This is part three of a three part series. You can read part one here and part two here.

The final stop on our long-awaited Hawaiian trip was Aulani, A Disney Resort and Spa. We had been dreaming of going to Aulani for a number of years – part of our love of all things Disney, as well as our ongoing challenge of visiting each Disney park around the world. (We are including Aulani and the Disney Cruise Line in this list of places to visit.) Knowing that the resort was on the higher end of the cost scale, we opted to stay only for a couple of nights, but at the end of our stay in Hawaii to end on a high note.

We left Honolulu via Uber just after our 11AM check out of our Airbnb at the Hawaiian Monarch and arrived at Aulani around noon. Pulling up and walking into the Lobby was awe inspiring. It is a beautifully themed, open space that just draws you in and makes you feel welcome. The entire resort gives the feel of a high class Hawaiian resort, which it most definitely is. As check-in time was officially only at 4PM, our room was not yet ready. They stored our luggage and we were able to make our way onto the site to take a walk around the grounds and orient ourselves a bit.

Once our room was ready, we were delighted to find that we had a nicely spacious room. We had opted to go for an Island Garden view room rather than the Poolside view (cheaper) or Ocean view (more expensive), purely due to the cost difference between the rooms. In the end, we did still have a view of the ocean in the distance from our balcony, so win-win scenario for us!

Our first official stop was the beach. As we had been strolling around earlier, we noted that the pools were very busy. Nary a chair was to be found anywhere. Yet the beach was surprisingly unoccupied, so that’s where we headed. In the end, we spent most of our time at the beach during our stay, which was perfectly fine with both of us. Fewer people means less noise and more space to us, just as we like it.

We had booked an adult-only stargazing event for our first evening. We met with the small group of about 8 people and were lead out towards the beach to meet our stargazing event host. He was set up with a nice telescope and had just finished with the previous group as we arrived, ours being the last group of the night. Sadly, the clouds started rolling in, followed by rain, within 15-20 minutes of our session. With the stars now obscured by the clouds, the session ended. Though we did get to see Sirius and a few other stellar formations, as well as having the Southern Cross pointed out to us near the horizon (this was a first for us as it’s not visible from our northernly vantage points), it was disappointing that we were not able to enjoy more of the event. He had just begun to get to the part explaining how ancient Hawaiians used to navigate the seas using stars (just like you see in Moana). On the positive side, they reimbursed us for half of the cost of the session as we were cut short.

Our routine for the next couple of days was as follows: wake up early (without an alarm), head to the beach by 8-8:30. Read / swim for a few hours, then head back to the room for our showers and freshen up. We’d grab lunch at one of the on-site restaurants, and then spend a bit of time out of the sun for the hottest part of the afternoons. Occasionally we’d sit on our lovely patio and read, other times, we’d peruse the couple of shops or go grab a snack or drink. It was all done in an attempt to avoid the scorching sun and heat for those peak afternoon hours. Then, it was dinner and a quiet evening around the resort.

We truly had fun spending huge chunks of the day doing nothing. As my mentor François Lemay would say: “une journée à bien rien faire!” Time to read, time to swim in the ocean, time to lay in the sun, time to eat and drink. Above all else – time to relax and recharge the batteries. After our more hectic days in Honolulu, this was just what we needed to wind down on our vacation.

There were a few fun activities over our few days at Aulani as well. The one thing Isabelle had wanted to do during our visit was to meet Moana. So meet Moana, we did! Being a Disney property, there were character meet-and-greet opportunities daily. We checked the Aulani app and saw that Moana would be meeting people at 12:15, so headed down around noon to get in line. There were only 3-4 groups of folks in front of us. We got our photos with Moana and Isabelle was happy.

Later that day was the other big activity we had planned. There is a full luau that is done on site a couple of days each week. I had booked tickets for the luau a couple of months earlier, knowing that they often fill up. As it so happens, the luau was held on the lawn outside of our hotel room. We got a small sneak peek the night before, but chose to leave our room for the duration as 1) it was very loud, and 2) we wanted to experience it in person, not hear the entire show 24 hours before we experienced it ourselves.

