Red Lion Hanalei Hotel, San Diego, CA (hotel)

Name:Red Lion Hanalei Hotel
Type:hotel
Street:2270 Hotel Circle North
City:San Diego
State:CA
Zip:92108
country:USA
Phone:619-297-1101
Status:operational

Description:
Built in 1966, this Polynesian Hotel sits right next to the 8 freeway. Tons o Tiki to be found here, to many for me to count. Having 2 restaurants, Sushi Bar and a lounge. The Islands restaurant is located next to the lobby and is a Tiki haven. With Tiki's from the famous Outrigger and The Luau finding sanctuary here. A huge Moai serves as the lifeguard, sitting next to the swimming pool. Great location, literally minutes from the Zoo, Old Town, the beach, Shelter Island and Sea World.

http://www.hanaleihotel.com/

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2003-09-25 08:59 ]

I'm glad Dawn brought up the Hanalei. I was just looking at their website the other day to see what the Islands hours are and I noticed some changes. They have a sushi bar that is "Set in an exotic atmosphere of tropical surroundings, salt-water fish tanks and cascading waterfalls".

http://www.islandssushi.com/3.html

Last time I was there was about 2 or 3 years ago and the sushi bar wasn't there. Don't worry, it sounds like the Islands restaurant is still intact:

http://www.islandssushi.com/4.html

Did they replace the boring nontiki bar with this sushi joint? Has anyone been there lately?

It looks like they also redid the lobby recently (from the pictures on the web site) but it has not been polynesian for years. Happily, the pool photo shows the moai is still there.

I was there Teusday and Wednesday. I really liked this property, except for being so close to the freeway. The room overlooked the pool and was next to the coi ponds, Tiki's and plenty of palm trees. Service was great at The Islands, being the only people in the restaurant we were well taken care of. The Islands Sushi and Pupu Bar "is" the bar/lounge, they just stuck a Sushi Chef behind the bar with the bartender. Not much of a Polynesian vibe, a pretty generic room (I thought). But it did have a nice big fish tank, and if you looked you could see a Tiki or two from the bar. The entrance of the hotel has a big outrigger above the door, setting the right tone, but when I walked into the lobby, it felt like any other hotel, I was a little let down. But there, just a few feet away the Tiki's were waiting. For a Red Lion Inn I was pleasantly surprised :D

Slacks Ferret and I had a lot of fun here. The restaurant had great fountains, and the koi fish, tiki hut and Easter Island head were really great. Waterfall was nice too. 10 minutes from Bali Hai.

I stayed at the Red Lion Hanalei Hotel this past weekend, and I've updated the records in Critiki for the Hanalei Hotel, the Islands Restaurant, and Islands Sushi & Pupu Bar. There are a ton of new photos there.

I'd visited before, but only briefly to poke my head in. My overall impressions:

The hotel is nice enough, I guess, but kind of bland. The hotel grounds are pretty big, and while there are actually some great tikis here, they're pretty spread out and the place definitely doesn't feel Polynesian. My room was fine, on the large side, and service in the hotel was nice. Generally, I'm just not a fan of the bland chain hotel experience, I generally like to go either really high-end or really slum it. The garden area inside the tower is where you'll find the most tiki-fied space.

The Islands Restaurant I quite rather liked. It's lit too brightly, but it felt just like sitting in an old postcard. I especially liked the water features thoughout, including clam shell fountains that are still working, and small streams circling the small restaurant. The music was very appropriate, gentle hawaiian standards. The food was surprisingly good, I had the duck. The drinks were a disappointment. I started with a Mai Tai, which was about half pineapple juice. I then tried a Pirate's Grog, which was rather odd, and tasted not unlike a Flintstones chewable vitamin. It was bright pink, too. No self-respecting pirate would drink it. Or perhaps only a pirate would be manly enough to drink it and not care what others think.

I didn't eat or drink at the Islands Sushi bar out by the lobby -- it looked like your basic hotel lounge.

The pictures on Critiki are the good(ish) ones, and have been cropped & color corrected & all that, but there are many more pictures, as always, in my personal albums.

And also: this is my 1000th post! Yowzers!

