After designing boutique hotel Deca in Seattle and the historic tower of the Viking in Newport, Rhode Island, for LaSalle Hotels, the hotel company once again called on designer Andrea Sheehan. But this time it was for a very different type of property: a redo of Paradise Point, a 44-acre Polynesian-inspired island resort originally built in 1962 on San Diego’s Mission Bay.

"The architecture is very southeast Asian, so we went with a personality that felt like that part of the world—Bali, Phuket; something more exotic and tropical," explains Sheehan, founder of Seattle-based Dawson Design Associates, who handled the 462 bungalow-style guestrooms and meeting facilities. "It is kind of like Fantasy Island. ‘Escape to Paradise’ was one of the tag lines we used in the design process."

With that in mind, she infused Asian hardwoods (teak, mahogany, and kapur), furniture made in Indonesia, contemporary artwork, bamboo accents, and a tropical collage color palette inspired by the resort’s vegetation, the San Diego sky, and the Pacific Ocean (coral, turquoise, celery, and gold). "We wanted it to be casual yet sophisticated, unique and interesting, and residential—like intimate beach bungalows you could come for a romantic visit or with the family," says Sheehan, adding that she and her team flew to Indonesia twice to hand inspect each piece of furniture.

And for a touch of whimsy, guestrooms feature leopard-pattern rugs and carved monkeys in the traditional See No, Hear No, Speak No Evil motif; they are a spinoff of the ballroom medallions that have monkeys holding hands, like the game a barrel of monkeys. "With the roof lines and other architectural elements, it was easy to convey a South Pacific flavor," Sheehan explains. "Monkeys are very much a part of the South Pacific so it is a fun little twist we played with that; it ties the old and the new."

Yet the biggest challenge: there were more than 100 room types, all with different shapes, functions, and orientations. As a result, there were more than 100 different types of furniture designed for each condition. "We love these ‘one of a kind’ gems," says Sheehan. "I think that Paradise Point is an amazing hotel. You just do not see this kind of hotel in the U.S.—outside of Hawaii. As designers, our job is to evolve these special hotels for the next generation to enjoy and experience, not decorate them in some trendy fashion that is gone tomorrow. These hotels are too important for that. They hold a special place in people’s hearts and memories. We take our responsibility very seriously when we tackle one of these iconic hotels. We love the challenge."

Next up: Sheehan is redesigning the resort’s lobby and Barefoot bar, scheduled for 2011.