoying the adult pool area and lagoon, neither of which got old!

For us, this was the perfect mix of resort relaxation and island touring. Hope this helps!

 

[nkereina]

Thanks for your thoughts!! We've never been to Hawaii...When you were at Aulani for 6 nights, did you stay at the resort the whole time or explore Oahu too? We want to enjoy the resort and keep costs low but we might want to also do some exploring to look at the beaches, waterfalls, etc. but we know we will be back again so we don't feel we need to do it all. We're just curious if you felt 6 nights was enough for Aulani and doing a few things around Oahu if you did?

Much like Pete W., we did some island hopping first and end our trip with 6 nights at Aulani which worked out well for us. We had spent 3 nights in Waikiki where we explored that area, and did Diamond Head and Pearl Harbor. We then flew to Maui for 3 nights, Kauai for 3 nights, and then back to Oahu for 6 nights at Aulani.

On Aulani itinerary looked like this:

Day 1 - arrived around 12:30, picked up rental, stopped for lunch & groceries, got to resort around 4pm. Spent the rest of the night doing laundry and exploring the grounds.
Day 2 - resort day - pool, beach, etc.
Day 3 - North Shore, Dole Plantation, Waimea Valley
Day 4 - resort day & spa treatment
Day 5 - Kualoa Ranch & Kailua
Day 6 - resort day
Day 7 - slept in and left for airport around 12pm

We ate at Ulu Cafe a few times, did breakfast and dinner at Makahiki, and breakfast at AMA AMA which is a meal not to be missed there. We also ate across the street at Monkeypod twice and Pizza Corner. Great meals all around. Of everything we did on Oahu, we probably would not repeat Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor, or Waimea Valley on future trips. We definitely would spend more time in the North Shore and Kailua. Kailua was the nicest beach we saw during our whole trip.

IMO, we saw and did everything we wanted while having a good amount of down time to relax and enjoy the resort. The itinerary worked out perfectly for us.

 

[happymommy]

We come from the east coast, so would never do only 6 nights. We typically do two weeks (at the Marriott next to Aulani); last summer I did a month (split our 2 bedroom up into 2 weeks studio then 2 weeks one bedroom).

No matter what, I'd want my own space, so would do a studio or one bedroom. Let the other couple get a studio or whatever they need.

We spend a lot of time at the resort, but do go out a bit, and do go to town almost daily for shopping or lunch (or to get my nails done, LOL).

We used to live in Kailua, so usually take one day to go there. That is a long day. We enjoy lunch at Willow Tree if we catch them on a day they're open. The beach isn't as big as it was 20 years ago, but it's nice!

If you can take more days there, I'd suggest a few days in Waikiki as well, then when at Aulani really enjoy the resort (since it's expensive, and has the nice pools; rent a cabana for a pool day even).

 

[Pete W.]

If you can take more days there, I'd suggest a few days in Waikiki as well, then when at Aulani really enjoy the resort (since it's expensive, and has the nice pools; rent a cabana for a pool day even).

I would only recommend a cabana if you're traveling with kids and want to have one by the main pool. There are 3 cabanas at the adult pool and during our 6 day stay we never saw any of them rented, and we always found plenty of chairs at the adult pool, both in the sun and near umbrellas, so the cabana would've been a complete waste of $$ for us.

 

[happymommy]

I would only recommend a cabana if you're traveling with kids and want to have one by the main pool. There are 3 cabanas at the adult pool and during our 6 day stay we never saw any of them rented, and we always found plenty of chairs at the adult pool, both in the sun and near umbrellas, so the cabana would've been a complete waste of $$ for us.

Good to know. When we were at Ko Olina last summer, we walked around Aulani a bit. Granted, it was near the fourth of July, but there were no empty pool chairs it looked like.