Aloha Aulani

Eating at Aulani is expensive.  Expect to pay $23 for a basic burger and fries.  If you are staying multiple days or have a large group, it adds up very fast.  To cut down on some of the cost, you may want to consider a stop at Costco or Target, both of these are within a 10 minute drive.  Just bringing some snacks and beverages can make a noticeable dent in your food bill.  If you are inclined to cook, but lack a room with a kitchen, there’s a very nice grilling area behind Aunty’s Beach House.  Borrow the grilling utensils at the Pau Hana Lounge.  It’s rarely used, and there are multiple grills so don’t stress about not being able to find an available grill.

You are welcome to bring outside food and drinks to the pool deck.  That said, Aulani prohibits coolers on the pool deck.  Learning this came as a surprise as we’ve always brought a small one that can tuck under our pool chairs.  We’ve been over 20+ times and never got asked about it.  I’m not sure if we’ve just been lucky or if they just focus on larger/more obvious coolers.  If you want to take your chances, use either a small soft-sided cooler or a backpack style one.  Ice is easily available on each floor of the hotel.  Glass is not allowed on the pool deck, so stick to beverages in cans or plastic bottles.  If you don’t want to chance getting asked to take your cooler back to your room, keep the cold stuff in your room and head back up to reload when needed.  We opt to transfer our alcoholic beverages into our own cups/mugs all the time and no one says anything.

If you do decide to pick up groceries, know that Aulani no longer provides cold storage, so don’t pick up anything needing refrigeration unless you already have a room or you have a cooler.  Other options are food deliveries.  Amazon will not do deliveries to Aulani, so Prime Now isn’t an option.  Instacart and Safeway will both deliver to the resort, but the delivery drivers are not allowed inside the hotel and cast members will not accept a delivery for you.  Instead, you have to be present and meet the delivery person outside the hotel to receive your items directly.  This applies to pizza delivery, Door Dash, and Grub Hub as well.