A Perfect Night at the Experience Nutridge Luau on Oahu

by

Last Updated on May 22, 2024 by Bonnie

If there is one thing that you absolutely must do when visiting Hawai’i, it is attend a luau. With traditional food, music and dancing, you’ll learn a lot about the Hawaiian culture at a luau. And, if you’re at the right luau, you’ll have tremendous fun at the same time! If you’re looking for a luau on Oahu, you can’t go wrong with Experience Nutridge.

Is Experience Nutridge the best luau on Oahu? I guess that depends on what you want out of a luau. For us, it was absolutely perfect and I would return in a heartbeat. Read on for our full review to determine if the Experience Nutridge luau is right for you.

Three women performing a traditional Hawaiian dance.
A traditional dance demonstration at the Nutridge Estate luau

(Disclaimer: When we link to places where you can buy our stuff or places we stayed, we are using special codes that earn us commissions on the sales at no additional cost to you. Please see our Review Policy  for more information.)

Choosing the Right Luau

Each of the Hawaiian islands boasts plenty of luau options, allowing you to choose the perfect one for you and your family. Which luau is right for you depends on your preferences. Things to consider include:

  • Do you want an oceanfront luau?
  • Would you prefer big and splashy or small and intimate?
  • How far are you willing to drive? Or do you need transportation provided?
  • Do you care if alcohol is served?
  • Would you like to watch an imu ceremony (uncovering of the underground oven traditionally used to cook the kalua pork at a luau)?
  • How much are you willing to spend?
Sunset through a gap in the trees with the city of Honolulu in the distance. In the foreground, two people hold up cocktails.
Sunset drinks at Nutridge Estate

Of course, you may not find the luau that can provide everything you think you want. And even if you do find it, then you have to manage to actually secure the tickets. Like many things in Hawaii, it’s always helpful to plan as far in advance as possible to allow yourself the most options.

If I’m being honest, the Experience Nutridge Luau actually wasn’t my first choice. We originally had the Old Lahaina Luau on the island of Maui booked when we first planned our Hawaii vacation. My sister and I attended that luau when we visited during a cruise back in 2007. We had a great time, so I wanted to share that with Grant.

Four men performing a Haka on a small stage in the woods.
A haka demonstration

But that trip was scheduled for the summer of 2020 and got canceled due to COVID. We eventually rebooked the trip for December 2021. With everything going on in our lives at that time (chiefly, moving and writing a book), I dropped the ball on making reservations. By the time I thought about it, the Old Lahaina Luau was sold out for our dates.

I have to say, though, it absolutely worked out for the best. 

Why Experience Nutridge Luau?

So, why exactly did we choose the Experience Nutridge luau? Well, we were spending most of our time on the island of Oahu, so it made sense to look for a luau near Honolulu. I did my research and compared several different options. 

Check out our article on the best places to go on Oahu.

I’d say the main reason we chose the Nutridge luau was the history of the estate. The site was the first macadamia nut plantation in Hawaii. Additionally, the Nutridge Estate was a favorite retreat for many celebrities, including Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. I mean if it was good enough for The King, it’s good enough for us, right? 

Flowers and grasses against a background of trees.
Flowers at Nutridge Estate

Additionally, the Nutridge Estate is located on a hillside above Honolulu, providing great views of the city. And, it was only about a 20-minute drive from our hotel. Everything about the location sounded just about perfect. Yes, beachside might be nice but, honestly, we didn’t miss that at all!

We also liked that Experience Nutridge advertised as being a small and intimate luau. Honestly, I didn’t necessarily want something super small. But I also didn’t want something too big and commercialized. Their website says “We go from being strangers to family within the few hours you are here.” I have to say, that was spot on and, perhaps, the best thing about the entire luau.

Dancers at Nutridge Luau perfom traditional Hawaiian dances underneath a canopy.
Dancers at Nutridge Estate performing traditional Hawaiian dances.

Finally, we liked the simplicity of the pricing. At a large luau, you often have to pay more for “better” seating or certain experiences. At Experience Nutridge, there’s just a set price (with or without transportation), based on age.

Getting to the Experience Nutridge Luau

As mentioned previously, the Nutridge Estate is located on a hillside, on the inland side of Honolulu. If you have a car, you can easily drive yourself from Honolulu. For those without a car, or if you just want to leave the driving to someone else so you can enjoy a few mai tais, you can pay extra for transportation.

A view ofHonolulu from the Pu’u Ualaka’a Wayside Park.
Honolulu with Diamond Head in the distance from the Pu’u Ualaka’a Wayside Park.

From the city, you’ll drive through a residential area and up a tall mountainside to the Pu’u Ualaka’a Wayside Park. The entrance for the Nutridge Estate is just before you get to the State Wayside overlook. In fact, if you arrive early, they’ll direct you to take a few minutes to drive up to the overlook, which you absolutely should do!

At the Pu’u Ualaka’a overlook, you’ll have unobstructed views of Diamond Head and the Honolulu skyline. Take a moment and enjoy the view, then head back over to enjoy the rest of the night at the Experience Nutridge luau!

