Newport Center’s collection of hotels is getting a revamp.
While Irvine Co. finalizes plans to select a new operator for its currently shuttered Fashion Island Hotel Newport Beach—a deal could be announced in a matter of months, sources tell the Business Journal—the area’s other big hotel property, the former Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa, has announced its own next chapter.
The 400-room Marriott property—Orange County’s seventh largest hotel by meeting space, currently with 68,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space—this month announced its new incarnation: Vea Newport Beach.
Officially unveiling this spring, the property on the western edge of Newport Center, just off Santa Barbara Drive, will show off a bevy of new features that have been added under its new ownership.
The additions are expected to give the hotel a decidedly local flair and elevate it in the ranks of the area’s must-visit properties, say its owners.
“As Newport Beach locals ourselves, we are proud to present something created by the community, for the community,” said Kory Kramer of Eagle Four Partners, in a statement earlier this month.
“Our objective was to create a resort experience authentic to the Newport Beach community, while being a California coastal destination unlike any other.”
The hotel was last renovated in 2005, according to reports.
Local Buyers
An investment group led by Eagle Four—a Newport Beach-based investor with several other hospitality properties in its portfolio, including the nearby Balboa Bay Resort and Balboa Bay Club—paid $216 million for the property in late 2020, in the largest hotel deal in the state that year.
The deal worked out to a price of about $406,000 per key.
Its largest partner in the deal was Newport Beach’s Lyon Living, the apartment investor and developer founded by the late Gen. William Lyon, which has been expanding its portfolio outside rental properties.
Other investors include Irvine’s LandSpire Group, headed by former NBA player-turned real estate investor Josh Childress.
Ocean Views Emphasized
The property, which counted 532 rooms prior to being remodeled, is undergoing a complete top-to-bottom refresh, according to the new ownership group. It has stayed open during the renovations.
Ocean views were a priority of the property’s new design, they said.
Upgrades include “new coastal-inspired luxury guest rooms, the introduction of two new suite categories, three newly imagined restaurant and bar concepts, a wellness focused spa and high-performance fitness center, expansive new indoor and outdoor event spaces, and a luxury destination pool experience.”
“Our goal was to make Vea a destination not only for world travelers looking for a coastal retreat, but for anyone looking for a unique experience,” said Frank Suryan, CEO of Lyon Living.
“Rather than Orange County residents driving up to L.A. for something exciting, people will be driving down to experience Vea.”
Parts of the hotel’s new features will begin to be rolled out next month, with other additions throughout the spring.
Architecture and design firms HBA, Gensler, Burton Studio, and Houston Tyner Architects were involved in the revamp of the property—which is remaining a Marriott-branded hotel. Irvine’s RD Olson Construction, one of the region’s top hotel construction firms, was also involved.
Meeting Space
The Newport Center property’s more than 60,000 square feet of meeting and event space is also getting attention as part of the redevelopment.
According to the hotel, that space includes:
• An ocean-facing event lawn;
• A new outdoor event lawn adjacent to the hotel’s ballrooms;
• A new indoor/outdoor flex event space behind the property overlooking the coast, which the hotel says will be used for larger social engagements and weddings.
Fashion Island Watch
While Vea is near its unveiling, the future of Fashion Island Hotel on the opposite side of Newport Center remains in flux.
Irvine Co. closed the 295-room property, and its 536-room Hotel Irvine, near the start of the pandemic.
Last year, the landlord said that it would find a new operator for the two properties. Irvine Co. “will retain ownership of the land and enter into a long-term lease with the premier operator,” in an arrangement like its agreements with major department stores, it said.
A deal for the Newport Beach property could be announced soon, according to sources.
Hotel Irvine, with 50,000 square feet of meeting space, ranked No. 10 among OC’s hotels in terms of meeting space prior to its closure. Fashion Island, with 22,000 square feet of space, ranked No. 32.
