Welcome to the Tiki Central 2.0 Beta. Read the announcement
Celebrating classic and modern Polynesian Pop

Tiki Central / General Tiki / New Don the Beachcomber opening in Hawaii? Photos

Post #219735 by dogbytes on Thu, Mar 9, 2006 1:45 PM

You are viewing a single post. Click here to view the post in context.
D

From their website

Royal Lahaina Resort
2780 Kekaa Drive,
Kaanapali, Maui, HI 96761

"Don the Beachcomber Lounge ~ A combination of the exotic Polynesian and Tiki retro styles blend together to create one of the best traditional bars that Kaanapali has to offer. As you soak in the soothing sounds of sexy jazz as it fades into the tropical and luscious surroundings enjoy a tantalizing tropical drink while being guarded by Tikis."

we were quite excited when we found Don's open! i wish it were daytime to take better pictures of the building (but perhaps Hanford can repost his) we were a little put off by the sign that tells customers to order from the bar before finding a seat. much more put off by the bartender with attitude. i guess he's more used to opening a bottle of bud than (god forbid) mixing anything.

its a huge building, and the lights are dimmed ~ i wanted to be impressed..

front sign

outside door tikis

couple of crazy things that don't match decor

(the hula maniquin, not me, silly)

and a monkey riding a banana, what the?

The space has wonderful structure


carved poles

i went to the restroom in hopes of finding more decor, instead i found a bathroom scarier than a truckstop. i took pictures of the door handles, which seem to be of resin.

restroom door handles

fantastic lamps and lahua matting on the ceilings



these are huge, probably 3 feet in diameter!!


cozy booths



tapa tablecloths and cute coconut monkeys

back entrance from the Luau

if i lived on Maui ~ i'm not sure there would be any reason to revisit this Don the Beachcomber. They serve no food or bar snacks. The bartender is devoid of personality, is "ass" a personality trait?. At least the alternative music [ooh grunge, just what i wanted to relax to!) and ESPN are not up full blast. no matches, napkins, swizzles, mugs or anything at all! fer crying out loud, every little plate lunch joint we went to had souvineer shirts!

there is so much potential! they have a full kitchen area (looks like the appliances are gone). Don's is right next to the Luau area ~ and could be a great source of clients who want to get away from the "drinks" served to tourists (but alas, the drinks served to us, were of the same quality.. and cost us 16 bucks for a "zombie" and a virgin pina colada.

the hotel bars are packed on Oahu, with less atmosphere, but the draw is the music.. local Uke players, trios, traditional hula dancers... all make for a great place to meet and drink. Don's could easily be such a destination.. they need a push in that direction!

but if you're visiting the island, i recommend you stop in, and maybe things will improve with time.

elicia

hm, maybe things could improve if we forward this thread to the manager (if its not the same lame bartender we met...)