Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, is a beachside reso...

Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, is a beachside resort hotel at the Ko Olina Resort in Kapolei, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. Affiliated with the Disney Vacation Club, Aulani was the third Disney "stand-alone" hotel that is located in an area without any adjacent theme park. The others are Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort and Disney's Vero Beach Resort. The word Aulani in Hawaiian can be loosely translated as "the place that speaks for the great ones" or "with deep messages". When the word is used as a name, it can mean "message from the chief". The 21 acre Aulani opened to guests on August 29, 2011 with 359 hotel rooms and 460 time-share villas. A November 2018 report stated that at that time, there were 351 rooms (in two 15-story towers), including 16 suites and 481 villas, most being "2-bedroom-equivalent". An October 2018 review specified that there were three restaurants with seating (Makahiki, Ulu Cafe and 'AMA'AMA, ) and some smaller outlets serving snacks such as the Off the Hook poolside lounge. Announced in October 2007, Disney unveiled the resort's name in January 2010. The project was estimated to cost $800 million and eventually generate about 1,000 jobs at the resort. The project was managed by Disney Vice-President Djuan Rivers and designed by Joe Rohde of Walt Disney Imagineering. The resort began timeshare sales on July 15, 2010, and began taking room reservations in August 2010. On August 12, 2011, Disney suspended Aulani timeshare sales indefinitely and fired three executives, including Disney Vacation Club president Jim Lewis, after senior management realized the annual dues had been set too low to cover maintenance costs. Timeshare sales were subsequently re-started although an October 2018 review was unable to exactly determine the total number of sales since 2010 due to gaps in published information. In March 2019, the resort was named "Best Hotels/Accommodations Luxury Accommodations" in the 2019 aio Media Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Awards.