Resort proposed near Carlsbad lagoon

By: BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writer | Friday, August 27, 2004 11:31 PM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ----- A third large resort complex may be in Carlsbad's future. Already home to the 329-room Four Seasons Aviara Resort and the 478-room La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad may next have a 700-room resort complex along Cannon Road near Agua Hedionda Lagoon.

A Carlsbad-based hotel company, Grand Pacific Resorts Inc., is planning to put 350 hotel rooms, 350 time-share units, two restaurants, four pools, tennis courts and 30,000 square feet of conference space on the nearly 57-acre site. The company's proposal will go before the Carlsbad Planning Commission next week.

"We think as a company, we do understand the Carlsbad marketplace," said Tim Stripe, co-president of Grand Pacific Resorts, as he described his company's plans. "(The project) seemed like a logical fit."

The $150 million, Mediterranean-style resort would be less than a mile from another Grand Pacific property, the 250-room Grand Pacific Palisades hotel at Palomar Airport Road and Armada Drive.

"We think and feel very confident that the market demand is such it can accommodate both properties very well," Stripe said. "(The resort) will be more of a destination property."

Kurt Burkhart, executive director of the Carlsbad Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the project "catches the interest of many in Carlsbad," while a visitors' bureau board member said there is room in coastal North County for more hotels.

"Whenever a new hotel opens, it's always a concern ... but I think, for the most part, hotels in the area run about an 80 percent occupancy," said Rachel Blake, who is also the general manager of Holiday Inn by the Sea on Palomar Airport Road. "Hotels in this marketplace in July and August are almost sold out."

The proposed resort would go after a different market than the city's two existing resorts, Stripe said. Those two properties are what is termed "upscale luxury" lodgings where there are multiple restaurants and other services.

"We are going to be one notch below that," Stripe said, adding that comparable properties include ones by the Marriott, Hilton and Sheraton hotel companies.

Resort room rates will be $130 to $140 a night, while the "vacation villa" time shares will range in price from $12,000 to $21,000 for a week, he said.

If the project wins approval from the city, construction would begin next year on the first phase, which includes 125 hotel rooms, 60 time-share units, a restaurant and 15,000 square feet of meeting space, Stripe said.

The first guests could be checking in 2006, he added.

The plans will be discussed at a 6 p.m. meeting Wednesday at City Hall.

Contact staff writer Barbara Henry at (760) 901-4072 or bhenry@nctimes.com.