Don’t expect visitors to Newport Beach’s Lido House, R.D. Olson Development’s soon-to-open hotel near Lido Marina Village, to confuse the 130-room boutique property with the last big hotel to open in the city, Irvine Co.’s swanky The Resort at Pelican Hill.
“We’re a four-star, or a maybe a four and a half star, hotel,” said General Manager Adam Beer. “We’re not taking ourselves too seriously.”
Lido House guests should anticipate high-end service in the vein of Pelican Hill, but without some of the formality the Newport Coast property is known for, said Beer, who comes to the Marriott Autograph Collection hotel after running the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina.
Pelican Hill, which opened in 2008, had its five-diamond rating reconfirmed by AAA this month, just one of three Orange County properties to get the latest honor, along with Montage Laguna Beach and The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel.
What does five diamonds get you? For the right price, guests at Pelican Hill’s largest villas can get butler service, among other amenities.
You won’t see any black tie-wearing staff at Lido House. The new hotel’s modern-looking uniforms were designed by Costa Mesa’s David August, who was seen last year working with UFC star Conor McGregor on a line of clothes.
Lido House’s management team is taking plenty seriously, though, as it preps for its opening, scheduled for late March or early April, in particular the project’s design, vibe and interaction with the surrounding community.
At a media tour this month, Beer and the developer’s chief executive, Bob Olson, gave a preview of the property, whose architecture Olson described as “Newport nautical,” invoking both Newport Beach and Cape Cod.
The architecture and design also share features with Olson’s own home on Little Balboa Island; part of the tour included a reception at the residence.
“We really are curators of Newport Beach,” said Olson of the hotel, which is rising on the site of Newport Beach’s former city hall.
To achieve that vibe, hotel executives are seeking locals to fill its more than 100 positions, which is on the high side for a hotel of its size.
That level of staffing, and the extra attention to detail in the project—the hotel’s architect is Greg Villegas of WATG, a frequent collaborator with Olson—could cut into Lido House’s profitability, Olson said.
He said his financial partners in the project are different from those at some of his other local developments and more willing to be patient about their returns.
While he’s sold some of his recently built area projects in the past few years, he said Lido House will be a long-term investment.
The hotel’s main dining area, the Mayor’s Table, will primarily appeal to locals seeking a meal, rather than to hotel guests, and Lido House’s rooftop bar area should be a big draw for those in the area seeking good sunset views, officials said during the tour.
One nonlocal flourish: Executive Chef Riley Huddleston recently traveled to France to help create Lido House’s own champagne. It’s believed to be the first U.S. hotel to have one.
SunCal Sale
Irvine-based master developer SunCal Cos. has sold a large chunk of land it owned in North Las Vegas.
The company recently completed a deal with Arlington, Texas-based homebuilder D.R. Horton for 126 acres at the Valley Vista project, a 4,100-home development previously known as Park Highlands that SunCal bought in 2012.
Terms of the deal were undisclosed by the two parties; local reports said D.R. Horton paid about $42.5 million for the land, as well as an adjacent 73 acres from a different party.
SunCal paid $19.8 million for 208 acres at the Valley Vista site in its 2012 transaction, and still owns about 63 acres there. The site twice fell into bankruptcy following the recession before SunCal bought it.
