The Shops at Mauna Lani — Local services in Hawaii

Simply awesome! I'll tell you, I'm not quite sure what the folks who give this shopping center low reviews want (perhaps insane crowds early in the AM?!?) out of a place like this, but we loved it.

Yes, it's low-traffic in the early morning, which was great for us, since we checked out the coffee place and vegan place for breakfast in two separate days. We bought some shirts and necklaces at the cool surf shop, and leisurely made our way though several amazing galleries where they sold quality Hawaiian items, like well-made silk Hawaiian shirts, Kia wood home wares, and lovely art.

The sushi place was amazing - I've had quite a bit over the years, and of all the places we were fortunate to visit locally on this trip, Monstera was the pinnacle - "Ichiban!!!" Super fresh fish at reasonable prices for the extremely high quality. This sort of meal would have cost double in major Mainland cities, for sure. Yes, it is still expensive, but the quality was well worth it!

Ok, so how did we get here? Well, my wife found some reviews through a web search, and since we weren't really interested in a mass-produced hokey "luau" dinner, we decided to come to their Monday night show. There are plenty of seats, but if you want to be absolutely sure, you have to reserve them on the day of the show by calling the Fine Art Gallery and telling them you'll attend. Be there by 6:45 pm, or they will release them. The show is free of charge and is really amazing - it lasts about 30 minutes, which is just right, especially if you have kids. One of the dancers even took about 15 minutes to show the kids some hula moves after the show. The performers are part of a dedicated Maori / Polynesian cultural group and are fantastic - we enjoyed it very much, and were thankful that we found this place!

Sure, the show brought us to the Shops at Mauna Lani, but the shops, restaurants, and grocery store (beer, anyone?) kept us coming back - we visited no less than three times this week while staying at the Waikoloa Hilton! Mahalo!...

The grocery store is very nice, has a great selection of food in the deli and 'grab-n-go' cases. There's an attached liquor store. There's a cafe with good shakes nearby. Tommy Bahamas at the other end. The shops are very expensive though, some of it is pretty high end stuff but most of it you can buy for cheaper at the local farmers markets. There's a fun 4D theater located in one of the shops, each film is about 5-12 minutes so it's a nice short break from the sun and heat. We wondered through Kozy's Tiki Palace, he had lots of cool art work and we didn't get to stay for the show but he does a comedy/ magic show every night, I think it'd be worth...

Pretty good little mall. Caters to the (hopefully) well to do that go to Hawaii and stay at the condos and hotels in the area. Best part is Foodland. Not huge but they manage to jam a lot of stuff into the little store. Under the Bodhi Tree restaurant has good gluten free/vegetarian/vegan options. Banana bread french toast is awesome. Tommy Bahama restaurant has a good happy hour. Snorkel Bob's looks after your water activities. Lots of high end chachka shops. The Polynesian hula/ fire dancing show was entertaining and performed by a troupe of talented and enthusiastic young people. Fun place for a post...