I had it all backwards -- the best bed is the one that's stumbling distance from Tiki-Ti, or the Mai Kai, or the Lagoon Room, or the Alibi, or the Kon Tiki, or...
Critiki

[ Edited by: Humuhumu on 2004-06-15 11:23 ]

we stayed here this weekend. i surprised my wife with a weekend getaway down in san diego. the hotel was nice. the courtyard was a cool place to hang out and relax watching all of the koi swim around in the ponds. the only disappointment was for being a polynesian themed hotel, the rooms resembled nothing of that. we had an extra bonus saturday night. there was a reunion of some sort, so they had a luau. there were hula dancers, fire dancer, and live music. it was by the pool, so all the passer-byers got some free entertainment. we definately plan on staying there again sometime.

[ Edited by: tiki5-0 on 2004-08-16 09:10 ]

We haven't seen much from Sabu or Puamana in a while, so I decided to break out a few postcards for show and tell.

Here is a card from the Hanalei Hotel and Islands Restaurant in San Diego, CA. The place was a real gem in it's heyday.

Take a closer look and you can see the details that made this place a classic.

A lava rock waterfall and lots of tropical foilage.

Outrigger beams and a large lava rock moai on the roof. Looks like this guy had a torch on top of his head.

A nice covered walkway supported by tiki poles. Check out the port hole window on the door that leads to the lounge. Looks like this gal was dressed to go out for the evening.

This place still looked great inside and out the last time my wife and I visited San Diego (1995). Here is a link to a previous thread where I posted more recent photos. Look closely and you can still see the port hole window on the door to the lounge.

https://tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=8110&forum=1

Hey -- I've got a postcard of the Hanalei. Found this earlier this year (I hardly ever find tiki-related postcards):

-Sweet Daddy T.
Because crap doesn't buy itself.

blog

[ Edited by: Sweet Daddy Tiki 2008-09-18 00:14 ]

Here are a few paper items I picked up while I was there in '95.

These next two postcards were free advertisements in the bar promoting theme nights in the lounge.

Front

Back

Front

Back

Wear a Fez and get in free! Free polynesian buffet! Surf bands and exotica! They probably don't do that anymore do they? Here are some more images, all from an oversize postcard.

Hah! Great pics. all! Thanks for the memories! That Taboo flyer was my friends' party. The outfits were eggggselent, also... smoking jackets, fur couts, and of course, fezzes. The lounge acts were fantastic; and the decor a dream.

I couldn't believe the day I drove by the joint and saw it under construction. I moved away before it was finished. How does it look these days?

[i]On 2004-10-27 01:11, ShaTikah wrote:

How does it look these days?

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=3267&forum=1

Gee, I just love this place. The first time I walked in it was like standing inside a picture of an old postcard. Dreamy!

”I couldn't believe the day I drove by the joint and saw it under construction. I moved away before it was finished. How does it look these days?”

Really great postcards, but what they don’t show of the interior was even more amazing, the Islands used to be the most sophisticated Tiki room west of the Mississippi. It was remodeled by OA in 76 (I think) and they did an unbelievable job, parts of it looked like a primitive futuristic Tiki space craft.
I haven’t been back since the last remodel (Sven didn’t have anything positive to say about it) but there can’t be too much of significance left. The exterior was completely destroyed; it’s just an awful looking strange box. The demolition crew was filling up many 33 yard dumpsters everyday for over a week. The great A-frame that was the side entrance was unceremoniously chopped up with a chainsaw, the lagoon and waterfalls that led you into the bar area, torn out. It’s the saddest destruction of a mid-century landmark I’ve had to watch unfold, because it was in such pristine condition.
There were a great many Tiki poles inside which where supposedly spared but nobody knows where they ended up. The ceiling was full of big fish floats and light fixtures, a large portion of these where auctioned off. All the exterior Tiki pole supports, exterior Tahitian cannibal carvings (originally from the Luau), giant conch shells, tons of lava, Tapa cloth wall coverings, 100’s of OA Tiki posts for the walkways, all dumped. We offered Hanalei management cash for anything they wanted to get rid of and they weren’t interested. Thankfully I happen to know a guy who snuck in after hours and hauled allot of treasures out of their trash containers.
I hate to be such a downer but when I first read this thread I thought there’s something I can contribute too, but all the old memories came flying back.
If you’re new to the area you should take a look, it’s only me who can never go back.

