Post #304960 by Tom Slick on Tue, May 8, 2007 4:06 PM

Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Marilyn Monroe, President Kennedy,....oh the list can go on and on, but none had dined at Trader Vics Lounge. This is, in my humble opinion the main point(for me, at least). Destroy something with cultural history and a great background/enviroment, and move it to an entirely different(don't forget smaller) location, defeats all that history and the original architecture all together. There is no place left with that kind of stigmata in California, period. The decent thing that the Hilton could have done is have had a farewell weekend to the old location and mention that they are not indeeed gone for good, but relocating Trader Vic's into the Hotel main building. Maybe even throw in some prices from the 1955 grand opening date of the original location**(1 weekend only)**, and people may not have felt as bitter as they are now. Nobody here can say that would have been bad...Hell, they GAVE away Mai Tais apparently for FREE on the Grand Opening of the Trader Vic's Lounge....But it is all done, and I am cleaning my hands of the dirty mess that the Hilton passed off to the public. And for the record, I will NOT be going to show support by buying anything at the new lounge in an act of my own protest. They can sell out, but I won't!