Lose Yourself

To say that San Diego’s Lafayette Hotel is a feast for the eyes is an understatement. As these images show, there’s hardly a scene in this historic place that doesn’t give you something to get lost in.

Book The Lafayette Hotel and Club on Tablet Hotels.

Snakes are a recurring theme at the Lafayette Hotel. You see them on wallpaper, on tiles, on door handles and on bedside lamps. Their presence is no coincidence. The shedding skin represents the regeneration this historic hotel has just undergone. This was the favorite San Diego spot for the jet-set in the Forties and Fifties. Then, around the time when Ron Burgundy was San Diego’s leading network news anchor, things got dark. We’re happy to report that the times they are a-changin’.

The Lafayette Hotel is a litmus test of your affinity for maximalism. Less overtly, it also asks a question about minimalism: is its influence on modern interior design a natural evolution that will eventually flicker out, or is it a symptom of a larger societal shift? More than a few generations have been raised on Ikea. It has to have left a mark. Consumers are no longer accustomed to buying furniture that’ll last a decent chunk of their lifetimes, and through multiple trends.

That last bit is the relevant part here. The only trend that most can afford these days — the trend pushed by Ikea and its army of D2C imitators — is minimalism. Cheap, replaceable, disposable minimalism. Ikea is great, for what it is. Minimalism is my favorite, for what it’s worth. But the consequence of its saturation might be that we’ve grown eternally less imaginative and hopelessly risk-averse. Maximalism done well is difficult to maintain. It’s risky. It’s hard to get right. The Lafayette Hotel gets it right.

The Lafayette isn’t just maximalist, it’s an example of decorative arts that used to be the norm, from Baroque and Rococo to Victorian and Art Nouveau. Color, kitsch, character, flair — every inch here has something to lose yourself in. The rich and famous sought out this explosion of personality, visiting the Lafayette in droves during its mid-century heyday. Bob Hope owned one of the penthouses. Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, and Katharine Hepburn were regulars. Gold medalist Johnny Weissmuller designed the Olympic-sized pool.

Then, a new highway diverted traffic away from the Lafayette’s front door. Some time after, the interiors were softened, converted into a banality better suited to attract the contemporary masses. Soon, it closed altogether. Before it did, it achieved one more big moment of Hollywood glory in 1986 when the Mississippi Room, the hotel’s ground zero of nightlife, was the setting for the “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” singalong scene in Top Gun.

Fortunately, the story didn’t end there. The old Mississippi Room is now called Lou Lou’s Jungle Room. The name has changed, but the original bandshell and dance floor are back, thanks to new owners who committed to restoring the hotel’s Golden Age glamour. Most recently, a massive 2023 renovation resulted in what you see here today. A feast for the eyes. A series of stimulations. A question about how instinctively you prefer minimalism to the splash and pizazz found in every corner of the Lafayette.

There are no fewer than six spaces for eating, drinking, and playing. A 1940s-era diner, a bowling alley, a mezcaleria and Oaxacan restaurant, a super club and live music venue, a pool bar and a lobby bar. Some are bright and open spaces, others are moodier and windowless, another throwback to a time before sports bars and franchise pubs, when the places people went to drink and debauch were intentionally obscured from the prying eyes of passersby.

And then there’s the pool. The hotel’s crown jewel and social hub. Nothing is obscured here. Beaming sunlight and bouncing rhythms bring a slice of Mediterranean party culture to San Diego’s trendy North Park neighborhood. Some rooms surround the lively scene, others sit in a quieter position, all are reasonably priced. The Lafayette is the best of the both worlds — maximalist glamour mixed with an affordable cost. Risky, but they pulled it off.

Book The Lafayette Hotel and Club on Tablet Hotels.