August 26, 2025 – More than 40 years in the making, La Bahia beachfront luxury hotel in Santa Cruz is getting ready to welcome guests beginning September 8.
City officials from the past several decades, along with hotel management and owners gathered Wednesday for a ceremonial ribbon cutting and toast to the new hotel.
The Seaside Company, which owns the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, purchased the property in 1984 with the aim of building a world-class hotel, according to President Karl Rice who outlined the property’s history.
For decades it was a neglected apartment building used to house seasonal workers at the amusement park, while project after project was discussed and hotly debated by the Coastal Commission, as well as local residents.
The final design echoes the Spanish colonial style of the original 1924 building and retains La Bahia’s signature tiled bell tower.
“We’re not the other side of the bay, Carmel and Pebble Beach, but we absolutely love it when someone builds this hotel and establishes a new benchmark in our community,” Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keely said in his remarks. After the ceremony guests were treated to a sneak peek tour of the property.
La Bahia Hotel & Spa has 155 luxury guest rooms and 29 suites, each with a whimsical hand painted headboard depicting “Santa Cruz as a dreamscape.”
The pool area has unrivaled views of the Main Beach and an indoor/outdoor spa located on the hotel’s sixth floor boasts a free-standing sauna with sweeping vistas across the Monterey Bay.
Four dining concepts will be available to guests and hotel visitors. Executive Chef Fernando Reyes and the entire staff have been scrambling to get the hotel open.
Reyes worked most recently as executive chef at Carmel Valley Ranch and contributed a recipe to the “Cobb Country” story in the summer issue of EMB. Previously, he worked at Maravilla Los Cabos and several Ritz Carlton properties, including Half Moon Bay, Hainan, China and Istanbul.
He has created four distinct culinary concepts at La Bahia and some of the menus have already been posted. Plunge poolside dining includes shrimp aguachile and ceviche along with smash burgers and garlic-Parmesan fries. The London-style Pearl cocktail bar offers potato pave with caviar ($25) and smoked Scottish salmon tartare cones ($12).
While menus for the sit down restaurants are not yet available, Reyes says he plans to “emphasize healthy, seasonal, organic cuisine that highlights the authenticity of Santa Cruz’s coastal bounty—expressed via Pacific-Rim inspired dishes that feel both fresh and refined.”
He says it has been a bit unreal seeing the whole project come together.
“The craziest thing is probably that the site had previously been an abandoned apartment building for years,” says Reyes.
“Seeing the bell tower restored and integrated into a stunning new property is hugely meaningful to me and my team.”
And the most difficult part? “The scariest has just been navigating the timing before opening, but we made it!” he says.
La Bahia | 215 Beach St. Santa Cruz
(Updated 8.28.2025)
About the author
Deborah Luhrman is publisher and editor of Edible Monterey Bay. A lifelong journalist, she has reported from around the globe, but now prefers covering our flourishing local food scene and growing her own vegetables in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
