An 80-room hotel at 621 South Highway 101 in Solana Beach has opened following a complete renovation, becoming the first property under IHG Hotels & Resorts’ voco brand in San Diego County. The hotel, now called voco Solana Beach-Del Mar, was reimagined from the former Holiday Inn Express and Suites near Fletcher Cove into what is being described as a modern, surf-inspired property.
The transformation was completed by Pacifica Host Hotels, which owns and manages the property. According to reports compiled by Hoodline from The Coast News, the San Diego Business Journal and the Union-Tribune, the renovation included redesigned guest rooms and bathrooms along with updates to the lobby and exterior. The property also gained a new restaurant and bar, 101 & Vine, which seats up to 35 people under vaulted ceilings and includes a bar with nine stools.
Guests arriving at the hotel are greeted with Mexican concha pastries, and the property offers bicycles to borrow for trips to the beach, Cedros Avenue or the Belly Up music venue. Amenities include an outdoor pool, a hot tub, a 24-hour fitness center, a spa and a 24-hour market on-site.
General manager Stephanie Downs said nightly rates for standard rooms range from about $200 to $600 depending on the season, with the hotel’s six suites priced at $470 per night. The company has not disclosed what the renovation cost. Sushil Israni, managing partner of Pacifica Host Hotels, said voco’s character and personal touches make it a good fit for Solana Beach and noted that guests can walk to the beach and regional attractions.
The opening marks the third voco property in Southern California for IHG, whose portfolio also includes Kimpton, Regent, InterContinental, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites. There are only two hotels in Solana Beach: the voco and a Courtyard by Marriott. Elsewhere in California, IHG opened the 51-room voco Ardez Hotel Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley earlier this year, and conversions accounted for more than half of the company’s hotel signings in the first quarter of 2026, according to Hotel Dive. As of June, there were 148 voco hotels across 25 countries.
The Solana Beach debut reflects a broader pattern of hotel conversions reshaping the county’s lodging market. Asian Hospitality reports that ALPS Group of Hotels is separately converting a former Four Points by Sheraton in San Diego into The Goldfinch Hotel.
The arrival comes as the county’s tourism outlook has cooled. The San Diego Tourism Authority forecast 32.8 million day and overnight visitors to the county in 2025, less than a 1 percent increase over 2024 and still below the 2018 peak of 35.8 million. County hotel occupancy was expected to average 72 percent in 2025, down two percentage points, with a further decline to 71 percent forecast for 2026, and Canadian visitation was expected to fall from nearly 315,000 in 2024 to a little more than 270,000 in 2025.
For the coastal corridor between Del Mar and Encinitas, the new property adds premium branded inventory at a time when operators are leaning on renovations and conversions to compete for a flattening visitor base.
