Where to Stay at Aulani

Hotel room or villa: the real difference

Aulani houses guests two ways. Rooms and suites work like any hotel: you sleep there and eat elsewhere. Disney Vacation Club villas have a full kitchen, a washer and a dryer.

That is not a comfort detail, it is a choice of rhythm. With a kitchen, breakfast happens on the lanai, snacks come from the fridge and beach laundry is dry by morning. Without one, every meal is an outing.

A simple rule: under five nights, take the room. A week or more with children, take the villa.

Rooms and suites

Four categories: standard room, one-bedroom suite, deluxe one-bedroom suite and two-bedroom suite.

Views run from garden to ocean, and the gap between the two ends is real. A garden view looks onto the planting and the leeward mountains, which is no consolation prize.

Disney Vacation Club villas

Four categories again: deluxe studio with kitchenette, one-bedroom villa, two-bedroom villa and three-bedroom grand villa for larger groups.

The one-, two- and three-bedroom villas have a full kitchen, a washer and dryer, and separate bedrooms with doors. This is the multigenerational answer: everyone keeps their own space and the group meets in the living room.

What comes with the room

A Pack 'N Play playard is provided at no charge in every room and villa, which is good news for anyone travelling with a baby.

Aulani does not, however, rent strollers or cribs. Bring your own, rent from a local supplier, or do without.

Outlets are North American, the same as at home, so no adapter is needed. The resort is entirely smoke-free, including rooms, balconies and patios, and a room recovery charge applies to anyone who ignores that. Gas grills are available to guests beside Hālāwai Lawn.

Housekeeping: every other day in the villas

Guests booking a villa on a cash basis receive service every other day: beds made, vacuuming, dusting, bathrooms, kitchen, dishes washed, trash and towels removed and replenished.

Disney Vacation Club members staying on points receive trash and towel service on the fourth day instead; stays longer than eight nights get full cleaning on the fourth day and trash and towel service on the eighth.

Housekeeping runs between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. You may decline every-other-day service, but additional service cannot be purchased.

Which category suits which family

A couple, four to six nights: standard room. The view is worth the premium only if you plan to spend time on the lanai.

A family of four, one week: deluxe studio if budget leads, one-bedroom villa if the children go to bed early and the adults want a door between them and the living room. Two families or three generations: two- or three-bedroom villa, because one villa replaces several rooms and adds a kitchen.

The rest of the stay is covered elsewhere: the pools and Rainbow Reef, dining and cooking in a villa, and the main Aulani page.

Have your advisor compare categories on your actual dates. The gap between two categories swings widely by season, and intuition is often wrong. Voyages AquaTerra holds a Quebec travel agent licence (702703), and your payments are covered by the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents, subject to the program's terms. Speak with an advisor at 1-866-628-6241.