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Hotel overview
Aloha. You’ve arrived at a magical place-a first-of-its-kind Disney creation, inspired by shared family stories. Here you can celebrate the elegance and history of the Hawaiian culture, and embrace a whole new world of possibilities. In the Ko Olina area on the leeward side of Oahu, the Resort is perfectly placed—close to Hawaiian favorites but just far enough away to be an enchanting escape. The soaring architecture of the lobby offers stunning mountain and ocean views, while throughout the Resort you’ll discover luxurious details and flawless Disney magic in harmony with the natural world.
Location
Ko'OlinaProperty information
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Hotel details
Hotel advisories
General policies & fine print
Walt Disney World reservations must be booked with the correct guest names. A complete name change to the lead name is considered a cancellation and will require a new reservation.
A major credit card is required upon check-in to cover phone or incidental charges.
Convention attendees cannot book this property for their convention stay, they must book through the proper convention source. Convention attendees that violate this policy will be responsible for paying any higher rates and may not be eligible for any promotional offerings.
Room taxes are included in vacation price.
Room requests are not guaranteed and are based upon availability upon check-in.
Ratings & reviews
TripAdvisor traveler rating
7155 reviews-
Disney in paradise
This had been on our disney bucket list for a long time and safe to say it did not disappoint. Tropical disney heaven. It's the only way to explain it. Great choice of restaurants, stunning location. The staff can't do enough to help you. We loved it so much we bought dvc when we were there and made it our home resort despite living in the UK.
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Aulani - Great for families.
There is a lot to do here for families, the location is pretty amazing and the service is great. The food at the resort is alright, but that’s pretty standard for Disney. The kids club is great and there are a ton of kid friendly activities so if you have a family with children, this resort makes your life very easy. The rooms are just OK, but far from luxury. The staff are all wonderful but the resort does seem to be a bit understaffed compared to our last visit.
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Who has time for passive aggressive staff?
This resort is beautiful but still, overall, a disappointment. Our initial impression was negative. We were tired from our flights and lugged our suitcases, etc. in the front entrance to find check-in. (I thought check-in is normally near the front entrance so I was not expecting a treasure hunt for check-in with our bags.) There were no signs telling us where check-in is. Employees were too busy talking to each other or on their phones to help. We went the wrong way initially until we found someone to ask. Apparently, my significant other’s complaint to the check-in cast member (Marley) about the lack of signage violated her ‘safe space.’ After belittling and literally making fun of him (she mocked his complaint and, while literally laughing, said - ‘oh no - now your whole vacation is ruined because there was no sign to check-in’) she said that she refused to check us in and we had to wait for a manager. The manager, Kalei, said that there is no sign because they wanted cast members to assist guests to check-in. Ok - well that was a fail too because they didn’t. Then she said that as a courtesy, she would get us in to a class for Sat that was otherwise full. We didn’t receive confirmation of the class like she said we would - so I’m adding a star on the off chance she is going to keep her word. I’ll change that if she was not truthful. Communication about everything from the location of ice machines to laundry procedures is lacking. This leads to just enough confusion and wasted time to really piss a person off. Imagine, you get to the laundry room to do a load of laundry as a DVC member and there’s a sign saying that you either have to pay for laundry tokens (which is supposed to be included for DVC) or go to the front desk, with your dirty laundry, to pick up tokens. They are super cheap with the tokens at the front desk and don’t allow enough for a full washer and dryer load. Tip: get tokens every day so that you’ll have enough to do your laundry after a few days. Or you can just pay extra for something that’s supposed to be included which seems to be par for the course here. When we got to our room, it was dirty and the trash from the previous occupant was still in the bin. There were also things still in the drawers from the previous occupant. Fine. We learned not to bring anything to the attention of management because they will take it out on you later and talk negatively about guests in private, The whole resort pretty much shuts down at 6pm so it’s no wonder that others report every minute of the daytime is chaotic. Food choices are slim. The location of the resort is terrible if you want to do anything off property. Since the on property vibe is so bad, we did tours, etc. off property and not through Disney. Literally everything you want to see is at least an hour’s drive each way or more in heavy traffic. Our tour was 100% great and the no -Disney Luau was outstanding, but we were wishing we’d stayed at the Holiday Inn Waikiki for the Hawaii experience. It might be worth the poor location if the vibe were positive. Because of the whole undercurrent of the staff seemingly going out of their way to be passive aggressive, I don’t want to come back and I don’t think it’s worth it. We need to change rooms on Saturday (check out by 11 and I’m sure our next room won’t be ready before 3) and we are just waiting to see what fresh hell the resort staff can think up for us and our stuff.
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Excellent resort.
Excellent stay, as always at a Disney resort. Cleanliness, comfort and amenities for a family resort is unmatched in my opinion. Beautifully decorated and they know how to put on a show. The pools and the beach areas are great. Nicely located near Honolulu, Pearl and Diamond Head. Much to explore on the island as a whole. The north side of the island has the big waves and is scary. Local food was very good if you are willing to explore.
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Disney Name, Lackluster Experience—Aulani Disappoints
This was our first time staying at Disney’s Aulani Resort on Oahu, and while we had high expectations, the experience left us fairly disappointed. Unfortunately, it feels like we were paying for the Disney name rather than the quality of the resort itself. The food quality was particularly disappointing—some of it was practically inedible, and it seemed like it had been microwaved, even at the mid- to higher-end restaurants. It was also difficult to find seating at the pool areas. For instance, most chairs are full by 9 am. And good luck finding a few seats together. The trick we were told is to put towels down at 7 a.m. and then to keep moving them around within each hour so the staff doesn’t flag them as being unused. What a fun way to experience a vacation. There was also no room service. Booking the character breakfast was nearly impossible unless done 30 days in advance within a very short window, though we were able to line up at the restaurant at 6:45 am to get a reservation two hours later (though that is not guaranteed). The rooms were basic, though the beds were comfortable. On the positive side, the staff were all very friendly and welcoming, with the warm Disney smiles we’ve come to expect. The lagoon was also a nice feature, offering calm waters perfect for relaxing, and the pool area, including the waterslides, was enjoyable. The lobby architecture is really nice as well, though we spent almost no time there. However, the food quality was really crappy. Denny’s would probably top any of the meals we had. And expect to pay an ultra-high premium for subpar dining. For example, at the grab-and-go breakfast spot, we paid $70 for a few bagel sandwiches and some eggs for a family of four. If this weren’t a Disney-branded resort, there would be absolutely no hype. It would likely be ranked as a three-star hotel. In the end, Aulani seemed to be more about the Disney brand than delivering a truly exceptional experience.