At the turn of the 20th century, California’s image was shaped by more than its landscapes. Railroads sold land, Hollywood spun myth, and hotels gave those stories a front door. A bell tower rising above the boardwalk, a ballroom humming on a Saturday night, a veranda catching the sunset—these were scenes that fixed themselves in memory.
Sadly, many of those early hotels that first defined California as a vacation destination are gone. Developers leveled some; others kept running, until they couldn’t. But thankfully, some of these historic outposts are being brought back to life, from classic roadside motels to coastal icons. This year, three historic names have reemerged: La Bahia Hotel & Spa in Santa Cruz, Hotel El Roblar in Ojai, and the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego.
Book a suite at the newly opened La Bahia Resort & Spa in Santa Cruz, and you’ll be treated to coastal views.
Courtesy of La Bahia Resort & Spa
La Bahia Hotel & Spa, Santa Cruz
After three decades in limbo, La Bahia Hotel & Spa reopened on the Santa Cruz waterfront on September 8. The Seaside Company, which also built the Santa Cruz boardwalk, opened the Spanish colonial revival complex in 1926 as a long-term stay hotel. It was later partially converted into a luxury resort and then sold as individual apartments in 1964. Part of the structure was demolished in 1989, but its white bell tower continued to mark the skyline even while the rest sat fenced off. Lawsuits and failed plans dragged on for years. Finally, the Seaside Company and Ensemble Investments poured $100 million into resurrecting this beautiful beachfront hotel. Now 155 rooms, including 29 suites, wrap around a restored courtyard with four restaurants, a spa, a rooftop pool, and meeting space. The lot that once collected graffiti now sees luggage carts rolling past bridal parties and surfers shaking sand from their boards at the lobby door.
Cool off with a classic margarita at the moody lobby bar at Hotel El Roblar in Ojai.
Courtesy of Hotel El Roblar
Hotel El Roblar, Ojai
In Southern California, a storied hotel in the artistic enclave of Ojai, just north of L.A., has also recently been given a new lease on life. Built in 1919, and later reborn as the Oaks at Ojai, Hotel El Roblar closed after the Thomas Fire in 2017. The property then sat dark in the heart of town along the main drag, Ojai Avenue. In 2019, hotelier Eric Goode and designer Ramin Shamshiri purchased the buildings and initiated a six-year redevelopment project. They restored Mission Revival details like stucco exteriors, Mediterranean fountains, hand-painted tiles, and classic red-tiled roofs and reshaped the courtyards into new configurations with gardens and walking paths. The hotel reopened this summer with 50 rooms split between the main building, garden bungalows, and the Sycamore House (there are eight rooms in the latter). Food and drink venues are also on offer, with Condor Bar serving wood-fire Santa Maria barbecue and a Mexican-influenced menu alongside craft cocktails, La Cocina offering brunch food all day, and Snug Bar shifting from morning coffee to late-night cocktails. Walk by on a Friday night, and you can hear voices carrying down Ojai Avenue again.
The Victorian’s double-height lobby at the Hotel del Coronado.
Courtesy of Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado, San Diego
Further south and on the ocean, across from downtown San Diego on an oceanfront peninsula, the sprawling Hotel del Coronado is on another scale entirely. It has never closed since opening in 1888, but its bones were beginning to fail. Investment group Blackstone, the owner, and Hilton, the operator, partnered on a massive seven-year, $550-million restoration that finally wrapped up in June. Crews stabilized the Victorian’s wing, with its red turret; restored the Crown Room’s carved ceiling; refreshed hundreds of guest rooms; added a Nobu restaurant and several other dining options; and built new Shore House residences. The Del has always been a stage: President Benjamin Harrison ate breakfast here in 1891; Richard Nixon hosted a 1970 state dinner in the Crown Room for Mexico’s president, the first such event outside the White House; Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot filmed its exteriors here. The restoration ensures that the stage remains, hosting history in real time.
California built its reputation on spectacle. Gold rush booms, world fairs, Hollywood premieres, and especially the state’s stunning coastline, deserts, and mountains were sold as attractions. Restoring properties like La Bahia, El Roblar, and the Del keeps some of California’s historic hotels in circulation not only as places to stay, but also as part of the enduring show that has always defined the Golden State’s tourism culture.
