Waikiki Starlight Luau at the Hilton Hawaiian Village

What a joke– not a luau! Basically a combination of a mediocre show and a bad buffet. Thought a luau would involve a pig roast– closest to that was lukewarm kalua pig on buffet line. Unfriendly waiters just going through the motions. Lots of great places in Honolulu to spend $ 100/​person — this wasn’t worth $ 20. Would give zero stars if possible. Mahalo

While the show itself was great, the service and food was extremely dissapointing. First, they ran out of flowers right before my daughter turn to have a bracelet made. That was unfortunate, and after we talked to three of the service staff, who could not care less, we found oue that tore apart a lei and handed my wife flowers. She took that back to the lady who was originally making the bracelets, only to be told that she was done for the night and that my wife could do it herself. With all the amazing flavors that could be found on the island, the dishes presented could have been authenticly prepared, even in mass quantities. I recommend looking elsewhere as the spirt of «Aloha» was nowhere to be found.

The food was very cold, the pork did not taste like it had been cook in the Hawaiian way. The show is very cheesy. I would not requmend the Hilton. Every thing has been corporatesed.

The worst! If you want a luau don’t go here! Go to the Polynesian cultural center for a real luau with food you can eat! I have been to many luaus in Honolulu but this is a disgrace. The food is not edible, everything has sweet in it. The salad, the sushi, the fish everything. After barely eating my stomach felt so sick and the taste in my mouth was pure sugar. You can tell in the presentation and food how much they have cut corners. It is a shame, and I feel sorry for all the visitors influenced to come here and get tricked paying 100.00 — 130.00 a person! I’m angry I even fell for this embarrassment!

Skip this luau. Go to the Polynesian center or ko’olina.
Your paying minimum $ 100 a head–
Negatives:
The food is not good at all.
The amount of time you wait to eat is long.
The drinks are not good.(fail, when you can’t make a basic Mai tai, am I right?!)
It’s not as interactive
Not as authentic
Your not on the beach
There isn’t fun activities prior-​like most other ones
Positives:
The entertainment was good, really good. They are the reason why I didn’t give one star.

I thoroughly enjoyed my evening at the Waikiki Starlight Luau. The wait staff were relaxed and helpful and the seating was clean and comfortable. The food was good. Everything was freshly prepared using good quality ingredients. I was happy with the item selection and was able to serve myself a full plate of all vegetarian food with plenty of color and variety. I liked the show. The MC had a good patter and all of the dancers were professional performers who seemed to be enjoying themselves. The finale was a fire dance with four male performers each of whom could have been a soloist. It was impressive.
I’ve been to lots of family luaus and several event-​style luaus so I know what to expect. I think some visitors arrive with different expectations and then aren’t able to enjoy the dinner and that may partly explain some of the low reviews. But based on my experience, this was pretty good!
I should add that I didn’t pay for my ticket. I received an extra ticket from my friend when her friend couldn’t make it at the last minute. So, yes, that added to my enjoyment.

My husband and I went 3÷10÷16 and had the best time.
The food was well cooked and tasty.
It was very windy last night and a little chilly, since it was on a rooftop that was to be expected and I (as a grown adult) should’ve brought a sweater.
The dancers (the entire reason we were there) were flat out amazing, both the women and the men, but the fire dancing was jaw droppingly cool.
It’s a bit kitchy, but that’s the point.

