Opened November 18th-19th, 1961. Aloha Jhoe's was created by Lyle R. Wheeler, a prolific Hollywood Art Director who won Oscars for his work on Gone with the Wind, Anna and the King of Siam, The Robe, The King and I and The Diary of Anne Frank, and was nominated another 24 times (many years, against himself). Wheeler was an Art Director on South Pacific four years before the opening of Aloha Jhoe's.

Featured on pages 28-29 of Sven Kirsten's The Book of Tiki.

Toucans opened in 2002, and is a tiki bar nightclub catering to Palm Springs' large gay population. The earlier theming was more tropical-light, but over the years the tiki angle has intensified, and now it is full of beautiful vintage lamps, hut structures, bamboo, thatch, and large tikis. Toucans offers fairly standard nightclub drink fare, but they do have a Mai Tai. Toucans' specialty is drag shows.

The Caliente Tropics Resort began its life as simply "The Tropics" when it was opened in 1964 by Ken Kimes. Kimes owned 40 motels, and five of them were the Polynesian-themed Tropics chain with locations in Blythe, Indio, Modesto and Rosemead. The Kimes family later earned headlines when Ken's wife Sante and son Kenny were wanted, and later tried & convicted, for a variety of crimes including murder and kidnapping.

In its '60s heyday, the Tropics, especially its Congo Room steakhouse and underground Cellar bar, attracted the celebrities of the era who lived and vacationed in Palm Springs, including members of the Rat Pack. The front of the resort held a Sambo's coffee shop. In later years, the Cellar bar was closed, and the Congo Room became the Reef Bar.

The Tropics fell into rough times in the '80s, attracting unsavory characters who disrespected the hotel. The hotel was rescued by new owners in 2000, and after a $2.2 million renovation, it was restored to its former tiki glory.

A couple years later the Reef Bar was remodeled to bring it up to speed with the newly refreshed hotel, with bamboo work by Bamboo Ben. In 2006, the Reef Bar was transferred to independent owners, and was called Hawaiian Bill's.

In 2009, the Reef Bar/Hawaiian Bill's had been gutted of all tiki details, and the hotel was advertising the restaurant/bar space on site as available for lease. They were planning on making some major architectural changes to the building, including the removal of an A-frame entrance to the bar and restaurant. Thankfully, that didn't happen.

In 2015, new hotel owners reinvested in the tiki theming, having the artist Bosko complete large tiki signs ringing the courtyard, representing different Polynesian islands. The grounds still have several detailed vintage tikis by carver Ed Crissman.

In February 2017, Rory Snyder took over and refreshed The Reef Bar overlooking the pool.

In Summer of 2022, Snyder added Sancho's Mexican Restaurant and a second bar, Le Fern.

*This site was the original host of the ever-growing Tiki Oasis event (2001-2005), before it moved to the San Diego Crowne Plaza (2006-2019), and was briefly held at San Diego's Paradise Point (2020) before moving to San Diego's Town and Country in 2021.

**Since 2009, Caliente Tropics resort has been host to the annual Tiki Caliente event (as well as other tiki events like Circa Caliente) which some describe as a smaller and more intimate version of what Tiki Oasis is like now. The resort also sees a great deal of traffic during Palm Springs' Modern Week.

Opened circa 2015.

This is about as far from a themed & decorated poly-pop tiki bar as you can get with its all-white walls, ceiling, and bar.

It sort of looks like an empty apartment that somebody just filled with some wicker furniture and bar supplies.

However, the bar looks to be well stocked and they are said to have very good tropical drinks.

Closed circa 2022.

Opened in 1980 and closed in 2013.

This location did have a bamboo trimmed bar and some tiki decor but it had more of a roadhouse atmosphere and was known for being a live music venue.

They closed due to rising rent.

Opened in 1950.

The Kon-Tiki raft used in Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 expedition across the Pacific is on view here, along with artifacts and information from all of Heyerdahl's many explorations. Associated with the museum is the Institute for Pacific Archaeology and Cultural History, which continues Heyerdahl's research.

Thor Heyerdahl passed away in April 2002.

This Trader Vic's location operated from 1986 to the late 2000s. It was located in the Hotel New Otani.

When the Enchanted Tiki Room opened at Walt Disney World in 1971, it was a duplicate of the original Enchanted Tiki Room found at Disneyland.

In 1998 it was updated to be more "modern" with a show called "Under New Management". The new show featured the '90s-era Disney animated bird characters Iago and Zazu. The now loud, unsettling and money-focused show featured disco balls, flashing lights, and in place of the beloved water fountain, a shouting, angry tiki goddess named "Polynesia." However, even in this darkest hour, the building itself was still worth a visit, with classic Exotica tunes (such as Martin Denny) often heard playing in the lovely lanai area. The transporting paradise was not entirely lost.

