A Luau experience by Nā Lei Aloha (Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement). Back to all Oahu tours.
Tour Summary: The most traditional hula and dance of any Waikīkī luau, performed entirely by Hawaiians and produced by the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. It plays on the Hyatt Regency's rooftop terrace, walkable from most Waikīkī hotels, with dinner and show-only tiers.
The stage backdrop is a curtain of thousands of strung lei, the show's namesake. 
Every tier opens with a lei greeting; the performers stay for photos. Dinner tiers eat from the Hyatt's Buffet restaurant spread: crab legs, sashimi, a carving table, and the luau line. The show's royal procession draws on the monarchy era, lace and feather lei included. The cast is all Hawaiian hula and live music; no fire knife act. The terrace seats a small crowd under the palms; the show comes to the tables. Lei work is the show's throughline, from the greeting to the finale. The finale brings the whole cast out; expect to be invited up. Plumeria picked for the evening's lei. Pre-show lei stringing on the terrace. The host carries the storytelling between numbers. Costumes change through the eras of the show.
6 Tour Highlights:
- 100% Hawaiian hula and live music, produced by the CNHA nonprofit
- Storytelling show on the history and meaning of the lei, with a royal procession
- Rooftop terrace at the Hyatt Regency Waikīkī with sunset views
- Performers come to the tables during the show
- Hyatt buffet with prime rib carving table, snow crab legs, sashimi, and poke
- Show-only tier from $119 adult, walkable from most Waikīkī hotels
Important: Cancellation is free up to 4 hours before your reservation (HST), but inside that window or a no-show means a full charge. Bring photo ID matching the reservation name to check-in.
Tour Information:
| Price: | Adult | Youth |
|---|---|---|
| (excluding taxes & fees) | $194 | $159 |
Price note: Adult rates apply from age 21. Children 4 to 11 pay $119 at the standard dinner tier; the show-only tier starts at $119 for adults and $59 for children, with lap infants 3 and under free.
Tour Provider: Nā Lei Aloha (Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement)
Activity: Luau
Tour start time: Seating 5:30 PM (October to May), Seating 6:00 PM (June to September)
Duration: 2.5 hours
Location: Waikīkī
Included: Kukui nut lei greeting. Welcome beverage. All-you-can-eat buffet dinner. Live Hawaiian music and hula show. 4-hour self-parking validation
Cancellations: Cancel free of charge up to 4 hours before your reservation time (HST). Cancellations inside 4 hours and no-shows are charged in full. The show runs in light rain and may move indoors with the torch number cut; a weather move is not grounds for a refund.
Read more: about luau in our Oahu luau guide.
Read more about the Nā Lei Aloha Lūʻau
There is no fire knife dance at this lūʻau. The fire knife is Samoan, so Nā Lei Aloha, a production of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, leaves it out and fills the whole program with Hawaiian hula and live Hawaiian music instead: a storytelling show about the history and meaning of the lei, with a royal procession and one short torch number. If you are staying in Waikīkī, you can walk to it. The venue is the Hyatt Regency Waikīkī at 2424 Kalākaua Avenue, with check-in on the 3rd-floor Nalea Terrace of the Diamond Head Tower.
The show’s royal procession draws on the monarchy era, lace and feather lei included.
Rooftop terrace venue, with an indoor room on rainy nights
The city prohibits performances on Waikīkī’s beaches, so every lūʻau “in Waikīkī” happens on hotel property. This one runs on a rooftop terrace with sunset views over the neighborhood. On rainy nights the show moves to an indoor function room, with no sunset view and no torch number. Reviewers who had an indoor night missed the rooftop setting, so if the forecast shows heavy rain, consider rebooking: cancellation is free up to 4 hours before your reservation. The audience is small: one reviewer counted roughly 25 guests on their night, and the performers come to the tables during the show.
Three tiers, from cocktail-only to VIP
The main difference between tiers is whether dinner is included; the pricier tiers also get better seating and a better lei. Adult pricing starts at ages 21 and up, youth covers 12 to 20, children 4 to 11, and lap infants 3 and under are free.
Mokihana Cocktail & Show Only: drink and show, no dinner
$119 adult, $99 youth, $59 child. Shell lei, a welcome beverage (a mocktail for anyone under 21), and the full show, no dinner. Seating at 6:30pm October to May, 7:00pm June to September, and the evening runs about 1.5 hours. Eat elsewhere in Waikīkī first and this is the cheapest way in town to see an all-Hawaiian show.
Lokelani Standard Dinner & Show: the buffet tier
$194 per adult, $159 youth, $119 child, running 2.5 hours. Kukui nut lei greeting, welcome beverage, standard seating, and the buffet.
Royal ʻIlima VIP: preferred seating and a keepsake
$239 adult, $209 youth, $159 child, about 2.75 hours. Adds a premium handmade shell lei, a VIP keepsake gift, preferred seating, and a welcome tropical drink, with seating 15 minutes before the standard tier.
The Hyatt buffet: the menu and what reviewers say
Dinner is the spread from the Hyatt’s Buffet restaurant: a carving table with rosemary and Hawaiian-salt prime rib, snow crab legs, oysters, sashimi and nigiri, ahi and tako poke, kalua pig with Molokaʻi sweet potato, lau lau, huli huli chicken, and desserts including haupia, butter mochi, and a chocolate fountain. The menu is seasonal. Reviewers single out the crab legs and prime rib, and praise the size of the spread. The same reviews point out that the buffet is shared with the hotel’s regular dinner service and sits across the dining room from the lūʻau seating, and some guests say it felt like an ordinary hotel buffet. Several reviews also call the drinks weak or watered.
Dinner-tier guests eat from the Hyatt’s Buffet restaurant spread: crab legs, sashimi, a carving table, and the luau line.
We think this is the culture-first lūʻau pick in Waikīkī, and the review pattern backs it up: at a 4.7 TripAdvisor average across about 170 reviews, “authentically Hawaiian, not a pan-Polynesian revue” is the differentiator guests name again and again, alongside the dancers, the live musicians, and the hosts making families welcome. The show runs about an hour. The operator says up front that there is no fire-knife dance, and guests who come expecting one leave disappointed. If your budget is tight or you’d rather eat at one of Waikīkī’s restaurants, book the $119 show-only tier. Bring photo ID matching the reservation name for check-in, and if you drive, 4-hour self-parking validation is included (valet is $12 up to 4 hours).
About Nā Lei Aloha (Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement)
Nā Lei Aloha is produced by the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, a Native Hawaiian nonprofit, rather than a resort entertainment company. The show is built entirely from Hawaiian hula and music, and the operator frames it as regenerative tourism: ticket proceeds fund programs that support Native Hawaiian communities and keep traditional hula on stage.
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