Overlooking Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kilauea, this casual hotel in a restored 1846 building is 2 miles from Thurston Lava Tube and 3 miles from the Jaggar Museum.

Cozy, basic rooms come with free Wi-Fi and desks; many rooms offer volcano views. Simple cabins with BBQ grills and shared bathrooms are available in Namakanipaio campground.

Amenities include a relaxed restaurant overlooking the crater and a cocktail lounge (Uncle George's Lounge) with a TV and regular live music. The property also offers loaner bikes and daily guided walking tours of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

They have a large gift shop as well.

HISTORY:

In 1846, the original Volcano House was built – a simple one room shelter made of grass and native Ohia wood.

In 1866, a four bedroom wooden structure replaced the original hotel. Notable guests included Mark Twain who recounted his stay in Roughing it: “Neat, roomy, well furnished well kept hotel. The surprise of finding a good hotel at such an outlandish spot startled me, considerable more than the volcano did.”

In 1904, George “Uncle George” Lycurgus purchased an interest in the Volcano House Company and managed the Volcano House until 1921 when he sold his interest. He subsequently regained the hotel in 1932 and remained the manager until his death in 1960. He was known as the dean of Hawaiian hospitality and died at the age of 101 after 45 years of direct involvement with the Volcano House.

Like many restaurants, they were temporarily closed due to the Covid pandemic, but have since re-opened.

Located in the Royal Towers Motor Hotel in British Columbia, The Tapa Room was part of a rather impressive building. The hotel was constructed for $3,000,000 in 1961 and made quite the splash in Vancouver. The Royal Towers featured Canada’s first outdoor glass elevator, unparalleled views, a second floor pool, and huge convention space. It consisted of 8 stories with 135 suites.

The Tapa Room was a replica of an outdoor Tahitian courtyard, with an illuminated waterfall, palm trees and other tropicals, thatched roof caves, hand-carved tiki masks, and a ceiling painted like the sky with twinkling stars.

The hotel later became private residences in 2010 and underwent a complete renovation.

This location had a long history. It was originally called Badini's from 1926-1946. From 1946-1965 it was The Pine Grove Inn.

Tiki was originally opened in this location in 1965 by Bob Gaudio, part of the famous singing group “The Four Seasons”. That explains the name of the drinks on the first portion of the menu entitled "The Golden Hits that built the Tiki!"

This location was only open a few years and then closed to be re-opened as Oriental Luau in the late 1960s or early 70s. The Oriental Luau kept a full menu of tiki drinks as well. It lasted into the 1990s.

Opened in February 2020.

This is a combination mash-up of Detroit style pizza restaurant and tiki bar, owned by Salar Madadi.

Salar describes his pizza:

"So with a Detroit-style pizza, they're cooked in a rectangular pan. Ideally, it's like a seasoned steel pan. It's like a hydration dough with a higher hydration. Like when you bake it off, you'll get more air into the crust and it'll come out crispier. Your sauce goes on top, if you're using a sauce, and you have cheese that goes edge to edge. So you get like a crispy cheese crown all the way around. I enjoy eating foods where each bite is different and different in texture and flavour. The crispy cheese crust was, I think like the first time I had it, I was like, 'Oh, this is awesome.'"

About the decor:

Salar spent a good amount of time sourcing Polynesian art to decorate the place. He built a considerable amount of the furniture himself. He was buying bamboo from all over Canada to carve and build some of the posts, assembling vintage lamps. There is even a booth in the restaurant dedicated to Spam and all the variations of Spam.

Established in 1972.

They advertise both Chinese and Polynesian cuisine and have a large room for each -- the Oriental Room or the candle-lit Polynesian Room.

Stepping into this restaurant is like opening a time capsule. The interior of the Polynesian Room has thatching, amber-colored lauhala matting on the walls, tiki masks, several standing tikis, and many vintage Orchids of Hawaii style lamps.

They are especially proud of their egg rolls.

Their logo used to feature a tiki but was modernized to the current logo showing a silhouette of a couple eating.

