Great time celebrating my wifes birthday here. The food and the show was amazing. The view from the beach made this an unforgettable evening. read more

Totally not worth the money. It was a simple buffet with mediocre food under a tent in a parking lot. Many of the female dancers were nothing but "hootchie" girls, one even has a tramp stamp. So much for authentic. The entertainment was boring and if you are looking for family-friendly, this isn't it. It was hot under the tent too. We left early. The best part was the vendors set up selling crafts before the luau. read more

The thing about luaus is Kaua'i is that either the food is great and the show sucks. Or the show sucks and the food is great. Luau Makaiwa hits the spot in both. The food and open bar is awesome but the performance and dances are even better! I recommend Luau Makaiwa for your simple luau experience! read more

Really love the artistry and culture shared at the luau. This one had the best tasting food of all. With a small gathering, it had the great atmosphere of an outdoor party with family. These entertainers are hardworking and should be proud of the production. read more

An absolutely wonderful experience!!! VIP seating is definitely worth it, because we were lucky enough to be seated right in front of the stage. There is plenty of time to set your things down and wander around to get drinks at the open bar and browse the merchant tables. The smaller venue made it feel more intimate, like a wedding (but in a good way!!) and is family and kid friendly. The venue is under a large tent, which worked out well because it was raining the whole time. There is a short pre-dinner show, and then at around 6:30p the tables are excused one at a time to get food at the buffet. EVERYTHING was delicious! The lomi lomi salmon, kalua pork, huli huli chicken, mahi mahi and the mac salad were all soooo good, I had to go back for seconds. The show itself started at around 7:00p. The live music and singing were high quality, and the dancing was top notch. By far, the best part for us was hearing Grammy nominated Leilani Rivera Low sing!! (aka Leilani Rivera Bond). Her voice is so smooth and full of emotions!! Darryl Gonzales is the guitar player, and there is a bass player, who are all very talented musicians and entertainers. Everyone in the venue was having a great time, cheering on the hula girls and fire dancers. The VIP tickets were great because you get a 4-star quality delicious dinner; open bar mai tais, wine, beer; and get to sit right up close to the stage to watch 5-star quality culture and musicianship. It was worth every penny to support these amazing local artists!!! read more

Not the biggest, certainly the Best. After a disappointing Luau at one of the biggest venues in Kaua'i, we determined to never do it again. Too many rude people, hard to see, and mediocre food. This visit, we stayed at the Courtyard Kauai at Coconut beach and saw the flyer for the Luau Maka'iwa. Its size intrigued us. When we saw that Leilani Rivera Low was directing the show, listened to others that had attended; we decided to give it a try. Man oh man, we are so glad we did. The food is delicious, the show is terrific and the people welcoming. The central Kaua'i venue in Kapa'a is about 50 yards from the ocean providing a soothing background. The delicious food is catered by the Courtyard and includes the usual fare. Since there is only about one hundred in the audience, the wait for food is short, therefore hot. Usually green salad is no big thing, get lots it's worth it. The best Huli Huli chicken and Mahi Mahi we've had in all our years. The food is quickly replenished from the Courtyard as it is devoured. Once the show starts the entire audience pays attention. Of note, hardly any flash pictures to distract the performers or audience. The performers certainly know their stuff, obviously have been together for years and are happy. The stories the dancers tell are long, and beautifully presented. The band is tight. We all learned some history, ate too much, and were amazed with the graceful dancers. If it is a professionally presented show with delicious food in an intimate atmosphere, and an appreciative audience is what you are looking for, this is the one. This is the only Luau we recommend attending. read more

I agree.... Not the biggest but certainly the best luau I've been to! We learned so much about the culture throughout the evening. Everyone was extremely nice and the entertainment, music, dancing was phenomenal!' Don't miss this when you are on Kauai....... A must see. They also had local artist/craft s on sale.....prices were incredibly low for baskets and jewelry. One of our best evenings! read more

