Post #347838 by PrimoDakine on Wed, Dec 5, 2007 12:18 AM

I haven't seen this mentioned, but with all the lamenting about the loss of tiki in Waikiki and changes at the International Market Place, I'd like to let you know some of the "treehouses" have actually been restored and reopened..
The food court has just recently re-opened on April 1st. I'm not sure what's different about it. I guess they just had a major cleaning & repainting..otherwise, no changes I can see.

Yep Waikiki decor/entertainment is now sadly directed toward those tourons who like the las vegas crap. and the days of kodak hula show and old complete Polynesian Revues have gone the way of the wind.

"Treehouses" have not been restored. The most that can be said is many of the upstairs shops that were vacant for so long, are now open. Dennis has the Lava cafe that overlooks the makai portion of the I.M.P. and the ewa side where we would be able to pop over the 'bridge' to spok da Trader Vic's building. Now all demolished and paved. This area now houses about 10 or so kiosks to make available to you, the tourist with expendable, indiscriminate income, a plethorah of junk made in China and da Phillipines. (Ertatz tiki knows no bounds. Come and get it!) Dennis has alotta tiki hoohaa up there. The usual mugs. carved tikis for da tourist trade of good size. But you will NEVER see the old treehouses up anytime within your lifespan, Nor your kid's. Nor theirs.

and the upstairs structures are no where near the lineage of the treehouses. In fact they, to a purist, can be justifiably rebuked, for they have supplanted alotta what made D. Beach's locale very special. (More on that later.) But of course, i can't begrudge Dennis' business, nor his efforts. he is providing a bit of an oasis in an otherwise dreary overly commercial shopping center.

[ Edited by: PrimoDakine 2007-12-05 00:26 ]