OK, guily pleasure admission. This kama`aina likes to play "tourist" from time to time. And, I'm not talking about the tradition at the school Slippahs and I attended of holding "Tourist Day" (which is when you dress up like tourists). No, I mean doing all of the events targeted to visitors.

I've taken guests to Paradise Cove a few times, the most recent as last Friday. I'll try and give an overall review.

Yes, it is touristy. No doubt. But, in a way that diminishes the Hawaiian culture? Not to me. I enjoyed walking around and seeing all of the displays and demonstrations. I must have missed the requests for tips, but it also likely that they knew I was a local, and, therefore, had no money for tips

Food/Drinks - Last week, we hung out at the poolside bar at the J.W. Marriott at Ihilani before heading over to the lu`au and had a few "real" mai tais. In comparison, the ones at Paradise Cove had no alcohol at all!

For this last visit, we were given the top-of-the-line package, with everything included. Our dinner was served, and included additional servings of grilled steak and lobster tail. While the steak was a bit salty and not a prime cut of beef, we found the rest of the food to be of decent quality. Our server was very good about providing us with drink refills and additional servings.

Show - We were seated in the cabana across from the stage and the outdoor seating for the other packages. Our party of four had a private table in the middle of the cabana with an unobstructed view of the stage. While it was further away from the stage, we found our view to be good and it was nice having a bit of shelter from the evening breeze. I enjoyed the performances of the musicians and dancers - they were all of very good quality. It was nice to see everyone there having a (seeming) good time.