Another pre-tiki classic...

Harry "Sugie" Sugarman, manager of Grauman's Chinese Theater, opened his first Tropics supper club in 1934 or '35 at 421 North Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills (later it became The Luau). It was such a success that he opened this second location, the Hollywood Tropics, in 1939.

Around 1945, the Hollywood Tropics was bought by Glenn Billingsley. That same year, Tom Breneman bought-in and changed the Hollywood Tropics to a self-named restaurant.

Tom Breneman died of a heart attack in 1949. After Breneman's death, the building was occupied by the ABC Radio Center.

Opened in 1959, a few months after Hawaii was given statehood.

This hotel had a magnificent palm tree sign, 73 rooms, and a very nice pool. Appeared to have little theming beyond the sign, but the sign was spectacular.

Unfortunately, the Tahiti ditched its tropical theme to become the Airport Travelodge in 1977. The motel is currently a Days Inn by WyndhamAirport.

Opened February 14th, 1963.

This location billed itself as "The Splendor of the Polynesian Islands brought to the Niagara Frontier."

They had a volcano effect, a waterfall, and a "tropical" river.

This location appears to have been around for at least 10 years, into the 1970s.

Opened circa 1965.

This motel had 28 rooms and a heated swimming pool as well as an attached "Tiki Restaurant".

It was run under the Best Western banner as the Aruba until about 1999, when it was rebranded as the Tucumcari Inn.

The Tucumcari Inn became run-down and has been permanently closed for several years now, since at least 2019, if not earlier. The structure still stands but no sign of any tiki signs or decor.

Opened in 1964.

This oceanfront resort had 60 units in its 2-story motel, a heated swimming pool, and a restaurant. The front part of the motor lodge was shaped like a Hawaiian longhouse and had torches at either end. The front sign was also capped by a torch.

The site lost most of its beach during Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and was not well maintained. The property changed hands with the intention of building condominiums on site, and although the new owners made small improvements in the interim to upkeep the property, it was only for the short term.

Closed September 22nd, 2014. Demolished April 2016.

Open at least as early as 1963.

Bora Bora was part of Restaurant Square, an area in Encino, California that accommodated three restaurants: Bora Bora, The Dolphin, and Bill Baileys.

The restaurant was owned by Bernard Gordon.

Bora Bora had extravagant Polynesian decor provided by Oceanic Arts. Perhaps too extravagant...

When the Bora Bora went bankrupt because it couldn't recoup the costs of its decor, Benson Fong of Ah Fong's simply moved in a Cantonese kitchen staff and started raking in the cash. Fong, Charlie Chan's "number one son" in the 1940s movie series, became the number one 1960s Cantonese king with five Ah Fong's restaurants located throughout L.A. County.

Today this location is home to Sadaf, a Persian Restaurant.

Opened November 12th, 2021 in the space formerly occupied by BurgerFi.

This is Napa's first tiki bar, run by Nat Komes and family, who have deep roots in Napa and are known for Flora Springs Winery.

The name of the lounge is inspired by their family history and Uncle Wilfred in particular. Flora Cabral and her brother, Wilfred, grew up in Hawaii. Flora later married Jerry Komes and they started Flora Springs Winery.

This location pays homage to Wilfred, who often played the ukulele and entertained guests.

Their signature tiki logo was inspired by The Tiki-Jo logo tiki which was carved by Eli Hedley in the late 50s.

Interior work was done by Ben Bassham (Bamboo Ben, who is the grandson of Eli Hedley) and Billy Crud (Crud Tiki Polynesian Design).

Nalu Hawaiian Surf Bar & Grille was opened in Dewey Beach, DE on April 24th, 2008 by Regan & Kim Derrickson.

Nalu is an open air family restaurant with a "Pacific island fusion cuisine".

The interior features several artificial palm trees and tiki poles that hold up both the thatched bar roof and that extend from floor to ceiling in the main area.

There is an outside patio and a live music stage area as well.

They have a food menu ranging from tacos to pad thai. Their drinks menu has an island style "Tonga Mai Tai" and an assortment of house tropical cocktails (that use Captain Morgan Spiced rum quite a bit) as well as frozen slushie drinks.

Nalu opened a second location in the adjacent town of Rehoboth Beach on April 9th, 2019.

Opened October 19th, 2021, at the site of the former Larry's gastropub.

Belles comes from the Wish You Were Here dining group, the group behind the Eveleigh in Sunset Strip, Kassi Club (which closed and resurfaced in Las Vegas’s Virgin Hotels), and the Elephanté in Santa Monica.

The interior gives the feeling of being at a Hawaiian resort, bright and airy with high open ceilings, lots of bamboo and natural materials, and intimate clusters of couches and coffee tables for lounging in small groups. There is a large tiki carving and giant clamshell in front as you come in. The bar has several unique looking ceramic pendant lights with the appearance of large tiki mugs.

Not a lot of densely layered art or bric-a-brac like traditional dark-interiored tiki bars, but clean and upscale in appearance with a few signature pieces on each wall.

Belles focuses on Hawaiian izakaya (snacky bites) but also has a selection of sushi and main dishes as well. Their cocktail list has many traditional cocktails (margaritas, mules, old-fashioneds) and there is a house mai-tai, but they are not trying to offer a menu of traditional tiki cocktails. Other than the mai-tai, the other drinks with Hawaiian or tropical influences are frozen slushie drinks.

There is also a large outdoor patio space.

Opened circa 1968. This Polynesian Restaurant was owned by E. Robert (Bobby) Baer.

They had a brilliantly plumaged macaw that greeted guests -- named Judy Garland.

Shanghai Lil's was named after the famous location in Shanghai that was a gathering for the diplomat corps and other international travelers.

This locale is best remembered for its live entertainment, including The Royal Hawaiians and their hula review.

Every Sunday had a luau feast.

They did serve tiki cocktails in tiki mugs. However, their ashtrays with signature wahine logo are probably more numerous out in the wild.

It closed about 1981. The property was razed no later than 1990 and the site now houses condos.

First established in 1946, the hotel was remodeled and a two story addition added in 1952.

The hotel has a large indoor open pool area and lounge with several tikis.

One tiki with spear, appears to be originally from a Steve Crane Kon-Tiki location.

C. Brewer and Co., a major sugar company, opened the Waiakea Resort Village and Marketplace in Hilo in 1972, part of a massive expansion that included a restaurant in Kau, the Volcano House hotel (built in 1961) and a golf course and residential units at Punaluu.

The Waiakea Resort Village was meant to resemble a pre-contact village before the arrival of Christian missionaries and also included a lagoon, waterfalls, streams, and 12 acres of gardens.

Its focus, was its 294-room hotel. Terra Ceramics was hired to create some drinking vessels for the new establishment, including a volcano mug and a bamboo server.

In October 1977, the entire resort was sold to Sheraton, which operated it for a time under its own banner. After which, it changed hands several times.