Joseph Stephenson "Steve" Crane (February 7, 1916 – February 6, 1985) was an American actor and restaurateur. A Columbia Pictures actor in the early 1940s, Crane opened the Luau, a popular celebrity restaurant in Beverly Hills, in 1953 and established a successful 25-year career in the restaurant industry. Steve also owned the Kon-Tiki chain in Sheratons, and Ports-o-Call restaurants.

In addition to his own accomplishments, Crane is often remembered as Lana Turner's twice ex-husband and the father of her only child Cheryl. Steve's first marriage to Turner in 1942 was annulled when it was discovered he was not divorced from his first wife. Turner then married Steve again in 1943 because she was expecting a child.

This property sits on an exceptional 12 hectare estate, located at the top of the Tahara’a Cliffs, and the viewpoint offers a spectacular panoramic view of Matavai Bay, and in the distance; Papeete and even the full view of Moorea.

Built in 1967, opened in 1968, and closed around 1989. It was designed by architect Neal Prince, who designed many hotels internationally. Tahara'a InterContinental Hotel was a subsidiary of Pan Am Airlines.

The Tahara'a was less of a Tahitian hotel and more of a Westerner's dream of what a Tahitian hotel should be. It was over the top in almost every way and was THE Tahitian hotel in the 1970s and 80s until its close in 1989.

In addition to the wonderful hillside, with a wonderful view of the Moorea Bay, the hotel offered the largest guest rooms of any hotel in the South Pacific, at the time. Each guest room was air conditioned, with a dressing room, bathroom and spacious terrace.

It had around 201 rooms and many amenities, including the Captain Cook Restaurant and a coffee house/café decorated with pufferfish, cork floats strung across the ceiling on old sailing rope, and many more tikis and artifacts supplied by the famous (at least to tikiphiles) Oceanic Arts in Whittier, CA.

Neal Prince designed the interiors of the hotel. During this time, no one on the island had the skills or the know-how to carve tikis. Thus, Prince hired Oceanic Arts to produce his sketches. Among many other pieces of décor, the owners, Leroy Schmaltz and Robert Van Oosting, produced the 21-foot tall signature hotel tiki for Prince. When that massive tiki was delivered, the plan was for it to be placed in the lobby of the hotel. However, due to the weight and height of the tiki, it was not able to fit. So, they telephoned Prince and inquired what to do with it. Mr. Prince asked where the tiki was at that moment, and Ed Crissman (another carver who worked for Oceanic Arts at the time) noted that it was currently located in the front of the hotel, to which Prince replied, "Great, then leave it right there!!". And so, it remained… an icon of the hotel for many years until the hotel eventually closed. 

There are reports that this giant tiki remains standing today, even though the hotel has been closed and the property has been abandoned for many years.

Some wonder why this property was abandoned and the answers remain murky. The hotel announced in 1983 after a worker's strike that it could no longer afford to stay open. At one point later in its life it was named the Hyatt Regency Tahiti. In 1989 it was purchased for $30 million by the Japanese company, EIE, who planned to renovate it with $8 Million earmarked for that purpose. It does not appear that those renovations ever took place.

It is listed for sale by Sotheby's Real Estate with no set asking price and has been for several years.

*Not to be confused with the current InterContinental Resort & Spa which features a Tiki Bar and is close to the airport. The new InterContinental location is quite luxurious and well-reviewed, but perhaps the newest and most exclusive hotel in Tahiti is just down the way from the abandoned Tahara'a -- Le Tahiti by Pearl Resorts (formerly the Radisson Plaza Resort Tahiti).

Beach passed away in Honolulu, Hawaii, in June 1989, at the age of 81.

He is known for starting Don the Beachcomber during the 1930s in Hollywood, California, which was expanded to a chain of dozens of restaurants throughout the United States. He later built the International Market Place and additional establishments in what was then the Territory of Hawaii.

