Orange County’s hotel base has seen an influx of investment over the past year from new and existing owners.
Construction walls have been raised from Irvine to Anaheim to Buena Park as multimillion-dollar renovations take place across the region.
Local investment last year was highlighted by Tilman Fertitta’s $641 million acquisition of the 260-key Montage Laguna Beach in November. It was the highest priced sale in the region and California for 2022, according to Atlas Hospitality Group.
Dana Point’s Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club, ranked No. 20 on the Business Journal’s annual list of the largest hotels in OC by room count, added a new owner in June with the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians (SMBMI) buying a 40% stake in the 400-room hotel.
OC’s 52 largest hotels add up to over 22,000 rooms with an average room rate of $314 for the weekday and $352 for the weekend, according to Business Journal data. Worker headcount grew 5.6% to 12,898 employees in the local industry.
Entertainment Hotels
The county’s theme park hotels are in the process of extensive renovations that aim to take more design influences from the respective entertainment sites.
Knott’s Berry Farm Hotel will debut a new name, Knott’s Hotel, and other upgrades this fall (see story, page 6).
Parent company Cedar Fair LP (NYSE: FUN) led a $25 million renovation of the 322-room property with the priority of extending the amusement park’s history and theming to the resort, according to park representatives.
The previous Amber Waves restaurant will now be called Thirty Acres Kitchen and Bar, referencing the size of the Knott family’s original farm. Textures and patterns such as Mexican artisan tile from the recently remodeled Fiesta Village will be found in a newly constructed outdoor courtyard.
“It’s meant to feel brand-new,” park representative Kristan Saldivar told the Business Journal of OC’s 32nd largest hotel.
In Anaheim, the 973-key Disneyland Hotel will be expanding its room count in September when The Villas, a vacation club tower with north of 300 suites, opens. The property is already ranked as OC’s third largest hotel by room count.
Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel is being rethemed to Pixar Place Hotel, borrowing characters and landscapes from the company’s Pixar Studio films. No completion date has been confirmed for the 481-room project, ranked at No. 13, but upgraded spaces will begin to open this summer.
All three hotels have remained open during construction.
Changing Hands
This year’s list has a handful of new faces in the general manager position.
Two Irvine hotels experienced such transitions with Che Sutton joining Marriott Irvine Spectrum in March and Sonesta Irvine adding Swietlana Cahill to the team.
The Viv Hotel, Anaheim, one of the city’s four diamond properties and OC’s 31st largest hotel, also welcomed Donovan Stephens to the resort this year as general manager.
“Tourism is back and stronger than ever,” Stephens told the Business Journal. The new executive said he’s seen more families at the hotel in time for summer.
Anaheim hotels are benefiting as a whole from increased traffic, with the city’s visitation figures surpassing 2019 levels.
“There has also been a great deal of convention center activity which has been keeping the property busy this year,” Stephens said.
The Anaheim Convention Center expects to return to 1 million annual attendees by the end of 2023 with 150 conventions and events booked from January to December.
Returning
A couple of Irvine Co.-owned hotels are set to reopen their doors this year for the first time since shutting down operations in 2020.
The former Fashion Island Hotel is wrapping up its transformation into Pendry Newport Beach for late summer. Meanwhile, the newly renovated Hyatt Regency Irvine, previously Hotel Irvine, is preparing for its return in August under new management.
