Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale, FL (restaurant) - Locating Tiki

HH Hurricane Hayward Grand Member (1 year) 16 miles from The Mai-Kai Joined: Jun 07, 2008 Posts: 1867	HH Hurricane Hayward Posted posted on Sun, Apr 3, 2016 1:54 PM I did a thorough walk-through last night and talked to general manager Kern Mattei. The intallation of LEDs in all the dinning rooms is now complete, he said. Please forgive my old, cheap point-and-shoot. A new camera is on my wish list. Also, I wish I had some recent "before" photos to compare. Maybe someone out there does. I'm usually preoccupied taking these kinds of photos: First, a few shots of The Molokai ... I ran into Kern out in the Garden (the main dining area in front of the stage). He confirmed that since they installed all the new lighting, they're no longer using the white house lights in the showroom. During the walk-through, I didn't see any white fluorescent lights in any of the front dining areas (the Garden, New Guinea, Hawaii, Moorea, Tonga). Here's a shot looking toward the left of the stage ... Kern mentioned that the old bulbs were a huge pain to replace, especially in the upper reaches of the A-frame. They would have to wait until a bunch of them burned out before they went to the trouble of getting out the huge ladders to replace them. They're hoping for a much longer lifespan with the LEDs. Here's a shot from the center of the Garden ... The installation of the new lighting was not done willy-nilly. Kern said they had to adjust colors and brightness of different lights throughout the dining rooms to ensure the right level of brightness and ambience, and he pointed out a few. A few areas were too bright, so they dialed back the strength of the blubs. The goal was to keep it looking the same, but also make it easier for people to see the menus and the food. The tables in the Garden did look a bit brighter ... Here's a view from the walkway behind the Garden, looking up at Tonga ... The back corner of Moorea ... A few shots from out on the Lanai ... I didn't get any shots of Tahiti or Samoa, which are considered the back dining rooms and have no view of the stage. They do still contain some low-level white lighting above the tables that give off a soft glow, and I assume this is the only way to keep them illuminated to a reasonable level. I did notice people throughout the building still using their cellphone flashlights to view menus, so this may be an indication that the brightness isn't really jacked up that much. Moving back behind the stage, here are a few shots up at the A-frame from the Tiki garden (the best view, IMHO) ... The upper level of Tonga, near the gift shop ... And one more look at the A-frame from the back of Tonga ... When you visit The Mai-Kai, even more now than ever, don't forget to look up! The Week in Tiki * Mai-Kai Cocktail Guide The official blog of The Hukilau [ Edited by: Hurricane Hayward 2016-04-03 13:57 ]

I did a thorough walk-through last night and talked to general manager Kern Mattei. The intallation of LEDs in all the dinning rooms is now complete, he said.

Please forgive my old, cheap point-and-shoot. A new camera is on my wish list. Also, I wish I had some recent "before" photos to compare. Maybe someone out there does. I'm usually preoccupied taking these kinds of photos:

First, a few shots of The Molokai ...

I ran into Kern out in the Garden (the main dining area in front of the stage). He confirmed that since they installed all the new lighting, they're no longer using the white house lights in the showroom. During the walk-through, I didn't see any white fluorescent lights in any of the front dining areas (the Garden, New Guinea, Hawaii, Moorea, Tonga). Here's a shot looking toward the left of the stage ...

Kern mentioned that the old bulbs were a huge pain to replace, especially in the upper reaches of the A-frame. They would have to wait until a bunch of them burned out before they went to the trouble of getting out the huge ladders to replace them. They're hoping for a much longer lifespan with the LEDs. Here's a shot from the center of the Garden ...

The installation of the new lighting was not done willy-nilly. Kern said they had to adjust colors and brightness of different lights throughout the dining rooms to ensure the right level of brightness and ambience, and he pointed out a few. A few areas were too bright, so they dialed back the strength of the blubs. The goal was to keep it looking the same, but also make it easier for people to see the menus and the food. The tables in the Garden did look a bit brighter ...

Here's a view from the walkway behind the Garden, looking up at Tonga ...

The back corner of Moorea ...

A few shots from out on the Lanai ...

I didn't get any shots of Tahiti or Samoa, which are considered the back dining rooms and have no view of the stage. They do still contain some low-level white lighting above the tables that give off a soft glow, and I assume this is the only way to keep them illuminated to a reasonable level. I did notice people throughout the building still using their cellphone flashlights to view menus, so this may be an indication that the brightness isn't really jacked up that much.

Moving back behind the stage, here are a few shots up at the A-frame from the Tiki garden (the best view, IMHO) ...

The upper level of Tonga, near the gift shop ...

And one more look at the A-frame from the back of Tonga ...

When you visit The Mai-Kai, even more now than ever, don't forget to look up!

The Week in Tiki * Mai-Kai Cocktail Guide

The official blog of The Hukilau

[ Edited by: Hurricane Hayward 2016-04-03 13:57 ]

Post #761908 by Hurricane Hayward on Sun, Apr 3, 2016 1:54 PM