The Bamboo House (formerly the Outrigger) , Prince George, BC, Canada (restaurant) - Locating Tiki

T thekazz Member Vancouver, BC Joined: Jul 10, 2008 Posts: 1	T thekazz Posted posted on Thu, Jul 10, 2008 11:41 AM I was up in PG on business recently too, and being new to the world of Tiki didn't know about Esther's but fortunately got moved there for my last night when the hotel my office had booked me in was overbooked. What a stroke of luck! Quick recap: -Monsoon Lounge: the bar sandwiched in between the Tradewinds restaurant and the main entrance/atrium. Small, dark, masks on the walls, $15 surf n' turf special with mediocre drinks. Too bad there's no pictures of this spot, it seemed like a real gem (drinks and drinkers - read on - notwithstanding). -The main atrium: HUGE, with gardens, multiple pools and hot tubs, bridges, masks, tikis -The Tradewinds restaurant: Orchid room looked like Reid-O's darker picture, and also had a large outdoor "gazebo" under a thatch roof overlooking the Gardens. A coworker told me later that Sunday brunch they have there includes a pig roast! The scoop on the place is that it was a couple of stand-alone hotels that were acquired by the owners, who connected everything by building the huge atrium over top of the grounds and creating gardens around the pools, etc. It's known as a great weekend party place for the locals because where else can you immerse yourself in the tropics during those harsh Northern winters. The owner of Esther's is probably the person to speak to about the remnants of Outrigger; clearly a major tikiphile. The outrigger canoe in Reid-O's picture and some of the tikis at the entrance to the Tradewinds apparently came from the Outrigger, the boat being the one that used to hang from the roof there (see Dustycajun's postcard pic on page 2). The bartender told me the owner of Esther's acquired most of the stuff from the Outrigger/Bamboo House some time back. Having spent about a week up there, seeing other hotels and the rest of the town, I agree with other posters who mentioned that there wasn't much in PG. Downtown at 5pm on a Friday in June was a bit of a war zone. Stores all closing/closed, nobody on the streets except some truly seedy characters, and the thrill of seeing the Bamboo House A-frame tamped down by a couple lighting up their crack pipes in the entranceway. So, Tikiphiles, don't confuse Prince George with California. Northern BC is going through some hard times (major layoffs almost weekly, serious drug problems, and the city shut down by major flooding and fires several times in the last year alone!), and it really showed. The monsoon lounge was less laughter and ukeleles and more solitary, taciturn drinkers. This being said, Esther's was a real oasis up there! Sure, it had some rough edges, but considering Tiki joints have been closing in much more prosperous places, keeping a giant Tiki temple like this one alive in a small Northern town is something special. So if you're ever in that area, particularly during the winter, be sure to check it out!

I was up in PG on business recently too, and being new to the world of Tiki didn't know about Esther's but fortunately got moved there for my last night when the hotel my office had booked me in was overbooked. What a stroke of luck!

Quick recap:
-Monsoon Lounge: the bar sandwiched in between the Tradewinds restaurant and the main entrance/atrium. Small, dark, masks on the walls, $15 surf n' turf special with mediocre drinks. Too bad there's no pictures of this spot, it seemed like a real gem (drinks and drinkers - read on - notwithstanding).
-The main atrium: HUGE, with gardens, multiple pools and hot tubs, bridges, masks, tikis
-The Tradewinds restaurant: Orchid room looked like Reid-O's darker picture, and also had a large outdoor "gazebo" under a thatch roof overlooking the Gardens. A coworker told me later that Sunday brunch they have there includes a pig roast!
The scoop on the place is that it was a couple of stand-alone hotels that were acquired by the owners, who connected everything by building the huge atrium over top of the grounds and creating gardens around the pools, etc. It's known as a great weekend party place for the locals because where else can you immerse yourself in the tropics during those harsh Northern winters.

The owner of Esther's is probably the person to speak to about the remnants of Outrigger; clearly a major tikiphile. The outrigger canoe in Reid-O's picture and some of the tikis at the entrance to the Tradewinds apparently came from the Outrigger, the boat being the one that used to hang from the roof there (see Dustycajun's postcard pic on page 2). The bartender told me the owner of Esther's acquired most of the stuff from the Outrigger/Bamboo House some time back.

Having spent about a week up there, seeing other hotels and the rest of the town, I agree with other posters who mentioned that there wasn't much in PG. Downtown at 5pm on a Friday in June was a bit of a war zone. Stores all closing/closed, nobody on the streets except some truly seedy characters, and the thrill of seeing the Bamboo House A-frame tamped down by a couple lighting up their crack pipes in the entranceway.

So, Tikiphiles, don't confuse Prince George with California. Northern BC is going through some hard times (major layoffs almost weekly, serious drug problems, and the city shut down by major flooding and fires several times in the last year alone!), and it really showed. The monsoon lounge was less laughter and ukeleles and more solitary, taciturn drinkers.

This being said, Esther's was a real oasis up there! Sure, it had some rough edges, but considering Tiki joints have been closing in much more prosperous places, keeping a giant Tiki temple like this one alive in a small Northern town is something special. So if you're ever in that area, particularly during the winter, be sure to check it out!

Post #393025 by thekazz on Thu, Jul 10, 2008 11:41 AM