Huaka'i Luau at Maalaea Harbor Maui — Local services in Maui

We found the Huaka'i Luau through Groupon and were thrilled to get tickets as many luaus were sold out or not running during our first trip to Hawaii in December 2021. On the day of the show the NWS issued storm and flood warnings for the area, including Maalaea. We contacted the Luau by phone to make sure it was still going on before heading to the venue and were assured that the seating area was covered and the show would go forward. We arrived at 5:00 as instructed and stood in line for over 45 minutes before they started seating patrons. We were served a buffet meal of cold fish, pork, and chicken, soggy cold vegetables, a small salad and bun. The show started after dinner only to be called off after three songs due to the wind pushing the rain in sideways. We never received dessert and had to use our last drink tickets before they kicked us out. I contacted Huaka'i Luau the next day to see if we would be issued a partial refund because of the cancellation. We were told by Margaret Gonzalez that "We thank you for your patience and understanding during what turned into such a bad weather event. Unfortunately, we cannot offer a refund on an already discounted ticket, as this was booked through Groupon." Very disappointing. Basically we paid $262.00 for a cold buffet meal, a few drinks, and three Hawaiian songs. Save your money and go to a real luau - not one in a restaurant with poor...

All factors considered, this was a nice Luau. It is a family operation and I believe they only perform a few times each week. The music, singing, and dancers all performed well as they shared different styles of dancing from the Hawaiian Islands and Tahiti. Contrary to other reviews, the food portions and taste were good. The price was within range of other Luaus we considered.

We were especially delighted that even with a windy evening, they still had the fire knife performance.

To help ensure all attendees are able to see the dancers, they had 3 side mini stages in addition the area front and center. For the fire knife dance performance, we moved into a patio area of the aquarium.

For the meal, it is assigned seating and our family was fortunately positioned near one of the side stages with a great view of Maalaea harbor and Haleakala in the background.

I do recommend that you arrive on time, if not a little early. Again, seating is assigned. But it's nice to be settled and have your first of 2 paid for drinks in hand before the entertainment starts..

It wasn't clear to us where best to park, but for others you should know the aquarium and shops "Public Parking" is free after 5pm. You should park...

This is not a good luau experience. We paid for VIP and all we got for that was two extra drink tickets, and were one of the first ones to be seated. The chairs are super close to one another. The food was ok, but it’s served on cardboard trays, and paper plates. This is not a high class event. You wait in a wind tunnel to get in, and so don’t spend any time working on your hair. The drinks are terrible! :( We paid more for this luau than we did for dinner on the Trilogy… pretty much everything else we did on the island was better than this luau. It was very disappointing. No leis. No special anything for VIP… we didn’t even get to eat first. I was extremely underwhelmed. We have been to 3 other luaus through the years, and we left early! We both couldn’t stand...