6 New Venues in San Diego for Summer 2023 Meetings and Events

Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter completed a $22.5 million renovation project in June. The 286-room hotel was completely remodeled with a contemporary California-inspired aesthetic featuring artistic and playful elements of the Gaslamp Quarter’s early inhabitants. The focal point is a carved maple wood wall with abstract, organic shapes and patterns that portray California’s casual lifestyle. Designed by waldrop+nichols studio, the space also features curved sofas, marble tabletops, and rattan and wicker seating, most custom made with sustainable materials. Also new is Wild Hare Bar Garden, a restaurant highlighting locally sourced meat and produce along with organic ingredients from an on-site herb garden. Overall, the hotel has 16,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor meeting space, including eight remodeled meeting rooms and the 200-capacity Gaslamp Room.

The former Hotel Solamar is slated to reopen as Margaritaville Hotel San Diego Gaslamp Quarter on August 15 following a $30 million top-to-bottom reimagination. The global lifestyle brand’s first city-center location on the West Coast, the property is home to San Diego’s largest rooftop pool deck. The 235 guest rooms feature white shiplap walls, rattan fixtures, and cheerful colors that mimic the sand, sea, and sky. Nine flexible event venues offer 6,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, alongside 7,000 outdoor square feet on the rooftop deck. The exterior boasts two vibrant, hand-painted murals that span the sides of the 10-story building; the interior design from Dawson Design Associates evokes the Golden State in the 1960s, with pop art portraits and murals of Volkswagen buses stacked with colorful surfboards.

The historic Lafayette Hotel and Club reopened this month after a $31 million transformation. Owned and operated by CH Projects, the revamped space—originally built in 1946 as a haven for young Hollywood stars like Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Hope—features an opulent design and eight new food and beverage outlets. Renowned music producer Swizz Beatz has created the hotel’s soundtrack, which is played on a custom-built speaker system throughout the 139-room property, which includes a mix of guest rooms, suites, and townhouses rooted in traditional Victorian, Tudor, and Gothic details. There’s also an on-site pool.

Avi Brosh’s Palisociety opened Palihotel San Diego, the brand’s second opening of the year, in the Gaslamp Quarter in May. The property is housed in a 1912 building that has been transformed with a new restaurant, Saint James French Diner, along with an intimate private event space and a roof deck with city and harbor views. Designwise, there’s a vibrant lobby with a mix of historical and original elements, along with a marble staircase and an electric assortment of vintage and new furniture, patterns, textiles, and colors. The hotel has 122 guest rooms and multiple spaces for communal working and small gatherings.

Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa, a Noble House Hotels & Resorts property in the San Diego area owned by Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, completed a $13.9 million renovation of its 210 guest rooms and suites in June. The revamped rooms blend nods to the hotel’s equestrian heritage with modern accents and finishes; design highlights include matte tile flooring inspired by Mexican encaustic cement tile, plus a color palette of earth tones and pops of color accented by rich wood furniture, finishes, and textured fabrics. For events, the hotel has six event lawns totaling 10,000 collective square feet; the largest, the Garden Courtyard, spans 3,136 square feet and is surrounded by botanicals and Spanish-style architecture. Overall, there’s 47,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, plus a full-service spa.

Located about an hour north of San Diego in Dana Point is Knife Modern Steak, the first West Coast iteration of chef John Tesar’s popular Texas-based steakhouse chain, Knife. Located inside Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa, the airy space showcases the James Beard-nominated chef’s reinvented steakhouse cuisine, which balances new-school techniques with classic preparations. There’s also a seasonally driven cocktail menu and a list of over 170 modern and classic wine labels. The indoor dining room boasts both table and booth seating, along with floor-to-ceiling windows providing views of the coastline. The restaurant and its outdoor dining patio also overlook the hotel’s expansive event lawn. Overall, the property—which is surrounded by 75 acres of gardens, lawns, and coastline—has 50,000 square feet of event space.