DANA POINT – The iconic blue and white Capistrano Seaside Inn — across from the sand at Doheny State Beach — at one time was a sterling early example of the Depression era California motor court-style hotel and a retreat for Hollywood celebrities.
But after years of neglect, that quaint appeal started to wear off. Recently, the 75-year-old property that sits on 1.5 acres at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Palisades Drive was listed among the nation’s 10 worst motels on Yelp. Neighbors in Capistrano Beach gave it nicknames like Capo’s Bates Motel and Flea Side Inn.
According to title records, Sunshine Group LLC bought the property in 1998 for $2.3 million.
In September, the city red-tagged the Seaside Inn over dozens of code and safety violations, including illegal wiring and lack of working fire alarms, court documents show. Six months later, the city asked a judge to turn over possession of the historic property after hearing that owner Dr. Ramosh Manchanda, who operates the inn as Sunshine Group LLC, had plans to demolish it.
According to title records, Sunshine Group LLC bought the property in 1998 for $2.3 million.
Last week, Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert J. Moss sided with the city, making Mark Adams of the California Receivership Group receiver of the $1.9 million property. Moss ruled that the city will renovate the property and provide an option for the property owner to pay back the cost.
Manchanda, who has not returned phone calls and emails from the Register, was given until December to bring the property up to code.
“We wanted to get a receiver appointed before it got destroyed,” City Attorney Patrick Munoz said about the Seaside Inn. “We didn’t want it to get to the point where it couldn’t be renovated.”
That was the case in March, when city officials demolished the Harbor Inn, another motel that had fallen into disrepair and become a haven for the homeless and illegal activities.
Fearing a tragedy similar to December’s “Ghost Ship” incident in Oakland, the city demolished the 45-room Harbor Inn, also across from Doheny State Beach. The property — home to catacomb-like tunnels cut through walls and drug paraphernalia — had been vacant since Nov. 12, 2013 following a series of fires.
Last summer, the city and the Orange County Health Care Agency got word about the Seaside Inn’s worsening reputation.
“There was a 25-page report from (the Orange County Fire Authority) citing code enforcement violations like illegal wiring, building improvements done without permits and not having appropriate materials for emergency exits,” Munoz said.
The property had no working fire alarms, fire sprinklers or smoke detectors, court documents said. The interior stairways were dead-bolted to prevent guests from using them and the exterior of the building was covered in graffiti and broken windows, the documents said.
Drums filled with hazardous materials sat outside the motel, while dead vegetation was scattered throughout the building — something fire officials saw as an immediate fire threat, Munoz said.
In the months since the motel was shut down, Orange County sheriff’s deputies have made at least 32 visits to investigate reports of break-ins by squatters who were using candles to illuminate vacant rooms and doing drugs such as methamphetamine, Munoz said.
“It was an eyesore for quite a long time,” said Toni Nelson, a longtime community advocate who lives just up the hill from the inn. “The city worked with the owners but they were unable to bring it up to acceptable standards.
“Once the taggers and graffiti artists took over we got tons of complaints from residents,” she said. “People were seeing transients walk through and we were worried it would become a serious problem.”
In March, city officials learned that Manchanda had plans to raze the two-story building and stepped in to get the court order, Munoz said. The inn is listed on the city’s historic resource inventory and the California Register of Historic Resources.
Built in 1940 as part of the Doheny development and originally called the Swallows Motel, the Capistrano Seaside Inn was known for its location and a popular restaurant on the property. It hit its prime in the 1980s, said Carlos Olvera, a Dana Point historian.
“Advertisements suggested taking the train to San Juan Capistrano and an antique car would pick you up at the station and take you to La Cuisine Restaurant on the beach,” Olvera said.
A 1982 lease said that restaurant, in one of the inn’s 30 rooms, was transformed into a little French eatery called Pierre’s, with antique doors and a view of the sea, all without proper permits, he said.
In the mid-1980s, a slope along the cliff side behind it failed after extensive rain storms and the motel was evacuated because of damage. Twenty of the 30 rooms remained open after that.
Later in the 1980s, the motel was shut down by the county over code violations in the restaurant and motel.
When it reopened, the beach motel was advertised as pure nostalgia with “endless places to play ‘N prowl,” Olvera said. In the next decade it was billed as a restored historic bed and breakfast with in-room fireplaces and ocean views.
In 2010, still operating as a B&B, the Inn’s website called it a Shangrila-by-the Sea. But tripadviser had a different take. The travel advice website listed it among the nation’s top 10 dirtiest motels.
When it closed last year, it was still operating as a B&B and renting for about $150 a night.
The city is required by law to renovate the Seaside Inn in the most economically viable way, Munoz said. The renovation plan will need court approval, and work could start in as early as 30 to 60 days, he said.
Capistrano Beach residents were thrilled with the news about the city taking over the property, Nelson said.
Nearly 2,946 people showed interest in the topic on the local Capistrano Beach Facebook page, said Nelson, who manages the page.
“To their credit, the city acted fast on this, once we let them know things were getting out of control,” she said. “They fenced it and painted over the exterior graffiti.
“We’re happy to see it preserved as a small part of Capistrano Beach history.”
For Keith Johannes, chair of the Dana Point Historical Society’s Preservation Committee, saving the inn is paramount.
“It’s definitely historic and has stories to tell,” Johannes said. “People have told me they stayed there and this is the reason they moved to Dana Point.”
