June 10, 2016

R.D. Olson Builds First Orange County Purpose Built Lifestyle Hotel

R.D. Olson Construction announces the completion of its latest hotel project, Paséa Hotel & Spa in the heart of downtown Huntington Beach, California, and directly across from the famous Huntington Beach Pier, which draws more than 16 million visitors annually. The eight-story,250-room hotel co-developed by Newport Beach, California-based R.D. Olson Development and Irvine, California-based Pacific Hospitality Group, incorporates a variety of unique design details and amenities that will add elegance to the iconic Southern California surf town. Over the course of the project, R.D. Olson Construction used its extensive hospitality experience to seamlessly integrate design and construction elements, creating a cohesive, beach-inspired feel throughout the property.

R.D. Olson Construction celebrated the property’s completion at a grand opening ceremony on June 10, 2016. The firm was joined by executives from R.D. Olson Development and Pacific Hospitality Group and civic leaders including Huntington Beach Mayor Jim Katapodis, Huntington Beach council members Barbara Delgleize and Jill Hardy, and Huntington Beach City Manager Fred Wilson.

“This project not only required our construction expertise, but also relied heavily on our ability to successfully integrate multiple, high-end design elements seamlessly,” said Bill Wilhelm, president of R.D. Olson Construction. “We’re excited to officially open the property to the public so that they can experience the end product and benefit from the hard work and dedication that the team put into this exceptional project.”

The 218,000-square-foot hotel, which is integrated with the new 191,000-square-foot Pacific City retail and entertainment center, was designed by world renowned, Irvine, California-based architect WATG. The property’s restaurant design was executed by Costa Mesa, California-based Hatch Design Group, with common area and spa design by Santa Monica, California-based Kay Lang + Associates.

The hotel includes a contemporary tower with king rooms, double queen rooms, and numerous one- and two-bedroom suites, all with ocean views and balconies. The property features a unique, top-of-the-line Balinese-inspired spa, which includes both indoor and outdoor treatment areas, a state-of-the-art fitness center, and a wood deck-wrapped pool overlooking the Pacific Ocean complete with water and fire features and pool-side catering. The building sits on a concrete podium with two stories of underground parking for 455 cars and valet concierge lounge.

With more than 25,000 square feet of event space, including an 8,700-square-foot ballroom and 12,000-square-foot event lawn with intoxicating ocean views down the coast and out to Catalina Island, the property provides guests and community members the perfect spot to host a California-inspired celebration. A social room with a built-in bar and advanced A/V and technology capabilities allows visitors to personalize their event space, and 11 fire pits facing the ocean enable all guests to experience a glamorous version of an old-fashioned bonfire, just steps from the Pacific shore.

Guests at Paséa Hotel & Spa are greeted with custom entertainment from the moment they arrive. Hotel visitors who enter from the famed Pacific Coast Highway are met with an awe-inspiring display of 40 hours of digital video art, which plays on a six-story 20-foot by 50-foot LED screen mounted above the hotel’s entrance. Once inside, the entertainment continues at Tanner’s, the hotel’s signature restaurant, which features a New York Meatpacking District pedestrian vibe with its combination of brick and glass accents with steel windows and doors – an atmosphere that pays homage to early Huntington Beach-style. Tanner’s offers “behind the scenes” looks into the exhibition kitchen through floor-to-ceiling, warehouse glass windows and Tanner’s Treehouse Lounge, a rooftop patio bar with a custom, larger-than-life tree feature, oversized basket- like light fixtures and sweeping views of the pool deck, the Pacific Ocean, Huntington Beach and stunning sunsets. Blend Café, a more casual option, serves fresh coffee, pastries, sandwiches and wine by the glass.

“Working on this property was both exciting and rewarding for our team. Not only is it a truly iconic piece of construction, but it also represented an opportunity for our entire team to bring our collective expertise to the table to create an excellent end product,” said Matt Grubb, project executive at R.D. Olson Construction. “We were able to pull from our breadth and depth of hospitality industry experience to bring strategic solutions to several aspects of the planning and building process. For example, R.D. Olson Construction coordinated with several specialized millworkers to both meet the varied needs of the high-end project and set the team up for success under a tight timeline.”

While Paséa Hotel & Spa adds an elegant worldly element to the landscape of Huntington Beach, California, with artistic stone and wood elements imported from as far as Bali, the hotel is equally dedicated to celebrating the roots of “Surf City” with wave-inspired features throughout the hotel, and local artwork including an installation of 1,400 flip flops created by Laguna Beach, California-based artist Jorg Dublin. Just two of the many wavelike structures placed throughout the property include a handmade plaster element in the lobby and an eight-story mosaic of 12-inch by 12-inch printed tiles on the hotel’s rear exterior.

R.D. Olson Construction guided each facet of the detailed project from concept drawing through shop drawing, fabrication, and installation. From mother of pearl and banana leaf wall coverings in the spa to solid Ipe wood planking on the pool deck, the hotel includes more than 200 design finishes.

The hotel features custom construction features required direction and coordination with artists and specialists to carry out conceptual sketches onsite. The artistic bottle display for liquor storage at Tanner’s was hand built and hand welded onsite under R.D. Olson Construction’s direction. The general contractor’s most dramatic undertaking of the project was the realization of the undulating wave-like curved balconies along the walls on the outside of the property that the developers’ envisioned for Paséa Hotel & Spa. This feature, which mimics the movement of the ocean, has been nicknamed “The Wave.”

“It is professionally rewarding for our group to create such an incredible lifestyle hotel for Orange County in Huntington Beach for world travelers to enjoy,” said Bob Olson, president and CEO at R.D. Olson Development. “We are seeing early results of excellent guest satisfaction and that’s the number one item on our score card.”

Pacific Hospitality Group (PHG) will manage the property as a part of its Meritage Collection. PHG owns and manages a portfolio of hotel properties throughout California, including Bacara Resort & Spa in Santa Barbara, The Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa, Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach, and Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa in San Diego, among others.