My Paradise Cove Luau Review

One of the quintessential experiences in Hawaii is attending a luau. Whether they are authentic or not one thing is for certain: it’s most likely on your Hawaii bucket list. With SO many different luau venues to choose from, it’s hard to pick the right one. For me, I’ve booked several clients to Paradise Cove Luau. Their TripAdvisor reviews are glowing and travelers genuinely seem happy about their purchase. The worst thing you want to feel is buyer’s remorse, especially when you’re dropping $120 + per person on dinner. So a few things you’ll want to consider after reading my Paradise Cove Luau Review:

Size of venue – Large or more intimate?
Price – must fit within the budget of course!
Authenticity
Buffet vs. A la carte

After looking into several options, the choice was clear for me… Paradise Cove Luau! I decided to book the mid-tier package called “Orchid Luau Package.” As you can see below, there are three package options you can purchase. I chose the Orchid Luau Package because it offered middle seating and $16 worth of drink tickets. I wasn’t sure the Deluxe Luxu package was worth the higher cost.

The added bonuses are a souvenir cup (no room in luggage thanks!) and table service instead of buffet. One of the points of the luau is the big buffet. Otherwise, just go to an a la carte restaurant if you want a wait staff. For those with disabilities, I could see why the Deluxe Luau package would be worth it. Another *perk* is a souvenir photo but I just bring my camera everywhere with me and grab my own souvenir photos. So overall, you decide what works for you.

Please note: This screengrab was taken July 2019, so prices and package options are of course subject to change.

Also note: The cost of transportation is not included. I rented a car so decided to forego their transportation service.

Check In

Paradise Cove Luau’s box office opens at 4:00 PM for Check In. Their Luau Gates open at 5:00 PM and the event is over around 8:45 PM. There’s plenty of free parking available in a lot so no worries there! Check in was very easy to maneuver. I do recommend having your printed off vouchers ready to go to keep the line moving quick. You will turn in your printed voucher for a hard copy Cove Card. This card will show which package you purchased.

Remember above how you will have a drink credit amount depending on your package? The Orchid allows you a $16 drink credit to spend. To give you an idea, a ‘Special Mai Tai’ with alcohol will cost you $8 while a mocktail without alcohol will run you just $4. So it’s plenty. I ended up giving my leftover credit a young kid sitting next to my fiance and I because he wanted some shave ice.

After a quick check in, we were greeted with non-alcoholic welcome drinks! 🍹

Activites and Entertainment

Kids/Teen Activities

My Paradise Cove Luau review wouldn’t be complete without the activites and entertainment! Whenever I tried to justify the price tag, I had to remind myself that this isn’t your standard dinner buffet. I’m not going to Golden Corral or anything. The cost essentially includes two parts: Dinner + Entertainment.

So after we were greeted and shown to our table, we were had some free time for about 1 and a half hours. We were free to walk around, redeem drink tickets, check out the gift shop, and participate in activities. The kids/teen activities included going up to the beach and participating in a hula contest, complete with grass skirts. Of course grass skirts are not authentic to the Hawaiian culture and just for fun! There was also a neat demonstration to watch where we got to see how traditional Hawaiians catch their fish on boats.

There were also various crafts set up where you could string your own lei and make other items.

Adult Activities

The activities for adults included buying drinks, buying things in the gift shop, and buying these bracelets with your name translation. Catch my drift? But in all seriousness, there were a few activities for adults that didn’t involve paying. There was a dart throwing competition, and musicians around.

Travel tip: It’s always fun to see how your name translates in Hawaiian. My name, Cassandra, translates to Kakanakala. You can read what YOUR Hawaiian name is here.

Photos!

Definitely enjoy the fun activities, but don’t forget to take your photos before the sun goes down! There are plenty of Paradise Cove staff members onsite who can help snap a few photos for you and your loved ones. The venue itself is so beautiful, it’s hard not to get a picturesque photo. Your free time on the grounds is from 5:00 pm – 6:45 pm when dinner starts to begin. So you have plenty of time!

Travel tip: There were PLENTY of families wearing matching luau gear. You can either pre-purchase it before you get to the islands or purchase it when you land. It’ll of course be cheaper if you purchase it ahead of time. I purchased our couple’s luau outit from Wal-Mart, but the company it was made by is Hawaii Hangover. My fiance was not a fan of the outfits and specifically told me to “burn them” after this night was over… but I liked them! haha

Dinner

My Paradise Cove Luau Review continues by talking about the dinner! One of the major reasons to book a luau. By the time the announcement was given to head to the buffet around 6:45 PM, we were GONE! I was so impressed with how quickly they the lines moved for getting hundreds of people through. There were about 6 or 7 different buffet lines filled with the same items:

Salad
Beer battered fish
Kalua pork with tangy bbq
Pineapple and teriyaki chicken
Poi (Yuck!)
Rice
Mac Salad
Purple Yams
Lomi salmon
Dinner rolls
Fresh fruit assortment
Coconut gelatin
Chocolate cake

All of it washed down with a mai tai and some waters (redeemed on my Cove Card). Believe when I say you will not leave here hungry so come with a big appetite. As you can see, both of my plates were loaded up.

Check out my Top 20 Things to Eat in Hawaii!

Show

Admittedly, I started to fall asleep during the show. This woman came out with this lullaby hush voice and I was still on east coast time! Bad combo… we ended up staying for a bit to watch the dancers/performers and then left before the fire action. I’m a little bummed we missed the fire finale show, but this venue is about 45 minutes away from Waikiki Beach where we were staying so I didn’t want to risk falling asleep behind the wheel.

Overall, I enjoyed my time at Paradise Cove Luau. I do feel they have it down to a science and it feels like the quintessential luau experience. For those looking for something a bit more intimate, I’d look elsewhere.

Hope you enjoyed my Paradise Cove Luau review! If you’re heading to Hawaii and would like my help booking, please shoot me an email: cassandra@accent-on-travel.net. I’d love to help you get started with the deposit, and getting the payments together so we can craft the perfect trip. If you’d like some inspiration, check out my Two Week Itinerary in Hawaii!