Hotel of the Week: This California Hideaway Is the Perfect Combination of Rustic and Refined

Take the lobby, where fired clay tiles wrap a curved check-in desk and hand-scraped plaster covers built-in seating. These aren’t just aesthetic choices—they’re calculated references to both the neighboring cliffs and Laguna’s arts and crafts heritage. A commissioned mural commands attention without screaming for it, part of a broader art program by Austin-based studio LAND that treats the entire property as canvas rather than gallery.

The smartest move might be how the studio handled surf culture’s influence. Instead of the expected vintage longboards mounted on walls, they translated the recognizable curved forms into the architecture itself. “We juxtaposed fluid, organic volumetric forms with linear textures and patterns of the Mediterranean,” Luk tells Galerie. This creates an unexpected tension throughout the property—California flow meets European structure, most evident in custom furniture pieces that somehow manage to reference both without compromising either.

Marc & Rose Hospitality, the operators behind this initiative, clearly understand that modern luxury runs deeper than visual design. They’ve installed a proper vintage hi-fi system in the lobby—reconditioned speakers, reel-to-reel player, the works. The hotel’s custom radio station pulls an ambitious mix of Costa del Sol sounds and California tracks, pushing past the expected hotel lobby playlist.

The guest rooms prove restraint can be radical. Traditional ticking stripes appear in carefully muted tones, custom furniture echoes vintage surfboard curves without mimicking them, and thirty-eight rooms offer balconies that actually deserve their ocean views. Yes, you’ll find your D.S. & DURGA toiletries and Canyon Coffee setups, but they read as thoughtful additions rather than checklist items.

What’s most striking is how the property engages with context. The design acknowledges Laguna’s Prohibition-era counterculture streak and artistic DNA without playing to stereotype. Texas-based muralist Joe Swec’s hand-painted works and Guatemala’s Luna Zorro’s Maya-influenced textiles feel integral rather than decorative—collaborations that emerged from the concept rather than being applied to it.

As Marc & Rose’s second Pacific Coast Highway restoration following La Playa Hotel in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Casa Loma sets a new bar is positioned squarely in ritzy territory, but shows that the real luxury here is architectural integrity. It demonstrates how a beach hotel can engage with its location while avoiding the obvious moves—proving that sometimes the best way to honor a place is to resist its clichés.