Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa

The Hotel

Aulani opened in 2011 on Ko Olina's lagoon shoreline, designed and operated by Disney as the company's only resort in Hawaii and one of only two non-theme-park resort hotels in their global portfolio. The design mandate was specific: create a property that is authentically Hawaiian in its cultural expression while operating at the Disney service standard. The resulting building, a dramatic arc of terraced rooms descending toward Ko Olina's third lagoon, is the most visually ambitious hotel structure in the resort district.

The cultural component is not superficial. Disney engaged Hawaiian cultural practitioners, historians, and artists during the development process, and the hotel's artwork, storytelling programmes, and staff training reflect this. The extensive artwork throughout the property, murals, carvings, traditional quilts displayed as museum pieces, was commissioned from local and indigenous artists. The Aunty's Beach House children's programme, offered daily for ages 3, 12, is led by Hawaiian cultural specialists and incorporates traditional songs, stories, lei-making, and games that go substantially deeper than a recreational kids' club.

The water amenities are what most guests travel for. Waikolohe Valley is the central pool complex: a lazy river running 820 feet through landscaped grounds, a waterslide tower with four slides, a children's water play area with interactive features, the Waikolohe Pool for active swimming, and the Wailana Pool positioned as the quieter adult alternative. The snorkelling lagoon, a protected, 820,000-gallon ocean-fed pool, allows guests to snorkel over a reef with Hawaiian marine life, including sea turtles, without leaving the property. Ko Olina Beach, accessible directly from the resort, provides calm lagoon swimming on open sand.

Laniwai, the Disney Spa, is a full-service spa with 15 treatment rooms, a private hydrotherapy garden, and a menu that includes couple's treatments, teen treatments, and a dedicated keiki (children's) treatment menu, one of the very few hotel spas in Hawaii that explicitly designs for younger guests. The dining programme spans six restaurants across the property, from the Hawaiian cuisine at Makahiki to the quick-service options at The Cove Bar and Off the Hook. The level of food quality across the offerings is substantially above the resort average.

Best for Family Holiday

Aulani is the answer to the question of how to take children to Hawaii without sacrificing the quality of the parental experience. The children's programming runs from morning to late evening; Aunty's Beach House accepts children from 3, 12 with advance booking and runs a genuine cultural curriculum rather than a supervision exercise. The lazy river and waterslides occupy children who would otherwise be bored before noon. The spa, the adult pool, the Makahiki restaurant, and Ko Olina's sunset are what parents do while the children are otherwise engaged. Disney's operational precision means no element of the logistics is left to chance: the food service is fast, the activity scheduling is clear, and the staff-to-guest ratio at every children's programme is the highest in Hawaii. Other family hotels →

Rates from $475/night. Check availability on DisneyAulani.com.