New hotels in Laguna Beach

Strict height limits and a built-out coastline mean Laguna Beach does not get new hotel buildings; it gets old ones taken apart and reopened under different names. Both properties tracked here work that way. Casa Loma Beach Hotel reopened in summer 2024 in what had long been the Inn at Laguna Beach, on the bluff above Main Beach, after a $15 million rebuild by the Los Angeles studio Electric Bowery for operator Marc & Rose Hospitality, 70 rooms, a heated pool deck with cabanas and a rooftop bar over the sand. Hotel Joaquin opened in 2018 in North Laguna, in a dilapidated 1960s roadside motel that owner Paul Makarechian stripped to the floorboards over two years: 22 rooms designed one by one by Robert McKinley, a restaurant called Saline, and a private cove down a stairway from the property.

An art colony by the sea

Laguna Beach developed as an art colony in the early 1900s, drawn by the coastal light that attracted plein-air painters, and it has kept that identity more than most Southern California beach towns. The Festival of Arts, founded in 1932, and its companion Pageant of the Masters (a summer show recreating famous artworks with live models) together draw more than 200,000 visitors each summer. Galleries line Coast Highway and Forest Avenue year-round, well beyond the festival season.

Coves and beaches

Roughly 30 small coves punctuate Laguna's coastline, each with its own character: Main Beach sits at the heart of downtown, wide and central; Heisler Park runs along the bluff above it with a paved path connecting several smaller coves and tide pools; Crescent Bay, on the north end, is popular for its clear water and rock formations. Thousand Steps Beach, on the south end, requires an actual descent of roughly 200 steps but rewards it with more space and fewer crowds. Victoria Beach is known for La Tour, a round stone tower built onto the sand in the 1920s that has become one of the most photographed spots on this stretch of coast.

A deliberately low-rise town

Laguna Beach enforces strict building-height limits that have kept it free of the high-rise hotels and condominiums common elsewhere on the Orange County coast, preserving a small-town scale that residents have actively fought to protect for decades, including surviving a major wildfire in the surrounding canyons in 1993 that reshaped local attitudes toward development at the urban-wildland edge. It is also why a change of name on an existing building, rather than a new one, is what counts as a hotel opening here.

Getting there

Laguna Beach sits about 50 miles south of downtown Los Angeles and roughly 10 miles south of Newport Beach, with Coast Highway running directly through downtown. John Wayne Airport, shared with Newport Beach, is the nearest major airport, about 30 minutes north by car.

Frequently asked questions

Which new hotels does this guide track in Laguna Beach?

Two: Casa Loma Beach Hotel, reopened in summer 2024 in the former Inn at Laguna Beach, and Hotel Joaquin, opened in 2018 in a converted 1960s motel in North Laguna.

Which new Laguna Beach hotel is closest to the sand?

Casa Loma sits on the bluff directly above Main Beach in the centre of town, with beach service below and a rooftop bar looking over it. Hotel Joaquin is further north and higher up, but has its own private cove reached by a stairway from the property: quieter, though it means stairs both ways.

What is Laguna Beach best known for?

Its art-colony history and the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters each summer, along with roughly 30 small coves along its coastline and a deliberately low-rise, small-town character.

What are the best coves in Laguna Beach?

Heisler Park's connected string of coves for tide pools and views, Crescent Bay for clear water, and Thousand Steps Beach for space, once you're willing to climb back up.

Is Laguna Beach walkable?

The downtown core around Main Beach, Forest Avenue and the galleries is compact and walkable, but the town stretches several miles along the coast, so a car or the local trolley helps for reaching the northern and southern coves.

How far is Laguna Beach from Los Angeles?

About 50 miles, typically an hour to 90 minutes by car depending on traffic on the 405 or along PCH.