My very best aloha’s

Bosko

On 2004-10-27 20:04, TIKIBOSKO wrote:

The exterior was completely destroyed; it’s just an awful looking strange box. The demolition crew was filling up many 33 yard dumpsters everyday for over a week. The great A-frame that was the side entrance was unceremoniously chopped up with a chainsaw the lagoon and waterfalls that led you into the bar area, torn out. It’s the saddest destruction of a mid-century landmark I’ve had to watch unfold, because it was in such pristine condition.

I think I'm going to cry.

don't cry christiki - there are more restaurants similar to this -

A traumatic experience for our Bosko, indeed!

But, has there been more damage done recently? Last time I was there (3 years ago?), this is what I saw:

As bad as the exterior, the sign, and the bar area by the old entrance had been obliterated (see Tiki News #13, "A classic Case Study of Tiki Devolution" by Sven-Tiki), a big part of the dining room had been left intact:

The Tiki poled bridges were still crossing a running stream that went along from the large entrance waterfall to the other one at the end of the room, and many other fixtures were still there, giving an impression of completeness.

But only if you didn't know what had been sacrificed: The room had been shrunk down by throwing out the cool booths with the indirectly lit Maori panel Tikis and weapons to create a seperate, totally boring covention table room next to it.

Many lamps were missing, so were one or two of the very important large Tikis. Important why? Because they hailed from the Luau in Beverly Hills!

The postcard interiors above are from a time BEFORE the Hanalei really blossomed by becoming a depository for the Luau's treasures. This happened in 1979, after Steve Crane sold the Luau's land to developers, and it's decor to the owner of the Atlas Hotel chain in San Diego. This man apparently was an incorridgeable Polynesiac and bought up everything, even the Luau entrance hut, which until a few years ago could be seen in the atrium of the hotel's highrise in the back (BOT p.205 small photo at bottom), together with Tikis from the Luau (see Tiki next to hut on Luau menu illustration p. 204, and compare to Tiki in large photo on page 205). He actually flew in a Kahuna from Hawaii to have the new additions blessed. All this off course went out the window when the place changed owners.

But can somebody confirm that the Hanalei dining room is still in the state described above, waterways and all?

And the status of the courtyard? The hut apparently fell apart, the Tiki railing and gazebo posts were painted in colors (shudder!), but does the yellow Uli figure (which can be seen in the Luau interior shot, BOT p.102) still sit on top of the waterfall? In the photo, it is hidden behind foliage in the upper right corner. It was one of the artifacts I identified as hailing from the Luau.

Bigbro,
The dinning room, as of a few months ago, is still in that state, with the waterways, conch-shell water fall, etc.
The boring convention room next to it is still there. I don't remember seeing the yellow figure in the court yard, but I could be mistaken.

Ran

I think I have some photos of the exterior tikis from around 1990, I'll try to find them and post pics in a few days. Here's some pics of a brochure from the Hanalei Hotel, probably from the '60's:

Thanks for the brochure pics, Puamana. I get so sad when I see vintage Hanalei stuff. It was the first truly major Tiki palace I visited (even before Hala Kahiki and Trader Vic's here in Chicago), and was the a large part of the impetus to begin the Tiki Bar Review Pages in 1994/1995. I have visited about five times: twice in it's original state, then I wandered through the place during the deconstruction (it was a sad, sad thing to see it being dismantled in front of my eyes), and then twice in it's new guise.

