Maui Nui Luau in Kaanapali is being pitched as the best luau on Maui, good news for visitors and locals looking for an oceanfront cultural night out on the island's west side.

• The luau sits right on the beach in Kaanapali, timed to the sunset and tied to the Black Rock cliff dive ceremony next door.
• General manager TC Thompson, from a family long known for running luaus across the islands, says the draw is Maui people sharing Maui and wider Polynesian culture, with navigation as the central theme.
• Guests can join in hands-on activities like makahiki games, printing their own ohe kapala designs, and temporary tattoos.
• The menu, put together by the Sheraton's kitchen team, mixes standards like kalua pig, lomi salmon and poi with passion-orange-guava barbecue chicken and teriyaki beef.
• The pitch to locals: the food and entertainers are meant to appeal to island residents, not just tourists.

Outlook: Reservations are open through the Sheraton Maui luau website or by phone, with the operation positioning itself as a fixture of Maui's west-side visitor scene.