Circa 1960s.

This lavishly decorated restaurant had koa wood tables, large carved tikis, masks, bamboo and thatch, hanging fish floats, wood canoes hanging from the ceiling, a separate full-length bar, and wood beaded curtain dividers between sections. A fully decorated space.

Located off Rt. 22 East of Harrisburg, PA.

Today, as of 2021, this location is home to Peacock Indian Restaurant.

The only vestige of the tiki lounge are the two “lava rock waterfall” features that flank the front door on the interior. The current owner tried to revive the waterfall but he said that it didn’t look quite right because the water pumps didn't function properly.

Aku-Aku offered Polynesian food and comedians.

They also had locations in Newton and Cambridge, MA (both now gone).

Since 2004, this site is home to a Ninety Nine Restaurant, Starbucks, and a Rollstone Bank & Trust.

Opened October 22nd, 1970.

Billed as a combination of Chinese, Polynesian, and Mexican art. The building was designed by Hin Fon Yip, Vancouver architect.

Created by Ken Yuen (manager), Jack Yung (president and supervisor), and Donald Chang (chef).

Two hand-carved doors opened to a foyer of Inca stone forming an interior wall with water feature and a pagoda theme. You then entered the Tiki Lounge and dining room area with blue domed ceiling and twinkling stars.

The second separate dining room was Oriental themed.

Closed around 1988.

Kona Lei opened on March 27th, 2013.

Miguel Escobedo (Señor Castaway) and his partner, Eduardo, opened this bar at what was previously Bar Hernán Cortés.

Kona Lei appears to have closed around 2015.

Miguel went on to open the Tiki Chateau in Madrid, which closed December 1st, 2022.

As of 2021, the location of Kona Lei is now home to La Hummuseria, a vegan restaurant.

The Heart O' Denver Motor Hotel (1960-1975), featured a bar called the Tiki Lounge. Eli Hedley, the man who popularized the beachcomber aesthetic, designed this lounge.

The site is also historically noteworthy for being located on Colfax Avenue, the longest commercial street in the United States of America.

Later, this hotel became a Ramada and in 2005-2006 the Tiki Lounge space was home to a new tiki bar called Tiki Boyd's.

It appears, as of 2021, the space is now home to Ahuevo Cantina Kitchen.

The Hale Kai (House by the Sea) operated during the 1960s and was located at the Brant Inn in Burlington, Ontario. John Murray Anderson was the owner and director.

The original Brant Hotel opened in 1900 and burned to the ground in 1925. It was reconstructed that same year. Anderson and his partners, Kendall and Cec Roberts, purchased the property in 1939. Anderson became sole owner in 1954, having bought out the others.

Anderson is credited with being the first to bring big bands and floor shows into Canada and specifically with getting the popular Sky Club, which extended out over Lake Ontario, built at the Inn. There was Sophie Tucker, Victor Borge, Lena Horne, Louis “Satchmo” armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams, Liberace. And the big American bands came through — Goodman, Les Brown and his band of renown, and Stan Kenton, who packed 1,600 people into the place.

Poor health led Anderson to sell the Inn in 1964 to a firm called the International Atlas Development and Exploration Ltd.

In 1968, the decision was made by the owners of the Inn to close the entertainment landmark following the New Year’s Eve celebration. Demolition took place in 1969.

A commemorative plaque marks where the Inn once stood, located at the western end of Spencer Smith Park close to Maple Avenue.

*Today not much is known about the Hale Kai. Focus seems to be on the 1940s and 50s which are considered the high point of the Brant Inn. So, the Hale Kai may have only been around for a very brief time in the 1960s.

The Bam-Boo Steakhouse - Polynesian Restaurant was located at Place Ste-Foy, Boulevard Laurier, Quebec, Canada.

Place Sainte-Foy is an upscale shopping mall located in the former city of Sainte-Foy of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was built in 1958.

Bam-Boo had an entryway built-out into the main hallway of the mall with tiki railings and lots of foliage.

There were also several Witco pieces throughout.