Welcome to the Tiki Central 2.0 Beta. Read the announcement
Tiki Central logo
Celebrating classic and modern Polynesian Pop

Tiki Central / General Tiki

Pictures from the Heyday of Hawaiian Hotel Rooms

Pages: 1 2 66 replies

STCB
Sabu The Coconut Boy posted on 02/28/2005

In the 1960s, many hotels in Hawaii produced postcards showing what the interiors of their rooms looked like. Besides being good advertising to the relatives of the tourists who mailed these back home, the postcards unwittingly captured a moment in Hawaiian history that doesn't exist anymore. The vintage rattan furniture, colorful bedspreads tiki lamps and tapa wall hangings are all relics of a bygone age. The only thing that remains unchanged is the view of Diamondhead out the windows.

I've been collecting these postcards for some time now and thought I'd share them with the group. There always seems to be new ones out there.

3 rooms from the Hotel King Kamehameha on the Kona Coast.


Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faij.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=0e9f0b0cc8455e53908bec66901f3a72

2 rooms from The Kona Inn, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii (The second one with tiki lamps)
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faik.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=5cf791a3857442438414e8d39a1eccf8
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Fail.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=032a5fd4f071ba4df7b35b5211c4c8c2
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faim.sized.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=3d19f3285c395dde4142496859867d81

2 from the Coco Palms Hotel, Island of Kauai.
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Fain.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=4a2e977bfb4d3314f9a0e8fc1f92da22
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faio.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=3fd8bfbdf6913df8c65e80d9d3167245

2 from The Hanalei Plantation, Hanalei Bay, Kauai.
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faip.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=e22a53016f03ce795b876ba0f267c4cf
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faiq.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=81e21573d3a7deee4dc8d246fde2045d

The Kauai Beachboy Hotel, Waipouli Beach, Kauai.
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Fair.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=50d421073aca3d8b1997ecbcfe174fbf

The Kauai Inn, Lihue, Kauai, (Tiki art?)
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Fais.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=c60fdda8908005b68ca73676a1514c40
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Fait.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=0beeef8819fbadc878e4a5a993f52079

A couple from the Kauai Surf Hotel, Kalapaki Beach, Kauai (nice moai lamp!)
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faiu.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=332c4d5dcad4f9cd8c4595e65f3ca39c
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faiv.sized.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=af86d0c098136d5925859dc570f16b0d
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faiw.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=5b5fe02343b1e4935f74206cf551a9aa
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faix.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=275fd4e6a87429dcba18c27ebd5bf320
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faiy.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=38cb943f8afc7d8ff1012601aff4001b

The Royal Lahaina Hotel, Kaanipali Beach, Maui.
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faiz.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=ac0ab8f717fcfcd76fe2cdae21e45a2b

The Holiday Isle Hotel, Honolulu.
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faja.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=c753ae10aa877fd05609b47de6e3b840

2 rooms from The Islander, Waikiki
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Fajb.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=e50aaeb127517fed20a2cf25409d5a71
Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=388&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Fajc.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=39b7430c1f4a46f28db562903af262f9

Sabu

D Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/8384de8d4305288597670729878c5328?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
DawnTiki posted on 02/28/2005

What a great bed! Makes you kinda wonder what Ethel and Merl plan on doing with those Outrigger Paddles later on. Saucy! Sabu you never dissapoint! These images are great! Thanks ~ Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=414&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faio.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=a64dc92531ea818e6bc4f71b0a4be845

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2005-02-28 07:07 ]

E Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/c29c190efcf395f7f517ffc1a3ae1d0c?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
ErichTroudt posted on 02/28/2005

That clam shell bathroom sink is the coolest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ Edited by: ErichTroudt on 2005-02-28 01:17 ]

E Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/7e8e1c00d7a1482dedd9096d2a8236a4?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
exotica59 posted on 02/28/2005

This is part of what this board so great! I could look at thiese post cards all day! It's a very gray cold slushy day here in the midwest, and these pictures really brighten up my day! Thanks for your time and sharing spirit Sabu!

M Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/88/6230c5e39f651.jpg?sharp=10&fit=crop&w=96&h=96&s=1ee59fea71ff76bf1a53d1aafa5a3402
martiki posted on 02/28/2005

Great collection Sabu. Really makes you miss the former glory of these places. At what point did everyone decide dull and generic was better for all aspects of life? sigh

FZ Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/1177/624dfd58117ac.jpg?sharp=10&fit=crop&w=96&h=96&s=ec80f7a965e71940f38d5c7047321691
Feelin Zombified posted on 02/28/2005

Excellent Post! (cards)

Thanks Sabu, that little 5 minute getaway was exactly what I needed on this snowy monday morning.