The luau was from 5 to 8 PM. We headed down early to check in and were shown to our seats. We had bought “Preferred Seating”, so we had early admission and were located up front near the stage. After the check-in, we had about an hour before the actual show and dinner would begin. To pass the time, they set up various stations around the site where you could do different activities. For example, you could learn how they make Poi (ground taro root) and try it yourself using the traditional stone grinding tools. They had a section where you could take a sort ukulele lesson. There was also a table where they gave people temporary tribal tattoos. There were two different patterns available for you to get a band done.

The show itself was entertaining and educational. Through song and dance, they gave an overview of the history of the islands, their traditions, their music and their stories. We got to see various styles of dance, from hula to fire-dancing. In between, was the feast. Even though it was done buffet-style, the food was remarkably delicious. The offerings were aplenty. Salads, veggies, fish, pork, chicken, buns, fruit and desserts. I tried a little bit of nearly everything available, loading up my plate. We were very satisfied with the meal, including the four different desserts, along with fruit. Included in the price of the luau were the beverages (alcoholic and non). Between the food, the drinks and the entertainment, I can safely say that it was well worth every penny that it cost me to book this event.

While on the subject of food, there were some very nice restaurants at Aulani. Some we chose to skip because they were very expensive prix-fix menus. Others we ate at multiple times. For those familiar with Disney restaurants, there were some Quick Service style restaurants, Table Service style restaurants, and Signature style restaurants. We kept to the Quick Service and Table Service for our meals. I would say that food was one of the elements that I was most put off by, and not due to the quality. It was the cost. The resort itself is quite expensive, let alone the cost of flights to get to Hawaii. While at Aulani, you feel like you’re at a 5-star resort somewhere down South, with the exception being that food and beverages are most definitely not included in the package. We had a tentative budget for our food, but that was thrown out the window on day two of our visit once we realized how much we would be paying for food. So we ate what we wanted (like the Ahi Poke Nachos that I had for lunch one day).

Our last day found us needing to check out of our room by 11AM, but we intentionally had scheduled our flights for as late as possible in the day. Since our flight was only at 10PM, we still had an entire day at Aulani at our disposal. We just needed to be more mindful of the heat as we couldn’t escape to our room for the afternoon. Instead, we crossed the road and went to visit a little shopping/eating complex. We had some of the creamiest, most delicious ice cream I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating at Black Sheep Cream Co. This was followed a bit later by some yummy catch of the day (Mahi Mahi) fish tacos and fish & chips at Monkeypod Kitchen.

All in all, we enjoyed ourselves at Aulani. Would we return? At this time, I’m good to check off that box and say I’ve been. I have no regrets in having gone, but I don’t really have a strong sense of needing to return. With most things Disney, you can say they do it with a capital “D” – everything is Disney-focused, Disney-centric. Aulani was lowercase “d”, but uppercase “H”, with the emphasis on Hawaiian culture. There was really nothing overtly Disney with the exception of the couple of character meet-and-greets and a handful of Mickey-shaped snacks. All of the artwork was Hawaiian in style, no hidden Mickeys like we expected to find. I was happy with that, but there was still a little touch of that Disney magic that seemed to be missing overall. The service, food, beverages and amenities were all top notch. Our room was beautiful. The beach was a dream. Yes, the pools were crowded, but that’s to be expected. Overall, there wasn’t really anything wrong with our stay. We’re just content with having had the opportunity to experience it.

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And there you have it. Three blog posts detailing the three portions of my recent Hawaiian holidays. Isabelle and I truly enjoyed every moment of our trip – from our week-long spiritual retreat with Anne Bérubé, to our miles and miles of walking around Waikiki and hiking Diamond Head, to our stay at Disney’s Aulani Resort. We were in Hawaii for just over two weeks, but felt like we were there for 4 or more. Hawaii just has another feel to it, another vibe. Time moved at a different pace and we took advantage to truly rest and relax. This was by far the longest, most restful vacation that Isabelle and I have taken in our years together. It did us much good in recharging our batteries, but the islands still call us. We’ve already started discussing the next visit to Hawaii…maybe it will be closer than we originally thought.

Have you ever been to Hawaii? What did you enjoy the most from your time if you did? What would you recommend to someone who is visiting for the first time? Share your thoughts!