Staying at Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa located in Ko Olina on the island of Oahu in Hawaii really was a dream come true for me. We had originally booked to stay at Aulani back in 2020 which as we know did not happen so I was excited when we could eventually rebook for our rescheduled trip in 2022. After waiting for what felt like forever to get there, it was truly perfect and everything we could gave hoped for when we finally began our Hawaiian adventure that we had looked forward to for so long.

When we booked our stay at Aulani, all we knew is that we wanted to have the picture postcard view of the swimming pools, palm trees and the ocean from our hotel room as there was no way we were travelling halfway around the world to look at a parking garage or the roof of a conference centre. After a lot of deliberation we decided to book a “Poolside Garden” hotel room which we knew for sure would overlook the Waikolohe Valley albeit on one of the lower floors (they are located on floors 1-5) as we would still get most of the view that we wanted and it was also a considerable saving over booking one of the Oceanview Rooms located on the higher floors.

Before we travelled to Hawaii in May 2022, we contacted Aulani and requested a room with a king bed and on the highest floor possible (even though we knew this would only be the fifth floor) to try and get the best view that we could. However the unexpected happened and we were upgraded from our Poolside Garden room to an Oceanview room when we arrived at Aulani which was simply incredible – and yes I did cry tears of joy as I was so overwhelmed! After waiting so long to get to Hawaii, there were a lot of things that happened the entire time that we were away that made me think that this trip was supposed to happen this way and at this time and being upgraded to a room with that perfect dream view at Aulani was definitely one of those moments.

Aulani consists of both regular hotel rooms as well as Disney Vacation Club (DVC) studios and villas however before we travelled to Hawaii, I found that the majority of information, videos and photos online all refer to the DVC rooms. As we stayed in one of the hotel rooms at Aulani, I decided to write this blog and include as many photos as I could to help anyone out there who is looking for this information – not everyone has DVC points or is even remotely interested in renting DVC points when they travel.

Driving from Honolulu International Airport and arriving at Aulani that day was such a surreal feeling and I really could not believe that I was finally there after dreaming about it for so long – I even had to pinch myself several times as it simply did not seem real. I had watched so many videos about Aulani on YouTube so everything looked so familiar even though it was our first visit.

Our room was ready for us when we arrived at Aulani just before Midday and we were given our room keys (as well as a “Welcome” button each) before we made our way into the Waianae Tower (the hotel rooms are only located in this tower) and took the elevator up to the tenth floor. As soon as you exit the elevators on each floor, you can get your first glimpse of the view through the windows of the Waikolohe Valley below which makes you even more excited to get to your room and see the view for yourself from your balcony.

As we travelled as two adults, one of the huge benefits of booking a hotel room is not only is it larger than a DVC studio (by 30 square feet) but you are also able to get a room with one huge king bed unlike the DVC studio rooms where you can only get a much smaller queen bed unless you book a much more expensive and larger villa.

Another random but essential benefit to booking a hotel room at Aulani is that there is a bedside table (nightstand) on each side of the bed so that one person does not need to go without which would be incredibly annoying during your stay – I do not know why the DVC studio rooms at Aulani only have a nightstand on one side of the bed as it simply does not make any sense.

The bed was so comfortable and it really felt like sleeping on a big fluffy cloud during our four night stay at Aulani. The bed is also raised so you can store all of your luggage underneath it and out of the way and more importantly out of sight during your trip.

There are power sockets available on both sides of the bed and one side of the bed also has a clock as well as a telephone where you can call the Character Hotline on 2447 (CHIP) at 8:00am each morning to find out the character times and locations for that day – make sure you have a pen and paper ready – and the Aulani app and Aulani website are also updated at the same time every morning.

The sofa in the room can be converted into a queen size sleeper bed if needed and extra bedding can be found inside the ottoman.

There are plenty of drawers located in the unit underneath the television so you do not have to worry about storage during your stay and there is also a fridge located in the same cabinet which we used to keep both milk as well as cans of soda chilled – there is an Island Country Market located in Ko Olina opposite Aulani as well as a Target and Safeway located a short drive away in Kapolei if you need to buy some drinks for your room whilst you are there.

There is also a table with two chairs and the famous surfboard Mickey lamp which you will want to take home with you as it is so adorable! You can however buy the lamp in Kalepa’s Store at the resort but they also have a much smaller Christmas ornament which is difficult to get hold of as they sell out so quickly – I could not get one at all during my stay (I checked the store multiple times every day) but have since managed to get hold of one and just looking at it brings back happy memories of my stay at Aulani.

Whilst there is a Keurig coffee machine provided in the room, we were also able to request a kettle from housekeeping as soon as we arrived which we used constantly throughout our stay to be able to make a decent cup of tea – this was an absolute lifesaver as a coffee machine is completely useless if you want boiling water for tea as the water is never hot enough and will just taste of stale coffee.

In the hallway is a connecting door to the neighbouring room as well as a full length mirror on the wall and inside the wardrobe you will find a luggage stand, an iron and ironing board, a flashlight and a small safe – you would have no issue storing passports, wallets, iPads or other smaller valuables inside the safe but a laptop would not be able to fit.

The bathrooms in the hotel rooms at Aulani have a large bathtub with an amazing rainfall shower (the water pressure was really good), a well-lit sink area and a separate toilet room as well as plenty of towels provided.

H2O toiletries – shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion and facial soap – are provided in the rooms (though the brand could change at any time) but I always recommend taking your own products with you when you travel, as I do, in case the ones provided are not suitable for your hair or skin. There is also a really good hairdryer located on the shelf below the sink.

Even though I have the left the photos of the view from our balcony until the end of this blog, I have definitely saved the best for last. As soon as we got to our room we both ran straight to the balcony to look at the view and it was everything I was hoping it would be and more. It truly was perfect.

When booking to stay at Aulani make sure to book the view that you want to have as it is definitely worth it. Even though we had only booked a Poolside Garden room on a lower floor, I was truly grateful that we were upgraded to one of the higher floors of the resort. We have both said that we want to go back to Aulani again one day and we easily agreed that we would spend the extra money and book an Oceanview room on our next visit as the view was so perfect and we would now not be able to stay in any other room as we would always compare it to this one.

We spent so much time on our balcony during our entire stay making the most of the fresh sea air whether it was waking up early and fighting jet lag by sitting outside watching the sunrise over Aulani and the Waikolohe Valley with a cup of tea in hand whilst Aunty sang and played the Ukulele at Makahiki below, taking a few minutes to get out of the sun and sit down in the shade with some lunch during the day or unwinding at the end of the day and enjoying the music from the Olelo Room in the evenings as the sun went down.

Aulani was the absolute perfect place to begin our long awaited trip to Hawaii and beyond and after wanting to stay there for so many years (and having to patiently wait another two years when our original trip was cancelled), I truly loved every minute of it and it completely lived up to every expectation that we had. We knew that we did not want to stay in the city of Honolulu itself and Aulani offered us that perfect little Disney fix along with peace and quiet which made it the perfect hotel for us – it really was an Hawaiian paradise.

No it was not cheap but nothing in Hawaii is! But was it worth it? Oh hell yes!

Since this blog post was written back in 2023, some of the information may no longer be accurate or up to date. Be sure to do your own research and check official websites for the latest details before making any of your own travel plans.

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