On our many trips to the Bay Area, my family and I have made a habit of staying at boutique hotels of the California hospitality chain Joie De Vivre. These are usually renovated, repositioned off-market hotels that with enhanced aesthetics, new management, and style have become quite desirable for California travelers. In San Francisco alone there are over a dozen Joie De Vivre hotels, with locations and styles for just about every personality. The chain has recently expanded into Southern California, with the new Shorebreak in Huntington Beach and the rebranded Hotel Irwin in Venice. Their newest addition in the area is the Hotel Maya on Long Beach’s downtown waterfront, just a quarter mile from the Queen Mary. What was originally to have been the “Coast Hotel” has been reimagined as a Latin-American influenced resort.
Having had the opportunity to see the Coast Hotel before its metamorphosis into the Hotel Maya, I have a greater appreciation for the effort that went into its transformation. The previous incarnation of the resort property was not unattractive but it was quite austere—from palm-and-turf landscaping to a beige-on-white color scheme. The hotel’s original design with four building of hotel rooms seemed more appropriate for the set of Battlestar Galactica than the Southern California coastline, while the central hotel and banquet structure lacked any defining character. Yet somehow Chip Conley, the CEO of Joie De Vivre, saw potential in this relatively featureless and out-of-place property.
Reimagined as the Hotel Maya, the property now has a sense of procession from initial entry to the individual room interior. Lush native and adapted landscaping flank the driveway and tall, well groomed palms frame the view toward the main entrance. The new owners have dispensed with the formality of a covered loggia, in favor of an open-air entryway that takes full advantage of the Mediterranean climate and off-shore breezes.
The formerly bland façade of the clubhouse building has been expanded towards the driveway. It now recalls the style of the renowned Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta, stitching together as it does rustic textures and bright colors against a stark white backdrop. The heavy wooden doors that greet guests immediately inform them of the unique architectural experience they are soon to encounter. The primary façade wraps around the building with windows made of alternating clear and magenta-tinted glass; this creates a sophisticated yet amusing view into the activity of the lounge and bar. That same endless corner also provides occupants with a panoramic glimpse of the serenity outside. Inside the main clubhouse one discovers a balance between subtle and trickery. A long wall cleverly made up of stacked cinder blocks turned sideways creates a pleasing texture. Hand-carved wooden screens define a series of board rooms surrounding three sides of an interior space two stories high; the forth side features large windows with a view of the downtown waterfront.
The tendency to employ spaces blurring the boundary between inside and outside continues in Fuego, Hotel Maya’s restaurant and “a celebration of the coastal cuisines of Mexico and Latin America.” The voluminous single dining hall of the restaurant flows toward the water’s edge when large glass hangar doors are pulled open from an invisible corner. This connects the restaurant to an outdoor dining patio that wraps around the building linking to a variety of spaces, from the intimate to the ceremonial.
A winding pedestrian path along the water acts as the spine of the resort, connecting guests to their rooms and resort amenities. On the site of what had been a pool (when the building was the Coast Hotel) one now finds one of the largest umbrellas in North America, providing a flexible pavilion space. When not in use, the giant umbrella becomes a focal point in itself, a nod to the artist duo of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The new pool has been moved to the eastern edge of the property. Gone are the days of the kidney bean-shaped pool with lawn chairs strewn about; this pool is made up of a series of water bodies that work together to form an organized experience. A rectangular swimming pool is matched by a similarly-shaped shallow pond, housing a collection of four cabanas that appear to float above the still water. The white curtains and milled, dark woods of the cabanas intimate an outdoor room in Bali; a surrounding moat maximizes a sense of privacy.
When it was the former Coast Hotel, this complex included buildings that did not seem to fit in with Long Beach’s waterfront. As part of the transformation of this complex into the Hotel Maya, just a little fresh color and landscaping has given these buildings new live as structures that remind one of the work of the Mexican architect Luis Barragan, known for his minimalist style. The jagged white walls of the hotel are complimented the deep magenta of the interior courtyard walls and vertical shafts that peak through to the building exterior.
Taken together, these various transformations of the former Coast Hotel have successfully led to its reimagining as a modern Latin American resort destination. This latest addition to the Joie De Vivre family of hotels raises the level of design in Long Beach. Indeed, it is one of the finest waterfront resorts in Los Angeles and Orange County reminding us of the great potential given through thoughtful design and creative vision.