Coronado’s newest hotel wants you to feel like you stumbled upon an oasis the rest of the world forgot. Its lush, overgrown landscaping veils a world of private lagoons, half-concealed statues, secret jewel box bars, sculpted rock formations and open-fire dining.
The Baby Grand, a 31-room hotel at the former La Avenida Inn building, opens May 14. It’s the latest endeavor from CH Projects, the team behind The Lafayette Hotel in North Park and portfolio of two dozen bars and restaurants across San Diego County. Designed in collaboration with Post Company, the same studio behind The Lafayette, the property is built around a single idea: that the best places feel discovered, not built.
“We wanted The Baby Grand to feel less like a hotel you check into and more like something you stumble upon, like you discovered it halfway reclaimed by time and decided to stay,” said CH Projects Founder Arsalun Tafazoli. “It’s our attempt to create a social, slightly surreal gathering place on Coronado where history isn’t polished over, but left visible and alive, and where people can move through spaces that unfold slowly, connect, and make their own version of the story.”
The concept starts with the site itself. What once was an asphalt parking lot is now a 6,000-square-foot outdoor environment of mature plantings, gas-lit torches, and statues partially hidden by mature landscaping. Planted trellises and tented structures recall early expedition camps along the Coronado coast.
A Greek open-fire restaurant called Night Hawk is integrated directly into that landscape, with rock-formed booths and a cocktail program leaning into Greek essentials like citrus, olive oil, wild herbs, sea salt and smoke, along with a selection of Greek wines.
Inside, things get stranger. The lobby is adorned with vintage tapestries inspired by Pompeiian wall paintings, a fabric ceiling, and a dramatic chandelier. But even more intriguing: a statue that conceals the entrance to Fallen Empire, a reservation-only oyster and champagne bar hidden behind it. The bar features solid-brass booths upholstered in red mohair, a mosaic floor depicting life under the sea, and a dual cocktail- and raw bar painted in the style of Théodore Géricault’s “The Raft of the Medusa.”
The 31 guest rooms center on custom iridescent clamshell beds and bathrooms that occupy nearly half of each room’s footprint, with clawfoot soaking tubs, fluted marble consoles, animal print stools, and mosaic tile floors. Room rates start at $350.
“We approached The Baby Grand as a deliberate departure from the casual, beachy aesthetic typical of Southern California hospitality,” said Leigh Salem, Partner at Post Company. “From mosaic floors and mirrored walls to iridescent clamshell beds, each element contributes to a rich, cohesive world that feels assembled over time. The design is theatrical, but never overly choreographed – there’s a sense that it’s still unfolding and evolving.”
The Baby Grand is located at 1315 Orange Avenue. For more information or to book a stay at The Baby Grand, please contact 619-853-BABY, or visit www.thebabygrandcoronado.com. Follow along on Instagram @babygrandcrowncity.
