Luau in Maui
 

We will be in Maui 10/10-17 and feel the need to experience a luau. We are looking for in-put on the Old Lahaina Luau and the Royal Lahaina Luau. We would like to here the good/ bad of either. Thanks

We attended the luau at the Renaissance Wailea Beach Resort and thought it was great. Right on the beach, a beautiful setting and great food. You don't have to be guests at the hotel to attend (you buy tickets). It would be worth checking out.

We went to Old Lahaina Luau and loved it. Great historical storytelling along with the dancing. Good food (authentic - dh was upset there was no bbq sauce for the roasted pig!). The dancers/servers were wonderful - very friendly. If you decide to go, make your reservations well ahead of time. We tried making ours a week in advance and were too late - luckily we got on a waiting list and someone else cancelled. I believe the earlier reservations get the best seats up front. Have fun!

The differences begin with the lei greeting. OLL is the only lu`au to offer real flower lei; RLL will give you shell lei.

The show at OLL is strictly Hawaiian and is a chronological look at the history of Hawai`i through hula, taking you from early migration through first contact, the missionary era, hapa haole days to today. The do not have a fire dancer as the show is strictly Hawaiian and fire dancing is Samoan. RLL is billed as a "Polynesian Revue". including Tahitian and Samoan dances. They do have fire knife dance.

The menus vary in the respect that OLL has more local foods items, fresh poke and pahole fern. RLL lu`au has American food items like chicken nuggets and mac & cheese, that might appeal to some keiki. Both have an open bar.

RLL charges extra for better seats, OLL is first booked, first served.

We were in Maui in July and went to the Feast at Lele We were greeted we with real flower leis. Each group is seated at their own table. The backdrop is the beach, with sunset right in front of you. The food was wonderful. Each course corresponded with each different island that was represented: Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, and New Zealand. It was a sit down dinner with drinks included, no buffet. The service and entertainment were wonderful. The only drawback would be the price, but we knew in advance what it was: $95/pp. And they do have a fire dancer!! I would highly recommend it. I don't remember the exact website, but you can "google" it. Early reservations are a necessity. Enjoy your trip to Hawaii.

wow, of all of them the Feast at Lele sounds the best, I have the Old Lahaina Luaua booked as everyone says its the best... but I like the idea of being served each clourse instead of buffet.. dont really think buffets are too appetizing....not to me anyway..
and fire dancers too....hmmm...

any more input on this Luau...and where in Maui is it??

I've lived in Hawaii all my life and tried the Old Lahaina Luau last February. I found the food authentic and entertainment enjoyable. It has the reputation of being the best.

We have been to both the Rennaisance Luau in Wailea and the Feast and Lele and enjoyed both. The Rennaissance was the more traditional buffet/show (with fire dancers) and with audience participation. We had a large party and the participation part was a hoot. Not too corny as others we have either attended or seen from "afar." The feast at Lele was much more like a fixed price meal at a restaurant (in this case openair oceanside) which included a show. Both food and show were excellent. I am not a big fan of buffets, though that is the norm for luaus, so I much preferred the Feast. Since you can get really good discounts at many of the luaus, but not, to my knowledge, at the Feast, I think it depends on what you want and how much money you want to spend. You are in Hawaii--you will love either!

I went to the Maui Marriot one before. Is it still good, I like it alot and will be staying at the Hyatt next door in Sept.

We loved the Old Lahania Luau, a had floor seats that we booked a year in advance. However, any of the seats/tables would have been fine.

Amelie-

Out of curiousity, how did your back hold up during the whole show? I'd prefer to sit on the floor, but I'm not sure if my back could take it for a couple of hours!

We recently went to the Old Lahaina Luau and really enjoyed it. We had floor seats and the cushions were very comfortable. My back was fine but my legs were a little cramped from sitting cross-legged.

The history was fascinating, the hulas were beautiful, the performers were friendly, beautiful and talented and the servers were wonderful.

The food was very good for buffet food...plentiful and tasty. We also enjoyed the crafts prior by the beach. We spoke with a number of the crafters and learned about some native crafts and cultural traditions as well.

If you are looking for authentic Hawaiian hula you want the Old Lahaina. OLL tells the history of Hawai`i through hula. Feast at Lele combines Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahitian and Tongan entertainment coordinated with food from each region. Fire knife dance is Samoan, not Hawaiian.

Tusion-

My back did ok! I have a bad back actually, and was worried about that too. If the show had been any longer though, I would have been uncomfortable. After seeing that the tables had just as good of views though, I'd do table seating.

If it's okay, I would like to piggy back on this thread. I have booked my Maui trip for next year and heard about the OLL. It sounds great but I have one minor problem. Can you tell me if they have any "kid friendly" food? I am not talking mac and cheese but something that you could reasonably expect kids 4-7 to eat?

DD is 8 and had a great meal there...really liked the food. There is plenty for kids to choose from pork to chicken to fish to beef to fresh fruits and veggies.

Go for the Old Lahaina Luau! It is the best and different from others. I have always liked the faster Tahitian dancing, but I did not even miss it because the Old Lahaina was an experience- not just a show. You can see a good "show" at Disney at the Polynesian! The Old Lahaina had something extra special.