The Inn at Laguna Beach is relaunching as Casa Loma Beach Hotel with respected California-based design firm Electric Bowery teaming up with Texas-based LAND to reconcept one of Laguna’s best located and most iconic hotels.
LAGUNA BEACH, CALIFORNIA – Renowned hospitality group Marc & Rose Hospitality, formerly Classic Hotels & Resorts, is reintroducing The Inn at Laguna Beach as Casa Loma Beach Hotel, enlisting Venice, California-based architecture and interior design firm Electric Bowery and iconic graphic and branding firm LAND to reimagine the celebrated oceanfront property. Featuring a collection of 70 rooms, the luxury boutique hotel, which is perched on Laguna Beach’s rocky cliffside, boasts unrivaled ocean views and is steps from Main Beach and less than a five-minute walk to Downtown Laguna Beach. Casa Loma will remain open throughout the renovation, with the first set of new guest rooms scheduled to debut before the end of the year.
To hone their vision for Casa Loma, Marc & Rose led LAND and Electric Bowery into a deep dive of Laguna Beach history, from the early days of Prohibition when the area’s counter-culture reputation began to develop through its flowering as a self-reflective seaside haven for creatives, bohemians, surfers, and crafts people. From there, Electric Bowery developed a design narrative that pays homage to the region’s creative heritage while tapping into the tones and textures of its beachside, cliff-top landscape. The decor combines a laidback Mallorcan mindset with the vivacity of California’s coastal spirit.
“Electric Bowery is honored to be leading the redesign of such an iconic Laguna Beach oceanfront property,” said Lucia Bartholomew, principal, Electric Bowery. “Throughout the design process, we worked closely with Marc & Rose to create a naturally-inspired destination that celebrates Laguna’s landscape and embodies a creative ethos. Our vision of fostering a sense of purpose and well-being is reflected at Casa Loma through the marriage of the local bohemian spirit with the natural energy of the sea.”
The overall design is intended to foster creativity, whether through quiet moments in the guest rooms or through social engagement in the lobby lounge, outdoor pool and communal meeting spaces. The hotel’s architectural influences and materiality embody the fictional muse of “Cecilia,” a wellness maven, and her mythic spirit of the sea. Drawing inspiration from the long history of artisans, makers, and engineers in Laguna Beach, Electric Bowery and LAND worked closely together to infuse each space with a subtle bohemian energy evocative of Laguna Beach’s creative roots, creating a canvas for today’s innovative thinkers and artists.
Throughout Casa Loma, the guest is enveloped by a calming color palette of sandy neutrals, clay tones, and seaside greens, framing panoramic views of the sea. The organic and sculpted forms of the interiors and built-in pieces are born from the sea’s gentle waves and movement. The lobby bar and lounge is the social hub of the project, where fired clay tiles create a curved check-in desk and scraped sandy-colored plaster wraps the built-in banquettes. These handcrafted and natural textures reflect the tradition of craft in Laguna Beach and the organic influence of the ocean. A sculpted mural, created in collaboration with LAND, tells the story of Cecilia, and is the focal point upon the guest’s arrival, and is accompanied by original art by LAND throughout the 70 guestrooms. The influence of the original surfboard shapers is evident at every scale of design, including in the guest rooms where the custom beds, built-in desks, sofas, and case goods take on sinuous forms. Lighting and banquette design – including guest room vanity fixtures by SKLO and custom lighting fixtures throughout the property by Kassandra Thatcher – are inspired by organic shapes found in the surrounding seascape. Landscape designs by ORCA similarly reflect the local natural beauty and build on Electric Bowery’s cohesive approach inside and out that feels indelibly linked to the hotel’s environs. The result is an inspired escape that represents Marc & Rose’s ethos of genuine hospitality within thoughtfully designed spaces.
Marc & Rose Hospitality currently operates fourteen iconic hotels and restaurants throughout the American West including the Arizona Grand Resort & Spa, High Country Motor Lodge, Hotel Carmel, Laguna Beach House, La Playa Hotel, and The Scott Resort & Spa.
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