[ Edited by: tikibars on 2005-01-29 21:39 ]

maybe we can clear up some of the mysteries regarding the current status of the hanalei in san diego. we had the pleasure of visiting the hanalei (as recommended by polypop and monkeyman) at the end of july this year. we stayed one night, and snapped endless pictures of everything tiki there. we also pulled some info out of one of the long-time waitress' there who let us in on some of the secrets as to where everything went (after the deconstruction). she said that A LOT of things are still in the basement. some artifacts DO come out when they have their luaus. the blowfish lights deteriorated, so those were all thrown out. she described how beautiful it once was...spoke of how the bar we were sitting at was once a huge extension of how 'the islands' is decorated. it was rather sad to hear, while sipping a rum runner out of a new repro bamboo mug (which they sell with the drink) and sitting at a bar stripped of all character.

but anyway, here is a link to all of the pictures we took of anything and everything tiki at the hanalei. i apologize for the dorky photos of me or the drunken hat. we were a bit whiffy, what can i say?
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/share/view?i=EeAt2rly0ZtXsw&open=1&sm=1&sl=1

and yes, i can confirm that the gazebo in the courtyard is all painted (you can see them in our photos) it is covered with thatching now. the yellow tiki from the luau is still there in the courtyard, on top of the little waterfall.

as for the islands, it is still very worthwhile to explore. the main waterfall at the entry NO LONGER connects with the streams in the restaurant, though.

while exploring in the courtyard, i did find this tiki. it was completely covered by plants, and was not visible AT ALL. i plowed my way through the landscaping (i think a caretaker was there too while i was doing this, he sure gave me the evil eye). i thought this was the best one.

Thanks for the urban archeology update.
Some of the stuff looks so wrong, like all the masks and weapons against the white walls (of the conference room) which were once in the booths. And the painted posts in 39 and 41, these are textbook images of bad Tiki renovation.

But there's obviously still enough to be enjoyed, the big New Guinea Tiki in j-peg 20 and the wallhanging in 23 are from the Luau, and a lot of the railing posts. The majority of the masks and weapons were supplied by Oceanic Arts, very vintage style, one can tell by the lovingly applied paintjobs.

The waitress' report leaves hope that the other artifacts are still there. Greedy graverobbers stay away, an exisiting site is strictly kapu!

The Red Lion Hanalei is no more, or at least not by that name. From the April 26, 2007, San Diego Union Tribune:

** The crowning touch**
As of Tuesday, no one will be going to the Red Lion Hanalei Hotel on Mission Valley's Hotel Circle anymore. That's because the 416-room hotel changes its name that day to the Crowne Plaza San Diego.

The tropical paradise-themed resort becomes San Diego's first Crowne Plaza, a brand operated by the InterContinental Hotels Group. Despite its new signage and renovated facilities, though, hotel representatives say that ownership and management remain unchanged.

I was at the (former) Hanalei (now Crown Plaza) an hour ago and was sickened by the havoc wreaked by the "new" owners/management or whatever. The Islands Room & adjoining banquet room were virtually gutted of 75% of the original decor (and I'm talking POST Red Lion). The bar (already fucked up by recent owners) was about the same albeit no Tiki mugs and lackadaisical bartenders pouring shitty, pre-mixed drinks (Mai-Tai was $8.50 and tasted like kool-aid). Pool area looked the same but I was too ascared to venture any further. Hey Otto, is it too late to reschedule T.O. VII at the Caliente Tropics?

If it's too late (and I assume it is) I would strongly suggest all future events be scheduled elsewhere. Why reward a hotel for this?

If not Caliente Tropics, perhaps Humphrey's or even Catamaran in San Diego.

On 2007-05-07 09:29, arriano wrote:
If it's too late (and I assume it is) I would strongly suggest all future events be scheduled elsewhere. Why reward a hotel for this?

If not Caliente Tropics, perhaps Humphrey's or even Catamaran in San Diego.

I agree. Total shame shame shame on them.
I understand why they think this must be done.
But Tiki Oasis will not be the same.

boohiisss
Jeff(bigtikidude)

I just happened to stop into the Crown Plaza (formerly Hanalei) and was also so very disappointed to see what had been done to the Islands Restaurant. So much of it is gone, including the triptych panel with the pua shell-eyed tikis that I liked so much. They did open up the place to better light by tearing out the wall and putting in windows to the hallway, but still....The nice waterfall with the clam shells in the hallway across from it is still there, thankfully, as is the gazebo in the far back of the hotel, where we played our ukuleles. The big tiki in the entryway to the hotel is gone, as is the dragon room, just before the door out to the pool. The dragon room is now a coffee bar. The grey moai is still there out by the pool.

