Yeah oops - I just realized that as I printed off the charts just above lol. I know have 4 pages printed off with Phases 1 through 3. But how do I know which rooms are the best - that's what I'm trying to figure out. I was able to do that easily with the VGC. This seems way more complicated!
VGC has only 48 vacation homes but Aulani has 459 vacation homes. So its not surprising that its a wee bit harder to get a feel for Aulani if you have yet to see it in person.
Its difficult to say which villas are the best because that is so very subjective. Am I right in assuming you are booking a Pool View one-bedroom? If so, please know that all Pool View villas face Aulani's Waikolohe Valley, which is the name for Aulani's main pool and lazy river.
Pool view villas are on floors 1 to 5. Some people request a high floor in hopes that they'll be able to catch a glimpse of the ocean. Some people prefer the first floor because the villas have patios rather than balconies which allows them to step directly out to the Waikolohe Valley from their villas. Conversely, some people don't want the 1st floor because they want to have balcony.
The pool view villas are in the Waianae Building, the Ewa Building Phase 1 (closest to lobby), and the Ewa Building Long Wing. In my opinion, Aulani is very well laid out and its easy to get about the resort; thus, it doesn't really matter where your villa is located.
So far the Aulani Villas and Views thread has photos for only seven pool view one-bedroom villas. However, each one-bedroom villa has a studio attached to it, so you should look at the pool view studio photos as well to get a feel for what the view is like from that general area.
We were in villa #304, a pool view studio located in the Waianae Building. We were near the Menehume wayer play area and we could see the main pool and the Rainbow Reef from our balcony. Here are a couple of photos of the view from our villa.
Looking across the Waikolohe Valley toward the Ewa Building. The Ewa Building Phase 1 is to the far left and the Ewa Building Long Wing is directly in center:
Looking to the right from our balcony. The main pool is in the background and the Rainbow Reef snorkle area is nearer the camera:
Hope this info helps.