The wildfires that ravaged the Los Angeles metropolitan area in January were devastating, but amid the copious amounts of loss and as the affected areas begin to figure out how to rebuild, growth continues. This is thanks in part to the 2028 Summer Olympic games that will woo sports fans from around the world to LA.
New hotels are also popping up here as a result of the city’s efforts to grow. Lodging Econometrics notes that there are 106 hotels planned for the city, which will garner almost 18,000 guestrooms.
Consider the Burton House, Beverly Hills. Part of Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio, the 186-key hotel, designed by Wimberly Interiors, opened in 2024 sporting metallic finishes, mirrored walls, and black and white motifs. In 2027, the neighborhood’s One Beverly Hills development will unveil the Aman Beverly Hills, encompassing a 78-suite Aman hotel, Aman Club, and Aman Residences crafted by Kerry Hill Architects.
A rendering of the sleek outdoor fireplace at the soon-to-open Bower Coronado
Situated in a former Arts District firehouse, the nine-room Kodō hotel opened in 2024 as a modern ryokan, designed by local architect Matthew Royce and studio Gry Space with handcarved concrete sinks, suspended mirrors, and arches. Nearby, Ennismore will introduce the 149-room Mama Shelter Downtown LA in 2026. There’s also the Le Petit Brentwood, Palisociety’s third location of its modern B&B concept. With interiors wrapped in green and white hues, the 25-key property comprises four guest buildings anchored by a central court.
Santa Monica is buzzing too, thanks to recent arrivals like the Georgian, the 84-room Art Deco icon rehabbed by local- and London-based studio Fettle for BLVD, which has been responsible for many Downtown LA hotels, and the 175-key Sandbourne Santa Monica. Part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection and from Stockdale Capital, local practice Atelier Gulla Jónsdóttir handled the dreamy façade and interiors.
Some two and a half hours south of LA, San Diego is also rife with developments, like New York firm Jeffrey Beers International’s 2024 revamp of the 511-room Omni San Diego Hotel. Here, stitched leather panels at the reception desk and stadium-style light fixtures speak to the importance of Petco Park and the San Diego Padres, while the Tortuga pool bar and terrace reinforce the coastal setting through artwork and a custom trellis structure.
Local décor and accessories connect the Hyatt Regency Irvine’s lobby to Orange County
Lodging Econometrics reports there are 52 hotels with 9,827 guestrooms in the works in San Diego, including the Bower Coronado, which will boast the resort city’s first rooftop bar. For the 39-key property opening in March on the site of a former Japanese tea garden, local architecture firm Delawie and SFA Design will outfit the spaces with patinated metals, limestone, and woodwork to evoke 1950s California.
Orange County, a hub for business travelers, shouldn’t be overlooked either. Following a $55 million renovation, the Hotel Irvine now sparkles with rose marble and brass accents as the Hyatt Regency Irvine, bringing together 516 guestrooms, an artisanal marketplace, and the Regency Club, complete with lounge seating and firepits. To forge a connection to the community, Gensler incorporated pieces from local artisans and antique shops.
Below, we dive into six new and forthcoming projects that encapsulate Southern California’s boundless energy.
The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara
It’s been 25 years since the Bacara Resort & Spa—it was rebranded as a Ritz-Carlton in 2017—began welcoming guests. In celebration of the milestone, the 358-room hotel is currently undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation spearheaded by New York- and LA-based firm Meyer Davis.
When it reopens later this year, it will include references to the terrain’s natural beauty as well as the Chumash people, the original stewards of the land, and the Californios, the area’s early Spanish settlers.
Private cabanas will lend the pool area a sense of discretion and an outdoor terrace dotted with native plants will amplify views of the scenic bluffs below. “The design weaves together historic textiles, leather accents, terracotta hacienda tiles, and equestrian motifs,” says Will Meyer, cofounder of Meyer Davis. “Organic forms reflect the shifting earth, while an ocean-inspired palette brings tranquility.”
The Capri Hotel
A Capri Hotel guestroom, adorned with cork flooring and bespoke millwork
Led by Kenny Osehan, the Shelter Social Club portfolio of hotels in Ojai, Santa Barbara, Los Alamos, and Solvang are quirky and driven by community. For the reboot of Ojai’s Capri Hotel dating from 1963, Osehan called upon Los Angeles-based Manola Studio, resulting in striking elements like auburn leather chairs and hand-cut tiles.
“Shelter Social Club has a way of making spaces feel like they’ve always belonged,” says Manola Studio founder Jessica Pell. “Capri had that quiet, classic charm you can’t manufacture—lovely midcentury bones, a great location at the mellow end of town, and just enough patina to feel soulful but not forgotten.”
Now, the pool and the lobby are social hubs, communal hangouts juxtaposed with 30 guestrooms elevated by desert-hued cork flooring and custom millwork that recalls the Italian Riviera. Here, “form and material add depth and character to a classic motel footprint,” Pell adds.
