Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Oahu: Aulani Resort

Have you ever felt like you were actually on a movie set? The ocean, the food, the atmosphere felt worthy of an epic love story filmed by a renowned movie producer on his best day. I mean it!

My friends suggested we have an early dinner at the oceanfront restaurant 'AMA 'AMA (within the spectacular Disney resort, Aulani (www.http://resorts.disney.go.com/aulani-hawaii-resort/dining/table-service/ama-ama-beach-restaurant/) so that we could watch the sun set over the Pacific during dinner. Sounds good to me!

The Aulani resort just opened in September 2011, so it is brand new and absolutely gorgeous. The resort theme tries to capture the spirit of Hawaiian culture through art, music, food and design and I think they did a beautiful job. The scale of the resort is grand, but the atmosphere remains distinctly calming.

After a lovely dinner (you can see my salad course of Heirloom tomatoes, Buratta cheese and a white corn vinaigrette below) at a table close to the ocean, we wandered up to the open air lobby to visit the gift shop (would you believe a Aulani-specific Dooney & Bourke purse?) and take a look around.

In this second floor lobby, there are alcoves and balconies where you can sit and listen to live Hawaiian music waft up from the patio below. I'm not sure my blood pressure could go any lower - it was lovely.

Is the Aulani a "must visit" site on your delightful tour of Oahu? Absolutely.

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