June 26–When the owners of the Bristol Hotel decided the time had come to refresh the aging downtown San Diego property, they thought, why not go retro and try a '60s look.
In an homage to the hotel's late 1960s birth on First Street, owner and operator Greystone Hotels has debuted the initial phase of a $7 million upgrade that recalls the Beatles, pop artists Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, and old antenna-style TV's. The hotel, as it is, already had a pop art collection featuring original works by Lichtenstein and Warhol.
The ownership is hoping the whimsical look will stand the test of time, or at least the next several years. It doesn't hurt that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love when 100,000 people converged in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury.
"There's always the concern that if you do something very popular at the moment, two years from now, it might not be cool," said Marc Horodas, vice president of business development for Greystone, which has 11 properties on the West Coast, including the Empress Hotel in La Jolla. "But we felt like the design balances a modern esthetic — hardwood floors, a light and airy feel — with a tie-in to the age of the hotel and the generation it was built in.
"You'll see distinctly San Diego elements, and we did it in a way that we think will prove to last for a nice amount of time and won't feel kitschy in a short period of time."
Half of the hotel's 114 rooms already have been refurbished, and an upgrade of the lobby, meeting space and fitness facility will follow.
Probably the biggest connection to San Diego of the 1960s that was incorporated into the new decor are the decorative bed pillows covered with a replica of a 1965 concert ticket stub from the Beatles's only local appearance — at the former Balboa Stadium.
The refurbished guest rooms feature a black and white palette, accented with bright bursts of color, flat-screen TV's housed in cabinetry that recalls a '60s-style look, and closet doors emblazoned with the names of local neighborhoods and beach towns. Some rooms and suites will also have vintage record players with vinyl albums from the 1960s.
Last renovated in the early 2000's, the hotel was overdue for an update. Horodas acknowledged that increasing competition, especially with the introduction of new hotels being built downtown, was a big impetus. The hotel expects nightly room rates of $209 during the summer.
"The hotel industry now is extremely competitive, not just in San Diego but in California and nationally," he said. "The independent boutique sector has become very popular and trendy and these are all design-driven properties. With the history of the building and style, doing this '60s concept really resonated with all of us in the company. And the building, when you look at the exterior, it looks very '60s, with the metal and glass look on the outside."
The lobby will also get an overhaul, from a new front desk and furnishings to digital displays of curated artwork showcasing artists from, what else, the '60s.
Greystone is hoping its guests will be impressed enough to broadcast the new look via social media.
"The kind of travelers who come to our hotels are looking for cool experiences, and we're always looking for things that are Instagram-able," Horodas said. "We want people to share pictures of the hotel with their friends and followers."
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