The Old Lahaina Luau is set right along the beach and is set up beautifully. The staff are very friendly and fun! The show is entertaining and is great for your first night in Maui. The food is okay, but I AM a picky eater so I'm not sure that you can trust my opinion. Either way, it is worth it!

Every tourist that sets foot in Hawaii should have a luau experience. Ours was the Old Lahaina Luau in Lahaina, about a 5-minute drive from the Sheraton Hotel in Kaanapali, which was recommended to us by our travel agent.

After spending 15 minutes in search of a parking space (we ended up across the street in a dirt lot) we were greeted with a drink (your choice of mai tai or juice), a lei, and a jovial staff. ("The drinks are free, and so are the men", I’m told. Woo hoo! I’m never leaving!)

The $80 ticket price includes your choice of seating (traditional ground seating, which is closer to the stage but hard on the butt, and table seating, which is still hard on the butt but more civilized), all-you-can-drink and a Hawaiian buffet dinner, plus the show. The show itself is worth the price of admission, as the performers are awesome at what they do.

Good thing, because if you paid that price for just the food, you’d be a bit disappointed. But then, I’m not much of a buffet person - it’s hard to cook that much food for that many people and do it well. The menu included the pig (make sure to watch the ceremony where they did it up from the pit where it’s been cooking all day). Mahi-mahi, Tahitian chicken, steak, and of course, you have to try the poi. (bleck).

The drinks are good though – and I’d recommend the lava flow, which is essentially a pina colada with strawberry syrup. There are servers assigned to your table to make sure you feel welcome, that your drinks are plentiful and your plates are cleared. He also brings you the best part of the meal – the dessert (or as our server called them, our "Scooby Snacks").

The show is essentially a hula history of Hawaii. The costumes are colorful and bright, the performers enthusiastic and the whole production highly entertaining. The women especially loved the all-male ‘shake your booty’ dance. The hula dancers were awesome – how can they shake their hips like that? The show lasts about an hour, and the performers loiter around afterward to accept the many compliments and take pictures with the guests.

It’s touristy, but it’s fun. Everybody loves a hukilau! Don’t expect to come away full, but you can expect to come away entertained and if not well on your way to plastered, comfortably tipsy.

If you’ve never been to Hawaii, you HAVE to attend a luau…it’s almost a law. (kidding)

I had heard very good things about the Old Lahaina one, so I made a reservation 10 months before our trip.

Seating is assigned by when you make your reservation, so don’t make it the day before and expect to be in the front row. There really isn’t a bad seat in the house, so don’t worry about being behind a wall or something. You have the choice of either traditional mat seating or table seating. You will be sat at a long table that holds 6 to 8 people, so if you don’t like to socialize, this isn’t the luau for you.

After checking in and getting shown to your table, you have time to stroll the beautiful grounds and see some local craftsman make and sell their wares. You can see the covered imu, which is the pit where they cook the pig. All cocktails and beers and included in the price, and there is a list of all the ‘island’ cocktails they make on the back of your seat card. The glasses are pretty much rocks glasses, so don’t expect a 10 oz Mai Tai, but at the same time, you can have as many as you like.

There is a big ceremony, to uncover the pig, but we missed it because there was never an announcement, nor did our waiter tell us…I guess you just have to know. So we were kind of bummed that we didn’t get to see it. After that, they start letting tables go to the buffet. Your server will tell you when it’s your tables’ turn.

The buffet was rather large consisting of the pork from the imu, lomi lomi salmon, chicken, beef, salads, sushi, poi, the list goes on. I had been looking forward to the food for months and was sadly disappointed. The food was mediocre at best, maybe because it’s a buffet? I’m not sure what it was, but I wasn’t impressed and I LOVE buffets!

The entertainment was nice. There is a story being told by the emcee, and the dancers come out and perform the story. Hula dancers are always great to watch!

All in all, this luau cost us over $200.00 for 2 people and I don’t feel satisfied at all. I had very high expectations because I’ve heard really good things about it and it was listed as the best luau on Maui, but I didn’t see it. Next time, I will save my money and go to a restaurant, instead.

The Old Lahaina Luau is a fabulous dinner show. Please make sure you get there early, so you have time to explore the crafters and the views of the beautiful ocean. I also recommend the flow seating as opposed to the table seating, but that's just my personal preference. The show itself is great, and the food and drink is wonderful too!

This luau was recommended to me by numerous past visitors. Reserve EARLY. We got lucky on the waiting list a month and a half prior to the trip. The food was incredible and the show was fantastic. The dancers performed a history of Hawaii through the ancient hula. This luau also has open bar and the lava flows are delicious, trust me.

The grounds the luau is held on are beautiful, and as the sun set over the beach, the colors looked surreal.

Phone: (800) 248-5828

Website: www.oldlahainaluau.com