Post #668984 by Hale Tiki on Wed, Feb 27, 2013 9:29 AM

On 2013-02-27 08:28, AceExplorer wrote:

On 2013-02-27 07:46, Hale Tiki wrote:
It would be nice to see a revival of the Polynesian Supper Club. One can dream.

A couple thoughts:

1. I know of one company who would be able to do this successfully in the mainstream - Schussler Creative. You'll see what I mean when you visit their web site and look around. http://www.schusslercreative.com/
2. Denver, Colorado, has an interesting example of how something supper-clubbish and immersive can be pulled off and profitable in their Casa Bonita restaurant. It's not tiki or poly-pop but it is immersive and very well themed and popular and profitable. Note that their indoor cliff-diving area with 30' waterfall and pool area is tropical-looking. They are proof that if you figure out "how to do it right" you can be successful. Check it out at http://www.casabonitadenver.com/

1. Yes and no. They have some really amusing concepts, and they all seem to be executed very well. I've been to the Rainforest Cafe myself, when I was younger. But they create theme restaurants. They create them very well, mind you, but they're still theme restaurants. I wouldn't even say that something like Trader Sam's is a good Polynesian Palace. From what I've seen, the place is absolutely amazing, but it is quite intentionally Disney's vision of tiki, the same way that the Enchanted Tiki Room is. And so, it very distinctly Disney. I enjoyed looking at their site. I just feel like it'd end up more like Kahunaville in Vegas. (Not the one that WAS in Delaware. It was somewhere in between a Schussler property and Casa Bonita. Closer the the "theme" place, with the Casa Bonita environment. With a Chuck e Cheese thrown in.)
2. Casa Bonita is definitely more along the lines of a company that can "authentically" style something. They're really doing a terrific job there. The Gaylord Hotels do an amazing job at recreating environments, and would probably also do a fantastic job.

Back to dreaming.