Originally named Tiki Village, the Tiki Hotel is an iconic Apartment Hotel located on the banks of the Nerang River at the end of Cavill Avenue in Surfers Paradise, Australia.

Built by Bernie Elsey (around 1965), who also built the Surfrider Hotel and the Surfers Paradise Beachcomber. Bernie's in-house entertainments were legendary. The pyjama parties and Hawaiian nights pushed the edges of the law, filling national papers with copy and his establishments with patrons. He also famously introduced the Surfers Paradise Meter Maids, clad in gold bikinis and armed with sixpences employed to rescue motorists from expired parking meters. They became internationally famous and still operate, nearly fifty years later.

Tiki Village was the first purpose built Timeshare Resort in Australasia and ran as such from 1982 until December 2018 when it was relaunched as a Full Service Hotel and renamed the Tiki Hotel Surfers Paradise.

Milan Flores Guanko (1906-1994) had a carving shop at Gray's Nursery on Beach Boulevard in Westminster.

Guanko learned to carve from his father in the Philippines before immigrating to the U.S. in 1928. During WWII, he began carving full-time. His tikis appeared at Disneyland, the Western Hills Hotel, the Royal Hawaiian Restaurant in Laguna Beach, The Islands Restaurant in Phoenix, Ren Clark’s Polynesian Village in Fort Worth, Texas, and many more restaurants, hotels and apartments throughout the world.

He died at age 87 in Glendale, where he’d moved his shop in later years.

*NOTE: The large dark-stained tiki with hands crossed on the far left can still be seen at the Kon-Tiki in Tucson although it has been painted a few times and stood outside for many years (now in their covered outdoor patio).

Previously Wild Thyme Restaurant, Canoe House opened in January 2012.

The restaurant design layout features a canoe hanging from the rafters as you would expect. They also have several very nice tiki lamps throughout the building, paddles, Hawaiian art prints, and at least one large Papua New Guinea tiki mask.

Big screen TVs at the bar and throughout the restaurant kill the island ambience somewhat but it brings in a sports crowd.

Food is sort of Hawaiian fusion -- not as high-end as a Roy's -- although you can get herb crusted mahi mahi -- but with a wide variety of sandwiches, burgers, and tacos it feels more like a Hawaiian-styled Applebees.

They have a very limited cocktail menu and don't feature traditional tiki cocktails, but do have an island style mai-tai made with Gosling's and Malibu rum as well as pineapple and orange juice.

The restaurant also has a very nice outdoor patio with a fire pit.

Dates uncertain, but open at least as early as 1968 and as late as 1972.

Chan's had three dining rooms and a bar‐lounge separated by bamboo dividers to maintain an intimate atmosphere. The Polynesian decor included island masks on red walls, some chunk resin swag lamps, artificial flowers, stuffed birds, a fountain and a fish pool, and a background of soft Hawaiian music.

Now home to Chakra Restaurant.

Opened in 1967.

The restaurant was started by Cuban immigrant Julian Lopez and was renowned for its high-end dinner entrees, which included pork chops, steak and prime rib, salmon, lobster, and other fresh seafood.

The building had a distinctive A-frame structure in front attached to a much larger building.

The interior had room for a dance floor in addition to the dining space and the back wall, past the central bar area, had a long Hawaiian mural beach scene.

Brightly colored tropical masks decorated some of the other walls.

Closed in 2012.

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 Lola Lo location opened in April 2012 in what was previously the space occupied by Sakura bar and closed in November 2016. It was replaced by Lincoln Fever (a disco bar).

Set in a basement in the heart of Lincoln, one of the biggest challenges for the design team was how to incorporate a historical Roman wall through the middle of the space that had to remain visible but untouchable, so incorporating the elements of stone, a silhouette of Moais was incorporated on the glass to allude to their natural origins.

The main club room with flaming bar front and reclaimed timber wall had unique hand-painted volcano graphics and was surrounded by other tropical décor well known at Lola Lo’s such as the puffer fish lanterns and fisherman’s floats lights, fish traps and tapa cloth and vintage Hawaiian print seating. Seating area tables had glass-topped curiosity boxes showing off shrunken heads.

Opened May 25th, 2011.

This location was a dance club with themed parties 5 nights a week, decked out in hand-carved wood with Tiki booths. It was one of several in a chain of Lola Lo bar/restaurants (including Bristol, Cambridge, Manchester, and Reading) with only Bristol and Reading remaining after late 2024.

September 5th, 2024, the Lola Lo bar announced a change of ownership and that they would be named "Kiki's" going forward (presumably keeping the same Tiki/Hawaiian theme).