This was my first luau experience, so I don't have anything to compare it to. My boyfriend had been to one before in Maui and he said this one was better! We had a wonderful time with ample drinks and food. The show was about an hour long, and it was beautiful as well as educational. The staff was super friendly, and we appreciated the fact that it was under a tent since the weather was a bit unpredictable while we were there. Overall, this was one of the highlights of our trip! read more

Beautifully put together. The food and the dances were amazing. She adds a lot of culture to the luau which is wonderful. I was taken away by the beauty of everything. The music was really good, she sings beautifully. This is a must when my family and I return to Kauai. Everything was spectacular. Easily a well deserving five stars. read more

I was skeptical about this because it was at the Marriott but found that this was very well done and quite entertaining. I recommend this because it has maybe 120 people at most. This presentation was very interesting and the dancing was just beautiful, highly recommend. We went to the other one in this area and it had easily 700 people at it and felt like a cattle call. read more

I've done most of the luaus on Kauai and one on the Big Island and this by far was the most informative and covered many Polynesian cultures. The setting is outdoors under a large canopy with a nice breeze coming off the nearby beach. The drinks were flowing until midway through the main show. More than enough. They didn't do a ceremony for the unearthing of the kalua pig but the pork was less fatty and more flavorful than most others. The other menu items were good to great. My hat off to the Huli Huli Chicken. I highly recommend this one. read more

Luau Makaiwa - Hawaiian Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

The atmosphere was not very Luau like with tents and lights streaming like one would do in a back yard. We got there at 5 and didn't get to eat until 7. The beginning of the entertainment felt like a recital. As the evening went on it got better with great dancers and amazing costumes. However, not worth it for the money. read more

We thoroughly enjoyed this luau. It had a family atmosphere and is more intimate that some other larger luaus.

Great food great show the open bar fabulous. The show is top notch. Great dancers and musicians. I have played guitar professionally and in my opinion the guitar player and bass player were top notch and had voices like Simon and Garfunkel. No kidding. The drinks were strong and they had Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale on tap. There were about 150 people there so not too big and all the seats are great. My family enjoyed everything. Worth the time and money. Easily 5 stars. read more

I was very disappointed. Food was good however the show itself was not nearly as good. The show was supposed to be dances from many different islands but looked basically the same to me. Would have liked to see more Hawaiian dancing especially older style hula as well as contemporary styles. The fire dancer was very good. I've been to several luaus and I'm sorry I spent the money to see this one. read more

A wonderful Experience. Brings all the beauty & stories of Hawaiian Culture on stage for your enjoyment. Beautiful flowers to wear, music, song & hula. Lots of choices for food & a wonderful setting on the ocean. Has it ALL. Will return to see again when back in Kauai. read more

I took my mom, who has a vision problem, here for her 72 birthday and we were treated wonderfully. I paid for the VIP seats so we could sit close. We were the center table with front row seats. The food and drinks were outstanding. Not your typical luau with the whole pig ceremony, but I was glad about that. The women get a beautiful flower for their hair and men get the leaves on their shoulders. The dinner seemed a little rushed, but still great. The dancers were amazing. The tent was weird at first, but with the on and off again rain & the hurricane coming we were glad to have it. You could take a quick walk to the ocean for pictures. Very pleased. read more

So... a lot has been shared that I could repeat. It feels like I just left a wedding. Also, they say be there at 5:30 and we rushed to get there after a day out and about and when we arrived we were not given a warm greeting. Instead it was disorganized and after giving the host my ticket we were sat in the very back of the tent, because the manager said I was tall. However there were spots at other tables. We were led to an empty table and I swear if he could have sat us in the parking lot that is where we would have been sat. My partner and I felt like it may have been because we were a gay couple. After the show started one of the servers realized we were in the back with an empty table so she asked if we would like to be seated closer and with other people. We said YES, and we were sat with a very nice family from Chicago. They also said it felt like a wedding and not very traditional. The food was ok yet our table was the last to go through the line and food was running low. We ended up leaving early because it was slow moving and we pretty much had it. If you can find another one to go to, we say go to it and use this one as a last resort. read more

