Address
1289 S. Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Phone Number
(949) 497-2446Property Type
Boutique Hotel
Rooms
37
Year Opened
1929
ET Score
PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
The oldest hotel in Laguna Beach, La Casa del Camino opened in 1929 as a civic gathering place where the Woman's Club held meetings, plein air painters exhibited in the lobby, and Hollywood figures came for production shoots. The current owners, who bought the property in 2002, kept that community-anchor identity intact while adding the surf-culture Casa Surf Project rooms and reviving the rooftop as a Laguna institution. The Spanish Revival building, with its arched breezeways, carved wooden balconies, and Moroccan-tiled bathrooms, sits directly on PCH with the Pacific just across the street.OWNER STORY
La Casa del Camino was built in 1929 by William W. Riddell, local artist and city councilman, as a civic gathering place as much as a hotel. On opening night, the lobby featured fourteen plein air paintings of Old Laguna. The Woman's Club moved their meetings here from day one. The current owners acquired the property in 2002; the lead owner lived on-site for seven years while restoring the Spanish Revival building and later acquired the restaurant to unify the property under one vision. The Rooftop Lounge became what it already was in the 1930s: the best seat in Laguna Beach at sunset.
