[trip style = staycation]
If you can't travel, just tiki! Slap on some self-tanner, slip on a dress (or some bermudas and an aloha shirt for men) and get down to your nearest tiki lounge! From their inception, tiki bars were known for their escapism, mystery and exotic allure, so if you need a dose of the tropics, why not fake a vacation at a tiki lounge?
Ever since I can remember, I've been obsessed with tiki-ing. There's something about the Polynesian-meets-50's-inspired decor I can't get enough of. Then there's the little drinks with umbrellas and the pupus... All in all, tiki lounging makes me feel like I'm sitting in an over-water, glass-bottomed, open-air hideaway in French Polynesia, far, far away from the ordinary, and right now, far away from winter and cold.
Favorite Tikies
Vancouver - {Waldorf} Tiki Bar
The newly restored and opened Waldorf Hotel has successfully brought back to life a modernist, iconic, gem, without losing sight of its 50's tiki-glam. One of the most incredible features of this new hot-spot is the virtually untouched Tiki Bar! With the exception of some tasteful restorations and a retrofitted vintage analogue audiophile sound system, you get to sip mai tais and singapore slings in the same setting as the gents and dames from the 1950s.
San Francisco - {Fairmont} The Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar
After a $1 million restoration, the grand-daddy of tikis, The Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar at the Fairmont San Francisco, is still a draw for locals and tourists alike. Anchored by the hotel's vintage, tiled, 1929-built indoor poollagoon, this tiki room has seen many a day. Here are some beyond-fabulous features that are sure to transport you to tropic-town: dining under a thatched roof, hourly monsoon rain storms, a floating bandstand and a happy hour featuring a Pan-Asian buffet and exotic bevs. Don't miss this swanky outpost of South Seas high-style. If I lived in SF, I'd be a regular.
PS - Happy Thanksgiving to our friends down South!