New Year's Eve in Maui
 

We will be in Wailea for New Year's Eve 2005.
Any suggestions as to what to do? Special parties or ?
Haven't been able to find anything on 'calendar of events' for Maui.
Thanks in advance.

Fireworks at Maui Prince and Kea Lani is the big event in Wailea on NYE. All of the clubs and most of the restaurants will do something special, ranging from parties to special fix fixe menus, just like the places in your home town do. I usually end up at Mulligan's. They have a cover charge, shuttle buses so you don't have to drive, live music, and the place gets packed early. For more subdued action you might check out some of the hotels. It's a bit early to be making plans.

ttt

It is probably too early right now but you can check out calendarmaui.com as the date nears.

Okay, I need advice on this also - - not it isn't too "close" to the date to make reservations, is it?

Special NYE Luau choices? or New Year's night?

Thanks in advance for any new sugegstions.

Best wishes,

Rex Bickers
Floyds Knobs, Indiana
(from the Europe forum)

It's certainly not too early to make reservations for the Old Lahaina Luau - which is excellent - in fact, it may be too late. I would consider dinner at Nick's in the Kea Lani either before or after their fireworks and do the luau another night. It's certainly not too early for dinner reservations.

It is indeed too late for Old Lahaina Luau (might try their waitlist option - - too early in the day today); other suggestions? Luau on the Big Island instead? (JAN 2/3/4/5)

ttt...

More specific question: given the comments on fireworks at the Maui Prince, can anyone offer comments on their luau - - also known as "Drums of Makena"?

This review on tripadvisor.com - - http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...0782.cink_html gave a (rather unfair?) rating of 1 star out of five - - but reading it sounds like a big whiner wrote it. Any one else with similar or differenr opinions?

As we are only arriving on Dec 31 (Saturday), we might be better off with a January 1 choice (Sunday) - - which seems to mean slim pickings. There is no luau at Kea Lani on Sundays. They referred us to Feat at Lele. I understand that it is "pan-Pacific" and not strictly "Hawaiian" (as if one is inherently better than another?)

This recent post on Lele sounds encouraging - - http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34717590 - - any comparisons to Drums of the Pacific at the Hyatt?

Pan-polynesian or pan-pacific often includes high energy Tahitian dances, fire-dancers, etc. whereas Hawaiian luaus focus more on the history and presentation of hula. The Feast at Lele gets excellent reviews. My understanding is that they bring the food to your table and serve you rather than going through a buffet line as in most luaus like OLL. I've heard nothing about the luau at the Maui Prince. "Drums" at the Hyatt gets more mixed reviews than Feast at Lele.

thanks... we're still having more trouble deciding (than makes sense... than i would have anticipated)...

Some feedback/follow-up... keeping in mind that I am jaded...

We ended up choosing the Feast at Lele. All things considered, I rate it no better than "fair", when viewed as dining or entertainment... considering the price of $100 (I think it was... seems steep to me - - and of course, hard not to feel compelled to leave at least some civilized trip).

No specific flaws. The food is competent, and certainly has to be priced accordingly, since there are five "courses" of three dishes each (all small servings, though some are more than a few bites). And the entertainment was never boring or incompetent - - just didn't excite us all that much either.

If we hadn't done it, no doubt we would have wondered what we were missing - - lots of things about this trip were expensive; we knew that going in, we were prepared to pay the piper, and several factors made it more affordable for us (FF miles fo BizClass seats, and good portion paid by an employer of mine from available continuing education budget I receive, since I went to a meeting half days, three of the seven days).

Still, I cannot rate this as "excellent" in quality or value.

In the spirit of not sounding too much like a curmudgeon, I rate the following:

Best meal: La Bourgogne in Kona - - serious good French food with a very good St. Estephe (Bordeaux); not 100% the most enticing French ambience atmosphere I have ever experienced, but still, very, very good. About $140 with one dessert (chocolate Grand Marnier soufflé!), the $50 wine and tip.

Best entertainment expenditure: Snorkel trip to "Captain Cook" (Kealakekua Bay) - - with SNUBA for an extra $59. The snorkel alone would have been a B-/C+ value, but the SNUBA was phenomenally cool. SCUBA two days later (shore dive) seemed a bit harder, and less a good value... if I had it to do over, I think I might have simply gone for SNUBA a second time!

Runner-up entertainment value: simple snorkel, right at our hotel (the Fairmnont Orchid)... $10 for the two of us. I was surprised at the number and diversity of marine life we saw, including the only turtle I saw. For the low price, and the ability to do it directly from our room, it was probably the best $10 we spent all week. also very good value - - walking the length of Waikiki beach... free.

Likewise, Pearl Harbor museum/bookstore (free), if you choose not to go out to the Arizona itself.

Another good dining experience: Ted and Adam: The Place at Ma'alaea (see separate posting) - - for decent food at a satisfactory New Year's Eve price, but especially for superior service and live music.

Not really all that great entertainment bargain: the deluxe, "two hour" helicopter Big Island tour from Kona, over Kilauea, the entire north coast, Hilo, the valleys and waterfalls - - you name it... an experience I would not have missed (I would have surely wondered for years what did I go all the Hawaii for... and miss...) - - but even so, at $385 a person, just really not worth the price, IMO, unless you're a lot wealthier than I am. And once again, we felt like some kind of tip was kinda/sorta expected. Others weigh in on this? I handed him $40. Oh my god, I "tipped the pilot"!

Other experiences, for perspective:

Breakfast at the beach, Waikiki, at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider... overpriced, but still, for what it cost, very, very good.

Dinner at Bubba Gumo Shrimp Company, Kona - - campy, but an excellent setting, and the food was good-to-excellent. Be careful you don't get sucked into spending more on $10 drinks than your dinner (we did not). Cute shopping crap there, if it would suit someone in your family.friends (we did x 1).

Scuba with Big Island Ocean Tours, Kona - - a lot to pay, but you have toi start somewhere, huh? $129 per person, and once again, the ubiquitous tip dilemma.

$1.50 per local or toll-free telephone call from our room at the Orchid. Hard not to resent, from a place that is grossing at least $100 million a year.

Thanks to all who helped us make decisions on this trip.