Wailea Grand Luau at Honuaula

Been to other Luaus on Maui and Kauai and this show was a little underwhelming compared to those. for a hotel of this caliber and this grandiose I expected a Vegas level show… the stage is too low and can’t see exactly what performers are doing, the stage lights and sound system are that of a junior high Christmas pageant, and minimal fire performance. The food was good and the service/​wait staff were great along with the drink service. this was my parents 50^th wedding anniversary and we had 26 family members in attendance and I was hoping for a little more for $ 100 each and over 700 people in attendance.

Nasty bird standing in the food and poor customer service.
My parents arrived at 3:45pm for the 5:00pm opening just to be sure to get a good spot in line. Unfortunately, no one explained to them that they were waiting in the wrong location for over an hour.
The resolution from the hostess: back of the enormous line and miss family photos. I was upset simply by my the disappointment that my mom and dad felt.
I will say that the food was good but the poor customer service ruined the experience for the family.

We rolled the dice after reading other reviews and purchased ticket vouchers through Costco. Reservations were easily made via phone.
We showed up to check in early and it was a easy process.
Unfortunately, other than the show itself, it was all downhill from there.
The photographer took a souvenir photo for us that was of very poor quality with several other people in the photo that were not supposed to be in it.
We were sat at the wrong table which was irritating since we already had our first round of beverages.
I understand we were outdoors but the bug infestation was nasty and made it difficult to eat or drink.
The food was the worst of any luau we have been to and we have been to several. The alcoholic drinks were gross and we didn’t bother due to the poor quality. Our waiter forgot drink orders and acted like he did not want to be there.
The opening host tried but could not hype anyone to save her life.
The saving grace was the show was of decent quality and the host was energetic and passionate. We won’t return.

My first and last stay at the not so grand hotel.
My sister and I left the hotel for a visit with family who live in Maui. We returned to the hotel expecting our room cleane, fresh towels, bed made up. $ 550 per night and to my surprise the hotel front desk attendant tells me that I have to request this service.
Your loss. Never again. I feel bad for the housekeepers. They lose on what may have been a well deserved tip.
Oh, some of my friends also stayed at the same hotel as us and at the same time. Guess what? They got room service and did not have to ask. The only happy guests must be the birds who swoop down and stole food off your plate when you are not looking. Yucky. Nasty. They should hire bird bouncers, especially at the buffet where birds enjoy eating off the serving utensils. Yucky. Never ever again will we stay there. Four Seasons, we will give you a try next. Tony W.

If considering this Luau I strongly advise you read this.
This is the worst Luau I’ve ever been to in my life and I’ve been to many. I would rarely take the time to write a review but this place was That Bad. Please do not waste your time or your money. See the below:
1) Over priced: The ticket costs are 4 star plus but what they provide is 1 star. Only beers they had were coors and coors light? Liquor was below well standards. I believe the servers were even embarrassed.
2) Food: Terrible… they didn’t even have any white meat in their chicken option. Just dark. Very dingy buffet with limited options. Seemed like one of those low cost all you can eat chain buffets but they at least have more options. Not a $ 100 a ticket buffet.
3) Kids: BTW, they charge for very small kids BUT they don’t have a kids buffer. I have two daughters under 3 and we paid around $ 60 each but don’t assume they have any kids buffet for that additional cost. They expect them to eat the adult food which in my mind is practically criminal. Charging for kids but not providing a kids buffet for them with food they can eat ??? Mac n Cheese people, pasta, white meat chicken, and fresh fruit!!! It’s cheap people and the $ 60 each should pay for something!
4) Show: Don’t get me started. Not bad for your local community center summer luau but not much better.
Overall, this Luau banks on it’s location and is a complete rip off. Go to the westin where they offer local micro brews, are proud of the food they serve their guests, and a show that will Wow you. Any if anyone from the Grand Wailea is reading this you should be completely embarrassed to have this show on your property. This luau is banking on your name and reputation and in my mind is damaging it. From how poor this luau is I have to assume you are just renting them the space since I’m sure you’d take more pride in what you provide your guests.

I recommend making sure you keep a close watch on the weather, because if it does happen to rain, the luau will be moved indoors to the ballroom.
What does an indoor luau feel like? Well… it’s a cross between a work convention and crappy wedding ceremony. We were hoping for a refund or at least the option to move to another day, but no luck.
The food was mediocre at best. The roasted Costco pulled pork lacked flavor, but the chow fun noodles and canned Dole pineapple chunks was pretty authentic. How about that grocery store guava cake? Legit too.
For nearly 100 bucks, you get a decent show, crappy food, and instant regret.

