I had a wonderful experience working with Kaia and designing my husband's 50th birthday…read morecelebration. Juggling all the different pieces was difficult for me from afar, and Kaia was able to streamline and simplify, ask questions to clarify, and was clearly very strong at coordinating a lot of moving pieces. We wired a slack guitarist, Paul, who was so sweet and totally knowledgeable around the history of music on the islands which my husband and guests loved. While he claimed to be back ground music which could be totally fine for another party, we so enjoyed giving him our attention as it was just so pleasant while we enjoyed our cocktails and settled into the groove of the night (We hired White Ginger for catering, also recommended!) The one fire dancer, 2 drummers and 2 dancers performances went off without a glitch, and the performers were gratefully adaptable to the space, as the rain and winds were a bit tough, so they had to move creatively within the space, which they did, with grandeur and integrity. I was so pleased, and have every reason to put my fingers together for another manifestation for friends and family! We were an intimate group of 6 adults and 1 fire dancing loving child, and it was all just right (even if we wished others were lucky enough to be in attendance - they would have been a great combo for a 20 person or more party easily!)

MAGICAL!! My FOUR-OH birthday . KAIA thanks for all you did... Your dancers were 5 star, Erin,…read moreMaddison,Phoenix, Emma,... Highly recommend adding this company to your celebrations... MAHALO NUI LOA (Thank you very much)

All we expected! Note: going early to spend extra time in…read morethe gardens isn't really an option. They open at 4:30. They take your picture on the way in ($30, ready at the show if you want to purchase it), then we boarded the tram. The guide shares about the plants, views, some history, and points out many things along the ride. We were free to roam the gardens until the imu ceremony. Many beautiful plants, trees, picturesque spots. I can see why weddings happen here! I found a beautiful spent flower on the ground I was curious about and took it to one of the aunties. She didn't know, but immediately brought me to another family member who identified it right away. So helpful! You can claim your dinner spot if you'd like (groups are reserved, otherwise it's open) while everyone's exploringthe grounds. When it's time to open the imu, the host explains the culture and history in an engaging way, then it's time to eat! They have a good system for sending tables up to eat so nobody's rushing. Mai tais (open bar included) were smooth and delicious! Food was excellent, all you can eat. Plenty of time to eat, enjoy company, listen to the music (wasn't too loud--yay!) while talking, and then we headed to the show. The seats were padded stadium seats, and rather comfortable. The show lasted about 50 minutes. Professional and nicely done. We both loved our entire time there. We'd been told this is the one to go to, but we searched Yelp anyway. It was clear from the reviews it was a good fit for us and we were not disappointed. Spendy, yes, but for dinner and a show (and the tour through the gardens), it's not that bad. We were very pleased.

Been here a few times over the years. Everything is thoughtfully planned. Lots to see, eat and do!…read more Full of entertainment and energy. They do go the extra mile with entertainment after dinner!

Beautiful tropical paradise! Arrive early to the luau for the tram ride that takes you completely…read morearound their facility and grounds! The tram ride is very quick. Not sure if they're just trying to get everyone in and out to prep for the luau, but I would have loved a more relaxed pace. We are, after all, on island time! LOL! To the left you'll see this, to the right you'll see this...it was a lot to see in a short amount of time. It's also fun to walk around the grounds a bit and see things on your own. It's all beautiful, so take it all in before the luau!

Excellent food and beauty all around in this gorgeous garden setting. They make you feel like part…read moreof the family.

Jennifer is a lean, mean, ballet-dancing dream! Kauai is incredibly lucky to have a dancer of her…read morecaliber and training (British Royal Ballet) on the island. She moved to Kauai when I was 13, and let me tell you that dancing with her was one of the most marvelous and memorable things about my teenage years. She puts soul into her teaching and pushes students to be their best, which is something I sometimes don't see in ballet schools in bigger cities. After leaving Kauai, I found myself drawing on what I'd learned from Jennifer all throughout my classes at Ballet Hawaii, Iolani, and while studying for my BA in dance in LA. She really is inspirational! Look to Jennifer if you want excellent education in ballet technique on Kauai.

I've been to many dance concerts put on by this company. I…read moream, by no means, a dance expert, but I do have a degree in music composition etc. so, I've had the opportunity to work with amazing dance companies in New York. Royal Ballet Kauai is phenomenal. I have been repeatedly amazed at the level of professionalism and quality of dancing that I have seen put on by this company. I feel that prices are very reasonable, for both lessons and performances.

Spring for the deluxe tour. At the end instead of having to decide what you want you get a great…read morevariety. Our tour guide Sherry was amazing, great energy. Expected to have my husband pass me his dark chocolate as normally it's not his thing but he tried it and I'm sad to say he kept eating all the chocolate. If you're looking for a good intro to fine chocolate and eco tourism this is it.

