Post #617480 by Kenike on Thu, Dec 15, 2011 5:27 PM

The Castaways, located in Manitou Springs, CO, well seasoned spot that has lost much of the magic it apparently once had and yet you can still find a lot of interesting things if you look hard enough. Sadly, based on the little info I was able to gather when I visited last July, it’s days are numbered. The staff seem like a nice bunch of folks who just can’t pretend to be excited anymore.

The Castway’s promotes itself as "The Pirate Restaurant." I never got a clear answer but it sounds like the pirate thing came about to capitalize on the popularity of "Pirates of the Caribbean." The staff all dress in pirate garb and there's some pirate-y stuff around, but mostly a hodge-podge of cheap plastic safari animals and trinkets mixed with pink flamingos.

If you look closely enough you can tell that at one time this place was very tiki. There's a few poles that have been painted and a big tiki inside the main entrance. It too was painted but most of the paint was worn off. Those fangs didn’t seem to belong on a tiki that looked to be fairly old, but a fanged tiki is what you’re greeted with upon entering.

I was told this giant shell lamp was hand-made by a loyal customer and given as a gift to the owner several years ago.

Several of the lamps look Orchids of Hawaii-ish and a few of the booths had some tapa decor and bamboo.

This old buffet or salad bar now only serves up fake plastic fish and booster seats

I did spot one float and one fish trap

The drink menu had several drinks I'm used to seeing on a Trader Vics menu...The Fogcutter and Suffering Bastard taste basically the same (and nothing like the original) and are served in the Castaways signature mug you get to keep. It's the plastic parrot mug from Dynasty Wholesale. Surprisingly, the drink I liked most was a Mai Tai, which tasted nothing like a Mai Tai, but tasty nonetheless. It appears they use Creme de Noyaux instead of orgeat in many drinks. Bar syrup was taken from a margarita machine and described as a "base." Drinks are in the $9.00 range.

Food ranged from steak to seafood to pasta...I'd give it a solid 6.5 rating.

The Castaways has 3 dining rooms, two of which were closed. Unfortunately, the one with the sunken bar and a Hawaiian mural was left in the dark. I tried to get a photo but it doesn’t do this room justice.

Spotted this outrigger in another darkened room...along with a boat o' booty...

I was told that the downstairs ballrooms are now for private parties but at one time was host to some REALLY big musical acts like Frankie Avalon, The Four Kingsmen, Chubby Checker.. and, based on the autographed photos on the wall of fame, Ray Charles has been here.

I took a peek inside one of the ballrooms but couldn’t find a lightswitch. When I finally did find one, I was greeted by wall to wall red naugahide!!

The "gift shop" was filled with more Dynasty stuff, but I did spot 2 Orchids of Hawaii coconuts which I promptly grabbed.

And so, as is the story with any privately owned once great place, the owner is getting up there in years. The end is neigh...

[ Edited by: Kenike 2011-12-15 17:51 ]