CONCEPT: Back in 2000, investors Ed Roski and John Semcken had a vision to transform what had simply been a Sheraton with a nearby golf course in the Los Angeles suburb of Industry Hills, CA, into the area’s only destination resort. Nestled on a hilltop overlooking the San Gabriel Valley, the vision seemed plausible enough. Eight years later, it has resulted in the $60-million creation of the new 292-room Pacific Palms Resort.“In the L.A. area you’d figure there were destination properties on every corner, but the reality is we’re the only one. We’re sitting in a little oasis here and people pass us all the time,” explained Bob Nelson, the vp and managing director of the Pacific Palms, which is managed by Industry Hills Majestic LLC. “The plan was to reposition this property and bring the golf course into the property and redo all the rooms and internal features while softening the look into a resort style. We also added an 11,000-square foot spa and fitness center and we now have two golf courses— the Dwight D. Eisenhower Course and the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Course. We also had to add a signature restaurant— Red.”To top that all off the 11-story property also now has 45,000 square feet of meeting space and a Resort Pro Shop.

EXECUTION: Appointed as the deliberately moving redevelopment project’s designer was Woodland Hills, CA’s Aileen C. Munoz Interior Design, which encountered a rather inhospitable resort when the project began.“Before, the hotel wasn’t conducive to staying any length of time,” said Aileen Munoz, the principal of the design firm, which carried out a contemporary California-with-Asian-flair décor throughout the project. “So they’ve changed every single aspect of the property over eight years. It’s been quite exciting. It’s one of those projects designers hope for, but then again we had to devote a lot of time. It was a challenge because it was just a conference center originally.”Munoz elaborated that the heart of the property—the lobby and public spaces—weren’t exactly welcoming to guests previously. “The lobby was basically pre-function space when you walked in originally; you walked into a banquet table and the front desk was upstairs. So for guest orientation that wasn’t a good setup. So the owner wanted to take the front desk down into the lobby and then do all the rooms, bathrooms, corridors and presidential suites over. And I noticed along the way I didn’t get any grief from the owners about cutting back. But they didn’t overspend either. Now they’ve increased their revenues for sure.”Munoz added that the property remained open during the entire eight-year project.

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RESULT: The sheer enormity of the work combined with the functioning nature of the hotel was indeed the biggest project challenge, according to Nelson. “You have business in-house and commitments made and so you have to work around them and be creative to make sure guests are not disturbed,” he noted. “So the totality of the renovation was a challenge. It was almost a reconstruction. It was almost like we were building a new hotel within an existing hotel because the previous Sheraton is nothing like this hotel now.”Nelson mentioned that the owners chose not to brand the resort again because they felt they could do a better job of positioning the unique property. He also pointed out that despite the sweeping changes in the project from the former brand, the stained glass ceiling on the property’s garden level was the one prominent feature retained. “But now we light it up and it now kinds of works as a counterpoint to the contemporary California style of the resort,” he said. “We look at it as an iconic feature.”Stained glass ceiling and all, Nelson asserted that the transformed resort has been a hit in its short time open and is on pace to yield a significantly higher booking pace than previously attained prior to the redevelopment’s completion. He also remarked that meeting planners have been especially enamored and surprised by the resort considering it, like an oasis, virtually came out of nowhere.— Christopher Ostrowski

Project Owner: Ed Roski and John SemckenDesigner: Aileen C. Munoz Interior DesignProject Cost: $60 millionTheme/Influence: Contemporary, organic and sophisticated yet playfulSignature Features: Custom millwork, glass work, crystal chandelier, stained glass ceiling, Red restaurantPurchasing Agent: Aileen C. Munoz Interior DesignMajor Vendors: Design Origins; Merritt Carpet; Coronet Lighting; Santa Fe; Ultraglass; Deljou Art Group; Triton; Warisan; Habitat; Schoenbeck

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