Here is the continuation of my quick trip to Palm Springs from 2016:
When we left off, we were walking down Palm Canyon Drive, the main drag of Palm Springs.... There were interesting things to see.
Then I spied---HOORAY!--the Tonga Hut! Tiki bar #1 on my list (of 2) to find, explore and conquer while there. I insisted we go in...
The original TONGA HUT is in LA. I have not been to it (yet), but I've seen photos and it's a small place. But this one was larger. In addition to the lounge-y area (reminiscent of the original) there was also a small dining room and a veranda with seating overlooking Palm Canyon Drive (it's on the 2nd floor).
Here's the lounge-y area like the original...
Here are Irene and Erich (who never lets me take photos of him---but this time being playful) utilizing the mini umbrella tiki drink garnish.
But one of the coolest aspects of the place was the secret party room. Shhh! Not everyone knows about this. Next to a bathroom is a funky phone booth (my pictures suck---but it's there below). You go into the phone booth...and keep on going. The wall behind it is false and pushes out to reveal the secret party room! There's a booth and a couch and a door to a bonus secret outdoor patio with more seating and a small private tiki bar! Kowabunga! How groovy is that?
We thought about going there for dinner (and enjoying the secret room--if we could get a reservation for it), but Irene had a bad experience there. She paid for our drinks and the waiter brought back change...minus $10. We said something and he apologized, but we were never sure if it was accidental or a ploy to rip us off. It put a damper on the evening.
We headed back to our hotel and ended up having dinner in it's dining room in the outdoor seating area poolside. Here's a look at the hotel and where we ate:
The lobby is gorgeous and o' so cool at night with all of the red lighting...it looks like old Las Vegas or something. The check in desk was on the far left side and there was a bar on the far right side. Up a few steps and down a central hall between both halves of the lobby was an area with intimate public seating areas. Then down some steps and you were at the entrance to the hotel's restaurant.
While the interior of the restaurant seemed very posh, the outside dining area was just serviceable. But it was in nice proximity to the main pool, with it's fire pits and atmospheric lighting...
The hotel was nice, but the service was lousy and it was needing some updates (the elevators were down right scary!). Starwood had just purchased it and it was transitioning. Interestingly enough, the last time we were in Palm Springs, we had stayed at some hotel that had been purchased by Hard Rock and it started to transition to becoming the Hard Rock while we were there. Ha!
Anyway, that's pretty much it for the first day. Stay tuned for more.
CHEERS!
When we left off, we were walking down Palm Canyon Drive, the main drag of Palm Springs.... There were interesting things to see.
The original TONGA HUT is in LA. I have not been to it (yet), but I've seen photos and it's a small place. But this one was larger. In addition to the lounge-y area (reminiscent of the original) there was also a small dining room and a veranda with seating overlooking Palm Canyon Drive (it's on the 2nd floor).
We headed back to our hotel and ended up having dinner in it's dining room in the outdoor seating area poolside. Here's a look at the hotel and where we ate:
Anyway, that's pretty much it for the first day. Stay tuned for more.
CHEERS!
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