The Castaways restaurant, which was part of the Castaways Inns & Suites, opened in 1971. It retained its original tiki decor until it closed in early 2013. A large tiki pole from the Castaways can now be seen at Liki Tiki
We never managed to visit The Castaways while it was still operating, but we happened to stop by right as they were beginning to strip out much of the interior in January of 2014. I found the manager of the nearby hotel who agreed to unlock the doors to let us look around before it was all stripped. Many of the pieces had already been taken down and stacked in various piles, but the crazy red naugahyde basement showroom was still intact.
After our tour I inquired if any of the decor was for sale, and after a little negotiating we left with two large tiki poles, a couple of masks, some of the bamboo booth panel dividers, a gorgeous bamboo and stained glass hanging lamp, and after some persuasion by the manager, a five-foot long outrigger canoe (as he put it, "when are you ever going to come across anything like this again?").
Someday they will be the crowning glories of our yet to be designed tiki bar. For now they greet/startle our guests as they enter our living room.
I visited Castaways around 2007 and it was ... interesting. The owner was a very nice fellow and gave us a full tour including the red vinyl basement lounge / theatre that wayne-tiki-tiki was commenting on. It was like stepping into a time warp and everything was pretty well preserved. I wish I could have gotten a shot at some of that stuff when they closed.
The main dining and lounge upstairs was a very confused explosion of random tropical decor that looked like a few lifetimes of yard sale purchases. Maybe that's how they got the name... most of the decor was cast away buy someone.
The drinks... meh, the food... urp, the experience however was fun and the atmosphere made up for it in a bizarre sensory overload kinda way.
We never managed to visit The Castaways while it was still operating, but we happened to stop by right as they were beginning to strip out much of the interior in January of 2014. I found the manager of the nearby hotel who agreed to unlock the doors to let us look around before it was all stripped. Many of the pieces had already been taken down and stacked in various piles, but the crazy red naugahyde basement showroom was still intact.
After our tour I inquired if any of the decor was for sale, and after a little negotiating we left with two large tiki poles, a couple of masks, some of the bamboo booth panel dividers, a gorgeous bamboo and stained glass hanging lamp, and after some persuasion by the manager, a five-foot long outrigger canoe (as he put it, "when are you ever going to come across anything like this again?").
Someday they will be the crowning glories of our yet to be designed tiki bar. For now they greet/startle our guests as they enter our living room.
I visited Castaways around 2007 and it was ... interesting. The owner was a very nice fellow and gave us a full tour including the red vinyl basement lounge / theatre that wayne-tiki-tiki was commenting on. It was like stepping into a time warp and everything was pretty well preserved. I wish I could have gotten a shot at some of that stuff when they closed.
The main dining and lounge upstairs was a very confused explosion of random tropical decor that looked like a few lifetimes of yard sale purchases. Maybe that's how they got the name... most of the decor was cast away buy someone.
The drinks... meh, the food... urp, the experience however was fun and the atmosphere made up for it in a bizarre sensory overload kinda way.
This restaurant calls itself "a pirate resturant" but the pirate theme was established on top of a a tiki place. Much of the originial decor is still intact. However, be ready to also see pirate, flamingos, parrots, iguanas, giraffes, and other non-tiki additions. The original decors looks great. The music ranges from light jazz, carribian, and latin type stuff, which is better than top 40. I am non-alcholic, but I had the virgin pina-colada which tasted like a cheap mix. Overall, it is a great and the closest thing to tiki in the area.
After our tour I inquired if any of the decor was for sale, and after a little negotiating we left with two large tiki poles, a couple of masks, some of the bamboo booth panel dividers, a gorgeous bamboo and stained glass hanging lamp, and after some persuasion by the manager, a five-foot long outrigger canoe (as he put it, "when are you ever going to come across anything like this again?").
Someday they will be the crowning glories of our yet to be designed tiki bar. For now they greet/startle our guests as they enter our living room.