located on top one of the towers (parking garage) in the HHV.
u take a short but lengthy escalator ride to a ballroom type area, greated with the sounds of an elderly man singing and playing his ukele as a couple polynesian dressed folks say hello to each individual in line while ‘leighing’ them.
first u make ur way to a photo op booth then pass by the complimentary 2 drink table just before u get seated accordingly.
this same process happens for an hour to all guests as a small house band plays some music and the host greets the crowd, guiding guests to interactive locations and bathroom directions. just before dinner is a lil display of hula performed by some young lady followed by a guest participation segment then closed with a before dinner prayer in the native tongue.
for dinner, U WAIT accordingly… front seated, paid extra GO FIRST, then they make their rounds towards the back tables (the $ 99 dolla cats)
there is a ‘kids’ buffet section in between two long buffet stations. nothing big deal… it’s just 4 items but should quiet ur hungry, anxious kid.
btw, as im typing this review, IM STILL WAITING to eat… been about 20 – 25 minutes till i grab a plate to fill, ya
so the foooooddd…
…well the food is typical asian buffet style quality. i rate it 4.5÷5 out of 10 stars
only thing i thot tasted good was the pig… and i usually never digg the pig!
the show starts promptly at 7p.
its a poly show! …thas it! u seen one, u seen em all, i think
basically, a Cnote gets u a buffet meal alot of bleh and hula shit.
take this review for what its worth but u should try at least one luau if u come to the island.

I love the Waikiki Starlight Luau. So glad our concierge recommended it. We didn’t want to drive out to one of those luaus far from Honolulu. I wanted great entertainment and good quality food. And I didn’t want to be driven back in the dark at 11pm. I know Hilton would deliver on having the best entertainment (handsome guys and beautiful dancers) and I know the food would be superior. We went to another luau last year and there were tons of flies and the food was horrible. Hilton Hawaiian Village chefs are awesome. The luau servers were great. The luau finished at about 8pm, we were able to stroll to the beach and even go into Waikiki’s main drag. One of us went shopping and had a few more drinks at the beach front Hau Tree Bar.

As cheesy as I thought the show would of been, I was very impressed. I am a local and I seen many shows as well as danced in some shows. Performers were pretty awesome. Still leading the pack Tihati!!!
Food was really good. If I had to chance anything, it would be the seating arrangements. Poor lady next to me had a free massage from my elbow hitting her.

I packed one Hawaiian shirt with collar, besides my regular T-​shirts, just for this occasion!
We had received two complimentary Waikiki Starlight Luau tickets, normally $ 99 apiece, as part of our 5 night $ 798 (includes all taxes) Hilton Hawaiian Village hotel package deal. Of course there is a catch.
This is held on the top floor of the roof over the Rainbow Bazaar building at the Hawaiian Hilton Village. Long line of guests, well before the 5pm starting time.
I was dressed in my best Hawaiian shirt, probably better dressed than my wife! And how often are the husbands better dressed than the wives at these entertainment functions?! They take pictures at the entrance of each couple, so remember to bring $ 50 cash! Are you kidding?
We get seated about 30 feet from the stage, with the fat cats who paid $ 125, getting orchid leis, ringside seats, and first dibs on the buffets. Waste of an orchid leis, as nobody goes back on the airplane wearing a 4 day old wilted lei!
There is the conch shell blowing to kick off the activities, with the MC dressed in all white, doing a Don Ho impression of ‘Tiny Bubbles’, with the audience joining in the singing.
Unlucky ones from the audience are selected and dragged onto the stage and given one on one Hula lessons with a member of the cast of the opposite sex. Of course the guests look silly, and receive a free drink ticket for their embarrassment.
Everyone gets two drink tickets, but I stay with the old standby, passion orange guava, while the wife loads up on what she described as watered down mai tais.
The buffet starts with people getting in line by table, with the $ 125 folks at the head of the line. I skip the first part of the line, as it is vegetables, rice, sweet potatoes.
I fill up on the seafood, including the fish wrapped in banana leaves, small scallops and imitation crab, top sirloin beef, lemongrass chicken, and roast pork. Decent but nothing spectacular. Got to get to the meats and fish early, as they get cold very quickly in the evening breeze.
My ex from Hong Kong would have doggy bagged the food in sandwich bags in a large purse!
The hostess comes around with pictures, offering them for $ 50 for a large portrait, and three regular size pictures. That’s why I dressed up for the occasion. We decline, as does practically everyone except the older Japanese tourists.
The buffet is fine, but I wouldn’t pay $ 99 for the meal alone. We came to watch the dancers.
And did they dance!
Solo acts, then four hula men, then four hula women, and finally 4 dance couples, with the drum beat pounding as the sun sets over the ocean and Waikiki beach next door. Great entertainment, and I’m enthralled as is the wife.
Freeloaders in the neighboring skyscrapers of the Lagoon and Alii towers are on the balconies watching bug eyed also.
The finale is not one, not two, not three, but four men twirling torches lit at both ends –the only four fire dance act on the island, says the MC. Lot of whirling torches, with the ringside audience cringing with every time the twirling torch is tossed up in the air, just in case the dancer misses!
The lead dancer gets the set alone, twirling that torch behind his back and then between his legs –now you know he’s wearing flame proof shorts!
Don’t try this at home!
Show ends, and we head out the door, with members of the cast appearing for picture taking with individual guests –free, no $ 50 shake down!
You can get tickets at
for $ 82.50, about the same price for the Germaine Luau (past Pearl Harbor), and Paradise Cove, with the Polynesian Culture center a bit cheaper. These last two are a ways out in the boon docks, requiring passenger pickups by bus from the various hotels.
And of course there is a catch for getting two free tickets with our 5 night $ 798 (includes all taxes) Hilton Hawaiian Village package –you guessed it –listening to a 4 hour time share presentation. Talk about losing your appetite!