-Z

F Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/01545aef55d78ba805b439dabebc1b02?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
finkdaddy posted on 02/28/2005

The man in this picture is one lucky guy! Check out the girl playing the uke, think she's been playing for very long?

These are great pictures, thanks for sharing.

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=1930&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faix.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=58e35b4cbcf10bbf6d9089ae78043582


My thoughts were so loud I couldn't hear my mouth...

Image Missing: http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dc35b3127cce906e034c41ec00000000408Qbsmzlw1bM

[ Edited by: finkdaddy on 2005-02-28 07:45 ]

F Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ccff3f1b02b10af1aa2e867d8c435c57?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
freddiefreelance posted on 02/28/2005

On 2005-02-28 00:57, DawnTiki wrote:
What a great bed! Makes you kinda wonder what Ethel and Merl plan on doing with those Outrigger Paddles later on. Saucy! Sabu you never dissapoint! These images are great! Thanks ~ Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=738&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faio.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=690ef7143cd4d52aba8815cf26903318

[ Edited by: DawnTiki on 2005-02-28 07:07 ]

Selector Lopaka & Puamana own that headboard, but not the side pieces or paddles.

https://tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=11236&forum=5

F Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/396/62310f7621648.jpg?sharp=10&fit=crop&w=96&h=96&s=44f56f184ed4fce152a3a513ce6ba7f2
Formikahini posted on 02/28/2005

I swear that with their beautiful view out the window, alnshelly's bedroom could fit right in with these photos! Post one, you two, for comparison's sake? I so envy that room!! (Shelley can pose in a vintage dress, looking absentmindedly out the window, with a vague but pleasant look on her face, a al hotel postcards)

Thanks for loverly mini-vacation, Sabu!

P Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/6a5998ccdc67a9f063fdd78b1ac99209?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
puamana posted on 02/28/2005

Great post, Sabu ! Many of those I hadn't even seen before ( the middle postcard from the King Kamehameha, the great ones from the Kauai Surf, especially the one w/ the moai lamp, and the Kauai Inn w/ nice tiki art on the wall, Islander Waikiki ). I love the gourd wall sconces & tapa / lauhala walls on the King Kamehameha postcards. I think I might have a few others... I'll check and post some pics later. Thanks for sharing these !

T Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/162cbeb271b58fd706c06d620b704cef?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
thejab posted on 02/28/2005

Amazing! What I find interesting is the variety and quality of the outdoor furniture in these photos. Check out those incredible chairs in the first postcard!

It seems like now every place, with the exception of the most expensive hotels, uses that cheap, ugly resin furniture.

T Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/152/625ae68103834.png?sharp=10&fit=crop&w=96&h=96&s=224e16a7daf2699d0864801cf343fd8b
Tangaroa posted on 02/28/2005

Nice man! Your postcard collection is amazing......

T Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/8613c19ed1a5877d175bc21968ff8e4c?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
Tiki_Bong posted on 02/28/2005

Do you know why hotels no longer furnish hotel rooms to that degree?

Answer: Tiki Central Members

M Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/a9648dee823689576e404c9f72c22c89?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
mrsmiley posted on 02/28/2005

I love the great wall decorations, but I guess they ran out of ideas and material when it cam to the beds. White sheets? No comforter? And look at that those comfy pillows!! A real neck killer. :)

Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/proxy-image.php?user_id=117&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tikiroom.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Falbum02%2Faii.jpg&w=1280&h=1280&fit=max&sharp=5&s=2bda84471e103a1a008d4f4e5cb31f5b

T Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/162cbeb271b58fd706c06d620b704cef?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
thejab posted on 02/28/2005

[i]On 2005-02-28 10:14, mrsmiley wrote:[/iAnd look at that those comfy pillows!! A real neck killer.

It's authentic polynesian. In Samoa they sleep with a piece of bamboo for a pillow! Well, they used to anyway.

M Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/a9648dee823689576e404c9f72c22c89?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
mrsmiley posted on 02/28/2005

On 2005-02-28 10:42, thejab wrote:

[i]On 2005-02-28 10:14, mrsmiley wrote:[/iAnd look at that those comfy pillows!! A real neck killer.

It's authentic polynesian. In Samoa they sleep with a piece of bamboo for a pillow! Well, they used to anyway.

