Beware, this post is
particularly negative and before Covid.
For
our Big Island vacation, we decided to attend the Hilton’s luau. Imagining the music, dancing, roast
pork...um...I’m in heaven. A bright-eyed
salesperson informed us that for a few (quite a few) extra bucks we could sit
up front, have our own personal attendant, and unlimited drinks. Sounds like a great deal, right? Well, not so great when rain comes to
visit.
Rain is a problem? I’ve
heard tents are great for this.
It
rained the night of the luau, so it was forced, with the rest of us dupes,
inside. As promised, we did sit right upfront. But that wasn’t an issue in such
a small room with roughly 60 attendees.
Our
personal attendant served us, even though the buffet line was a mere 10 steps away. The servings were small, and the meal was
less than spectacular. As if that wasn’t
disappointing enough, there were amazing desserts set next to our table that
weren’t offered to us. And our unlimited
drinks?? They were slow in coming, so we
didn’t benefit from the extra expense.
But the show is great.
Right?
The
show was mediocre, probably because of the makeshift stage that creaked and
wobbled as the dancers moved—very tenuous.
But the worst part of this tragic tale is that the show—and our very
expensive no-better-than-your-average-buffet-restaurant meal—was
cut especially short, abruptly short.
Out
of nowhere, we were told that the show was over.
Our personal attendant, somewhat rudely, informed us that it was
time to leave. Uh-huh. So much for our bottomless glasses of wine. Ushered out quickly, they failed to inform
any of us that the fire dancers would perform outside. We were fortunate to find them
mid-dance. But many of our fellow dupes
missed it entirely.
My Two Cents
I
strongly advise against shelling out any amount of money for a luau at
the Hilton Waikoloa Village Hotel and I would never again pay up for the
chance of being treated like royalty (the exact language of those who quickly
snatched our cash for this travesty).
For
me, it was a waste of money and time. I
would much rather have read about the culture and then sat outside with a nice
bottle of wine to watch the sunset.
More
by The Polite Traveler
My Trip to
the Big Island and Stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village Hotel
Taking a Side
Trip Up North on The Big Island Hawaii
How to Dine
Cheaply When at the Hilton Waikoloa Village Hotel
Comments
Post a Comment