Then, in January 2011, the Tiki gods had finally had enough. A fire struck the Enchanted Tiki Room, and the show room was damaged enough to shut it down. It was restored and reopened as a slightly edited version of the original Enchanted Tiki Room attraction in August 2011, and is now back to the grand, historic, relaxing escape we all love.

This motel was in operation by the 1960s. At this time, it contained two primary elements: an octagonal restaurant located in the parking lot, and an L-shaped building containing guest rooms on three levels. The L-shaped portion had a flat roof, while the restaurant had an octagonal roof with cupola covered in composite shingles. The hotel contained 70 units and conference facilities that could accommodate 300. During its early years of operation, it called itself "The Polynesian Motel and Restaurant," but by 1971 was known as the "Polynesian Condominium Apartment Motel."

The Polynesian Motel was one the early resort motels built on either side of Ocean Shores Boulevard during the 1960s and after. By 2016, a string of over 15 seaside motels or apartment buildings stood to the north of the Polynesian Motel and Restaurant, between Ensign Avenue NW and State Highway 115.

In 2016, the restaurant at the Polynesian Motel was called Mariah's.

On the exterior, Polynesian-themed decorative elements were concentrated around the front porte cochere which had a roof reminiscent of Polynesian long houses. Motel walls featured uncoursed ashlar trim.

The motel operated near a golf course that hosted the annual Pat Boone Celebrity Golf Classic in the 1970s.

*Note that the earlier address for The Polynesian was listed as 291 Ocean Shores Boulevard NW, Ocean Shores, WA 98569. The current address is 615 Ocean Shores Boulevard NW. So, either the original location closed and re-opened in the new northern location or someone adopted the old name. They seem like the same site, however, with the same L-shaped motel and octagonal restaurant. And, although the signage has changed, the sign pole brackets look just the same. Some enterprising tiki archaeologist needs to solve this mystery...

The founder of the Trader Vic's chain, Victor Jules Bergeron, is interred with his wife Helen in the Mausoleum at Mountain View Cemetery. You will find them on the bottom floor at about eye level, near the west-facing end entrance. If you visit, be sure to bring some menehunes to leave in remembrance.

On the second floor of the same Mausoleum, Henry J. Kaiser is interred. Henry J. Kaiser's connection to tiki is that he built the Kaiser Aluminum Dome, where Arthur Lyman's albums were recorded, and the Hawaiian Village, which was later purchased by the Hilton chain.

On May 13th, 1942, Yachtsman and Bay Area Restaurateur, Frank "Skipper" Kent, opened Skipper Kent's Zombie Village in Oakland, California, right across the street from the original Trader Vic's on San Pablo Avenue. Like his predecessors, Donn Beach and Trader Vic, Skipper Kent wanted to create a South Seas inspired hospitality where patrons could be transported to paradise. Together, with his fellow host, Lucille "Hafe" Hafer, Zombie Village offered typical-of-the-time pseudo-Polynesian Chinese food, but the real star was the drink menu. The restaurant was South Seas-styled both inside and out.

Skipper described the Zombie Village in a letter written in 1953:

"...through massive driftwood doors, with huge Easter Island idols on either side, with a pause to inspect the unusual gifts from all corners of the earth which are for sale at the curio corner, then the beauty of the tropical dining room unfolds before you. Palm trees, Philodendrons, Marantas, Calatheas, and everywhere colorful Anthuriums and overhead the exotic orchid.

...In the Malayan, African, and Garden Rooms, the dining tables are made of selected Koa and Monkey Pod woods. Spears, shields, and Kris, from Africa to Malaya and the South Seas, all collected by the skipper on his many voyages, explorations, and travels, adorn the walls....."

Over the course of two decades, Skipper Kent's Zombie Village would become one of Oakland's best known tiki establishments, and he would go on to open a second outpost on Columbus Avenue in North Beach, known just as "Skipper Kent's". In 1967, a three-alarm fire destroyed the Oakland restaurant, putting an end to its 25 year reign as a Bay Area Landmark and a favorite among those who longed for a temporary escape to a tropical island paradise.

Established in 1958, the Tonga Hut is a small bar in the middle of the San Fernando Valley with some absolutely fantastic tiki decor, with a bamboo-ridged drop ceiling, lovely green booths and some great carvings. "Big Mo" the moai lurks just inside the front door. Towards the back is the "Drooling Bastard" tiki fountain which is overseen by the many placards from patrons who have passed the Loyal Order of the Drooling Bastard test to drink every cocktail in Beachbum Berry's Grog Log (at the Tonga Hut) within one year.

In May 2021 the back parking lot was transformed into a garden area with tent canopy and the back entrance was graced with a new Kirby tiki mask.

@2023, the space next door on the east side became available, and Tonga hut now leases it as well. So far, it hasn't been completely remodeled to match, but it is utilized during marketplaces and special events and they have hung some swag lamps and a few art pieces to begin the transition.

In 2013, the owners opened a second location in Palm Springs. See separate listing.