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New Photos of Aulani at Ko Olina

Great information. I am going to Ko Olina soon and I feel armed with good info to share with the others in my group! Thanks.
 
New photos of Aulani

Hi,

Thanks for the great photo's and information on Aulani.
I am a new Marriott owner and a DVC owner.
I know all the DVC owners would love your post on the DVC thread.:hi:
 
Had a presentation there last week.
They are ten percent sold
They fave a model suite for viewing
The presentation center is across the street on top of a bar b que store. Hard to find

Now wondering what will happen with ko olina. The maint. Fess are a lot less. And it's right next door to the jw. And I mean right next door. If you walk on the beach you can see some of the swimming pool fixturetures being built
 
Thanks for the photos. I'll be at Marriott Ko Olinda at the end of the month, so it is interesting to see the progress
 
I received a nifty brochure about the Aulani in the mail from Disney. Looks like they are courting customers already, including Marriott customers.
 
If anyone will be at Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club in the coming months and plans to stroll around the exterior of Disney's Aulani construction site (and/or visit the sales center and model) with a camera, I would welcome your photos so that I can run another Aulani photo essay at Yesterland.

One of the reasons I've been able to run Aulani updates every few months is that several TUG BBS participants (and others) generously took photos and sent them to me.

Please send a PM to me if you're interested. Thank you!
 
What a very nice article with some very pictures.
 
Great article and pictures. Thank you for sharing. I have not checked, did you post this also under the Disney Vacation Club forum? We would all love to see this.
 
We are sitting at the grill at Ko Olina having fried calamari and we just spotted whales, for those of you who asked, they are here.
 
Look like this will be a nice resort. But I didn't particularly like how the article starts out saying Marriott Ko'Olina was nice but not very Hawaiian. I have found that in Hawaii it is not the decor but the people and their spirit of Aloha that make it Hawaiian. This was evident when we visited there. I don't spend my time in Hawaii looking at the buildings but just relaxing and enjoying the air kissing my face. I would have preferred the article just concentrate on the Aulani vision and progress. But that is just me.
 
I would have to agree with the Hawaiian comment. What is Hawaiian really? Not sure how the Aulani is any more Hawaiian. It actually reminds me of Disney's Polynesian resort. It is what many people expect Hawaii to be based on a stereotypical point of view, but in reality, Hawaii is far different. Disney always goes over the top in their imagineering, and this appeals to their base, but it doesn't appeal to everyone. The end caps on the Aulani buildings actually remind me of a church.

I do like how the Marriott buildings "step down" in height. The Aulani buildings look more like big boxes.
 
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I think Aulani looks beautiful and LOVE the whole immersion experience of staying in Disney resorts at Walt Disney World. But I have to agree with the others who question why it's necessary to build up Aulani by making negative comments about any of the surrounding resorts?

Anyway, we tend to like more the beach resorts which are in areas where high-rise developments aren't allowed, so the Marriott or Disney or whatever resorts in that area of Ko 'Olina don't appear to be what we'd choose for an exchange. We tried that high-rise beach thing once with an exchange to Marriott's Crystal Shores and thought the resort was fantastic despite being unfinished, but we learned there that high-rises along a beach don't appeal to us. And if I was buying DVC Points - if I can ever convince Don to love Disney the way I do! - that's one of the reasons Aulani wouldn't even be a consideration.
 
Nobody forgets they're in Hawaii as they walk around Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club, just because the exterior architecture would be right at home in other states too. And nobody will mistake Disney's towers for actual Hawaiian grass huts.

I was only pointing out how the contrast between typical beige residential towers and Disney's architectural approach.

The publicity from Disney makes a point of just how much Aulani will immerse guests in the culture and history of Hawaii. It should be way beyond what other resort hotels and timeshares in Hawaii do. Disney is working hard to be respectful and accurate. This won't be the Enchanted Tiki Room Hotel.

Nothing I wrote in the article or in this thread should be taken as a criticism of Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club or the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort. (I'm not sure what I wrote that anyone is objecting to.) They're both terrific properties. But Autlani is different. Aulani won't be to everyone's taste. I'm impressed with what I saw in person and what I've seen in advertising and publicity. I look forward to staying at Aulani one of these years.
 
Nicely done, Werner. I believe it is fair to point out similarities and differences between Marriott and Disney. Each offer great service, consistency and a trusted brand. Disney is better at story telling -- not a surprise there -- immersive environments and entertainment. Marriott is better at global lodging for both business and pleasure.

I did not realize that Disney was in between the two Marriott properties. Odd that Marriott did not control the parcels between their two resorts, particularly if there was a Ritz under consideration for Ko Olina.

Some of the other Ko Olina development plans would be very nice additions if they can get the financing in place.
 
Werner Weiss said:
I was only pointing out how the contrast between typical beige residential towers and Disney's architectural approach.
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nice article, and great pictures. I happen to agree with you, the marriott looks like something on ft lauderdale beach, doesn't mean it's not a beautiful property, the marriott owners are just being sensitive, they have been through a lot these past months.
 
JimC said:
I did not realize that Disney was in between the two Marriott properties. Odd that Marriott did not control the parcels between their two resorts, particularly if there was a Ritz under consideration for Ko Olina.
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Disney is located in between JW Ihilani and Beach Villas which is an individually owned condo resort.

Some of the other Ko Olina development plans would be very nice additions if they can get the financing in place.
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It looks like there is at least one large undeveloped parcel Between Beach Villas and the Disney. Do you know what it is planned for?
 
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