This is an excellent dinner show, and highly recommended especially to the first time Hawaii visitors. It was well organized. Food was ok and lots of choices. Service was excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

This was SO bad. good god. My experience may be worse, because on our day (thanksgiving special), it was rainy outside and the luau got moved to an indoor ballroom. Yup, we had a luau in an indoor ballroom.
I thought the majority of the dances /​songs were very boring and my brother and I were falling asleep most of the time. The food was so bad it was almost inedible.
The 1 star is for the flamethrower show at the end — that guy was great. Was he worth 120 bucks? hell no.

«When life throws you a wrinkle, hula on.» I’ve been thinking about that saying… since I got out of the shower this morning. Hmm… I look at my photos last night of this Luau, and nice. I mean, nice shots. I took them from a distance, but those hula flames come out sharp in camera playback. The buffet food is merely good, but I got two drinks in me, and I like it when somebody gives me two vouchers to drink twice. Look, the whole thing didn’t blow my senses, but it was nice to take a load off. And did I mention I like girls? I like girls in hula skirts and leis.
I’ll mention that a year ago, the Paradise Cove luau I went to on the other side of Oahu, well, I was at the time swept away. But if you consider going to that be forewarned it is nearly an hour away from Waikiki. «The Waikiki Starlight» is a good second option. Do it first and do the Paradise Cove the second time you’re in Oahu (that is, if you’re vacationing). #roof-​of-​Hilton-​Hawaii-​Village

Attending various luaus prior to this one, I had already set my expectations a little too high. *sigh*
Located in Hilton Hawaiian Village’s parking structure rooftop. There are various ways to get here.
1 — up two (2) sets of long escalators; they are hidden in the middle of the Rainbow Bazaar. Something to look out for if you get lost walking on property is the Crazy Shirts store. It’s just across.
2 — if you’re coming off property /​driving, take the older set of elevators in the parking structure to the sixth (6^th) floor. It will first take you to the Coral ballrooms, and from there take the escalator, it’ll bring you to the check-​in area. They do validate, just ask after they’ve taken you to your table.
3 — is through the Grand Waikikian, but I’m not certain.
There’s two different seating: General (shell lei greeting, standard table seating; buffet featuring Hawaiian and island dishes) and Golden Circle Premier (fresh orchid lei greeting; premier seating, closest to the stage; first to buffet).
Tickets can either be picked up day of or pre-​given, from what I saw. It with two beverage tickets.
After receiving leis (shell and orchid) we took a group photo and were escorted to our table and basically stayed at our table majority of the time. Information I was given stated that there would be interactive activities and games… The only station I saw was the tattoo station behind the stage.
There was a worker coming around with a cart full of mai tais (alcoholic and virgin).
The night went by quickly, I’m already forgetting… ha ha.
As promised, we were one of the first tables to be released to the buffet line. There are two on either side of the area. Food selection was actually disappointing. No white rice first of all. The kalua pig /​pulled pork was cold. The butter was kept in melting ice and already melted as I attempted to open the package. Aside from the pig, the other meat selections were the better choices as well as the sweet potatoes.
Taking photos: If you want to take group shots and/​or selfies, do it before the sun goes down, it ain’t called the Starlight Luau for nothing. Main lights throughout the luau are the stage and buffet stations. Other than that, hope the stars are bright out the night you go.
Enjoyed the entertainment, even though some of the dancers I recognized from other luaus I’ve been to. Lol. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing to know. There’s photo opportunities after with the dancers if you like.
After tonight, I wouldn’t recommend this so called «luau» to anyone. If this happens to be your first and the outcome was a disappointment, give it a second try at a different location! This is more like a party with distant relatives you didn’t even know you were related too and just know the people at your table.
For a better experience, activities and games AND FOOD, look for luaus outside of Waikiki. Food as in Hawaiian /​local dishes. Guests if you are visiting the island and simply dislike our food just because it’s not like the food you have back home; that’s not our problem, you should’ve been aware that you are no longer «back home» and chose to visit to experience what the island has to offer.
Photo collage from the night:

