Categories: History

Haunted Grand Colonial Hotel in La Jolla CA

The Grande Colonial Hotel in La Jolla, CA is known as “the Jewel of the Pacific”. The hotel enjoys an ideal location, just one block from the beach in La Jolla, which is eight miles north of San Diego, CA. La Jolla is a Pacific Ocean coastal town that enjoys the warm weather of Southern California. The Grande Colonial Hotel is a community landmark hotel that has gone through many changes over the years. The hotel has recently been renovated to it’s original glory. There are some rumors of ghosts and haunting at this fine landmark hotel.

Ghost Stories

June 6, 2004 was the 60th anniversary of World War II D Day. A guest in room 144 woke up at 3 am feeling odd. She heard heavy footsteps running up and down the staircase outside her room. A door was slammed repeatedly. The guest was frightened, but finally opened her door and saw no one. She discovered that the door slamming was not from a guest room, but from a meeting room. She notified the staff, who assured here that there was no meeting taking place. The guest was moved to another room where she could sleep more easily.

The meeting room was the Sun Room. Sixty years previous to this incident the room was used as a temporary barracks for single service men during World War II. At that time the area was not carpeted. Now there is carpet covering the hardwood floors. The sound of loud footsteps was like the footsteps on bare floors.

D Day was an historic battle that took place on June 6, 1944. There is speculation that the noises the guest heard were the spirits of the soldiers who were reliving the events of the 60th anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy.

History of The Grande Colonial Hotel in La Jolla, California

The Grande Colonial Hotel is known as “the Jewel of the Pacific”. The hotel enjoys a ideal location, near the beach in La Jolla, which is eight miles north of San Diego, CA.

The original Colonial Hotel opened in 1913 as a white frame building with eight apartments. In 1926 a new owner envisioned the future of La Jolla as a popular seaside destination. The new owner commission construction of a grand hotel that would “rival anything in the west.

The original building was moved to the back of the property. The new structure that took its place was a four story Colonial Revival style building.. The hotel was decorated with elegant chandeliers, marble fireplaces and wood moldings. The hotel was outfitted with the latest fire prevention equipment of the time, including the first sprinkler system west of the Mississippi.

During the World War II years the hotel became home to military brass from nearby Camp Callon. The hotel’s sun room was partitioned to create accommodations for single servicemen. The single service men slept in the hotel sun room.

The local people flocked to the hotel as a gathering place. There was an in-house drugstore with a soda fountain, where people gathered. La Jolla native Gregory Peck was the son of the in-house pharmacist. Gregory Peck co-founded the La Jolla Playhouse. In the 1950’s the hotel housed celebrities who were performing at the La Jolla Playhouse. Celebrities who stayed at the hotel included Dorothy McGuire, Charlton Heston, Jane Wyatt, Groucho Marx, David Niven and Eve Arden.

The in-house pharmacy moved out of the building in 1960 and the building fell into disrepair. In the 1970’s new ownership renovated the hotel to its former glory. The 75 room property was designed with the vision of being “like an elegant, European hotel”.

In 1980 the area that had housed Putnam’s Drug store became Putnam’s Grille. The restaurant was designed to reflect La Jolla of the 1920’s, with a mirrored back bar serving alcoholic beverages replacing the soda fountain. Putnam’s Grilled closed in 2001. The current restaurant, NINE-TEN at the Grande Colonial is considered one of the region’s finest dining experiences.

The hotel was completely renovated in 2001 and lives up to its grand name, The Grande Colonial Hotel is a community landmark hotel that is listed as a Historic Hotel of America National Trust and Historic Preservation. T/he Grande Colonial Hotel overlooks the shore of La Jolla in Southern California. The hotel offers luxurious amenities and is within walking distance to the Pacific ocean front and the charming shopping in La Jolla.