Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa

Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa Review

In September 2011, Disney opened its first hotel and time-share develoment not connected to a theme park, and first property in Hawaii, in the resort area of Ko Olina, about a 40-minute drive from Waikiki on Oahu's leeward side. This resort—complete with Disney characters roaming its 21 acres—has 217 fully equipped hotel rooms and 73 two-bedroom time-share units in two towers, right on the ocean. (When the resort is completed in 2013, it will boast 359 guest rooms, including 16 suites, and 481 time-share units.) But trust us, you won't be staying in your room. Aulani has four restaurants, two lounges, an enormous pool complex with a man-made snorkeling lagoon, an 18,000-square-foot luxury spa, a full-service fitness center, an entire beach to enjoy, and lessons in traditional Hawaiian crafts, hula, and storytelling.