Worth every dime! I would go again if I was an atm machine lol. Our family enjoyed the buffet and the performace. Our server was so cool he kept on bringing us drinks every 20 minutes for two hours! This is the best Luau in the west side of Maui:)

It’s ok but I’ve been to better ones before. They take to long to start and the food was mediocre at best. Also, it was hot as heck outside and it wasn’t very pleasant to watch and eat.

We really enjoyed this Luau. The dancing and singing and music was awesome. My family really liked the guy making souvenirs out of palm tree leaves. Great luau! We’re really happy we went to this one.

Went to the Christmas Eve Luau with my family. While the grounds are beautiful at sunset, overall the experience was not worth the $ 80 we paid per person. The drinks were watery, none of the food stood out, show was average except for the fire dancers and live band. Flower leis are an additional $ 10. Your $ 80 are better spent elsewhere.
There’s also a lot of waiting involved making this a 4+ hour event. You must first arrive before 4PM for table assignments.
We arrived at 3:50PM and ended up with tables in the middle, so get there early. Next you must line up to get into the Luau where doors open at 5. You select seats then so if you have a small group and are not the first party at your table, you may end up with seats that do not face the stage –not a huge deal since you can see the sunset but for $ 80 I’d like to at least have a good view of the stage. For some reason they didn’t have the pig roasting ceremony the night we went so that was also a bit disappointing. You then have to wait for your table to be called for the dinner buffet. Food was average, good variety but nothing tasted amazing.
Overall a very average experience. If given the choice I would not come back.

We booked through
and got an e-​ticket for $ 79.99 which is significantly less than the prices that you can get on line or in person. Online other places are offering discount tickets for $ 98.
We got there at 3:50 to line up and get assigned our table. There were about 10 people ahead of us and we got a table in the center on the third row. The first two rows are VIP. In my opinion there is no need to upgrade to a VIP table for any show, even if it is full. We saw and heard everything and the tables in the rows behind us were able to see everything just as well as we were. There were about five tables in the VIP rows that were completely empty.
We went back at 5:00 to get our seats at the table. Seats are first come first serve at 5:00.
We had to get an obligatory picture with the hula dancers. It was actually a very nice photo! We almost bought one for $ 25. The bar opened at 4:58 pm and there was a line but it went very fast. I never waited more than 5 minutes for a drink the entire night. The bartenders were nice and made Maitais, Blue Hawains, and pina coladas. They had beer and red and white wine as well. The drinks were very good and the shots were generous.
The buffet opened at 6:00 after the uncovering of the pig ceremony. The pig they uncovered at the ceremony is not the one you eat. It has to go back to the kitchen and be cooked a little more to ensure it is properly cooked for safety health reasons.
The buffet was adequate but not overly exciting. About six different salads, papaya salad, macaroni salad, green leafy salad, cucumber and tomato salad /​bruschetta.
For hot food there was rice, Chinese flat noodles with water chestnuts and a few other veggies. For meat there was puller pork, basted steaks (strange) and fresh fish. They said the buffet would stay open until 7:00 but they had it open until 7:20 and then took it down. No need to hurry and many people went back for thirds.
For desert there was pineapple cake, brownies, guava mousse cake, coconut cake and something Hawaiian that looked like white lard pressed.
A band played throughout the evening and they were good and sometimes funny.
There was some hula dancing before the show and the obligatory hula lesson.
The show started shortly after 7:00 and finished right at 8:00 with the fire dancer guy. There was also the Cirque d’Solei rip off aerialist doing silk work. The show was OK and interesting. I guess it is something you need to do.
Is it worth $ 100? In my opinion not really. But I would not pay $ 100 for any luau.
Is it worth $ 79.99 maybe. We enjoyed ourselves and got three hours of eating, drinking and entertainment so I guess that is not too bad. I don’t know if I would go to another luau again, or if I did it would not be for a year or two. But if you have never been you should go and this one through Costco is a good value.

Purchased two premium tickets for $ 115 each while staying at the Grand Wilea resort provided that attending a Luau seemed like a must while visiting Hawaii. This proved to be a mistake.
Overall, the experience was mixed at best. The food and drinks were on the low-​end which was very disappointing for Waldorf Astoria resort. Please be aware this is not the same quality food and drinks served at the restaurants and bars in the hotel. It seems like in an effort to maximize profit they have squeezed every penny out of the food and beverages. The pulled pork was tasteless and dry, the stakes completely overcooked and impossible to cut and the macadamia-​crusted mahimahi was rubbery and stinky. Very disappointing.
The performance side of the Luau was OK. The traditional dancing was fun to watch and entertaining. The climax of the show is the fireman’s performance which was the only thing that stood out and exceeded our expectations. The scenery and location of the Luau is outstanding. You can never go wrong with oceanside dinning and entertainment, especially while watching the sun set.
Overall, it seems like they know customers will only visit the show once hence they’ve squeezed out everything they can out of it. After the dinner the host asked the crowd what they though about the food and beverages and it was dead silence! It was pretty embarrassing.
I do not plan to attend this show again in the future. My recommendation to future visitors would be to spend the money elsewhere provided there are plenty higher value activities on the island.