Beach is also generally credited with establishing the entire tiki drink genre. He created dozens of recipes such as the Zombie, the Cobra's Fang, Tahitian Rum Punch, Three Dots and a Dash, Navy Grog, and many others.

He was an Army colonel during WWII and is buried in buried in Section B Site 1-C of The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

Former pro boxer Vince Dundee Sr. and his son Vince Jr. operated the successful Kona Kai Polynesian-themed restaurant at 3034 Foothill Blvd., and opened the equally successful Scotch Mist steakhouse across the street.

In 1977 Vince Jr. passed the torch to his sons, Vince III and Scott, both in their early 20s. The site of the Kona Kai, was transformed into a faux-Tudor styled restaurant and disco called Sherlock’s.

By 1980, the restaurant had been remodeled into an “entertainment center” which included the disco (Sherlock’s), the restaurant, renamed Café 34 Restaurante, and a retail Record World record store.

On the night of Oct. 9, 1980, the site burned to the ground.

Started some time in the 1950s.

Known as a place to hear live jazz in the 1950s, legendary performer Anita O'Day sang at the Hula Hut as did "Queen of the Boogie" Hadda Brooks in 1957.

A North Coast Journal article written by Joseph Byrd states:

"The Hula Hut's facade was bamboo, cluttered with flotsam and fishing nets; inside it was lit with torches...Primitive masks and 'tribal' carvings were prominent, and tropical-themed fabrics festooned the booths. Hula girls were languorously draped around the printed menu, which featured exotic rum drinks, sweetened with fruit juices, flavored syrups and liqueurs. Beverages were usually served in equally exotic vessels, each with its garnish of fruit and oversized straw."

The Hula Hut endured a fire in 1957 and was built back better than ever. B&W newspaper photo below shows then-owner Tony Marciane and waitress Shirley Kiltz re-decorating with masks after first re-build.

However, the bar then succumbed to a second fire in 1958 which spelled its demise.

The Aloha Club, (1950-1965) was a burlesque tiki bar on Third Avenue’s sailor’s row, under management of Gaspare ‘Jasper’ Matranga.

Along with their other clubs next door on ‘Neon Row’ (The Cuckoo Club and Club Royal), The Aloha Club stayed open until 2am nightly. Large neon signs and tropical murals graced the exterior. It featured music by Billy Jones and his Beachcombers, a five-piece combo, with sultry burlesque acts of Dorothy Eddy, Vivian Lee and Joy Damon ‘in the flesh!’

And B-Girls galore – waitresses who mingled with the sailors, enticing them to gamble, buy more drinks, and God knows what else. The city passed an ordinance outlawing the practice, giving San Diego Vice one more excuse to raid the bars.

Tom Sheng’s popular restaurant, Sheng Haw Low, was originally located on the second floor and rooftop garden patio above The Aloha Club. After the Matrangas were forced out, he leased the entire ground floor of the building. Sheng opened it up as his Aloha Room, serving exotic drinks in the tropical atmosphere leftover from the club. He even kept the big ALOHA neon on the building’s facade. Smart thinking, as his was the biggest eating establishment closest to the newly built Centre City convention hall. Sheng Haw Low was the last holdout on the block before it was razed for the new Westgate Plaza Hotel.

The Luau Room (1949-1969) was a restaurant and bar at the Hotel del Coronado.

The Hotel del Coronado was built as a seaside vacation resort in 1888 on Coronado — a natural, sandy spit of an island in the bay — now considered by many as the crown jewel of San Diego.

The Luau Room opened in the summer of 1949 in the hotel’s Ocean Terrace mall, and immediately became popular with vacationists curious to experience the Hawaiian atmosphere, entertainment and exotic drinks.

The Luau Room’s cocktail list came complete with recipes for its tiki drinks, now attributed to head bartender Ebert William ‘Bert’ Chan (1916-1974).

Bert reportedly started his career at Trader Vic’s in San Francisco before tending bar at the Hotel Del — the later position he held for over 18 years.

