The Reef Bar is within the Caliente Tropics Resort in Palm Springs, a historic tiki hotel that opened in 1964.

The bar at the Caliente Tropics has changed names, theming, and management many times over the years. Originally, the bar was the Congo Room restaurant, a steakhouse. After the Congo Room years, the bar adopted its most-used Reef Bar name, and there was also a brief period in the late-'00s when it was Hawaiian Bill's.

After many years with the bar in flux, as of March 4th, 2017 it re-opened under the management of Rory Snyder, perhaps best known as the organizer of the annual Tiki Caliente event at the Caliente Tropics (and Circa Caliente). The bar has large windows and a patio overlooking the hotel's swimming pool, and rather than fight the light, Snyder aims to differentiate from the other tiki bars in town and create a space that blends the mid-century history of Palm Springs with the classic tiki elements on the grounds. A menu of tropical drinks and food is available. See cocktail menu below...

In addition to mugs and glassware, the bar also sports its own line of branded rum bottles with label designs by Anthony Carpenter.

Hawaiian Bill's was the reincarnation of the Reef Bar at the Caliente Tropics hotel in Palm Springs. The Reef Bar had been remodeled by Bamboo Ben when it was still operated by the hotel; in 2006, the bar was transferred to independent owners, and the name was changed to Hawaiian Bill's. Traditional Hawaiian food was served, with live musicians playing Hawaiian music on Fridays and Saturdays.

Hawaiian Bill's closed in the summer of 2008. Today the space is again The Reef Bar.

Not a lot of photos around from Hawaiian Bill's today, but below is a photo showing Rory Snyder, Doug Horne, and Hawaiian Bill at Hawaiian Bill's circa 2006 (holding brown Doug Horne Tiki Farm Grog mugs).

This Trader Vic's was opened in the Caribe Hilton in 1961. It had a large A-frame entrance, with the front of the A-frame painted with rows of small, simple tropical-motif scenes, and an even larger, matching, swooping A-frame structure over a section of the restaurant that overlooked the ocean. The space is now called the Lemongrass Restaurant, and still has the larger, swooping A-frame structure.

Opened in the early 2000s.

This small tourist town in south Norway held this tiki bar, which was surprisingly rich in details like tapa cloth and bamboo despite the scarcity of such items in the area. The bar's hours fluctuated seasonally based on the presence of tourists in the town; the main season is summer and winter is the off-season.

It appears that some time after 2014 that the tiki elements were stripped out in favor of a modern dance club interior.

There is another Tonga Bar still operating as of 2023 in Bergen.

Bob Bryant and Earl Erwin opened this restaurant, often referred to as Tiki Bob's II, on October 24th, 1957 in the Capitol Inn Hotel, Sacramento. Supposedly, Erwin's wife was tired of driving to San Francisco to visit the first Tiki Bob's incarnation, so Erwin brought Tiki Bob's to Sacramento.

In addition to the South Seas Room, this location also had a Carribean, Pacifica, and Gold Room.

This tiki club originated in the 70s and lasted into at least the late 80s.

The Mali Kai menu is a good example of Poly Pop's transmission tradition, with its design being based on the famed Ren Clark's Polynesian Village in Fort Worth, TX menu.

Open till at least 1987, according to ads from the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

At some point the Red Carpet Motor Inn became The Henry VIII Inn and Lodge.

The Henry VIII Inn and Lodge remained in business until 2000 when it was removed to expand a runway area for the nearby airport.

Opened December 22nd, 2025.

Although having a tiki bar at Excalibur seems wildly off-theme, the space itself is very large and fairly well-decorated.

Aside from the pinstriped suit of wooden armor...which is just a bit of an odd mash-up.

The bar has proper lighting from hanging swag lamps, and is decked out in bamboo, and thatching, with carved tiki poles and zebra print covered barstools.

The entire back of the space is taken up by a large stage flanked by large screen televisions. With nothing playing, this is a bit of a black hole, but with a good Hawaiian style band, the entire vibe could change...

The area tables and chairs are sort of generic and there are areas of this large space that feel a bit neglected with just a piece of nautical rope dangling in the void as though they didn't quite have enough cash in reserve to lavish attention on every corner, but they can always fill-in gaps later if the bar proves successful.

That success may prove difficult with a less than memorable and generic name like "The Tiki Bar" paired with a cocktail menu that seems to have been engineered to promote certain liquor distributor favorites (Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum and Tito's Vodka and Fireball "Whiskey"). Rather than honoring classic tiki cocktails and the craft cocktail revolution they seem to be pushing relatively simple "boat drinks" with inexpensive base alcohol. Despite this, they have still slapped premium prices on all their drinks at $17 and $18 a piece.

Still, the potential is there, and it will be interesting to see how this new venture forges ahead.

Opened January 1961 at the corner of Roscoe at Desoto in Canoga Park, CA.

Opened in 1998.

This restaurant serves Hawaiian style comfort food.

They do not serve tiki/tropical cocktails (beer & wine only) and the decor is minimal. They have some beach scene wallpaper murals and a small carved tiki at the front check-in stand which has a small thatched roof.

The focus is more on the food than the atmosphere, but the food appears to be very good and authentic Hawaiian style.

There was also a second version in Manhattan Beach, CA that ran from 2002-2013.

The Cheeki Tiki Bar in Cala d'Or is mostly outdoor but there is also room inside. You will be entertained by some parrots in a chilled atmosphere surrounded by nice decor. It is a classic Tiki bar with a lot of bamboo but green and blue lights keep it bright. Cocktails are pretty good and they come in mugs from Spanish production.

*NOTE: Only open in summer season.

Opened in 1982.

Mabu-Hay has both indoor and outdoor seating with plenty of rattan & bamboo furniture and decor. The interior is dark and moody as classic tiki bars tend to be, but if you want to sit outside on the patio/lanai and people watch, you can do that as well. They appear to have cocktails served in both vessels by Porcelanas Pavon as well as some of their own ceramic creations. There is a large moai out front and several other standing tikis throughout, that appear to be sculpted, rather than carved (perhaps out of concrete or fiberglass or some other material).

Opened in 1977.

El Jube was a cocktail pub located in the old "U", in front of the "La Laguna" Health Center.

It was a calm and exotic place, jungle-like, with hanging plants everywhere, branches on the ceilings, fruits, and, a small fountain in the center, with a waterfall included, and two parakeets in a cage.

At the entrance there was a container with peanuts so that you could feed the birds.

At one point, they also had at least one monkey -- Arturo, whose owner from time to time took him for a walk around the block of the premises.

Toward the end of its life, the owners tried to convert the theme into a western/cowboy atmosphere, which many found quite jarring given its history.

The pub closed in November 2017, just as it was about to celebrate its 40th anniversary.