Post #410293 by mrsmiley on Sat, Sep 27, 2008 1:25 AM

On 2008-09-19 02:33, TIKIWAGON wrote:
Trader vic would not approved of how sad his chain has become.What a shame a proper tiki bar (taboo cove) was torn down for this joke.

While it is true that it is a shame that a good looking tiki bar (taboo cove) was torn down, Trader Vic's Las Vegas had nothing to do with it. Taboo Cove was in the Venetian (I think Tao Nightclub is there now) and Trader Vics is over a mile away at Planet Hollywood (what used to be the Aladdin).
Taboo Cove had a great interior, mostly tacky employees, often mediocre drinks, a hidden location (although easy to get to once you knew the shortcut) and non-existent promotion. Add 9/11 to the mix (the bar opened a couple months earlier) and it was a recipe for disaster.
TvLv has a crappy interior, some good employees, usually good or better drinks and food, a great(visible) location, and good promotion. The boringness of the space and the overall inconsistency of the service, food and drinks ,though, are TvLv's recipe for disaster.
I'd hate to lose a local Tiki bar, but this location does some harm to the Trader Vic's brand. (For those that have visited)-imagine having heard about Trader Vics and wondering what it is about. So you go to the Vegas one for the first time-you'll probably never want to go to another one again. At the best, you would wonder why others are so excited about Trader Vics and "tiki".
I haven't been to Tahiti Joes in Vegas (702-440-6950)in a while, but it it looks a billion times better than TvLv does.