What to Expect at the Experience Nutridge Luau

Once everyone was checked in at the gates to the Nutridge Estate, we received a warm welcome from our hosts. Before we entered, our host performed a traditional chant to ask permission, at which time the dancers approached with the response. Inside the gates, we received our official introduction to the estate.

As we made our way over to a small amphitheater around the imu, we picked up our choice of a mai tai or ice water. We also each received a kukui nut lei (the kukui is the official state tree of Hawaii). While these are not the traditional flower leis that most people associate with Hawaii, it also didn’t wilt within 24 hours. In fact, more than two years later we still have ours at home looking just as good as when we received them! 

Grant and Bonnie wearing leis made of nuts rather than flowers.
Selfie at the luau

Hula Dancing and Imu Demonstration at the Experience Nutridge Luau

Here, we heard more about the history of the property and learned that it takes 300 pounds of pressure to crack open a macadamia nut! Following that, there was some hula dancing – thankfully not interactive!

What they did ask the guests to participate in was getting to know their neighbors. This is just one way that the Nutridge luau begins to feel like you are with your family. As it turns out, we were sitting next to the daughter of the owner… she was in town for Christmas and chose to spend the night at the luau with her boyfriend.

A group of guests in front of a rocky pit participating in traditional Hawaiian cooking ceremony while a performer instructs them.
A bit of audience participation at the luau at Nutridge Estate

We also learned about the imu, which is an underground oven that is used for cooking. The imu is frequently used to cook kalua pork, the main staple of any luau, along with side dishes such as sweet potatoes. While there was an imu, this luau did not actually have a traditional imu ceremony, where the cooked pig is unearthed. They did, however, have a few guests help wrap sweet potatoes in leaves which were served at dinner.

More Traditional Dancing

Next, we took a short, easy walk down a path into the jungle. At this stage, we saw more traditional dancing. The women performed a dance with sticks (sorry, I don’t know the official name of the dance). The men performed a haka, a traditional Maori dance with a lot of stomping and chanting. While not traditionally Hawaiian, it is a Polynesian dance. 

Fire knife demonstration on a stage in the woods at the Experience Nutridge Luau.
A fire knife demonstration

To end that portion of the night, one of the men performed a fire dance. 

I have to say, watching traditional Polynesian dancing is always fascinating for me. The skill and stamina that it takes to do that are just incredible. 

Hawaiian Games

From there, we had about an hour before dinner. During this time, we were free to wander around the grounds, get more drinks or participate in a few traditional games. We ran into the owner and talked to him for a few minutes. While he is from Hawai’i, he actually lived near Atlanta for a while, so that was definitely one of those “small world” moments. It was great to hear his story and see his passion for the Nutridge luau.

Grant throwing a spear at a target set agains the tree line.
Grant trying his hand at spear throwing.

Grant tried his hand at ‘O’O ihe, which is spear throwing. The target was the stalk of a banana tree, which you try to reach with a wooden spear. Traditionally, this helped young warriors prepare for battle or gather food. 

There was also a place where you could try a game that was similar to bowling.

Nutridge Luau Dinner

Finally, it was time for dinner! Even with some remaining COVID precautions, dinner was set up as a buffet, with food dished out by the dancers. Of course, Grant and I did our best to try a little bit of everything. 

A square plate with servings of pork, chicken, potatoes a roll and rice.
Dinner at Nutridge Estate, including pork, chicken, blue sweet potatoes and food wrapped in banana leaves.

Our meal included salad, Kalua pork, chicken, purple sweet potatoes, rice, rolls and pork wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed. I have to say, everything on the plate was absolutely delicious. But the pork, oh my… that was probably the best pork that I’ve ever had in my life. Seriously. Words don’t adequately describe it.

For dessert, they had premade plates that included a cupcake, haupia (a firm coconut pudding), and a wedge of pineapple.

A round plate with a choclate cupcake, pineapple slices and coconut pudding.
Dessert at Nutridge Estate

Everything about the food was absolutely perfect!

Even More Dancing

Following dinner, there was more dancing. First, the dancers continued their show with both the males and females performing traditional Hawaiian dances. 

Bonnie laughing in the foreground as she attempts traditional Hawaiian dance under a canopy.
Bonnie attempting to dance at Nutridge Estate.

Eventually, they got the guests to participate. Grant and I are not generally the first ones to get up and dance. But, we couldn’t be the only ones still sitting in our chairs! Of course, we both had a blast! It almost felt like being at a wedding reception.

Final Thoughts on the Experience Nutridge Luau 

With a small cast of dancers and emcees, it felt like we got to know the performers throughout the night. And with a small number of guests (maybe 100 at the most), it felt like we were in someone’s backyard, at a family luau.

