The Baby Grand has officially opened steps from the Coronado shoreline, marking a striking departure from standard California beach hospitality.
The 31-room property—the second collaboration between San Diego hospitality group CH Projects and design studio Post Company—is an atmospheric, layered world defined by lush landscaping and theatrical interiors.
“We wanted the Baby Grand to feel less like a hotel you check into and more like something you stumble upon, like you discovered it halfway reclaimed by time and decided to stay,” says CH Projects founder Arsalun Tafazoli. “It’s our attempt to create a social, slightly surreal gathering place on Coronado, where history isn’t polished over, but left visible and alive, and where people can move through spaces that unfold slowly, connect, and make their own version of the story.”
An overgrown oasis
Transforming a 6,000-square-foot former asphalt parking lot, the outdoor grounds now evoke an early coastal expedition camp reclaimed by nature. Mature plantings, gas-lit torches, planted trellises, and tented structures obscure private lagoons and sculpted rock formations.
This outdoor landscape is also home to a coffee shop, an outdoor bar, and Night Hawk, a Greek open-fire restaurant integrated directly into the environment through rock-formed banquettes.
Clandestine experiences at the Baby Grand
Inside, the lobby—featuring a transportive soundscape developed by Swizz Beatz—serves as a threshold between worlds. Vintage tapestries inspired by ancient Pompeiian wall paintings, a dramatic central chandelier, and a high-gloss check-in desk anchor the space.
Artifacts scattered throughout the room conceal secrets, including a statue that hides the entrance to Fallen Empire. This reservation-only champagne and oyster bar boasts solid-brass booths upholstered in red mohair, a sea-inspired mosaic floor, and a painted bar inspired by Théodore Géricault’s “The Raft of the Medusa.”
Theatrical accommodations
This transportive narrative continues into the guestrooms, where tropical wallpaper, parquet flooring, oxblood trim, and high-gloss wood ceilings are anchored by custom iridescent clamshell beds. Vintage art, animal-print stools, and oversized in-room bars round out the curated, assembled-over-time aesthetic.
The bathing experience commands just as much attention, with bathrooms occupying nearly half of the total room footprint. Hidden behind pocket doors, these deeply immersive spaces reveal intricate mosaic tile flooring, glass-enclosed shower rooms, and clawfoot soaking tubs, all accented by fluted marble wash consoles and jewel-toned mirroring.
“We approached the Baby Grand as a deliberate departure from the casual, beachy aesthetic typical of Southern California hospitality,” says Leigh Salem, partner at Post Company. “From mosaic floors and mirrored walls to iridescent clamshell beds, each element contributes to a rich, cohesive world that feels assembled over time. The design is theatrical, but never overly choreographed—there’s a sense that it’s still unfolding and evolving.”