a must-stop three hour tour for chocoholics if visiting the island of Kauai…read more Like coffee, the cacao plant grows in the tropical belt with Hawaii being the only state in the Union that can grow it. Thus, taking a chocolate tour (and sampling chocolate) became something my wife wanted to do during our visit to Kauai. I booked it on the first day on the island, with cost being $140 per person via Viator, and was able to reserve spots for the following day at 11:00. It's well set-up with clear signs pointing you to the farm (need to pass by other houses through a small residential area). Guides will tell you where to park your car...we intentionally came only 10 minutes before the start and were some of the last ones to arrive. Our tour was fully filled with a maximum of 25 guests. The property is hilly, and the tour does involve a bit of walking, with 3 separate sitting areas where we sampled different foods. In our initial gathering spot, we met Mason (our primary guide). He later told us that he was going into civics. His charismatic personality and willingness to help others, really serves his guests well during the tour and his future (in politics, I'm assuming). We learned a lot about the farm, and had access to bathrooms, natural bug spray (mosquitos definitely bite here) with a place to wash hands, and distribution of umbrellas (for the occasional shower and protection from the sun). Got to sample an apple banana and cocoa tea while learning about the history of the farm. There was so much information, I had to take notes on my smartphone...apologies if I looked like I was not paying attention. In addition to the 3968 cacao trees on the farm (46 acres), other products are grown and raised to supplement the viability of the main crop: apple bananas whose leaves are used the cacao fermentation process; honey from the 50 hives to pollinate the cacao (the parasitic destructor mites that have devastated honey bee hives across the world have not yet made it to Kauai...makes me appreciate the Hawaiian agricultural controls); the vanilla plant vines that are hand pollinated to produce such rare extract that the public can't buy it. We walked to the second spot, passing by various plants and crops. There we sampled unusual tropical fruit (rambutan, soursop, and white pineapple), chocolate covered macadamia nuts (grown in Hawaii), and different honeys. Made me love mac nuts again. The final spot was to taste the chocolate bars. We sampled 5 of theirs (70% dark, 70% with sea salt, 75% with rum, 78% reserve, 50% milk with coffee/nibs), 3 Valrhona, and 1 Hershey. Mason gave a demonstration by hand of how cocoa liquor is made from the fermented seeds (this part is done by machine at a plant in Oahu...their plan is to do future expansion in Kauai so they can emphatically state that it is a completely Kauai product). The 70% dark 1/8 lb bars are $18, and I ended up buying quite a few to give as gifts (Mason didn't buy this explanation). We tried one bar when we got home, and can confirm how creamy and sweet they are (no bitterness). Other tidbits: -- chocolate is a fruit, not a bean or vegetable. -- Only Hawaii can grow it in U.S. -- Grafting is common for consistency -- Chocolate is purple. Black means there were moldy shells. No mold here, so discarded shells can be made into tea -- Most macadamia nuts sold in Hawaii are grown in Australia, and only packaged in Hawaii. -- White chocolate is real chocolate, just using cocoa butter only. -- AI will tell you dark chocolate is bitter cause raw cocoa is earthy (i.e. bitter). Instead, Mason proposed that it was because mass production causes uneven, incomplete fermentation. Smaller batches = careful watching = less bitterness. This was a revelation to me. -- the owner is a fifth generation farmer in Kauai, with him recently changing the name of his farm to his family name. -- At the 2023 Cacao of Excellence Awards held in Europe, Lydgate won the top prize (gold medal) for the Asia & Pacific region, along with six others in the same region, including 2 others from Hawaii. They had previously been named Top 50 in the world multiple times. -- Because they are such a popular tour, there are multiple time slots and days available. The most important thing to note about the quality of the chocolate: cacao plants bear fruit all year round, with Lydgate farms picking and fermenting by hand when it is the right time (as opposed to bigger operations where they combine ripe and unripe fruit all together for the sake of efficiency). Even for a layman like me, it was a convincing argument on why their dark chocolate is premium, costly, and has no bitterness (even at 70%). The major awards that they have received is just confirmation of this fact. And the tour being 3 hours long in such a small area...the time went by really fast.

Ignore the 1star review from Heidi- they misunderstood google and thats their only reason for a 1…read morestar review - lame! Anyways, Lanipo Farm is def still in business, for 15 years now! Sells at community markets, street-front farmstand & direct by appt/advance order. Just doesnt do random farm visits or tours...

I don't think this farm is still in business. Google business said it would be open for a farmer's…read moremarket, but it was not. There's a chocolate farm nearby, though - Lydgate Farms.

We were told to go to First Saturdays by a local and it did not disappoint! It was so fun to be…read morewhere the locals come once a month. There are a lot of restaurants and shops in the area. On First Saturdays, local food trucks and vendors come. We had delicious smash burgers from Smith's food truck and lemonade from a local vendor. There were a lot of local artists selling jewelry, clothing, and other art pieces. Locals come from all over the island, including a family parading their classic cars! Come early to secure parking as it does get crowded after 6 pm.

It's quite an event, a lot of booths but in terms of art items, I don't feel like buying them in…read moredim lights and crowded environment and I don't see many people buying them. A lot of food trucks, not a lot of drinks stands though. It's fun to walk around and grab a bite at the food truck.

We stopped in here on our first day on the island to check it out since we were shopping and I'd…read morebeen thinking about upgrading my ukulele. We met Lucky and he was very helpful and friendly. He was patient and answered all my questions. He also let me try out several different ukuleles. I found out they were having a killer sale and they also would ship the instrument to my home back on the mainland. I told him I'd come back prior to our leaving the island. When I returned, Lucky was there as well as Sam, the owner and Lucky's dad. Sam was super cool as well. He answered more of my questions and showed me many options. I knew I wanted to upgrade to a tenor ukulele since my first one is a soprano. He was willing to honor the sale for the soprano ukuleles for the tenor I picked. I honestly feel I got an amazing deal for a beautiful instrument. I chose a ukulele with a Sitka spruce soundboard, ebony fretboard and bridge, gold pearl block inlays and around the head with the Kamoa diamond, walnut head and spalted maple backsides. It's gorgeous! He had several of the model I wanted, and we were able to get me the #1 edition of that model. I think he said only 12 had been made for the year. Score! They also took the time to lower the action on the fretboard so the strings were set closer. We jammed a little and then Sam and Lucky played for me as well. It was a really great experience! Shipping was super quick. My ukulele was delivered the day we got back! I love it! Thank you, Sam, Lucky and Kamoa!

Excellent customer service and attention to detail. Sam was extremely helpful tuning and listening…read moreto the sound. A few little lessons. They shipped my ukulele right to our home in CA. One of the highlights of our visit!