That is probably what I most enjoyed about the Experience Nutridge luau over the Old Lahaina Luau. The Old Lahaina Luau did include an imu ceremony and is waterfront. And it was a great show when I saw it back in 2007. But, the small, intimate experience at Experience Nutridge made it feel slightly more authentic. We left feeling like we enjoyed a nice night with friends and family, rather than a show.

Grant and Bonnie standing in a field on a hillside with sunset behind them.
A sunset selfie at Nutridge Estate

Additionally, the pace of the events at the Experience Nutridge Luau was perfect. There was just enough information at the beginning to pique your interest, without lasting so long that it gets boring. The dancing was spaced out enough that you didn’t get tired of just sitting and watching.

All of the dancers and emcees did a great job of interacting with the guests as much as possible. And it truly seemed they were enjoying themselves every step of the way!

Seriously, if you’re looking for a luau on Oahu, I cannot recommend Experience Nutridge enough. We loved every single moment of our evening and can only hope that we have the opportunity to go again one day. 

Need more help planning your visit to Hawaii? Check out all of our articles on visiting Oahu and Maui:


Travel Resources
What do you use to find a flight?

We use Skyscanner to find deals on flights. Skyscanner has a great interface and compares tons of airlines for the best pricing and routing. That said, it does not always have every airline and some airlines will have better deals on their website. Still, Skyscanner is a great place to start.
Click here to search for a flight.

What do you use to find a hotel?

We typically stay at Hilton properties, so we use the Hilton website. You can find good Hilton Honors discounts or AAA discounts for a hotel there. We make great use of our free night certificates from our Hilton Honors American Express.
Click here to book a Hilton property.

If there are no Hilton properties available, we use TripAdvisor to read reviews and book the hotel. We find we can get the best price that way.
Click here to search for a hotel.

We recently partnered with Stay22 to add interactive maps to each of our destination posts. This will allow you to see a plethora of hotels and vacation rentals all in one responsive map of the area.
Click here to search an interactive map.

What if I need more space than I can get at a hotel?

We use Vrbo for the times when we have rented a cabin for a weekend getaway, like this cabin in Townsend, TN, or needed to rent a house for a large family vacation. We had a great experience with them in terms of refunding deposits when COVID hit and will continue to use them.
Click here to search for a vacation rental.

Who do you use for rental cars?

As a general rule, we book with Hertz for rental cars. We have had nothing but good experiences with them. Plus, we really like unlimited mileage and not worrying about crossing state lines. We have even rented from Hertz overseas in both Slovenia and Croatia.
Click here to book a rental car.

How about booking a cruise?

We have found some amazing prices for booking a cruise through Cruise Direct. We have saved a lot of money on our cruises compared to what we found elsewhere, making a last-minute Bahamas cruise even cheaper.
Click here to book a cruise.

What if I want to rent an RV?

We highly recommend Outdoorsy for RV rentals. We rented a camper van for a week to visit Rocky Mountain National Park for the elk rut and Custer State Park for the Buffalo Round-Up and had a blast. The program was easy to use and we really enjoyed the freedom of having a camper van for that trip.
Click here to rent an RV.

What do you use for booking tours?

We don’t often book tours. Typically, we like to do stuff on our own. That said, there are some experiences you can’t have any other way. So, when we do want to book a tour, we always check Viator first.
Click here to book a tour.

Do you use anything to get discounts on the road?

We make extensive use of both Good Sam and AAA on the road. Good Sam is normally regarded as a discount card for RVers at campgrounds and Camping World but anyone can use the 5 cents off a gallon at the pump at both Pilot and Flying J.
Click here to get a Good Sam membership.
We have had AAA as long as we have been married and it has more than paid for itself in discounts at hotels, aside from the peace of mind of having roadside assistance. Add in paper maps and the ability to get an international driver’s license and it is more than worth it for any traveler out there.
Click here to get a AAA membership.

Where can I get Travel Insurance?

We have partnered with Global Rescue for travel and evacuation insurance. This provider will put you out of the worst situations and get you to medical care promptly. You can even purchase “cancel for any reason” insurance from Global Rescue. This is our go-to provider of travel insurance. Traveling somewhere dangerous? They will even extract you if war were to break out on your trip.
Click here to get Global Rescue for your upcoming trip.

2 thoughts on “A Perfect Night at the Experience Nutridge Luau on Oahu”

  1. Thanks for the great review! We’re planning to visit Nutridge Luau for a “rehearsal dinner” in October with a few family and friends before being married on the beach the following day. Any insight on how much walking is involved? My fiance’s 73 year old father has some mobility issues and he mentioned some concern about being able to walk at the luau. He can walk short distances but doesn’t do great with a lot of hills (unless he can take a lot of breaks).

    Thanks again for a great review, we’re really looking forward to our visit (and I’m checking out your other reviews after posting this comment).

    Reply
    • Hi Ashley,

      There is some moderate walking but I would not worry too much about taking your father. He can take breaks/walk at his own pace along the way. I am also sure if you give the folks at Nutridge a call or email, they would be able to make sure your father is well taken care of when he gets there.

      Reply

Leave a Comment

I accept the Privacy Policy