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 in Summer of 2022.

Located inside the premises occupied for 20 years by a fish and chip shop, first known as Mr Chippy and later rebranded as Hook & Line.

Owned by Maria Pavlou and her partners who also own Vudu Lounge and have run it since 2004 in the same building.

The name "Dum Dum" comes from the Moai character in the Night at the Museum movies.

The interior is what they describe as "Tiki Modern" by which they mean sparse and uncluttered without doing the immersive decor that is familiar to those tikiphiles who are used to the old school standards set by Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic's. Dum Dum's booths and stools incorporate rattan and earth toned vinyl padded seating. Walls are covered with tropical leaf prints. A couple of walls feature fake foliage and neon lighting with messages like "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Rum, Forest, Rum". Ceilings are lit with swag lamps and the space over the bar is draped with several dozen fake flower leis. There are a few small foot-tall Moai statues on one wall, but no large carvings...and especially with the bar's name, it seems like there should be at least one massive Moai on premises, even if carved of foam or fiberglass. Artwork and decor is lacking, but this stripped-down space is more focused on the club crowd who are there to dance.

That said, they appear to have a thriving cocktail menu with a variety of their own concoctions as well as old standards to choose from... and they do serve drinks in tiki mugs.

Opened in October 2016.

Restaurant with Tiki atmosphere and vegetarian-vegan-fusion cuisine in the heart of Berlin.

A small tiki bar is the centerpiece of the Restaurant. One part of is used as breakfastroom for the Artim hotel nextdoor.

Drinks are served in tiki mugs or tiki glassware.

There is also a spin-off in Kastanienallee 49, 10119 Berlin but not comparable.

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.

This Polynesian themed bar and restaurant was located within The Oaks hotel. The Oaks was a family business -- apparently two large 3-story houses joined together in the middle -- and resembling a boutique Bed and Breakfast -- but was gradually developed into a larger construction.

Olu Oaksu was a single room within the hotel -- it had lava stone walls, spears, masks, and other decorations and apparently was considered quite swanky when it opened.

Their menu logo was taken directly from the Kon-Tiki Montreal menu cover Tiki from 1958 -- a popular image later used by the Tiki-Ti in Hollywood and a few others.

Also about 1958, The Oaks started accepting long-term guests and this signaled a decline.

The property was sold a few years later, and leveled, and in 1962 the site welcomed a new Travelodge motel. Sometime in the 80s or 90s, the Travelodge was re-named as the River Inn, which later devolved and became a crash pad for drug users and an eyesore for the neighborhood.

The River Inn was then torn down in 2013 and a few years later the property was turned into a Pride Convenience Store location.

Previously at Sip Coffee & Beer Garage next door, Undertow closed their first location in December 2020 and re-opened in this larger location at The Century Grand in March 2021.

This larger space allowed Undertow to enhance the experience by adding more audio and visual effects, decorations, and a little bit more seating.

They've added six more seats to the bar, a second six-person booth, an additional two-person table, more portholes, and cinema-quality sound.

Some of the newest decorations include a new hand-carved bar by Tiki Diablo (Danny Gallardo) and "Emily," a real figurehead that was salvaged from the bow of a ship

As of October 11th, 2022, there is also a sister location in in Gilbert, Arizona.

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.

This was the speakeasy style tiki bar hidden behind the already excellent Archipelago DC tiki bar. Lost Island aimed to recreate a much more traditional Tiki escape from the city outside. Quiet, dark, completely removed from the U Street nightlife, the Lost Island had its own custom menu of classic and modern tiki drinks. A small bar area was separated from table seating. Access was by reservation only.

The Lost Island was temporarily closed during the pandemic, but never reopened. With the closing of parent bar Archipelago on 08/26/2023, the Lost Island is permanently closed.

Since 2009, B.G. Reynolds has been selling the syrups needed for classic tropical drinks: orgeat, passion fruit, cinnamon, vanilla, special Don the Beachcomber blends, and more. The brand was originally called "Trader Tiki" and changed to "B.G. Reynolds" in 2011. In November 2015, this tasting room and storefront opened in southeast Portland. In addition to the syrups, the store also offered barware, tiki mugs, pre-mixed bottled tropical drinks, vintage aloha wear, and special cocktail mixing classes. The retail store closed in April 2016, but the syrups are still available from their online store, and are distributed to stores across the country.

Freaky Boutiki started out in 1999 as the Freak Factory, selling a mix of original art, retro items, surf stuff and midcentury pieces. After a fire in 2006, owner "Hodad" Hank Adelson transformed it into Freaky Boutiki, with a stronger emphasis on all things Polynesian Pop.

The store billed itself as a "coastal curiosity shoppe" and had a great mix of items: art by modern tiki artists, Oceanic art pieces, nautical knick-knacks, tiki mugs, aloha wear, carvings, and more. Freaky Tiki had work by many well-beloved tiki artists, including Ken Ruzic, Heather Watts, Derek Yaniger, Doug Horne, Sam Gambino, Squid (especially his Acme Bakeware line), Tiki Tony, Shag and more.

In July 2016, Adelson sold the store to a new owner. It now operates under the name "Boutiki" but does not retain the Polynesian Pop focus of its predecessor.

Beach Bumz is a small store within a shopping center in Kihei, selling tourist items, including plenty of tiki mugs and other items of interest to the modern tikiphile. In the same shopping center as South Shore Tiki Lounge.

The Rendez'vous opened in Summer 2005. Tropical drinks are served in tiki mugs and volcano bowls, and are mixed using fresh ingredients -- including mint. Decor includes pieces from Oceanic Arts and local carver Lake Tiki. Pretzels are available, and light food may be added in the future.