The architect in charge of renovations to the 63-year-old Waldorf Hotel on East Hastings Street says the iconic tiki lounge housed in the basement will remain true to its original Polynesian theme.

“What most people don’t understand is that except for the lounge, the hotel doesn’t have much tiki,” said Scott Cohen. “We plan to keep all of the tiki elements in the lounge and about 70 per cent of the renovations will be tiki style.”

Cohen is working with restaurateur Ernesto Gomez and musician Thomas Anselmi, who recently took over management of the Waldorf. In the 1980s, Anselmi belonged to the Vancouver punk band Slow and later the alternative-rock band Copyright.

Cohen is an award-winning architect responsible for the design of several popular Vancouver restaurants, including Gastropod and Les Faux Bourgeoisie, while Gomez is co-owner of Nuba restaurants. Also coming on board is Neil Bell, chef at Cabana in Kelowna, and until recently a host on the Food Network program Cook Like a Chef.

Cohen said plans for the hotel, which is scheduled to re-open in October, include an affordable café where the pub was located, as well as a slightly higher-priced European-inspired restaurant.

“When I say higher priced I still mean under $20,” said Cohen. “We want it to be known as a destination place that serves great food.”

The Waldorf was built in 1947 by architects Mercer and Mercer, who designed the building in the style of the modernism movement of the day. In 1955, as Polynesian culture caught the attention of the world, the architects cashed in on the craze and the hotel was transformed, including the creation of the still popular tiki lounge downstairs.

Cohen said one of the beauties of the building is its mix of minimalist modern architecture, including plenty of curving lines, with exotic Polynesian culture and art.

“It’s tiki with a kind of streamlined flare,” said Cohen. “Tiki meets modernism.”

In the 1950s and ’60s, the hotel and lounge catered to wealthy executives, residents and guests, but eventually faded into obscurity and disrepair. In the past two decades the tiki lounge closed, but was available for rent for special events, the Grove Pub was built specializing in live bands and the hotel section became a low-cost, backpackers hostel.

Cohen said once the tiki lounge reopens next month, it will operate every night of the week and as late as its operating licence allows. The group plans to offer small live acts in the lounge, which will be retrofitted with an analogue sound system complete with 1950s speakers and vintage turntables. The hotel is also going to include a recording studio, a gift shop and a small three-chair hair salon.

As for the hotel, Cohen said while the guest rooms will be updated and improved, they’ll be affordable. “They’ll be mid-scale, along the lines of a Best Western,” said Cohen. “We have no plans to gentrify the neighbourhood, we like it just the way it is.”

sthomas@vancourier.com