If there were 6 stars this luau would have gotten it. This is not my first rodeo (I mean luau). We have been to many on Kauai and all over the world. This recently added luau to Kauai is among the best. Located on the eastside, it was a 40 minute drive from our accommodations but worth the drive. Oceanfront and under a tent (take lots of pictures by the beachfront hotel), the food was very good (teriyaki chicken was excellent) and then there is the entertainment. Put on by Grammy award nominated Leilani Rivera Low and accompanied by Darryl Gonzales on guitar (who was in the movie The Descendants), the music and dancing deserve a 10. Not too cheesy (ok a little bit but what luau doesn't get people up to dance and look like a chicken) and well organized (thanks to Leilani's husband), everyone at our table and around us, really seemed to love it. I highly recommend making a reservation and go big and book VIP seats for better viewing and first to the buffe line.. read more

This was recommended to us by the Pleasant Hawaii rep in our motel. We selected because it seemed to be a small, compact and more intimate Luau, and considering the operator's relationship to Larry Rivera and of course Coco Palms. I'll start with the good: The Mai-Tai drinks were good, and not watered down, the food was very good, and parts of the entertainment were really nice, we enjoyed the dancing. Now the not so good: The flow of the luau was not good, there were lots of "wait times" for the next thing to happen - in fact 30 minutes between dinner and the start of the show. There was constant chatter at the tables all around us, such that it was almost hard to concentrate on the show. The music throughout the night was not consistent playing. The "story" of the dancing and tradition was not compelling as it could have been. We hadn't been to a luau in years, and just decided to do this for a bit of entertainment. We were disappointed, perhaps our anticipation was too high. read more

We went to two Luaus when visiting Kaua'i and this was our favorite. Not as theatrical as some that we have seen here and on other islands, more traditional. Food quality was superb and they don't pester you into buying pictures, leis, etc. read more

I have a hard time believing there is a better luau out there. It was a fantastic presentation of the Polynesian culture and dance. Beautiful experience. Does anyone have video of the volunteers that got on stage and danced with the girls on Sunday June 19th, 2016? My camera died. read more

Our family only had a few days in Kauai and it started out by attending the luau makaiwa recommended to us by friends and oh what a recommendation!! We were greeted so warmly by Lynn who checked us in to Darryl who came by our table several times to see if all was satisfactory. His wife was preforming as well as two of his very talented daughters which made it seem more of a real family luau experience. We had our two college boys with us for spring break and this was their first luau. They had a great time and a lot of laughs when they filmed their Dad doing a hula dance with one of the dancers on stage when they asked for volunteers talk about an YouTube opportunity!! The food was amazing we never tasted fish so fresh, the kalua pig, everything was so good. We not only learned many things about the Polynesian culture that they incorporated in their talented dancers but also sat by very gracious locals that actually invited us to their home. A must experience if you visit Kauai!! read more

Bf and I came here on the evening of Christmas Day while on vacation. Neither of us had ever been to a luau (or Hawaii) before, so I don't have anything to compare this to, but it was cheaper and had tickets available when all the shows on Maui (our next destination) were fully booked (and had very mixed reviews on Yelp). We had a lot of fun. Had no problems or wait at checkin. Bought beautiful handmade leis at the entrance and had a couple of good mai tais (happily, they did not skimp on the booze) while waiting for the show to start. The seating and show is all under a beachfront tent to the left of the Marriott, so no need to worry about the fickle Kauai weather raining out the performance. The show seemed very cultural and tradition-oriented--not cheesy but educational with very beautiful music and dancing. The food was hot, tasty, and plentiful. I've read in the reviews for other luaus that stingy drinks were a downer. Here, the drink tent stayed open through the whole show and usually didnt have a line. For my last mai tai, the bartender gave me a *very* generous pour and we both laughed about it. It was awesome. Mele Kalikimaka! read more