We picked this place due to the deal that Costco was offering, however I’ve been to many luaus and this one is ranked at the bottom of my list. We came early for check-​in which was @ 4:30 pm due to the long lines however once you are checked in they kind of leave you hanging with no early entertainment till 5:30 pm which sucks cuz everyone is lounging around just waiting. They did have vendors selling jewelry at an outrageous prices and some early entertainment and people doing activities but you had to pay which sucked ass. Most luaus have them for free.
Now on the show it was OK but lack enthusiasm in the show.
Best part was open bar and food. The food was pretty good and way better then previous luaus I have been too. So A+ for the open bar and food. Other than it was just an OK luau.

With all the bad reviews, we were skeptical, but we had a great time and enjoyed ourselves.
Tips:
Don’t pay for premium seating, it doesn’t matter that much, just arrive early and tell them it is your birthday or honeymoon or anniversary and they will give you a good seat (or tip them) right behind the «premium» seats. And the food doesn’t run out, so eating first isn’t that big of a deal.
Tip the bartenders right away and ask for doubles as the drinks are so watered down and sugary (they premake dozens of them, and the ice is just melting), so establish a good relationship with them directly, skip the servers, get up off your lazy bum and go to the bar to get better drinks.
Don’t get suckered into buying trinkets if you are bored, they are a huge premium compared to the shops around the island.
Buy from Costco or you are wasting money.
Pros:
1. Food was okay, it isn’t 5 star food, it is buffet food for a ton of people, so don’t go in with high hopes, just enjoy yourself. Drink your money’s worth.
2. Service was decent enough, they work hard, so tip them.
3. Dancing is great, they go faster than traditional hula obviously (or tourists would be bored out of their minds) and the fire show was good
Cons:
1. All the waiting, you have to show up early, to get a ticket, to wait again in the line to get a seat. Luckily it is Maui and beautiful and you can go to the beach or grab a drink at Humuhumunukunukuapuaa while you wait.
2. It goes pretty fast, you get in, you get drinks, you get food, you get dancing, you are done. Enjoy it.
3. Sun sets right in your eyes if you don’t face the stage, so get in early to get the best seats at the table they sit you at, and bring sunglasses, a hat, whatever, and wear sunscreen since you get roasted.

It was ok. My husband and I were really disappointed in the food. We paid $ 79.99 from Costco. Others at our table paid $ 100+. (Go to Costco!!!)
They take your photo at the beginning $ 25
I’ve had better food at buffets. My favorite was the macaroni salad.
The entertainment was good. Fire man was my favorite.
But the overall experience wasn’t the greatest. Unilocal reviewers misled us! Lol to each his own I suppose.
******also*****
Do not buy things there! (purses, necklaces etc) they have a CRAFT FAIR in Kihel (just ask don’t know how to spell) great prices for sovenirs!!! Cute stuff!!! ;)
@gain if you go to this Luau have fun! Just wasn’t something we’d do again.

We originally booked what we thought was a Luau at another hotel but learned that it was just a dinner show. After researching Luaus we found that The Grand Luau at Honua’ula in the Grand Wailea Resort is a true Luau in every sense of the word. We were staying at the Grand Wailea so it couldn’t have been easier but the majority of the other guests came from all over the island. I learned from them that valet parking is very easy. We walked over to the beautiful grounds and had a great experience. We loved the food and our 10 and 13 year olds did also. Open bar with great Mai Tais. Service was excellent with one glitch. Three buffet lines were set up but after one round they took down two and I didn’t see the third was still up. I’ll usually visit the buffet at least twice because my plate just isn’t big enough. LOL. So I was still hungry and thought the buffet was closed. I happily ate dessert (nothing special here) but was still hungry. My wife came back from taking a photo of the sunset and found the third buffet in the back still open. My daughter and I quickly walked back to find a full buffet line still open and well stocked.
Fantastic show and the fire guy is amazing! Just a little arrogant. Don’t make me clap three times and keep prodding us for more. But it really was a great show.
They took great photos of every family when we walked in so at the end my wife had to buy it. Another couple of bucks spent here.
Finally here are my tips to make this a five star experience:
#1
Only one person from your group should get there right at 4pm or earlier to be one of the first in line for table assignment. In line at 3:45pm would be perfect. Very important. If you can do this then definitely don’t spend the extra money on the preferred seating. I did it and we got the second row of tables and center right in front of the stage. Great view! So I’m clear, this line is for table assignment and does not get you an exact seat at the table. Each round table has ten seats. They really only want one person from your group waiting in this line to keep it from getting huge.
The lu’au grounds open at 5:00 p.m. If you have checked in and have your wrist bands on, you can either wait in line to enter or return after 5:10 p.m. when the line is likely gone. The only reason one would want to wait is to get the best seat at the table. I did not wait and we showed up around 5:15pm. Everyone else at our table already claimed seats facing the stage so our backs were away from the stage. We learned that it didn’t matter because the show doesn’t start till after dinner. We just turned our seats around to face the stage and had a perfect unobstructed view.
#2
So if you are staying at the Grand Wailea or the Four Seasons right next door, daddys stand in the table assignment line like I did and let your girls take their time in the room and get ready. If you are coming from somewhere else be sure to walk around the Grand Wailea grounds and explore. They are beautiful! Bring some bread or cheerios to feed the Koi in the numerous ponds.
#3
The rear buffet stays open the entire time! Don’t go hungry men! They have a ton of food and the steak is actually excellent!
Lastly, I probably should have knocked off one star for the mediocre dessert but the great show made up for it. And including the photo at the end would be a nice bonus.