Regent Santa Monica Beach
The Regent Santa Monica’s airy lobby is evocative of a yacht
The Regent Santa Monica Beach made its debut last year in the shadow of the city’s famed pier as the first location in the Americas of IHG’s Regent Hotels & Resorts flag, in partnership with Strategic Hotels & Resorts.
Drawing upon the expertise of local architect Houston Tyner, Dallas-based Nunzio Marc DeSantis Architects, Wimberly Interiors, and AvroKO, the hotel brings together 167 guestrooms, restaurants from chefs Michael Mina and Ayesha Curry, and a 10,000-square-foot spa developed in collaboration with Guerlain.
A neutral palette transports diners at Orla in the Regent Santa Monica
One of the property’s highlights is its oceanfront location, highlighted in “light, airy colors and textures seen throughout the lobby and Orla restaurant,” says Greg Bradshaw, AvroKO’s San Francisco-based partner. “Green hues are paired with gold and cream-colored accents, while brass detailing is reminiscent of what one might find on a yacht at sea.”
The oval-shaped main bar, a fusion of marble and leather, also has a nautical bent, he adds, for it’s “topped with a ‘hat’ that takes inspiration from a seafaring compass, becoming a focal point viewable from the balconies above.”
Casa Loma Beach Hotel
Guestrooms at the Casa Loma Beach Hotel reflect a bohemian spirit
Marc & Rose Hospitality has thoughtfully reimagined the Inn at Laguna Beach as the 70-room Casa Loma Beach Hotel. “We sought to craft a serene yet vibrant coastal retreat that harmonizes with its stunning clifftop setting, inspired by Laguna Beach’s creative heritage and a laidback Mallorcan spirit,” says Marc & Rose Hospitality president John Grossman.
The art program was key to cultivating a lived-in yet vibrant experience. Overseen by graphic and branding firm LAND, pieces include the lobby mural and handpainted canvas tapestries gracing select guestrooms.
They meld with Electric Bowery’s interiors that pull from historic seaside village hotels. The Venice, California-based studio “preserves Laguna Beach’s long history of artisans, especially from the original surfboard shapers from the ’50s, through handcrafted woodworking, curved shapes, organic textures, and earthy tones,” says principal Lucia Bartholomew.
Granger Hotel Gaslamp Quarter
San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter “is the heart of downtown, where all the energy of the city comes together with entertainment and nightlife,” says Kevin Mansour, managing partner of Oram Hotels.
Capturing the district’s vibe was top of mind when Mansour and his brother, Alvin, opened the Granger, part of the Design Hotels collection, in a 1904 Romanesque building that has at turns served as a bank, a jeweler, and a home for animals awaiting transport to the San Diego Zoo. Working alongside Erika Baker, lead designer and creative director of Oram Hotels, the Mansour brothers conceived the city’s first private, guest-only hangout.
In the lobby, artwork, including a monumental plaster wall and a ceiling mural depicting an abstract lion and elephant, stand out against a palette of blush pink, chartreuse, and cerulean. Meanwhile, some of Baker’s own creations mingle with vintage pottery and lamps in the 96 loft-style guestrooms.
“We wanted to create something special for our hometown, something intimate and unexpected,” says Mansour. “The design is organic and layered, filled with rich colors and textures that bring the brand to life.”
The Baby Grand
Set for a winter opening, Baby Grand will boast bespoke clamshell headboards, shown in a rendering
As founder of CH Projects, Arsalun Tafazoli has dazzled San Diego denizens with restaurant and bar concepts, so it was only a matter of time before he embraced hotels, too. Tafazoli’s successful 2023 reinvention of the Lafayette Hotel & Swim Club in North Park has now spawned his sophomore effort, the Baby Grand in Coronado, opening this winter.
Like Lafayette, the maximalist Baby Grand comes courtesy of Brooklyn, New York- and Jackson, Wyoming-based Post Company. A draped ceiling-capped reception area, waterfall, and oyster bar and lounge that conjures the 1950s will all be fantastical elements, as are the 31 guestrooms, which will feature mirrored minibars that open to red glass and bronze. Each key was designed as its own jewel box, while beds will boast custom cast clamshell headboards that “took a fair amount of time, energy, and cash to bring to fruition,” Tafazoli says.
“We are dedicated to San Diego, and we like to think that each project we decide to say yes to feeds a larger ecosystem that has a chance to push culture forward in our city,” Tafazoli explains. “When we had the opportunity to evolve into the hotel space, our intention was always to build three or four idiosyncratic ones that reflected our values, but with each having their own identity and sense of placemaking.”
Photos by Tanveer Badal, Robin Benson, and Stan Lee, and courtesy of Capri Hotel, Hyatt Regency Irvine, Bower Coronado, CH Projects, and Marc & Rose Hospitality
This article originally appeared in HD’s February/March 2025 issue.