After the close of The Luau Room, many restaurants have occupied the space.

Currently, the space once known as The Luau Room is now home to Serẽa Coastal Cuisine.

This mini golf course opened in 2020. It is the second location, the first having opened in Star City, Birmingham several years earlier.

The location at Star City closed on January 19th, 2023. However, this Stoke-On-Trent location remains (at least as of 2024).

The indoor course features lots of faux rock work, bamboo, artificial palm trees, and many tikis and moai. There is a "tiki bar" that serves light refreshments and a selection of bottled drinks.

The El Mirador Hotel operated from 1928 to 1972.

The name "El Mirador" is taken from the pre-Columbian Mayan Ruin in Guatemala but there was never a Mayan theme at this location. It just lent an air of exoticism. Built by Palm Springs pioneer Prescott Thresher Stevens at a cost of $1 million, and designed by Los Angeles architects Walker & Eisen, the hotel’s 20 acres included an Olympic-size swimming pool, tennis courts, stables, the desert’s first golf course, and a striking Spanish-Colonial Revival-style bell tower that became a city landmark.

This hotel underwent a remodel and in 1952, opened their South Pacific Room, which showcased Tahitian dancers, “Island Serenaders” and a Polynesian buffet. In advertisements, it encouraged guests to “go native” and had luaus every Thursday.

This site is now home to the Desert Regional Medical Center.

Opened in December 2007, this is a tiki-themed dive bar owned by Billy McKelvy and JT Black.

They have a large moai lit up in the center of the back bar wearing a coconut bra to match the Sailor Jerry's liquor store hula girl statue next to it. Wayne Coombs Florida style tiki poles line the booths in back and are painted in bright day-glow colors.

When he opened the bar, Billy McKelvy explained: “If you go to any tiki bars, it’s bamboo-and-brown tikis. We didn’t want that same old tiki thing: We’re just more rock and roll. We have an artistic, lowbrow approach.”

Beachbum Berry stopped by their bar shortly before they made their grand opening. He had just moved there at the time -- before his move to open his own bar in New Orleans. They were honored to have him, but showed little interest in taking much of his freely dispensed cocktail advice.

They do use fresh key lime juice, though, which was Berry's biggest tip -- using fresh juice.

Their menu is not a medley of tiki cocktail classics. They do have a mai-tai on their "Specialty Tiki Drinks" menu but they also list a Bloody Mary and a cocktail named for Donald Trump as tiki drinks too...so yeah...be prepared.

Despite it all, they appear to have a loyal following and have been thriving for over a dozen years.

They do have a limited food menu with smoked meat sandwiches, nachos, tacos, tater tots, etc...

This is a very large complex which includes a marina, a restaurant, a lounge, a long pier-side walkway lined with carved tikis, and a motel.

For over 70 successful years, the Ponce family has owned and operated the Conch House Marina Resort. The Ponce family is one of the oldest families in the United States and has been in St. Augustine for over 400 years. The property was purchased in 1946 by Jimmy Ponce and his wife Jackie, and was once the Coast Guard gunnery station. ​ The business started as a 4 room hotel, called Ponces By The Sea in which the family lived in one room and rented the other rooms to guests.

Their Lounge Tiki Bar was built in 1976 and sits out 300 feet over the water.

Matiki opened at the end of September 2017 after 4 months of construction and is the first and only tiki bar in Vienna.

The space itself is rather small, sparsely decorated, and modern-looking -- gray/white/green paint with a few cut-out wall alcoves featuring small tiki carvings and puffer fish. Accents around the room include bamboo trim and a Tahitian-patterned wood bar molding.

A few potted ferns hang in the windows.

The focus is more on the bar and drinks. The back bar displays a lot more than just rum with hundreds of spirit bottles ranging from Ardberg scotch to Don Julio tequila, so there should be a range for all tastes. Their cocktail program has received wide acclaim.

They also sculpt and manufacture their own custom tiki mugs for sale -- available online through a separate website below.