The only problem with this luau is the check in logistically it’s a mess which is clearly expressed in the many negative reviews but once the show starts you forget the aggravation.
TIPS
You do not need to show up at the suggested 4pm check-​in. We saw people show up at 4:45 and checked in with no problem.
Don’t wait in the after check in line you will pass out from heat stroke. Find a shady area and relax you’re seats are already assigned so you won’t miss out.

I attended the Grand Luau at Wailea with a group of nine. We all had such an amazing time! The Grand Wailea resort is gorgeous! The landscaping, gardens and pools are elaborately decorated and beautifully designed!
One of the best parts of the Luau, which we did not realize until about ¹⁄₃ of the way in– Open bar! The bartenders were great at making the drinks quickly enough and preventing long lines from accumulating. I recommend the Blue Hawaiian drink! They also had artists selling jewelry and art at the side of the Luau. My mom and I found some Christmas ornaments that we liked.
They offer the pig roast display and the island «prayer to the pig.» I was happy that they offered it to people who wanted to see it, but kept it far away from people who did not want to see it. I sat that one out.
The food at the buffet was pretty good! I could not believe how many choices there were. Some dishes were better than others. I especially enjoyed the chicken, veggies, salmon, rice and side salads. I wasn’t very impressed by any of the desserts.
The setting of the Luau is breathtaking. The sun sets on the beach during the Luau. The Luau transforms from a sunny island party into an enjoyable dinner show. Right before the show, the Luau hosts invite volunteers on stage to learn some hula moves. My sister and her boyfriend went up. It was so fun to watch. The instructors promoted a fun and relaxed atmosphere.
My whole party absolutely loved the dinner show. The premium seating was worth paying extra for. We had an excellent view of the show. The live music was beautiful and fascinating. We were especially impressed by the hula dancers and the woman who did acrobatics in the tree. The fire dancers were incredible! I was truly in awe of their talent. They were definitely the best part of the show.
I think that everybody should attend a Luau while in Hawaii! We all left the party in an excellent mood– and it’s not just because we had unlimited drinks.
Tip: Do not be discouraged at the beginning with the frustrating check in process. The lines are very long and annoying, especially if it is a hot day. I promise that you will feel relaxed once the sun sets and you are enjoying a cocktail and the dinner show.

You can’t visit Hawaii without attending a luau! I think it actually might be a crime punishable by banishment to Minnesota in the winter.
I’ve been to luaus elsewhere and this one was great. My kids got «tattoos» and played a sort of rock bowling game. They got to see a huge pig pulled from the ground and drank countless Shirley Temples (I have boys so I called it Spider Man juice). And by far their favorite thing was the fire dancer.
As for me, I loved the band and really enjoyed the food. Lots of veggies to go with all the meat and seafood. The open bar is awesome, too.
Tickets are $ 105 for adults, $ 56 for kids 6 – 12, and it’s free for kids 5 and under. Buy your discounted tickets at Costco.
My one suggestion would be to beef up those male dancers. This isn’t something I would normally even notice but it was a painfully obvious condition which afflicted 3 out of 4 of them. Feed them some of that pork!

Great luau! Open bar, buffet (both dinner/​main course and dessert) and a luau with optional lessons. Seems great for kids
The downside of the open bar is you get one shot per drink which I’m sure have extremely high calorie content.
Advice: show up early for entry (not table registration)! They make it seem like the earlier you show up to check in, the better of a seat you get. In reality they already have that figured out. The more important part is getting there early to the entrance so you’re not stuck in line.