AUTHENTIC!?!? Curses, that takes all the fun out of Poly Pop!! :)

D Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/b317890a95d4806dd765de02457190f9?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
dangergirl299 posted on 02/28/2005

I'm not sure about hotel decor in Hawaii, but I know that all of the condos my parents have owned on the Big Island are artfully and tastefully decorated much in the style as you see in the postcards - bamboo and rattan everything, tropical prints, cool details (although no tikis so far). My mother, inspired in part by my style of interior decorating, has even gone so far as to pick a different tropical "theme" for each of the condos: palm trees, orchids, birds, etc. She also likes to collect local artist's paintings of the area, which is a nice touch I think.

when you rent a vacation rental, it's kind of guessy how it's going to be decorated, as it depends on the individual owner (and you certainly are risking quality furnishings if rented to a disrespectful person who steals or thrashes them); but most units have extensive pictures online of the furnishings so if you are looking for that kind of decor (it would be new and retro at most, but most unlikely not vintage), you can find it.

S Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/1494/62320d555f6db.png?sharp=10&fit=crop&w=96&h=96&s=c88411e806e353dac5c3ef5375867fb1
stuff-o-rama posted on 02/28/2005

I recently watched Elvis' "Blue Hawaii" and wondered aloud why the hotels aren't as cool as they used to be. I wonder if the Coco Palms had survived if would've stayed traditional or renovated? I wish I could stay in a place like that. My Aunt has a condo in Maui and it has a 80's Miami Vice kind of vibe. Lots of chrome and mirrors. Thanks for sharing those postcards. Too bad you can't complie them in a book!

[ Edited by: stuff-o-rama on 2005-02-28 12:00 ]

H Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/2296/6421a9da2bd35.jpg?sharp=10&fit=crop&w=96&h=96&s=854494cab775613c7a6ef5a2949ece29
Hakalugi posted on 02/28/2005

On 2005-02-28 11:59, stuff-o-rama wrote:
I wonder if the Coco Palms had survived if would've stayed traditional or renovated?

FYI: The Coco Palms is shooting to re-open in 2007.
http://www.coco-palms.com/articles/restore.html

Maybe now is the time to start flooding them emails prompting for a traditional style.

Update:
Excerpt from another article (http://starbulletin.com/2004/10/10/news/story6.html):

Weiser, a South Carolina developer who lives part-time in Princeville, wants to spend $200 million to rebuild the Coco Palms to look the way it did at the peak of its popularity.

"It won't be absolutely the same. The rooms will be larger than they were in the 1950s," Weiser said in an interview. "But the buildings will look the same, the lobby will be the same, everything will look as much as possible like the original."

[ Edited by: Hakalugi on 2005-02-28 12:23 ]

P Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/74651b70a01cf164142b00706bf1b76a?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
procinema29 posted on 02/28/2005

Simply amazing collection of photos! Thanks for posting these!

A Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/3865229bf86c20e32502ac077baef1f5?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
Alnshely posted on 03/01/2005

I swear that with their beautiful view out the window, alnshelly's bedroom could fit right in with these photos! Post one, you two, for comparison's sake? I so envy that room!! (Shelley can pose in a vintage dress, looking absentmindedly out the window, with a vague but pleasant look on her face, a al hotel postcards)

Image Missing: http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dc09b3127cce90de04d73fb400000016108Qcs27Jo5Zm
Image Missing: http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dc09b3127cce90de04e93f8a00000016108Qcs27Jo5Zm

A few years ago we stayed at the Breakers hotel in Waikiki, it had this cool James bond vibe going on. The rooms sliding glass door opened to this cool Japanese tea house, the kitchenette was hiding behind a soji screen. The room had nelson bubble lamps. It was really something. I wish I had a picture.
Image Missing: http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4da06b3127cce9e7982081f6c00000016108Qcs27Jo5Zm

F Image Missing: https://tikicentral.com/resize.php/uploads/396/62310f7621648.jpg?sharp=10&fit=crop&w=96&h=96&s=44f56f184ed4fce152a3a513ce6ba7f2
Formikahini posted on 03/01/2005

PER-fect, alnshelly!!

That's eXACTly what I was thinking!!
Am I not right - that it goes right in with the rest of the postcards?!

Thank you for the shots and indulging my whim :)

M Image Missing: https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/a9648dee823689576e404c9f72c22c89?d=blank&s=192&fit=fill
mrsmiley posted on 03/01/2005
Tiki Central - Exception

Oh no.

An error occurred. Site administrators have been notified of the error.