No trip to Hawaii would be complete without a Luau … and this trip is no different.
Ginny and I went to see the Wailea Marriott’s Luau titled Honua’ula.
We’ve been to a number of luau’s in the past … some good, some not so good.
We’ve actually been to this Luau in the past … and it’s totally different than before. Much better and, in my opinion, one of the best we’ve been to.
It started out pretty traditionally … we checked in, got show to our table (we paid a little extra for the premium seating, which is in the front two rows), got our dinner tickets, and wandered around the grounds. There were a bunch of local vendors scattered around the grounds selling crafts. They were nice, but we decided not to buy anything.
We went back to our table and introduced ourselves to the people we would be sitting with. There were four other couples … one from Vancouver (escaping the Olympics), another from Utah, their friends who were local, and another couple who’s home base escapes me. It was quite a fun table … and more than a little raucous.
As usual, I had my camera with me … and got a few good shots. I probably annoyed people around me with my frequent popping up and heading over to the sea side to get a picture of the sunset, or some whales that were playing in the distance. This particular sunset was nice … and I think I caught a good image of it.
The food was standard fare for a Luau … chicken, Kalua pork (cooked in an imu), fish, steak, Poi, pokè, and plenty of Mai Tai’s & Pinà Colada’s. Tasty, but not extraordinary. They didn’t make a big deal about pulling the pig out of the imu, which I think is good (that bit actually freaked a little kid out at a previous Luau).
One of the main reasons I think this this luau was so good is the fact that they didn’t get bogged down with the more modern history of Hawaii … focusing on the more ancient stories, music, and dance. I don’t particularly like the Luau’s that turn into a ‘greatest hits’ revue. And I especially don’t like Luau’s that have religious overtones or say how great the missionaries were.
In general, the music, dancing, and imagery were all great … I highly recommend this Luau.
Of course it wasn’t entirely authentic … there were some Tahitian influences … including the fire dancer (pictured above). But I’m generally willing to forgive that kind of thing if the show is really good.
As a happy side note … we discovered that Mala Ocean Tavern opened up a location in the Wailea Marriott … so we made reservations for tonight (Friday, our last night).