We had a great time, the food was good and the show was great. Nothing «cheesy» about this at all. The only thing we would have changed would be the «posing for a photo» as you enter so they can come around to your table and try to sell you a $ 50 set of pictures — we though it was out do character for the rest of the event but lots of people around us bought the pictures, so…
Anyway, we’d recommend it — we were looking for a luau on a couple of the islands that we thought might not be like Chunky Cheese or Medieval Times — this was not.

The best part was the Mai Tais. We even got 2 extra free ones. The food was mediocre. It was too sexual for my taste and not family friendly. If I would recommend a Luau, check out the Polynesian culture center!

Food was good. Entertainment was good. Drinks were fair. A sales pitch for Hawaiian wraps was cheesy. Entertainment was fun. Hilton Hawaiian Village much rather have their luau on a roof rather then taking up valuable land space for future towers so they can sell you a time share. I was at a better luau. This one is just okay.

OK, I lived in HI (on Maui) and worked at a couple luau venues. This Luau is a very very good show. The MC was fantastic and the performance was great. It seemed like all the performers where into doing the performance not just going through the motions. I also like the way the seating wraps around the stage it makes you feel much more a part of the show.
On the down side the location although it is outside is very lacking in any connection with being on the island. They have really made no attempt to make you feel as though you are at a luau and not just a non descript banquet space. You are surround my skyscrapers. There is very little décor. They block the only small ocean view with a hut that the musicians sit in. I also really didn’t like the food it was very cafeteria for me (but I am kind of picky so take that with a grain of salt). The drinks are so watered down that even though I had 3 Mai Ties and that week was my first week drinking after a year and a half of sobriety (I had a baby) I felt no effect what so ever. In contrast everywhere else we went I was one and done.
The next time we visit my in-​laws in Waikiki I think I will take my boys to the Luau at the Royal Hawaiin. We went there for dinner one night and got to see their luau in action. Everything leading up to the show is out on a beautiful beach front lawn. Yes, the show is inside and I can’t speak to how good it is or the food. But as we found sitting outside… once the sun goes down there’s nothing to see so there is no reason to sit up high on a roof top with no view and plenty of wind.

We had visitors from Germany and decided to go to the rooftop luau at the Hilton. I am giving it 4 stars mainly for the entertainment. It was a great show. The waiters were friendly and very helpful. The waiter even offered to walk with my elderly mother and assisted her through the buffet line, great staff!
The food had a good selection but it wasn’t appealing to me. The Kalua pig was made in a regular oven, no imu oven. It was too dry, and they mixed the cabbage with the pig. Remember the luau is on the rooftop so don’t expect it to be on the front lawn. And the sun is bright until it goes down, unless you are lucky to get shade from the surrounding buildings.