Tropics Motor Hotel, Seattle, WA (hotel)

Name:Tropics Motor Hotel
Type:hotel
Street:225 Aurora Avenue
City:Seattle
State:WA
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:
Status:operational

Description:
The Tropics Motor Hotel was located in Seattle in the eye of the Space Needle. It was built in 1956 and served as the host hotel for the 1962 World's Fair. It was once the only luxury hotel in downtown Seattle. It is now a Quality Inn and Suites.

I have seen the postcard from this place pop up as a possible Tiki location in various threads and websites.

Here are some postcards I have showing the exterior.

Here is a close-up of the Tropics sign.

An interior shot of the pool and a guest room.

A bit of a Hawaiian motif in the coffee shop.

I recently picked up this nice little ashtray from the Tropics.

As it turns out, the motel logo and signage are more African or Caribbean than Tiki. Here is a close up of the sign from some copies of a matchbook that are for sale on ebay.

While not truly Tiki, still a pretty cool looking place.

DC

I just purchased these cool swizzles from the Tropics Motor Hotel.

The restaurant/bar was called the Island Room as you can see on the headdress.

First time I have ever seen these.

DC

WOW! :o

I love those!

I scored another ashtray from the Tropics, this one advertises the Island Room.

A few matchbooks from my collection.

The backs, also with an Island Room reference. I wonder what that bar looked like?

DC

Good stuff! I wonder if the indoor pool is still there and I wounder what that picture is of at the bottom of the pool.

Here is a picture of a phone book cover I have. It actually holds a 1974 Portland phone book so someone obviously liked it enough to take it home!

Did someone ask, "I wonder what that bar looked like?", ladies and gents.. the Island Room.

A veritable potpourri of chinese hats, witco tiki and masks, Strikow statues, bamboo and Caribbean murals. It's hard to see but on the piano bar there's a three tiki oil table lamp there. In the '80's Lou Bianchi a Seattle Lounge entertainer who, for 20 years, had been the pianist/singer in the Palm Room of the Trade Winds restaurant downtown, started performing in the Island Room.

Another view of the restaurant, my family stayed here once in the early '60's and had breakfast at the tables to the left. I remember I was disappointed not to be in the "huts".

Another view of the pool showing what looks like a tile mural of Diamond Head beyond Waikiki beach.

Room views from the brochure I found at my parent house along with a blue tropics/island room swizzle.

aloha... tikicoma

Tikicoma,

Great find on that brochure, and from your parents no less!

Here is another photo of the interior from a news-wire listing on ebay.

Definitely some Carribean influence.

DC

1991 wire service photo. This has been on an auction site for a couple weeks now with no takers (to pricey for me).

"Workers from the Meyers Sign Co. remove the 8 foot tall Tiki gods from the front of the former Tropics Motor Inn. As of May 1st the Tropics will become tha Seattle Park Inn & Breakfast Club.

In Dec. 1990 Seattle Weekly took nominations for tacky Seattle and the Tropics sign received multiple nominations, including one from the hotels administrator, ouch.

aloha, tikicoma

Ha, a classic "sign" of Tiki devolution, along the lines of this dude, your typical "Tiki Bad Guy":

Some see tacky, some see a work of art.

Did you say art? I nabbed this architectural rendering postcard from the Tropics.

Great looking futuristic cars but no sign of the sign? One of those rare renderings that is less than what was built.

Oh wait, there it is!

DC