We stayed at Royal Kona for 3 nights, and it seemed convenient enough for us to book luau in our hotel. We had gone to Old Lahaina Luau in Maui in 2016, loved it absolutely so we wanted a Luau to make our Big Island trip memorable too. However the only memory from the Luau is that of disappointment, poor logistics. The hotel itself was good to stay at by the way.
First of all, the Luau was moved indoors without any prior notice. This was due to "rain" earlier in the day around 11 am though it had barely rained after that. To make things worse, the pig burial ceremony was totally cancelled and no one even spoke of it till we asked one of the representatives on the ceremony. Rather than enjoying performances while looking into the ocean, here we were facing the ocean, watching some performances away from it.
Not very different from the cultural performances which happen in Seattle here in exhibition halls for free. There was no special facility for hotel guests having reserved seating, and we had to fight to get a decent viewing spot. In Maui luau, we were all assigned seats in tables.
As for the food and drink, the only drink was Mai Tai which was very watered down. There was a bar with a bartender who would serve drinks, but it had only beer/whisky/juice- no cocktails. The food itself tasted like a cafe buffet and was amongst the least delicious meals of our entire trip in Hawaii.
The only reason I gave it 2 stars and decided to not fight the organizers for money back was the dancers did a good job, and they didn't cancel the fire show even when it was raining (it actually started raining at the end of the show) even though it was a hurried affair. Overall I'd recommend tourists to avoid this Luau, and maybe wait till they go to Maui or Oahu for one.
Réponse de l'hôte
Dec 2019
Aloha
Thank you for your review and feedback of your experience. We sincerely apologize that we did not meet your full expectations. We greatly appreciate all your feedback and we will strive our best to improve all the areas mentioned.We once again are very sorry for your experience and we hope to have the opportunity to welcome your return so that we may assure your next Luau experience with us is pure excellence.
Mahalo,
Javier