![\"La](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/LJL-L-LA-VALENCIA-100-01.jpg\")
La Jolla\u2019s La Valencia Hotel traces its origins to Dec. 15, 1926. (La Valencia Hotel)\nA century-long story<\/p>\n
Roughly a century after it began, the La Valencia Hotel remains a staple in The Village of La Jolla.<\/p>\n
Though years of renovations and upkeep have changed it in some ways, General Manager Troy Longwith says La Valencia remains \u201ca throwback to a bygone era.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since January, hotel leaders have reached out to the community through its newsletter for personal stories. And celebratory events are on the way in coming months to the landmark at 1132 Prospect St.<\/p>\n
La Jolla\u2019s La Valencia Hotel traces its origins to Dec. 15, 1926. (La Valencia Hotel)
\nA century-long story<\/p>\n
Los Apartamentos de Sevilla, an apartment hotel, opened Dec. 15, 1926. Two years later, it was renamed the La Valencia Hotel.<\/p>\n
The original Spanish-style building \u2014 only a part of the complex that La Valencia is today \u2014 was meant to resemble a traditional southern Spanish home. One of the hallmarks of its origins is a tile work from 1928 by Ernest Batcheler, an American artist of Dutch descent, that portrays a Spanish woman wearing a pink traditional Sevilla dress with frills, a shawl with fringe and a headpiece known as a mantilla.<\/p>\n
The artwork, and the color of the building\u2019s stucco, contributed to the hotel\u2019s nickname, \u201cThe Pink Lady.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/LJL-L-LA-VALENCIA-100-03.jpeg\")
A tile piece from 1928 in La Valencia\u2019s garden area contributed to the hotel\u2019s nickname, \u201cThe Pink Lady.\u201d (Noah Lyons)<\/p>\n
La Valencia marketed itself as \u201cnot a hotel, an apartment or a house in the ordinary sense of these words,\u201d but rather \u201can ideal combination of all three.\u201d Prices were $125-$225 for one month in a standard apartment, $252.50-$325 per month for a deluxe apartment and $2.50-$5 per day for a single-bed hotel room.<\/p>\n
The hotel debuted just before the start of the Depression, which carried through the 1930s. The \u201940s proved to be another important decade, as La Valencia became a temporary home to young military officers waiting to be sent overseas during World War II or staying there on leave. It also served as a wartime lookout spot.<\/p>\n
The decades after the turbulent \u201930s and \u201940s brought the hotel significant growth. In the 1950s, it welcomed an ocean-view pool, a gym, a shuffleboard court and a putting green. It acquired the next-door Hotel Cabrillo, establishing La Valencia\u2019s \u201cwest wing\u201d and expanding the room count.<\/p>\n
That era also is referred to as \u201cLa Jolla Playhouse times,\u201d as La Valencia became a frequent gathering place for actors Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire and Mel Ferrer, who teamed to found the playhouse in 1947. The Whaling Bar in particular became a meeting spot for them and playhouse cast members.<\/p>\n
Former President Jimmy Carter stopped by the bar, too.<\/p>\n
An attempt to further expand the hotel stretched from 1986 to 2000.<\/p>\n
A plan to build more than 30 new rooms met with rejection from the La Jolla Community Planning Association in 1987, despite a report that denied any negative traffic or environmental consequences.<\/p>\n
Hotel leadership found a loophole through the area\u2019s Planned District Ordinance. Making changes to the historic site was not subject to community regulation if there was an \u201ceconomic imperative\u201d for it. The hoteliers argued that expansion and remodeling were needed to keep up with nearby competitors.<\/p>\n
After more than 10 years, the project \u2014 known as the Villas \u2014 was approved.<\/p>\n
La Valencia today<\/p>\n
La Valencia changed hands in 2011 when the Collins family, which owned the hotel for 80 years, sold it to Pacifica Cos.<\/p>\n
Longwith, the seventh general manager in the hotel\u2019s history, joined La Valencia<\/a> in January 2024.<\/p>\n Soon after, it wasn\u2019t uncommon for him to receive a letter from someone who had stayed at the hotel years or decades earlier and wanted to give it a vintage postcard or souvenir matchbook. Recently, a local resident offered a 1940s-era diorama by the same artist whose work is featured in The Whaling Bar.<\/p>\n Through conversations with guests, Longwith got a better idea of La Valencia\u2019s multi-generational nature, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWalking right into a hotel that does 90 to 100 weddings in a year, I was quick to learn that a lot of the folks getting married now are third-generation,\u201d Longwith said. \u201cTheir parents got married here and their grandparents got married here.<\/p>\n \u201cI just had a real sense early on how special it was to the community. Everybody had a story about La Valencia.\u201d<\/p>\n Coinciding with the 100th anniversary, the next renovation project will take place this summer as the hotel expands the length of the bar top and adds 14 barstools after they were removed during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n Celebration time<\/p>\n![\"Guests](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/LJL-L-LA-VALENCIA-100-05.jpg\")
Guests who visited the La Valencia Hotel decades ago have sent in vintage postcards like this to help commemorate its 100th anniversary. (La Valencia Hotel)<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/LJL-L-LA-VALENCIA-100-04.jpeg\")
The La Valencia Hotel at 1132 Prospect St. in La Jolla is hosting activities this year for its 100th anniversary. (Noah Lyons)<\/p>\n