Don the Beachcomber (Maui) is closing!!!

My wife and I just got back from our honeymoon on Maui. We stayed at the Royal Lahaina, and so we visited Don the Beachcomber's every day for free Mai Tais. We were very distressed to learn from Luke (the trusty bartender) that Don the Beachcomber's is going to be closing. Has anyone else heard about this?

The Royal Lahaina is going through some massive remodeling (which started while we were there -- every morning at 8:00 am -- ugh), and apparently within the next two years, the entire property is going to be restructured and many of the buildings around the complex are going to be razed, including Don the Beachcomber's. (They're also going to do away with the Luau -- from what I gather, one of the most popular on Maui.)

I really think it's a shame. Obviously the bar could use a little work (it's like a refrigerator in there at all times, and it's dark as a cave even in the daytime), but I think it's got tons of potential. They've got a lot of wonderful vintage stuff in there. We'll hate to see it go (especially since we've got some great honeymoon memories from there).

...stupid world...

Just got back from there myself. Stayed from the 12th of June to the 23rd. The wife and I celebrating our 10th year. Did you get to enjoy your nightly mai tai? We stayed in one of the beach side cottages so the construction work did not bother us. It is a shame that the only thing left will be the tower. Hopefully they will keep the buffet breakfast, one of the best in Maui.Did not know that the luau was leaving but did hear from one of the clerks that they were having a hard time keeping male dancers.

Much better!

We were going to go in Feb 07. Anyone know exactly when it is closing?

Total bummer!

Been there and loved it. We need some contact person in Maui so we can mail our disapproval. When will all this devastation of the tiki world end? I don't want to sound like a hippie but it seems like there are enough of us here to make some kind of impact.

I used to drink and dine at this Don's at the Royal Lahaina Resort several times a year for many years during the 1970's and perhaps even into the 80's. It was a fantastic full Don The Beachcomber restaurant and bar serving mainly Cantonese food with a Polynesian/Hawaiian flair. Like the original Don's in Hollywood. It was a first class restaurant and very popular in those days.

Many years ago I visited the Royal Lahaina as sort of a "for old times sake" tour, and was surprised how little had changed at this property. The old "Foxy Lady" disco had been turned into banquet space, but that was no loss. The big loss was that Don The Beachcomber was closed and I was told gone for good. Peaked inside through a side door and most of the furniture and Tiki stuff was gone and it was being used for storage...mainly for the adjacent Luau. A very sad sight.

Fast Forward to today when I decided to visit the RL again and was surprised to see the wooden letters "Don The Beachcomber" back up. But I didn't think it would actually be operating again!

Well...it was and it wasn't. It's now just a hallow shell of it's former glory. Mainly a cocktail lounge only. The original bar is still there, but the old wood floors, much of the Tiki, and much of the furnishings are gone. Some of the old booths are still in there, but most of the seating is just tables and chairs.

There is some Tiki still in place however, as the photos in one of the previous posts show. But it's nothing like it used to be. Gone was all the great Tiki ceramic glassware and bowls and huge tropical drink menu from the original Don days. A short pre-mixed menu of a handful of standards is all that is served. Pretzels if you ask for them are all there is to eat. No more great Pupu platters. No more full dinners served in a wonderful tropical setting with live Luau music drifting in.

As we sat there sipping one of those yellow/brown premixed Mai Tais from nice bartender Brandon...the "Premier" Luau guests were brought in by bus and filled the place and a long line formed for drinks.

So while it was rather sad to see this once great and proud Tiki Bar and restaurant turned into such a state...it was still great to see her being used again...even if she's just using the old Don The Beachcomber name and not much else.

Regarding it's closing...all the plans that are on display certainly show this building being demolished and replaced by new buildings and facilities. And the Front Desk staff said it would be bulldozed. But in talking to barkeep Brandon...he said that he heard that they might keep this building and so there might be some hope for keeping it in some form or another.

It was kinda funny that when I reminisced about the 1970's to him and how grand the place used to be...Brandon laughed and told us that when his parents heard he would be working there...they mentioned that they used to dine and drink there all the time when they were dating and after they married and how funny it was that their son now would be working at that very bar!

As for the current state of hotel renovations go...the entire tower is now closed and being renovated. All the guests are currently staying in the old cottages scattered throughout the grounds. Very few guests staying there during this phase of construction. Those cottages will be a thing of the past too...as new hotel buildings will soon replace them.

This was such a first class hotel in the 1960's and some of the 70's. It was sad to see her become so tarnished over the years. But it looks like she'll be shining again after all the improvements. Just hope that Don's is still there after all is said and done.

[ Edited by: PremEx 2006-08-23 23:23 ]

To compliment sungod's photos above...here are my own photos of a couple of days ago that I just uploaded, of Don The Beachcomber, Maui.