This speakeasy style nautical bar is adjacent to (and owned by) Hula's Modern Tiki in uptown Phoenix and also opened in 2018. Look for the unmarked porthole door outside.

From Hula's Modern Tiki website:

"Set sail from HULA'S Phoenix every Thursday - Saturday from 6pm to close, step through the porthole door to explore, and let the waves carry you away to The Captain's Cabin, where a late ’40s era Tahitian sailor’s bar meets the modern day craft cocktail lounge. It's the perfect spot to savor HULA’S “Uku Nui” Cocktail Menu (which means “premium” in Hawaiian); hand-shaken with fresh squeezed juices and housemade bitters and syrups. Plus, sip & savor HULA’S Rum Flights, allowing you to take your taste buds on a self-guided tropical tour of some of the world’s finest rums. Truth is, you never know what kind of craft cocktail shenanigan's "The Captain" might be up to!"

Hours: Friday & Saturday, 6pm to Close

This bar has only a few tiki decorations and is overwhelmingly nautical but it is a fun themed space adjacent to Hula's. PRO TIP: It does not have bathrooms, so you may have to step back into Hula's next door. Plan accordingly.

The Chi Chi opened in 1936 as the Desert Grill. Eventually, Jack Freeman sold his financial interest in the profitable eatery to his business partner, Irwin Schuman, who revamped it as a fancy Polynesian-style restaurant and bar.

Schuman christened his new venture Chi Chi Grill Cocktail Lounge in 1938 — inspired by an exotic portrait of a topless Hawaiian girl painted by Edgar Leeteg he’d seen in an art gallery on a trip to Honolulu.

Credit for the club’s name also has been attributed to Palm Springs artist Jack Church, who reportedly dubbed the painting “the Chi Chi girl” because of her sexy expression. For good luck, Schuman displayed a copy of Leeteg’s portrait, Hina Rapa, on the wall of his cocktail lounge. Onlookers found the image of the smiling native girl so captivating that Schuman blithely had it reprinted on cocktail napkins, dishware, glasses, matchbooks, swizzle sticks, menus, and playing cards. These dinner-table items quickly became prized souvenirs.

“I did not give Chi Chi permission to use my Hina Rapa to reproduce in any way,” complained Leeteg in an angry letter from his home in Tahiti. “The least they could do is to give me a credit line, but that is too much to expect from a Hollywood gin mill.”

The unexpected controversy helped publicize the tropical-themed restaurant; and Schuman opened a second Chi Chi bar in 1946 on Santa Catalina Island. More locations followed in Riverside, Hollywood, Long Beach, and San Diego.

The media described this giant supper club as “The second biggest nightclub west of the Mississippi,” where some of the brightest names in showbiz gathered for more than 25 years.

Practically any New York and Las Vegas headliner that ever took a bow performed at the Chi Chi in its heyday: song and dance pioneers such as Eddie Cantor, Sophie Tucker, Rudy Vallee, the Ritz Brothers, Lena Horne, and Mickey Rooney, along with virtuoso performers such as Tony Martin, Jane Russell, Hoagy Carmichael, Rosemary Clooney, Johnny Mathis, and Peggy Lee.

The Chi Chi lasted until 1977 when it was torn down and replaced by The Desert Fashion Plaza.

Strong Water Anaheim is a tropical, nautical bar with Asian inspired food and a small hidden room full of wonder based on the mid-1800s mysterious shipwreck of the vessel Clementine. Brought to you by the owners of Blind Rabbit, this Packing House-adjacent bar has a whole back bar dedicated just to gin and also serves up tropical libations and Asian-Hawaiian inspired appetizers and entrees. It does have some tikis throughout, a fountain shaped like a giant moss-covered skull, and a tiki mug cabinet with several shelves of mugs -- vintage and from other establishments and events.

Opened August 15th, 2019.

Located in the Canvas Condos tower, Esotico's chic take on the retro Polynesian Pop theme featured bold tropical wallpaper offset by black-and-white checkerboard flooring and a contemporary exposed ceiling. Lush greenery tied together décor such as a Hawaiian surfboard, muted sconce lamps and track lighting. Potted plants surround the patio while a backlit bar featured a bamboo footrest and nearly 230 rums, including Daniele Dalla Pola's own label, Alamea.

On 11/18/22, they opened a speakeasy adjacent space, the Kaona Room, which was accessible through either Esotico's interior secret door or through an exterior secret door beneath next door's Caribbean Water Supply. The Kaona Room is a bit more traditional tiki with its decor, and is more than just overflow seating -- including an entirely separate bar. For more on the Kaona Room, please see separate listing.

*NOTE: Dalla Pola announced the closing of Esotico Miami, beginning March 3rd, 2024, with the assurance that the Kaona Room would remain open.