A Luau experience by ʻAhaʻāina Luau at The Royal Hawaiian. Back to all Oahu tours.
Tour Summary: At the 1927 Royal Hawaiian, ʻAha ʻĀina serves a plated dinner on the resort's oceanfront lawn with Diamond Head behind the stage. It has a small crowd by Waikīkī luau standards and is a better fit for a grown-up night out than for families with young kids.
Diamond Head sits directly behind the stage, so the crater is the backdrop for the whole show. 
ʻAhaʻāina is a plated dinner served in courses at your table, not a buffet line. The pink stucco behind the foliage is the hotel itself, which is how The Royal Hawaiian came to be called the Pink Palace. ʻAhaʻāina runs Mondays and Thursdays only, with doors at 5:00 PM. The luau sets up on the hotel's oceanfront lawn at 2259 Kalākaua Avenue, a few steps off Waikīkī Beach. The stage sits on the lawn between the hotel and the water, so beachgoers pass behind it while the show runs. The evening starts at 5:00 PM, so the first sets are danced in daylight.
6 Tour Highlights:
- Oceanfront lawn at the 1927 Royal Hawaiian, with Diamond Head directly behind the stage
- Plated dinner served at your table, no buffet line and no shared serving platters
- A small crowd by Waikīkī luau standards
- 5:00 PM start on Mondays and Thursdays, so the sun sets mid-dinner
- Reviewers praise the performers and wait staff more than any other part of the evening
- Monarch Room indoor fallback inside the hotel when rain is forecast
Important: A keiki menu is available for children roughly 6 to 12; children under about 6 are not served a meal, so this is not the luau for families with very young kids.
Tour Information:
| Price: | Adult |
|---|---|
| (excluding taxes & fees) | $254.40 |
Price note: The bar runs on drink tickets, usually three per guest, not an open bar, despite what several listings still say. Children 5 to 12 pay $159; everyone 13 and older pays the adult price.
Tour Provider: ʻAhaʻāina Luau at The Royal Hawaiian
Activity: Luau
Tour start time: 5:00 PM
Duration: 3 hours
Location: Waikīkī
Included: Plated dinner served at table. Three drink tickets per guest. Hawaiian music and hula show. Reserved seating on oceanfront lawn
Cancellations: Cancel at least 72 hours ahead for a full refund or credit; no-shows are charged in full. Cancellations go through the resort by phone or email.
Read more: about luau in our Oahu luau guide.
Read more about the ʻAhaʻāina Luau
A server brings a plated dinner to your table, and there’s no buffet line. The lawn sits next to the sand at the Royal Hawaiian (the Pink Palace), the 1927 hotel in the middle of Waikīkī, with Diamond Head standing behind the stage. Book it for an anniversary or a milestone birthday. The standard seat is $254.40.
Doors are at 5:00 PM and the evening runs 3 hours, Mondays and Thursdays. There’s no imu (underground oven) on this lawn, so nothing is unearthed and carried to the tables. The sun sets mid-dinner. In reviews, the performers and wait staff get more praise than any other part of the evening.
Drink tickets and the plated dinner
Drinks are by ticket, usually three per guest. It’s not an open bar, though several listings still say it is. The pours are weak.
The plated dinner draws the most complaints: portions are small, there are no seconds, and the food is mass catering at a premium price. If food is what you’re buying, book dinner somewhere else in Waikīkī and come here for the setting.
Book a different luau for young children
There’s no keiki (children’s) menu. Reviewers describe young children being served no meal while older children at the same table were. Tables are packed tight and the chairs are wooden folding chairs for a three-hour sitting. Premium buyers at $280.90 report back-of-the-lawn seats often enough that we wouldn’t count on the upgrade.
When rain is forecast, the operator moves the luau into the Monarch Room
When rain is in the forecast, the operator relocates to the Monarch Room inside the hotel. Reviews going back years describe the move on evenings that stayed dry. The operator’s forecast call is final, so you can lose the lawn and the Diamond Head view on a night that stays dry. The operator doesn’t reply to reviews either.
The setting is the best of any luau in Waikīkī, and for a quiet anniversary dinner with a show the table service and the small crowd are worth the money. Eat something beforehand, spend your three tickets slowly, and book the standard tier rather than the premium.
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