Looking down the length of the windows:

The bar with barkeep Brandon:

Some of the old booths:

Tiki near entrance:

Tiki doorhandle:

More Tiki:

Tiki just lying on the floor:

"Premier" Luau guests line up for their comp pre-luau drinks:

The manager of the Big Island location told me (in September) that the Royal Lahaina is undergoing a major renovation into 2007, but that no less than $5 million was being slated for a huge and major Don the Beachcomber location.

If you've seen the one on Big Island, you probably have a clue what we're in for.

A nice effort, but you can bet that the A-frame roof and all vintageness will be gone.

While my wife and I still haven't finalized our Hawaii plans it now looks like we'll have to make part of our trip to Maui before DTBC's closes for good!

Remember this link?
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=21792&forum=1&34
Hawaii is a Part of the US and should still be a part of the Historical Preservation rules.

I don't know the date that this location was established but with the Historical Importance of Don the BeachComber it would give us leverage.

On 2006-12-01 00:23, tikibars wrote:
The manager of the Big Island location told me (in September) that the Royal Lahaina is undergoing a major renovation into 2007, but that no less than $5 million was being slated for a huge and major Don the Beachcomber location.

I'll be checking out both locations in early January.
I'll see if I can find out anything more.

The Missus and I were on Maui this past April, and were able to stop by the Royal Lahaina. The Don the Beachcomber building looks better than it does in photos. The A-frame is awesome.
The bar inside was dead! They currently use it as a lounge for VIP luau guests. You pay extra for your luau ticket and rather than have to stand in line, you get to go get a drink. Not a bad deal, I guess.
The carpet or flooring or whatever was probably in there at one point was gone and the booths were in pretty bad shape. Tears in the seats and whatnot. The lauhala matting on the ceiling was in pretty bad shape too. There was a kitchen area in the back of the building that was not being used.
The drinks were served in clear plastic cups, but you could opt for a tiki mug (one of the tiki farm artist four pack mugs-- the newer ones with the brown glaze) for like $10. I got a Kalifornia Ku. Not too bad.
We chatted with the bartender (who was pretty nice) and asked about the plans for the building.
He said the same thing that James said. They're going to do a huge expansion on the property, and they're going to build a new DTB that will be something more like what the Royal Kona has on the Big Island. It'll be closer to the water so people get an ocean view. I didn't get an actual price tag, but I guess they're making it pretty massive.
They're going to raze the building that currently exists. Really sad considering it's such an excellent piece of architecture.
All of this should be happening in the next year or two, according to the bartender we talked to.

It is sad - but not surprising - that they are not using the great old A-frame as the nucleus for the new building.

On 2006-12-01 00:23, tikibars wrote:
The manager of the Big Island location told me (in September) that the Royal Lahaina is undergoing a major renovation into 2007, but that no less than $5 million was being slated for a huge and major Don the Beachcomber location.

If you've seen the one on Big Island, you probably have a clue what we're in for.

A nice effort, but you can bet that the A-frame roof and all vintageness will be gone.

I wouldn't jump to that conclusion just yet. Whomever bought the Don the Beachcomber name (his name is HOGAN, that's all I know) seems to really be into keeping it real. The Don's in KONA pretty much added to the existing restaurant that was there....the original Tikis and Carved style cement poles are still intact from the Royal Kona restaurant that preceded it, which had lots of Tiki elements. Even the cool geometric pattern carpet is still there.

Don's just moved in, and added to it.

I spoke to the BI manager as well, and asked him about the owner, and he said he's really into tiki. So I would bet that he's fighting to keep the A-Frame. He's also planning on going nationwide, so let's hope he does, so every major city has a DTB we can visit, instead of say, a Chili's.

Think about it...if you spent all this money to buy the "Don the beachcomber" name, you'd HAVE to have some sort of grasp as to what Tiki is about, and at least be a minor tikiphile.
It isn't exactly a household name these days.

Of course, the hotel will more than likely want to knock down the A-Frame, which is what to be concerned about.

On 2007-08-16 12:05, tikiyaki wrote:

Of course, the hotel will more than likely want to knock down the A-Frame, which is what to be concerned about.

Which is more or less what the bartender told me-- they're going to knock it down and the new Don's location will be closer to the water. The bartender may have his info wrong, or the management may change their mind, but that was the current state of things in April.
The current building is completely unused. I mean, they're not even using it as a restaurant. It's not like part of it was walled off and being worked on either. The whole building is open, but only being used as a bar.

i was also at the beachcomber this june....i pretty well got the same info......there was talk about expanding it to talk of replacing it....it would be a shame to destroy it...it still has that cool 60's feel.....just in case it was goin away i wasted no time in talking the mgnt out of thier remaining tiki farm ..don the beachcomber rum barrels...ive kept a few fo myself and im ebaying the remaining stash..got to cover the cost of my stash..... .

