We’ve been to several Luaus on the island – and we have a clear winner when it comes to the performances, but the other one has great food and amazing grounds to wander before the show.
Grand Hyatt Luau – Poipu
http://kauai.hyatt.com/en/hotel/activities/hotel-activities/thegrandhyattkauailuau.html
The Grand Hyatt offers a fantastic luau – probably the best we’ve seen on the island. On a clear day, they hold it outdoors in a wide courtyard on the western side of the resort. The service was great, and the buffet meal was excellent – with all-you-can eat pork, the obligatory poi, and much more to choose from. The dancing was also excellent. There were very beautiful wahine (women) and very handsome, well-built kane (men).
The night we were there was perfect – with a crescent moon and the sky deepening to a cerulean blue as we watched the dancers. If you’re going to see a Luau while on-island, consider this one. There’s also a beautiful tropical central atrium at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, and if you visit at the right time, you may see a number of tropical birds – parrots, macaws, and cockatoos.
Smith’s Tropical Paradise Luau
http://www.smithskauai.com
Smith’s Tropical Paradise sits alongside the Wailua River’s southern bank, just above the highway. The luau here is a little cheaper than the Grand Hyatt, and incudes a tram ride around the property, a chance to walk the gardens, a ceremony to unearth the pig at the imu pit, dinner, and the luau itself.
The food was amazing – the pork tender, the mahi mahi well cooked and seasoned, and the teriyaki steak and chicken were mouthwateringly good. The luau itself was a bit short, clocking in at about an hour, and it seemed a little lacking – the dancers were ok but not great, and it seemed to end too soon. So while you get a fair amount here for what you pay overall, we’d rate this one as the second-best on the island, after the Grand Hyatt Luau.
This post originally appeared on the Purple Roofs Gay Travel Blog.
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