Sounds like this will be the last time Tiki Oasis will ever be there. It is a shame that it is so stripped of the great decor that made it famous. :(

The Motel 6 next door. They've since added a 2-story block of rooms onto the front, but the L-shaped wing around the pool still looks about the same as it did in this 1960s postcard.

A fitting example of generic motel architecture, since the Hanalei succeeded in making itself look like that over its years of devolution.

Here is the page with my "In Memoriam Islands restaurant" photos:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=21689&forum=1&start=75

I couldn't believe the current abomination was dubbed "less cool" here on TC:

Went a few weeks ago, the restaurant is less cool, but the fountain is still there. Here's a couple of quick pictures

Tiki Oasis or not, that place is freakin' RUINED! The sad thing is that many folks won't know better, and will take this state of things as "Tiki style".

On 2009-10-24 08:47, bigbrotiki wrote:
A fitting example of generic motel architecture, since the Hanalei succeeded in making itself look like that over its years of devolution.

Here is the page with my "In Memoriam Islands restaurant" photos:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=21689&forum=1&start=75

I couldn't believe the current abomination was dubbed "less cool" here on TC:

Went a few weeks ago, the restaurant is less cool, but the fountain is still there. Here's a couple of quick pictures

Tiki Oasis or not, that place is freakin' RUINED! The sad thing is that many folks won't know better, and will take this state of things as "Tiki style".

I feel you pain Bigbro. I was fortunate enough to stay at the Hanalei just as the construction for the big remodel was starting so I got to see most of the old stuff. I have an old postcard, it used to look like this:

Sabu,

Another great stealth postcard find with the Hanalei sign in the background.

Here are two postcards I have showing the exterior of the Hanalei.

The first is a rendering:

And the photo postcard, amazing how much it looks like the rendering.

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2009-10-24 10:45 ]

I stumbled across this great video made by Chongolio of the Island Restaurant at the Hanalei before the demo. Cool vibe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFXHwMEBxFM

DC

I found this incredible old photo of the entrance to the Islands restaurant at the Hanalei Hotel.

The photo was on a website documenting the architectural firm that designed it - Hendrick & Mock Architects.

DC

Very nice DC!!!

Wow!!!
so cool, what a find,
makes me sad it's gone though.

sigh.......

Jeff(btd)

That certainly IS a fantastic photo. Nice find!

Here is another old shot of the Hanalei from the early days.

DC

I want a time machine Damn it!!

Jeff(btd)

I just got a lot of paper items from the Hanalei Hotel. It came with the brochure that Puamana had posted earlier, here are a few close ups.

Great to see the original layout of the restaurant with the A-Frame and Outrigger beam entrance off of the parking lot.

And how about those Cabana huts by the pool.

Tiki Iti (or is that Hawaiian Eye?)

The Islands.

A postcard mailer that had a map on the back.

Again nice to see the original restaurant layout.

The Hanalei was owned by Atlas Hotels which had three other properties in the area. The hotels and associated restaurants were advertised on this napkin.

And place-mat.

Glad I got to see it before the big remodel.

DC

On 2013-03-08 16:54, Dustycajun wrote:

Again nice to see the original restaurant layout.

DC

In addition to mentioning this to DC last night at the Tonga Hut, let the record reflect how cool I find this map. Shuffle Board this August anyone?

Oh and those cabana huts are pretty awesome too. :D

Kevin

I was lucky to pick up one of the menus from the old Islands restaurant at the Hanalei Hotel.

The great Moai image on the cover.

The tropical drinks, what an assortment of Tiki mugs and bowls.

Appetizer menu with a date from June, 1961 - Tiki heyday.

More appetizers and banquet room event ideas on the back cover.

Hmmm, seems like you could throw one heck of a Tiki event at this place.

DC

Great menus! Thanks, as always, for sharing.

Found another photo from the architect John Mock of the Island's Restaurant at the Hanalei Hotel circa 1964.

Great Tiki poles on the front porch area.

DC

Spotted this old photo of the Hanalei Hotel sign with the Islands Restaurant outrigger.

What a beauty.

DC