T
Joined: Feb 01, 2005
Posts: 735
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T
The Missus and I were on Maui this past April, and were able to stop by the Royal Lahaina. The Don the Beachcomber building looks better than it does in photos. The A-frame is awesome.
The bar inside was dead! They currently use it as a lounge for VIP luau guests. You pay extra for your luau ticket and rather than have to stand in line, you get to go get a drink. Not a bad deal, I guess.
The carpet or flooring or whatever was probably in there at one point was gone and the booths were in pretty bad shape. Tears in the seats and whatnot. The lauhala matting on the ceiling was in pretty bad shape too. There was a kitchen area in the back of the building that was not being used.
The drinks were served in clear plastic cups, but you could opt for a tiki mug (one of the tiki farm artist four pack mugs-- the newer ones with the brown glaze) for like $10. I got a Kalifornia Ku. Not too bad.
We chatted with the bartender (who was pretty nice) and asked about the plans for the building.
He said the same thing that James said. They're going to do a huge expansion on the property, and they're going to build a new DTB that will be something more like what the Royal Kona has on the Big Island. It'll be closer to the water so people get an ocean view. I didn't get an actual price tag, but I guess they're making it pretty massive.
They're going to raze the building that currently exists. Really sad considering it's such an excellent piece of architecture.
All of this should be happening in the next year or two, according to the bartender we talked to.
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