Pacific Grove’s new ‘game-changer’ hotel nears completion.

Pam Marino here, with news of a whole new hotel experience coming to downtown Pacific Grove by the end of the year. I expect it will add to the vibrancy that’s already been percolating there with additions like Hops & Fog Brewing Co., Pop & Hiss record store/performance venue/bar, Colette’s ice cream and a refurbished Lighthouse Cinema and Event Center.

We now have an official name for the new 99-room, four-story hotel under construction across the street from the Pacific Grove Public Library: the Kimpton Mirador Pacific Grove. It was introduced last Thursday, Aug. 28, at the annual meeting of See Monterey, the county’s convention and visitor’s bureau, inside the Sunset Center in Carmel.

“P.G. got a Kimpton!” See Monterey CEO and President Rob O’Keefe recalled exclaiming, when the news broke several years ago that Kimpton Hotels had purchased the property, already slated to become a hotel site. The international chain of boutique hotels has a reputation for creating unique properties and unique experiences for their guests.

“It’s going to be a game-changer, and not just a game-changer for Pacific Grove. It’s going to be by extension a game-changer for all of us,” O’Keefe said to the group of mostly local hospitality professionals. “It adds to our portfolio, something unique and special.”

The audience got a sneak peak at the Mirador, thanks to Nikki Glass, regional director of operations for IHG Hotels & Resorts, parent company of Kimpton, and Scott Gingrich, vice president of restaurants, bars and events. It’s a homecoming for Gingrich—he was born and raised in P.G.

They introduced the new name of the hotel, which derives from the Spanish word for lookout or vantage point, Glass said, adding that it captures the Spanish revival style of the hotel. It reflects the architecture of the nearby library and Pacific Grove Natural History Museum.

Gingrich promised the hotel’s restaurant, named the Caledonian—perhaps a nod to P.G.’s Caledonia Park several blocks away—would not be just another “soulless” hotel amenity, but a business that could stand on its own.

“This one is kind of personal for me, because having grown up in Pacific Grove and starting my career on Cannery Row, we really wanted to make sure that we created something that instantly became locally beloved, a local favorite and kind of a central gathering spot for locals and hotel guests,” he said.

The Caledonian will be a place to celebrate life’s milestones “or just get a great meal on a regular Monday night,” he said. The cuisine will be modern California cuisine, or what he is calling modern Monterey County cuisine. 

The hotel has been a long time coming. I began reporting on the saga of its approval back in 2017, when it was proposed as a 125-room hotel called the Hotel Durell—and strongly protested by a group of residents—down from the original 275 rooms proposed around 2012 by the original developer, Nader Agha. Kimpton purchased the site in 2020 and their amended plans for a boutique hotel were approved by the P.G. City Council in 2022.

With the construction coming to a close, Glass and Gingrich said they’re aiming for this December as an opening date. It’ll be interesting to see if the goals are met of creating a hotel for both visitors and locals, and what impact it will have on P.G.’s downtown. 

For more news about Monterey County hospitality and tourism, check out my story about the current state of the tourism industry in tomorrow’s issue of the Weekly. And as always, my inbox is open for your thoughts and reactions.