One of the most exciting projects our firm has had the opportunity to work on in recent years is The Grand Del Mar, a Five-Star, Five Diamond, 249-room resort just north of San Diego.
This resort features an impressive degree of craftsmanship rarely found in buildings today. In fact over a period of two years, 800-plus workers, contractors and craftspeople labored more than one million hours on this ambitious luxury property.
Working with the architectural firm of Altevers & Associates, we took our design cue from turn–of-the-century architectural visionary Addison Mizner, credited with launching the Florida design renaissance in the 1920s. We designed all the interiors, as Altevers created the exterior architecture, often consulting with our team throughout the process on historical details.
With a distinctive Mediterranean motif, the resort’s architecture and design features an exotic mix of Spanish, Portuguese, Moroccan and Venetian elements evoking the grandeur of a historic European hotel.
Mizner viewed architecture as a seamless integration of buildings, décor and landscaping – and this emphasis on melding the indoors and outdoors is apparent at The Grand Del Mar. Interiors and architecture are complemented by lush landscaping – a mix of tropical and indigenous plantings – punctuated by garden fountains, sun-dappled patios and courtyards, terraces and walkways.
Many guests to The Grand Del Mar are under the impression the resort has existed for decades – which is something I love to hear. We worked very hard to develop a timeless appeal unearthing the finest materials as well as sourcing extremely talented artisans, artists and craftsmen from around the world.
Select interior design highlights include:
- Cubic stone hand-carved by a family of four generations in a small town near Verona, Italy. Weighing in at 20 tons, the 30 different types of stone and polished Italian marble include Gallo Cleopatra, Jerusalem limestone and Rojo Alicante.
- More than 2,000 pieces of custom-designed furniture and art (mostly oil on canvas by European artists), with 85% of all furnishings custom-designed. Much of the artwork was commissioned, and many of the frames are exact replicas of ones found in the Louvre or the Cluny Museum in Paris, crafted by a frame maker in Italy.
- More than 25,000 square feet of handcrafted wood floors, Roman pan tile roofing, hand-painted ceiling frescoes on canvas, burled and gilded wood accents, Venetian-plastered walls, hand-hewn wooden beams.
- Over 50 elaborate chandeliers; more than 500 fabrics; vibrant Portuguese glazed tiles; and 20,000 sheets of 23-karat gold – carefully hand applied on ceilings, walls, and wrought iron accents.
- The Elizabeth Capella, an ornate onsite chapel with beautiful Jerusalem limestone and Italian marble flooring; Venetian plastered walls; a high, rusticated wood plank-beamed ceiling; and hand-carved walnut pews.
- A team of 120 carpenters worked 150,000 hours designing, finishing and installing 16 different wood species – including fine walnut, mahogany, olive, alder, sycamore and maple accents – with 35 different finishes.
- Hand-stenciled and painted decorative ceilings, took 24 people three months to complete.
It is extremely unusual to have such a high degree of craftsmanship and extensive number of fine, hand applied finishes – plaster, stone, millwork, tile, wrought iron, etc. – so prevalent on such a large scale. Quite simply, American resorts aren’t often built like this anymore.
Fortunately for guests at The Grand Del Mar, the resort has introduced a series of architectural tours for the summer, which will describe in detail the design, as well as the fine finishes and materials found throughout the resort. If you visit the resort, please let me know your thoughts and share your photos on our Facebook page.
For more information about the resort and the architecture tours, visit www.TheGrandDelMar.com.