This simplified 20-unit pueblo deco complex opened in 1947 and featured exposed red brick buildings and attached carports. The original art deco sign was discarded in the mid-20th century when the property was renamed the Tiki Motel. It was replaced with a sign in the shape of a Polynesian war shield and mask outlined with neon.

In the years since its heyday, the front pool was filled in with dirt and fenced off. The red brick was covered in stucco and most of the side windows covered over (many fitted with window a/c), leaving only the front and back windows for each unit. Industrial spike-out fencing lined the exterior and only a couple of palms were left.

Although the exterior paint on the buildings and the roofs had been maintained and it presented as a maintained motel, reviews warned that the low daily room prices attracted an unsavory clientele.

As of February 2021 the motel was listed for sale on loop.net for $900K.

The sign was the only thing tiki about this otherwise dated and bottom-tier motel. However, in November 2021, the Tiki Motel sign came down and was donated to Tucson Historic Preservation, thus ending this site's current interest to tikiphiles, but preserving the history.

This theme park included Trader Frank's restaurant.

In the mid-1940s, "Trader" Frank Byars and his wife, "Wahine" Jo Byars, ran a small St. Petersburg hotel. His wife began making jewelry from shells, and Mr. Byars saw that they were more than pretty; they were sellable.

They lost the lease on their hotel and decided to move forward with his wife's jewelry and other related gifts.

They bought the inventory of a failed gift shop, stocked it with similar shell jewelry, and started the Signal House, ultimately one of the Suncoast's largest gift shops. To attract customers, Mr. Byars put in a small Polynesian garden.

The Signal House burned in 1962, and they decided to rebuild it in earnest as a real tourist attraction.

They researched to see if there were any other attractions in the state with a Polynesian atmosphere and found none.

Thus came about Tiki Gardens, several gift shop, and its 450-seat restaurant, Trader Frank's, on 7 acres of palmetto swampland overlooking the bay and Gulf of Mexico.

The layout was greatly influenced by The International Marketplace in Honolulu and its gift shops and restaurants.

The tiki gods were designed by Gordon Keith Originals of Columbus, Ohio.

From the start, back in 1964, business was good. Auto clubs and tourist guides soon recognized Tiki Gardens as a Florida attraction.

In 1988, Mr. Byars and his wife sold the attraction to Australian investors Neville Schmidt and Darrell Roder. As partial payment they accepted $1-million in opals.

Tiki Gardens was subsequently closed and later, in 1990, Pinellas County commissioners approved plans to buy the site where Tiki Gardens stood and turn it into a park.

Tiki Mug Shop in Buenos Aires-Caballito.

From Honolulu Tiki Mugs:

"Honolulu Tiki Mugs was born in 2016 out of our love of Polynesian pop culture. We are creators of Tiki Mugs, designed by Juan Cives, the creative mind behind our brand. Our designs are ideal for enjoying your favorite cocktails."

This small Milwaukee tiki bar opened above Redbar, located at 2245 E. St. Francis Ave.

The lounge, whose name fittingly means "red" in Hawaiian, will only open on weekends – kind of like a pop-up bar in a permanent space.

Lee Guk, who was the proprietor of Tiki Joe's in Walker's Point, will operate the lounge, along with Carrie Wisnewski and Nick Schell, who own the building and Redbar.

"We had a very under-utilized space (on the second floor) and this seems like a perfect way to showcase it," says Wisnewski.

Friday-Saturday nights 6-12am

Cash only!

Opened @ 2018.

This is a small outdoor Tiki Bar/ Snackbar south of Leipzig/Germany.

Tiki Underground was opened in February 2017 by Sean and Jessie Coffey.

The large space was lined with bac-bac matting and bamboo, with plenty of thatch. There were carved Witco pieces, and light-up moai.

They served cocktails and beer and also had a food menu and live music.

November 24, 2021 was Tiki Underground’s last call in this Hudson location. The bar moved to a new space at 1832 Front St, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221 in September of 2022.

The Tiki Room started out at the Toltec Building in December of 2020 and then moved to this new space in January 2023.

By all accounts this is a larger space. However, customers will recognize the tikis and other design elements from the old location.

There is also continuity with a similar drink menu to the old location. The food menu, however, is expanded.

Situated next to historic Duranguito in Union Plaza, The Tiki Room is located near Southwest University Stadium, the El Paso Convention Center, the Museum of Art, San Jacinto Plaza and more.

The Tipsy Tiki opened some time prior to December 2021, with little to no change in decor from its previous incarnation as The Myna Bird (which ran from 2017 to 2020).

Located in the International Market Place in Honolulu, in the Kuhio Avenue Food Hall, this bar was rebranded as being part of the La Pina Cantina next door.

Opened in 2015.

Luau Tiki Bar's Mission Statement:

"The idea for the Luau Tiki Bar was born from a passion for making drinks, a concept bar in pure exotic style that aims to convey the idyllic atmosphere and mixing style of the typical bars born in the American tiki era in the mid-1930s."

Owner Phil Tory opened this tiki bar in September 2015 in the Dongcheng district of Beijing. A brief earlier incarnation of Bungalow was in another part of town. Most seating was outdoors, but a small amount of seating was available indoors with the bar. Tory and his aloha-shirt clad team served a slate of serious classic tiki cocktails. The small interior had tall tiki poles flanking a large collection of bottles.

In April 2017, a nearby fire didn't harm the Tiki Bungalow space, but the decision was made to raze its building anyhow.

The Tiki Bungalow reopened at 46 Fangjia Hutong (enter from Jiaodaokou Bei Santiao, next to Peiping Taphouse). The bar is slightly bigger than it used to be when housed at its former location. The bar menu is pretty exhaustive, showcasing house cocktails as well as a wide selections of cocktails from other tiki bars from around the world.

Opened in 2021 underneath a Vietnamese restaurant in DC's Adams Morgan neighborhood.

Tiny Tiki is a small, intimate bar, seating around 30 people, with 6-8 at the bar. The decor is traditional tiki, with lowered lights, statues, carvings, and Polynesian-pop decoration throughout. A very large Moai at the entrance faces a decommissioned Vespa next to the table seating. The drink menu covers the Tiki greatest-hits with a reasonably extensive rum list, organized by origin. The bartenders will take orders off menu. No food is available, but can be brought in from neighboring shops.

*NOTE: Not to be confused with the Tiny Tiki in Spokane, Washington (closed "temporarily" since 2021).

Tiny Tiki closed on 29 June, 2024.

November 24, 2021 was Tiki Underground’s last call in its previous Hudson location. The bar moved to this new space at 1832 Front St, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221 in September of 2022.

“The far side is the side of the volcano the ship ran aground, and the other side is the ship itself,” says co-owner Sean Coffey (Jessie Coffey is the other co-owner).

Arched wooden beams and portholes showing fish at the National Aquarium create the illusion of the design by “Doktor” Bill Lynn, an artist and Kahuna Kings drummer who has played the bar. Lynn made a molten concrete wall with skulls to emulate volcanic rock that backs the thatch roof-covered bar. And a hallway becomes the jungle with hanging plants and a giant skull with glowing red eyes.

“The idea for any tiki bar is escapism,” says Coffey. “You lose track of time. That’s the idea of forgetting about your troubles.”

Tiki Underground tells stories of the tiki movement through gallery-worthy memorabilia, including a large wooden tiki from Cleveland’s former Kon Tiki.