The Baby Grand Brings a Wild, Unpolished Luxury to Coronado Island

Lucía Torres · 2026-08-07

Coronado Island hasn't seen a new independent design hotel in over two decades. That dry spell finally ended in May with the opening of The Baby Grand, a $17 million, 31-room project that's already turning heads on Orange Avenue. It sits directly across from the iconic Hotel Del Coronado, in the building that once housed the La Avenida Inn. But don't expect a typical beachfront refresh—this place is something else entirely. The hotel is the latest brainchild of CH Projects, the San Diego hospitality group known for The Lafayette Hotel & Club and a lineup of over two dozen bars and restaurants, including Morning Glory and Born & Raised. For the design, they brought in Brooklyn-based Post Company, the same studio behind Lafayette. Together, they've created a space that feels less like a hotel and more like a secret you've stumbled upon. "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," says 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." ### A Landscape of Wild Wonder The first thing you'll notice is the entry. What used to be a 6,000-square-foot asphalt parking lot is now a dense, overgrown landscape. Mature plantings, gas-lit torches, and statuary half-swallowed by greenery greet you. There's even a two-story waterfall, all engineered to look like no one built it at all. That's a harder design problem than it sounds—manufactured wilderness usually announces itself through symmetry or overly clean sightlines. Here, the planting and hardscape are staged with enough asymmetry and layering that your eye can't immediately locate the design intent. That's exactly the point. Guests move through a central oasis, discovering the property's pieces along the way: a private lagoon, an outdoor bar, and Night Hawk, a Greek open-fire restaurant. "The design is theatrical, but never overly choreographed—there's a sense that it's still unfolding and evolving," says Leigh Salem, partner at Post Company. ### Dining That Feels Like an Expedition Night Hawk pushes the expedition-camp idea into its dining architecture. Trellised planting and tented structures overhead nod to Coronado's early beach-culture tent cities. Sculpted rock formations and running water blur the line between built environment and landscape. It feels like you're dining in a place that's been there for centuries, not months. Inside, the former check-in area has been reworked as a literal threshold between the property's two registers: outdoor discovery and interior excess. Vintage tapestries referencing Pompeian wall paintings run the perimeter, framed in custom trim beneath a fabric ceiling that lifts toward a central chandelier. A high-gloss custom check-in desk anchors the room and doubles as a backbar, shifting from coffee service to cocktails as the day progresses. It's a small but telling move—the room isn't zoned by function so much as by time. Scattered statues and artifacts complete the "fragments left behind" theme. One conceals the entrance to Fallen Empire, a reservation-only oyster and champagne bar tucked behind the lobby. It's the kind of hidden gem that makes you feel like you're in on a secret. ### Guest Rooms Designed to Be Remembered The guest rooms take a familiar exterior-corridor hotel layout and layer it with enough material density that the plan disappears. Schumacher wallpaper in tropical scenes wraps the walls under a wood ceiling lacquered in a high-gloss "dead salmon" finish—a color choice specific and slightly perverse enough to read as intentional eccentricity rather than a default mood board. Oxblood trim and parquet flooring set a warm, saturated base, while a custom iridescent clamshell bed becomes the room's central sculptural object. The supporting cast—mirrored nightstands, vintage-inspired lighting, and layered textiles—completes the look. These aren't rooms you'll forget easily, and that's clearly the goal. ### Why This Hotel Matters The Baby Grand isn't just another place to sleep. It's a statement that Coronado can still surprise us. For travelers tired of cookie-cutter luxury, it offers something rare: a space that feels alive, unpolished, and genuinely discovered. Rates start around $400 per night, and given the buzz, you'll want to book early. Whether you're a design enthusiast, a food lover, or just someone who appreciates a good story, The Baby Grand delivers. It's a reminder that sometimes the best finds are the ones you stumble upon by accident—and decide to stay.