Royal Hawaiian Motel, Daytona Beach, FL (motel) - Locating Tiki

T TikiTomD Grand Member (6 years) Flagler Beach, FL Joined: Sep 20, 2009 Posts: 700	T TikiTomD Posted posted on Thu, Jan 26, 2012 11:06 AM Name:Royal Hawaiian Motel Type:motel Street:925 S Atlantic Ave City:Daytona Beach State:FL Zip:32118 country:USA Phone:CLinton 3-8522 Status:defunct Description: The Royal Hawaiian Motel was a classic mid-century Florida beachside motor inn. It originally had 51 units, a pool and a cocktail lounge. A postcard description reads: Florida’s most unique vacation resort featuring the authentic gracious atmosphere of exotic Hawaii – Apartments & Motel Rooms – Air Conditioned & Heated – Swimming Pool – Coffee Shop, and the intimate Grass Shack Lounge for your entertainment. Images of the Royal Hawaiian Motel have been scattered among past threads of Tiki Central, principally on these posts by DustyCajun: Hawaiian/Tiki Hotel Postcard Art Need info/pictures of Tiki and Poly buildings, bars, etc... that have been demolished Florida Hawaiian/Tiki Resorts Sabu also posted an image on the following thread, but all the images of his post have since gone missing: Vintage Tiki Artwork - Favorite Artist's Renderings This thread recaps those images in one place and adds some information on what became of the Royal Hawaiian Motel. A postcard I have that appears to be postmarked 1959 (note the futuristic car)... Another I have... From DC’s earlier posts... Here’s an image posted by ricklebee1964 on Flickr... The following article from the Google News archives indicates that Marvin Cooper, a Miami resident, built and owned the Royal Hawaiian Motel, operating under a corporate name (Royal Hawaiian Corporation); the opening date isn’t stated and I couldn’t find anything online to pin it down, but one can infer from the article that it was 1957 or 1958 (“Cooper has been active on the Daytona Beach motel scene for several years”)... Daytona Beach Morning Journal November 1, 1959 (page 22) Note Cooper’s observation in the article: “Cocktail lounges in motels, he said, are more trouble than they’re worth.” Also note that the architect’s sketch of the proposed Daytona Cabana office in the above article looks to be styled much like that of The Castaways in Miami Beach... The Royal Hawaiian postcards mention apartments as well as motel rooms. Here’s an apartment ad from the 1960s... Daytona Beach Morning Journal November 30, 1966 (page 10) In the following article, we learn that Del & Kiki Perkins purchased the Royal Hawaiian Motel in 1968 from Marvin Cooper, then renovated it and renamed it to the Windjammer Motel... Daytona Beach Morning Journal January 4, 1975 (page 43) Here’s a Windjammer Beach Motel postcard that I have... In the fall of 1971, Del Perkins, operating with his wife as the Schooner Corporation, began a renovation which combined the Windjammer Beach Motel (formerly the Royal Hawaiian Motel) with the adjacent Reef Beach Motel (a Quality Courts establishment), another property that he had purchased in 1964. Here’s a postcard of the Reef Beach Motel after Perkins purchased it... This postcard, for sale at CardCow.com, shows the Reef Beach Motel before Perkins purchased it... Here’s a close-up postcard image of the Reef Beach Motel pool area posted on Flickr by Edge and corner wear... This article describes the merging of the two motels to form the 95-unit Quality Inn Reef with a street address of 921 S Atlantic Ave... Daytona Beach Morning Journal September 25, 1971 (page 44) To be continued... -Tom [ Edited by: TikiTomD 2012-01-27 11:49 ]

Name:Royal Hawaiian Motel
Type:motel
Street:925 S Atlantic Ave
City:Daytona Beach
State:FL
Zip:32118
country:USA
Phone:CLinton 3-8522
Status:defunct

Description:
The Royal Hawaiian Motel was a classic mid-century Florida beachside motor inn. It originally had 51 units, a pool and a cocktail lounge. A postcard description reads: Florida’s most unique vacation resort featuring the authentic gracious atmosphere of exotic Hawaii – Apartments & Motel Rooms – Air Conditioned & Heated – Swimming Pool – Coffee Shop, and the intimate Grass Shack Lounge for your entertainment.

Images of the Royal Hawaiian Motel have been scattered among past threads of Tiki Central, principally on these posts by DustyCajun:

Hawaiian/Tiki Hotel Postcard Art

Need info/pictures of Tiki and Poly buildings, bars, etc... that have been demolished

Florida Hawaiian/Tiki Resorts

Sabu also posted an image on the following thread, but all the images of his post have since gone missing:

Vintage Tiki Artwork - Favorite Artist's Renderings

This thread recaps those images in one place and adds some information on what became of the Royal Hawaiian Motel.

A postcard I have that appears to be postmarked 1959 (note the futuristic car)...

Another I have...

From DC’s earlier posts...

Here’s an image posted by ricklebee1964 on Flickr...

The following article from the Google News archives indicates that Marvin Cooper, a Miami resident, built and owned the Royal Hawaiian Motel, operating under a corporate name (Royal Hawaiian Corporation); the opening date isn’t stated and I couldn’t find anything online to pin it down, but one can infer from the article that it was 1957 or 1958 (“Cooper has been active on the Daytona Beach motel scene for several years”)...

Daytona Beach Morning Journal November 1, 1959 (page 22)

Note Cooper’s observation in the article: “Cocktail lounges in motels, he said, are more trouble than they’re worth.”

Also note that the architect’s sketch of the proposed Daytona Cabana office in the above article looks to be styled much like that of The Castaways in Miami Beach...

The Royal Hawaiian postcards mention apartments as well as motel rooms. Here’s an apartment ad from the 1960s...

Daytona Beach Morning Journal November 30, 1966 (page 10)

In the following article, we learn that Del & Kiki Perkins purchased the Royal Hawaiian Motel in 1968 from Marvin Cooper, then renovated it and renamed it to the Windjammer Motel...

Daytona Beach Morning Journal January 4, 1975 (page 43)

Here’s a Windjammer Beach Motel postcard that I have...

In the fall of 1971, Del Perkins, operating with his wife as the Schooner Corporation, began a renovation which combined the Windjammer Beach Motel (formerly the Royal Hawaiian Motel) with the adjacent Reef Beach Motel (a Quality Courts establishment), another property that he had purchased in 1964. Here’s a postcard of the Reef Beach Motel after Perkins purchased it...

This postcard, for sale at CardCow.com, shows the Reef Beach Motel before Perkins purchased it...

Here’s a close-up postcard image of the Reef Beach Motel pool area posted on Flickr by Edge and corner wear...

This article describes the merging of the two motels to form the 95-unit Quality Inn Reef with a street address of 921 S Atlantic Ave...

Daytona Beach Morning Journal September 25, 1971 (page 44)

To be continued...

-Tom

[ Edited by: TikiTomD 2012-01-27 11:49 ]

Post #622506 by TikiTomD on Thu, Jan 26, 2012 11:06 AM