Leyla Dabdoub

Let’s start with the most obvious question, Would I go back? Yes, a thousand percent yes. The hotel has so much charm and as soon as you walk in, you can feel immersed in a different world. 

There is a misconception that Aulani is an all-inclusive hotel. However, they do have so many great options for food which I go more into detail on my character breakfast blog.

The hotel has several pools and you can’t miss the “pool parties.” They only have the pool parties on certain days and times, so check the schedule. You also have lazy river, water slides and the beautiful Ko Olina lagoon. 

Ko Olina lagoon is basically Aulani’s beach. If you are interested on renting snorkeling gear, paddle boards, canoe ride or sand toys, then you can do it at Makiki Joe’s located right at the beach entrance. My family and I did the canoe ride, and I have a blog about it. 

Snorkeling at the Rainbow Reef was a huge hit for my family but it is not included in your stay and it has a daily cost. I would recommend to register as early as you can to save your spot because once you pay, you can go back as many times as you want throughout the day. This is a perfect spot for snorkeling beginners or first time snorkeling.

Every day you have to get a new wrist band to have access to the pool and beach area. The pool wrist bands are different color every single day. In case you didn’t know this, people keep ALL of their wrist bands until they leave the hotel. 

The hotel has a very strict beach chair rule. You are not allowed to just “save” a bunch of chairs for your family members if they are not around. The workers patrol the seats and if they don’t see any activity for 30 minutes, they would hang the towel on the back of the chair, and if another 30 minutes pass by, they remove your belonging and put them on a different area. They really don’t want people hoarding chairs. 

But Aulani is not all beach and pools, they also have an amazing A Luau show, make your own ears activity, story-telling by the fire pit, character breakfast, etc. 

And did you go to Aulani if you didn’t eat Mickey shaped snow cone or Dole Pineapple ice-cream?

There’s definitely so much to do and see at Aulani. If you are looking to explore Oahu, then I don’t recommend staying at Aulani, you stay at this hotel to enjoy what Disney has to offer. My family and I stayed 4 days at Aulani and then moved to an Airbnb to explore Oahu.