Post #233571 by donhonyc on Tue, May 23, 2006 1:44 PM

Those motels still exist. Unfortunately, they are best enjoyed from the outside.

Totally true. I stayed in Wildwood for a weekend two or three summers ago, and the Tiki hotels as well as all of the other hotels are exactly that; cool looking on the outside, generic (as hell) on the inside. I stayed at the Kona Kai and it was no big deal. The lobby I think had one or two tikis in it and our room, which was kind of old-ish looking but nice, had a sort of small half assed tiki on the wall. But with all of the tiki-ish looking places there isn't a real Tiki bar or any cool tiki souvenirs to be found anywhere. Trust me...I LOOKED. The closest I came, at least to a Tropical drink was at a seafood restaurant called Shellenger's. Sorta fun place with an exterior that is shaped and decorated like a fishing boat. The menu was on par with maybe a Red Lobster. They had a drink there kind of like a Mai Tai called the 'Captain's Special' that was served in a souvenir glass with the restaurant logo on it. Okay..but....YAWN.

There are definitely alot of cool neon motel signs everywhere. You could do a calendar of photos with them. There is also that Tiki mini golf place, but for me if there is tiki there should be a tiki bar. So at the end of my stay I walked away thinking Wildwood was okay, but definitely not on my top ten list of vacation spots. If you're thinking of going there, I would advise you look at your other options in the area. For as wierd and depressing as Atlantic City can be, I think I'd rather go there than Wildwood...but then again...maybe not. You know what? Just go to Ft. Lauderdale, visit the Mai Kai a few times when you're there and be done with it.

[ Edited by: donhonyc 2006-05-23 15:08 ]