Consortium Holdings (CH Projects), the creative force behind San Diego’s maximalist hotel, The Lafayette, is bringing its vision to Coronado with the opening of the Baby Grand.
On May 14, the 31-room hotel opened with a boom. The design, a collaboration with The Post Company design studio, pulls inspiration from classical eras and epochs: Roman statues ablaze with fire, lobster-patterned cushions, clamshell beds, cheetah-print chairs, and jewel-box bars.
For nearly two decades, the restaurant group has been known for its intricate, playful designs, its adaptive reuse of old buildings, and its carefully curated cocktails, opening venues in urban enclaves such as North Park, Little Italy, and East Village.
So why, this time, did it choose to restore a 1950’s hotel, the La Avenida Inn, on a military island where tourists come for a peaceful weekend or retirement?
“As I get older, the things I found charming in youth are annoying to me now,” said Arsalun Tafazoli, founder of CH Projects. “So downtown, you know, it’s not what it was to me in my 20s. As I got older, I was like (Coronado) is really delightful.”
The UC San Diego graduate started the company because he was tired of his hometown being called “Bland Diego.” Tafazoli said the mission hasn’t changed; he wanted (and still wants) San Diego to be known for more than just its beaches. In Coronado, his goal remains the same.
“We have really strong opinions on what good art is, what good taste is, and I don’t feel like that is being reflected on the island … It feels like everyone is catering to tourists here. So we took sort of an anti-tourism approach. We’re here for the people that live here,” Tafazoli said.
The $17 million project, which took about five years to complete, includes two restaurants Night Hawk and Fallen Empire. Tafazoli said he took inspiration from his constant consumption of art.
When asked about the Roman-inspired statues, he said, “The most traversed metropolis in the world is Rome because it was done for a higher cause. It’s in honor of the gods…. (Now) you still want to be there because it has a soul.”
The sand is from Turkey and the sinks are from Morocco. The clamshell headboards are custom-made from fiberglass, along with the custom wallpaper.
As for the outside bar, Tafazoli took inspiration from the Del’s earlier Tent City, which operated from 1900 to 1938 and was designed for travelers who couldn’t afford the Hotel del Coronado.
“This is our version of accessible luxury, and we’re going to be cheaper than the Del in many ways,” he said.
Rooms start at $350 per night, while rates at the Del start at about $600 per night.
Night Hawk is a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant with dishes such as a 14-day dry-aged tomahawk for $190 and lobster squid-ink linguini for $38, among many others.
The other restaurant, Fallen Empire, is a hidden oyster-and-champagne bar with seating for about 35 people. Its menu pairs playfully named cocktails with quotes from historical figures.
One drink, “To Be Loved & Hated,” combines Corsican aperitif, lemon, olive oil, honey, chamomile and champagne, followed by a quote from Sun Tzu: “In the middle of chaos, there is also opportunity.”
The rest of the menu includes seafood bites, such as caviar cones for $32 and Kumamoto oysters for $24.
Scotland Potter, 19, an opening night diner/guest along with her mom, said she thinks The Baby Grand has a “Gen Z millennial vibe, the age range that Coronado is missing.”
However, Tafazoli said his goal is not to attract a particular demographic or bring nightlife to Coronado. Instead, he hopes to create spaces that foster social connection in immersive environments.
“Great art should help you forget. If you do it right, you should get lost,” he said.