Sad. There is so little vintage Tiki left anywhere.

This page was generated by the TARR system on 2007-08-17 11:24:09 ET

Serial Number: 76536351 Assignment Information

Registration Number: 2938695

Mark (words only): DON THE BEACHCOMBER

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On 2007-08-16 22:57, closettiki wrote:
i was also at the beachcomber this june....i pretty well got the same info......there was talk about expanding it to talk of replacing it....it would be a shame to destroy it...it still has that cool 60's feel.....just in case it was goin away i wasted no time in talking the mgnt out of thier remaining tiki farm ..don the beachcomber rum barrels...ive kept a few fo myself and im ebaying the remaining stash..got to cover the cost of my stash..... .

You want to just sell me one? The bartender when I was there in April didn't know anything about the rum barrels. Dang it!

sure.......ive been selling them for about 50.00 to 60.00 each via ebay ....they were made by tiki farm ..but if you want one ...40.00 tiki central discount........shhhhhh dont tell anybody...plus shipping of 9.00 priorty....email me and you can use paypal or send a m/[email protected]

This thread has been dormant for a while but I was wondering if anybody knows if this location is still "open".

Me and the Pakalolo Lady are going to Maui in a month and I'm wondering if it's worth visiting (or even open).

As of Oct.07 it was open but only for drinks and closes as like 9:00, and still serves as the VIP entrance for the luau.
But and a big but, in the lobby they had a model of the new resort in which Don's is gone and will be a lagoon if I remeber correctly. Also for those who love the old cottage style rooms, go while you can those are also to be replaced with a new timeshare style resort! Sad Sad Day!

Me and the wahine were staying at the Sheraton on Maui last week only to discover that the Don the Beachcomber was next door. So after dinner we decided to grab a drink at Don the Beachcomber. Who knew 8:45pm is closing time for a bar. We walked in an empty place with two guys cleaning up behind the bar. We just couldn't believe it was closed. He said the hours were from 4pm till 8pm but if he was working there he might keep the place open till 8:30pm - WOW! How wild and crazy it must get at 8:15pm! The place looked so so. A bunch of booths but with a lot of cool hanging lights and floats. Other than that totally lame. The coolest part is the sign outside. The bartender also suggested we go inside to the resort bar which was still open for the same special Don the beachcomber cocktails - meaning why even bother coming here. Any bar that is open from 4pm to 8pm will have a short live span. I'm sure you can't resist and check out the place but don't go out of your way.

My favorite place in Maui would have to be Big Mama's Fish House. Probably the classiest and best Tiki-ish restaurant I've ever been to. It's a classy and understated Tiki place and maybe not as kitschy as we all like it to be sometimes. It's right on the beach and when you walk the whole place is made out stunning wood and bamboo sprinkled with a handful of Tikis (not that many but they have a few). I've never seen so much beautiful Monkeypod and Koa wood in my life - the waitress said there are over 20 different woods in the place. There are three dining rooms. Two of them are illuminated by hanging fish floats and the main area is illuminated with hanging fish trap lights. All the wall sconces are real giant clam(?) shells and a lot of the walls have beautiful Tapa cloth panels worked into them. There are two beautiful bars both of which are made out of an assortment of bamboo, monkey pod, and Koa. The drinks were the best I had in Hawaii. How many bars actually use Falernum and still make a Scorpion out of four different rums?

The place is VERY EXPENSIVE (drinks $16, food $35-$45) but definitely worth it. Sinatra was a patron so that alone is a good enough reason for me to go. The food is amazing and the ambiance is truly fantastic. After dinner you can go for a nice stroll on their private little beach. Go here for a truly memorable experience but make reservations. They are booked days in advance.

I didn't have a camera but here are some grabs from their brochures and a menu scan:

The plane! The plane!

[ Edited by: Tattoo 2008-05-15 09:59 ]

Next to the Sheraton - Who knew?

I will try and hit it this weekend.

On 2008-05-15 14:54, christiki295 wrote:
Next to the Sheraton - Who knew?

I will try and hit it this weekend.

