Post #600162 by Iolani on Sun, Jul 31, 2011 6:10 PM

Thanks, everybody for the advice and tips. We had a great time at the Polynesian and I was pleasantly surprised by the overall experience and atmosphere.

Here are a few pictures of carvings not yet posted in this thread or on Critiki's site. Not the best camerawork, but they were all taken under the influence of Walter's mai tais as well as the endless jugs of Ku'ulei's Punch.

A bunch of tikis, tucked under the northeast staircase in the Great Ceremonial House:

I was pleasantly surprised to find some (very large) Maori carvings. This is the only one with a decent photo:

Next to the large Maori panel hung this massive Tapa. Unlike any other works in the resort, this one had a decent description of tapa and its uses, but unfortunately no history of the piece on display:

As everybody noted, the old Tangaroa Terrace building exists, but its interior is barren. I asked the staff at the Kamehemeha Club if they could arrange for me to poke around the Tangaroa to take pictures, but they said that other than the laundromat and children's clubhouse now in the building, the rest of the space is stripped and the original artwork distributed around the resort. They reported that many of the works in the Hawaii Longhouse came from the old Tangaroa. Here are a few:

The really big guy in the lounge:

And a couple of fun Papuan style carvings that remain on the Tangaroa's exterior: