Aloha Aulani

Eating at Aulani is expensive.  Expect to pay $18 for a basic burger and fries.  Mixed drinks are a minimum of $14 each and are generally not very good and contain little alcohol.  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 noticable 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 (recently reopened) behind Aunty’s Beach House.  Borrow the grilling utensils at the Pau Hana Lounge.

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.  I’m not sure if we’ve just been lucky or if they just focus on larger coolers.  If you want to take your chances, consider picking up some cups and either a small foam cooler or a backpack style one to bring some snacks and drinks down to the pool with you.  Ice is easily available on each floor of the hotel.  Glass is not allowed on the pool deck, but you can transfer your beverage into a plastic or metal cup.  If you don’t want to chance getting asked to take your cooler back to your room, you could just pick up snacks and beverages to keep in your room and head back up to reload your cup and grab a few munchies periodically.  We walk around with our own cups/mugs all the time and no one says anything.

If you do decide to pick up groceries on your way to check in at the resort, know that Aulani no longer provides cold storage in the event your room isn’t ready.  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 as part of COVID-19 measures, 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.