Luau in the fog ~ Tonga Room

Last night I attended a festive event at the Tonga Room in the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.  This summer luau really convinced me I might be in a hotel in Hawaii and not in the fog of the Bay Area. I walked into the room filled with colorful lights, a "pool" in the middle complete with occasional thunderstorms and lightning ~ the inviting sounds of live music complete with ukelele.  As the evening progressed and I sat with my friends "of the press", the dancers came onstage. A variety of Tahitian and Hawaiian traditional dances were performed during the evening while we enjoyed food from a sumputous buffet complete with large roasted pig. The event was billed to go for six hours but after only three, I was full and tired but felt thoroughly entertained ... I would heartily recommend this quarterly event to anyone in the San Francisco area for the future. We learned the next luau is scheduled for around Halloween time.

photo above by by Marla Aufmuth