Laniwai Spa Review

During my stay at Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa, in Ko Olina, Hawaii, I visited the Laniwai Spa. Laniwai means fresh water heaven and the experience is as luxurious as the name sounds.

I had scheduled a couples massage called the Honihoni “Sealed with a kiss” duet lomoilomi massage for my husband and I for the first morning of our stay. Our appointment was at 10am and we were allowed to arrive 45 minutes in advance to use the spa amenities.

Upon arrival and check in, we were greeted by a spa staff member to begin our tour of the facility. After receiving a refreshing glass of pineapple infused water, we each closed our eyes and picked a stone out of a basket. Each stone had a word on it that was to be our mantra for our time at Laniwai. Mine was “strength” and my husband’s was “happiness”. With stones in hand, we continued down the hallway to a pool were we made a wish and tossed our stones in.

We were then guided around the spa, shown the change room areas (featuring super comfortable spa robes and sandals for our use), the couple’s relaxation room, and then outside to the spa deck. The spa deck featured fresh water pools, a cold water tub, a reflexology path, and rain showers. We also got to pick between two unique body scrubs to take home with us. After changing, we relaxed on the deck and took advantage of the men’s and women’s sauna and steam rooms until an attendant came to get us 10 minutes before our appointment time to get ready. Once ready, we went to the relaxation room to hang out until our masseurs came to get us.

The massage itself was amazing! Very relaxing and unique from any massage I have ever had. We got to pick our aromatherapy lotion and the music in the room (the choices were Laniwai Spa music, birds, or ocean sounds). Our masseurs were very good and tailored the massage to each of our needs. They also used heating pads and eye covers to really pull any last ounce of stress from us. It was an hour-long massage and when it was over we were given more fresh water and kumquat treats created especially for Laniwai.

Even though our treatment was over, we were in no hurry to rush out! We went back and enjoyed the relaxation room and the snacks it offered (fresh fruit, mini muffins, cookies, and more fruit infused water).

If it weren’t for the fact that it was getting close to lunchtime and we were getting hungry for an actual meal, we might have spent the whole day there! The staff attendants were very nice and helpful and even offered choices of hot tea to take with you.

Upon check out, we were asked what our words on the stones we picked were. Once we said them, we were given each bath salts with the words written on them as a parting gift.

Laniwai Spa was a great way to start off our honeymoon! It was worth every penny and I hope to go back there in the future.