A new style of lodging — part hotel, part apartment — has arrived on the fringe of Little Italy, tucked within a 37-story residential building.
Kasa Little Italy, part of a chain of boutique- and apartment-style hotels throughout the U.S., recently made its debut, offering a range of 60 rooms, from studios to much larger two-bedrooms.
The new hotel occupies four floors of the recently completed Lindley apartment complex, which began construction more than two years ago and is in the process of leasing up 362 apartment and penthouse residences. Developed by the Toll Brothers, the Lindley is just on the edge of Little Italy, near the intersection of Columbia and Ash streets.
At the time of its groundbreaking in 2022, the development’s cost was estimated to be $285 million. The first renters began moving into the high-rise in November.
Exterior of the Lindley, a 37-story apartment tower on the edge of Little Italy. (Toll Brothers)
The Kasa brand is essentially a twist on extended-stay lodging. But in the case of the Little Italy location, the hotel benefits from the upscale amenities of the apartment tower, among them an indoor and outdoor fitness center, yoga and Pilates studios, cold plunge, saltwater pool, game lounge, co-working suite and pet spa.
“Our mission is to build a level of accommodations for the modern traveler. It’s kind of like our north star,” said Roman Pedan, Founder and CEO of Kasa. “We have three property types that help us deliver a great experience to the modern developer, and the first is in Little Italy, which is an apartment building in which a few floors are furnished rentals.”
A second type of Kasa lodging is an apartment hotel operating in its own building, which is the case with its only other San Diego property, a 12-unit building in the Gaslamp Quarter. A third type of Kasa product is a boutique-style hotel where there are no kitchens or living rooms.
“With the apartment-style hotels, we serve any length of stay. Some people come for a few nights and there are guests who stay for a few months,” Pedan explained. “There’s a large portion of people looking for a more flexible way to live and travel, and the apartment hotel allows for that.”
The concept is designed to accommodate longer stays. Bookings tend to average a little more than four nights, longer than what’s typical in conventional hotels, Pedan said. Room rates vary, depending on the time of year, ranging from $200 to $220 for a studio to more than $300 for a two-bedroom unit.
In January, Kasa was averaging 70% occupancy, but by summer, occupancy should rise to 80%, said Paul Lee, Portfolio General Manager for Kasa’s California locations.
The design of the Kasa Little Italy rooms is very minimalist, featuring a color palette of neutral tones and organic materials like wood and rattan. Still, there are pops of color and some brass metal seen in both the artwork and decor.
Kasa joins a number of existing hotels in the greater Little Italy area, including the newer Carte Hotel, La Pensione and Porto Vista.
Originally Published: January 29, 2025 at 4:16 PM PST