Does anyone else dislike luaus?
 

I hate to be negative on the Hawaii board as I find Hawaii as close to paradise as I have ever seen, but I really dislike luaus and just want to pass along to fellow FT'ers that going to Hawaii and not attending a luau is a-ok.

I lived on Kauai for a summer 15 years ago when I was in college so I caught snippets of different ones on that island. Then when I went back with my fiancé and another couple last year, I told everyone in our group that I doubted we would like it. I did a ton of research before the trip and almost universally I heard that they are a ton of fun and we would enjoy it (even for two couples in their mid-thirties who are not the Disney-type). All the guidebooks, message boards and even friends recommended luaus. We went to Smith's Luau as we were told it was as authentic as they come and the least kitschy. We all universally found it to be a huge disappointment. From the food to the entertainment we universally disliked it all. We all felt it was probably good for the preteen Disney set (and their parents) in our opinions. I really did try hard to like it as well.

While my sample size is real small, I personally think any luau just wouldn't be our cup of tea. Maybe it wouldn't be yours either or maybe its just me.

Please do not take any offense, this is just something to think about.

(BTW - after being nudged not so lightly by my fiance, I gave in and went on the bridgeclimb in Sydney and afterwards we really felt like that was another pretty bad experience as well).

So maybe it is just us.

I think we've touched on this in other threads, but to locals, there are the lu`au that we attend as part of a social event (the most common is for a wedding, anniversary, or baby's first birthday) and there is the tourist pagent that comes with food and drink that is sold as a "lu`au".

Personally, I don't go to many of the latter, but as long as the Hawaiian culture is presented in a largely accurate and respectful manner, I don't object to them.

I don't post on this board much, having only been to Hawaii once (although I can't wait to return). We went to a luau while there, and it was pretty much what we expected - almost a Vegas-style show (which isn't our style either).

Mr. Kgsd and I still laugh at the narrator-guy who referred to some of the native peoples as "the Vikings of the sea." That's like calling someone "the Michael Jordan of basketball."

Yeah, i guess I was hoping for less vegas and people acting as if they were at the Old Country Buffet and more of a cultural experience. It was a big buffet with food and very little actual culture. What culture was presented was so obscured by the kitsch that I felt it was either sad or so over-the-top to be laughable (in a bit of a sad way).

Again, just my opinion.

I would like to see someone put together a true luau that is done family style, at the beach, exactly the way a traditional gathering would be done with locals in attendance and hula dancing performed by local amateur groups. The focus is on the experience and learning culture from knowledgable locals, not on surviving a giant buffet and flashy floor show.

it could start in late afternoon and include classes in lei making, hawaiian language, history and even an outrigger canoe experience.

I hate them - the food is awful, the forced frivolity, it's all just painful. Never ceases to amaze me that people still want to do these.

Here's one suggestion that might appeal to some of you: when you are on any of the islands (particularly the neighbor islands), check the newspaper for listings of church suppers, or hoike's usually (but not always) on a Sunday. These can be some of the most fun (and delicious) events and usually have music of some sort. They will be guaranteed not to be touristy.

I disliked everything about the luaus I've attended -- except the slow cooked pork. I'm no Hawaiian cultural historian, but I just can't believe that the typical luau bears much resemblance to any genuine Hawaiian ritual.

We went to the luau at Marriott Kaanapali last night. Been to Hawaii many many times, but never bothered to go to one. Went last night and it was pretty bad. The pork was stringy and dry, and I can't believe that the one pig they cooked in the hole fed the few hundred people there. The MC was a Don Ho knockoff who was so bad that I wondered if it was a parody. What a lush! Of course, nothing was authentic. My kids liked the fire dancer, I guess that's about it. Oh, I will say that one of the Hawaiian guys who came out and showed us how to husk and peel a coconut was pretty funny. We were told that the kids would be bored at the Old Lahaina Luau, so we chose the Marriott. Don't think we'll go to another again.

Went to Germaines Luau yesterday. Well I can say that I did it and will never go again. The pork was good but it was entirely too long and was on the cheesy side. Take your own car vs the bus if you drive so you can escape the torture sooner

Don't waste your money. Much better food can be found almost anywhere else. I hate being crammed together with a bunch of people who seem determined to get drunk. The entertainment can be ok, but a lot of the time, you can't really see that well. The first time we went, I thought maybe this is an anomaly. But the second, which was at the Marriott on Kauai was just as bad.

Absolutely horrible. Went under duress a couple years ago with my first-time-in-Hawaii pack of in-laws. They said, "You must go to these all the time." Actually, knowing I'd be forced into it made me not want to go to Hawaii with them! You'd think it would be a "clue" that we'd been all those times and avoided lu'aus. My husband devised an urgent appointment and left a day early and missed it, lucky him.

The 17 in-laws even lined up an hour ahead of time to get "good" seats. They couldn't understand why I didn't want to stand there with them. The show at the HWV was boring and silly except for the fire dancer (which they show on the hotel channel anyway). Food mediocre and I loathe being herded into lines for food. Didn't dare suggest a cheaper one in Kona because it would be impossible to get them all in and out of cars. And at least half of them admitted it was stupid afterwards.

I've never been to one and I'm not planning one for my upcoming trip (8 days and counting...), so I can't accurately say I dislike them. But the phrase used earlier - a Vegas-style show - is what I picture and it has very little appeal to me.

It's worse. Trust us.

As I used to say when I lived there, "Oh, no! Hawaiian food!" :D

All kinds of local food that is truly ono - but I never had any authentic Hawaiian food that was more than a step above dreadful. An acquired taste, I suppose.