Post #586510 by TikiTomD on Mon, Apr 25, 2011 6:09 PM

In a diversion on the Moon Islander thread, the Makai surfaced...

On 2011-04-24 10:09, TikiTomD wrote:

On 2011-04-20 10:35, bigbrotiki wrote:
Hey Brian, I just heard there is a new Tiki bar coming to Ormond Beach, no other info though. I wonder how Julian's and the Aku Tiki Inn are doing...

Sven, my beach house is only about 15 miles north of Ormond Beach, Florida, so I frequently take the scenic route back towards work on Hwy A1A south from Flagler Beach to Port Orange. Julian's, the Aku Tiki Inn and the Hawaiian Inn are all still open and are recognizable from their heritage photos. I remember attending a pretty good Polynesian show at the Hawaiian Inn decades ago. Even the Makai, shown on page 263 of Tiki Modern, still lives on as a dated beach lodge. My new bride and I spent our honeymoon night at the Makai forty-one years ago when it was quite a bit newer (and so were we). In 2006, we snapped these photos passing by...

-Tom

Then the reply...

On 2011-04-24 14:37, bigbrotiki wrote:
Thanks for the Makai pics, Tom, it is great to see the Tiki sign all fixed up again, after it had been destroyed by that bad hurricane. When I travelled the area in 2005 to photograph the various hotels for Tiki Modern, it was down, or I would have shown a close up of it. All I had was that carved piece of wood in the lobby. :)

Judging by this 80s brochure photo of the lobby, the Makai also sported some Witco decor (note "Female Dancer" ...and spear!) once, which by the time of my visit was non-existent:

But the picture suggest that there might have been more Tiki stuff around the place at one point - do you remember any of that?
I am sure you had nothing better to do on your honeymoon than marvel at the burned wood Tikis in the place! :D

What’s interesting to note is among the 2006 photos Uncle Trav credited to Tiki-Kiliki...

Sven, I can see your Witco "Female Dancer" and "Spear" through the window in Tiki-Kiliki’s 2006 “Moai” photo. That suggests the very worst of luck in timing for your 2005 Tiki Modern research visit. The lodge must have temporarily stashed the Witco lobby décor elsewhere following the 2004 hurricanes, while temporarily stowing the logo sign remnants there. And, coincidentally, we took our photos in 2006 after the sign had been restored, perhaps unknowingly missing Tiki-Kiliki a few moments in time… how strange!

-Tom