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A Must-Skip Activity: Hilton Waikoloa Village Hotel Luau

 Luau; Big Island; Hilton Waikoloa Village Hotel

My dear polite travelers,

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

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