La Valencia Hotel
Courtesy of Bay Bird Inc.
When Dr. Seuss wasn’t dreaming up my childhood and foreshadowing all the places I’d go, he was a regular at the Whaling Bar at La Jolla’s epic La Valencia Hotel. The community grew attached to the nautical-themed cocktail bar, so news of its closure in 2013 (after six decades) hit like a bitter divorce. Now the Whaling Bar will return once again.
The Whaling Bar circa 1940
Courtesy of Bay Bird Inc.
The La Valencia Hotel (affectionately dubbed “The Pink Lady”) is a Spanish-style hotel that sits a block away from the coves on Prospect St. in the heart of La Jolla. It was built in 1926 with enough charm and glamour to outlast The Great Depression, a pandemic, and all the years in between. The original concept was as an apartment hotel, Los Apartmentos de Sevilla, but adopted its long-standing name in 1928.
La Valencia’s team will drive The Whaling Bar’s design. Although still brainstorming the final concept, the hotel promises some vintage touches, like the original 1940s-era Wing Howard paintings. “We are excited to return the paintings to their original home and in a place that’s already full of so much history,” says La Valencia GM Summer Shoemaker.
Whaling Bar, ad
Courtesy of Bay Bird Inc.
The Bar’s day-to-day operations will be handled by operating partner SDCM (Kettner Exchange, Grass Skirt, Waverly), while the hotel will continue oversight of all other on-site food and beverage concepts.
“This is a really important project for us and the La Jolla community,” says Shoemaker. “To have those doors on the Prospect Street side of the property open again will mean a lot.”
The Whaling Bar is projecting a mid-fall reopen.
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