Polynesian Pop Vegas - Part 3: Golden Monkey Tiki Lounge.
The next stop on my Polynesian Pop tour of Sin City is yet another golden establishment as it turns out—Golden Monkey Tiki Lounge within Resorts World Las Vegas (2021), the first new resort completed on the Strip since Cosmopolitan (2010).
The name, icon figure, and typeface all conjure up visions of the Far East, perhaps Indochina, and under colonial rule at that. The bar opened in 2023 as a redesign of the prior lounge from two years earlier attached to the adjacent Genting Palace Restaurant. One review noted this was because it was “too formal and intimidating for their lounge to see casual traffic from people not interested in dining.”
Golden Monkey was the first bar with a tiki theme to open on the Las Vegas Strip proper since the ill-fated Taboo Cove at The Venetian. The vibe is very upscale, fitting with the other restaurants within Resorts World (which, I chuckled to myself, seems like such a rip-off of Walt Disney World).
True to form, the entrance is flanked by two unique tiki god statues.
They appear to have been standard models supplied by Oceanic Arts, which for 65 years was the leading purveyor of Polynesian Pop carvings and associated decor. In fact, I have a similar figure in my own home which I purchased there in 2011.
The space is quite attractive, but again more luxury resort than tiki bar. Golden Monkey is a good example of when theming becomes more of an interior design motif. Environments like this are not experientially immersive, I would argue, because you do not feel truly transported to another time and place.
There are also many abstracted elements, which again detract from immersion. At the Golden Tiki Lounge, such moments are interwoven with more deeply rendered thematic touches, and as such contribute to an overall fantasy other-worldliness.
But when they appear isolated, like these enlarged metal cages with flat, toy-like plastic monkey shapes trying to escape, they read almost as branded elements.
The furniture is well-considered with varying pillow patterns and top arm rails that curve downward suggesting, again, an Asian influence.
I noticed octopus-shaped LED candle holders and some typical tiki mugs left by recently-departed patrons.
Octopuses appear to be a recurring notion throughout, though what connection they have to the namesake monkey theme I have no idea.
The woven rattan is fine and restrained. Playful dimensional masks in abstract frames are sprinkled about the walls. I can imagine some affluent guests finding this rather tasteful compared with the more-is-more, cluttered and packed-to-the-gills approach that many contemporary bars like Golden Tiki take.
There are notes of Polynesian Pop environments gone by, such as these oars, but always with a measure of restraint.
It almost feels like the staging you’d find in a retail space. Tommy Bahama comes to mind.
The bar area itself is the “most Las Vegas” part of Golden Monkey Tiki. I did appreciate that the large flat screen television was turned off. I’m assuming it’s there for when there is a major sporting event. The seats are plush red and match the abstract mosaic of circles framing the display.
A unique tiki stands at either side.
For whatever reason, both are adorned with a single starfish.
I thought these were really interesting. There are two banks of tiki mugs displayed in a tall green grid to the left and right of the bar. I recognize some as Tiki Farm originals and others as more generic designs. Many of them are duplicated in pairs. It’s a really inexpensive way to express the theme of the space in a visually interesting way. And, again, it’s the kind of interior decor you’d find in an upscale retail environment.
The presentation rhymes with the bar’s largest abstract element, this towering palm tree column.
At the far end just to left of this palm is a glass portal that faces the hotel hallway outside, flanked by foliage as well as flat graphics.
It’s a very club-like environment, and one that I would not classify as thematic design. The space has a theme (or themes), but everything is expressed through traditional interior decor. The Golden Monkey Tiki Lounge, though attractive, is not a truly immersive space. I don’t feel like I have been transported to another time and place.
True themed spaces resemble film sets and employ their visual grammar. Golden Monkey Tiki has many charming elements, like this hula dancer above, but it’s more an exercise in traditional interior design. Moreover, the mug display turned out to be a tremendous tease. They have no custom designs, and through the bar staff will sell you the one you just drank out of, the price is ridiculous.
Continued in Part 4.