lots of people know.. there's an old thread started by Hanford

here are my pix don's maui

Aloha,friends:
I suppose that it is time to discuss just how the building we are talking about got built, why the property-owners stopped using "DON THE BEACHCOMBER(R)" in the 70's, only to put the sign back in the '90s, why it has not been used except for storage and an occasional makeshift bar for many years, and why it's being torn down.
DTB came to Maui in the 70s, when the owners of the property hired a management company to run its property. That company had the name "Don the Beachcomber," obtained from Donn shortly before, and one of its attractions as a manager was to be able to bring that magic name to the hotel. Their contract said, naturally and specifically that the owners of the location were not to obtain any right to the name, and if they left it went with them. It was this company that built the lovely old building we all admire.
Years later, the relationship between the managing company and the owners was terminated by agreement, and the Don the Beachcomber sign and use of the name was terminated. After that the property-owners used a Chinese restaurant name. However, not too much later, they figured out that while "Don the Beachcomber? belonged to the management company, they could use the generic term, "Beachcombers" without restriction. And so the old building had a new name.
"Beachcombers" then opened and had quite a success until the sewage started to back up and flood the kitchen. The owners had overburdened the island sewage system by their constant expansion, and the county health department closed "Beachcombers." Today it remains under the same order, and cannot legally operate as a restaurant, nor can it be used for anything that generates sewage. Even the spillage from the little makeshift bar they have there to serve the luau-goers with "Mai-Tais" in a plastic cup has to have its sewage carried away by bucket.
After that closure the building was generally used as storage. The kitchen is unused and covered with dust. The old refrigerators stand open. It has, except for the little bar, remained unused for anything related to DTB for these years.
Since then, while there has been a great deal of lip-service given to DTB at the hotel (a couple of Christmases ago they opened their main dining room briefly as DTB,but after the holiday returned it to the original.
The sign on the outside is a reasonably recent addition, placed there after they had discovered that old friends of Donn had obtained the right to the name, and were planning on opening one on the Mainland. It has done little good, since the owners never have and still do not have any right to the name "Don the Beachcomber(R).
And that, my friends, is the story of that pretty little doomed building with the name Don the Beachcomber on its' side, at the Royal Lahaina Hotel. The restaurant at the "Royal Kona" is another, but related, story.

Mahalo,

Art Snyder, Managing Partner
Marisol llc, a Nevada limited liability company,
dba Don the Beachcomber Industries
and
TropicRum llc, a California limited liability company,
licensed as Don the Beachcomber, Surf City

Art,
Welcome to Tiki Central. I am looking forward to your new location in Las Vegas.
When are you planning on opening there?
The new DTB is going to look like the original Hollywood location?
Please tell us more. :)

Hey Art, thank you very much for the info. and for taking the time to sign on here and tell us all. There has been even more curiosity about the name lately especially with the new Donn Beachcombers opening up.
Thanks again!

TabooDan

I am happy to say that the building still stands! I recently stayed in one of the cottages at the Royal Lahaina Resort, and was amazed to see the building and "Don the Beachcombers" wooden sign as I drove up.

They are only open for a few hours before the adjacent luau, which is like every other day. I had walked into the place and gotten my photo taken next to the hula dancer statue, and saw that it was pretty dark, and not vintage looking at all. I regret not going back for a drink and talking with the bartender to get more information as to whether or not the place will be around for much longer.

I am surprised that there is no major value in bringing this place back to it's original glory. All of us into vintage Hawaiiana would be in tiki heaven if it was restored. After looking at the majority of the middle aged conservative people on vacation there, I can understand that it is of low priority to make this what it once was. So sad!

The cottages are still there, stayed in one. Does not look as though there is any new construction.
The older "Ocean Inn" next to the luau is a great piece of architecture too! All the lava rock and the metal is classic 1960's. It was the "budget" inn that we booked, and were upgraded to the cottages. I'm sure it was a dump, but it was such a cool destination at one time. I only wish I could have stayed there in the 1960's or 1970's!

I DID however, eat dinner at the Don the Beachcomber's at the Royal Kona Resort, and it was heaven! Such good food, and the decor looks pretty tikirific! I understand that the center used to be a fountain, that would have been cool to see! I would have thought I was at the Enchanted Tiki Room in Disneyland if there was a fountain show.

[ Edited by: Marquisdupre 2010-02-07 20:41 ]

[ Edited by: Marquisdupre 2010-02-07 20:43 ]

Scored a couple from the old Don the Beachcomber here on Maui thrifting.. not sure what they served in them but haven't seen any other mugs from this location so I thought I'd post them..

Aloha,

Nice! Those were by Daga and they served Coffee drinks in them.

My family & I, hung out at this Don's in the 70s
and the Don's at The Royal Kona Resort
we spent our summers in Maui.

On 2014-09-01 09:28, Phillip Roberts wrote:
Aloha,

Nice! Those were by Daga and they served Coffee drinks in them.

That's what I was thinking they used them for Phillip.. Thanks...

On 2014-09-01 13:54, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
My family & I, hung out at this Don's in the 70s
and the Don's at The Royal Kona Resort
we spent our summers in Maui.

Cool ATP!
You wouldn't happen to have any pictures of it back in the day would you?? Love to see some pics of it in it's former glory.. Such a sad little building that just sits there now with a new roof, a Tiki still guarding the front and the Don The Beachcomber sign still looking like new.. :(

I know the folks have a few, now just to get my Mom to look for them.

http://thehulagirls.blogspot.com/2016/04/don-beachcomber-on-maui.html?m=1