In this Hotel Impossible episode, Anthony Melchiorri visits La Jolla Cove Suites in La Jolla Cove, California.
La Jolla Cove Suites is owned by Krista Baroudi.
The 110 room hotel has been in the family for 3 generations.
Anthony arrives and it looks clean on the surface but he sees that the structure is worn and dirty.
He arrives at the reception and he is greeted well.
He finds there are too many brochures and too much information.
On directing him where his breakfast will be, he is confused by a complicated map to the dining area.
Anthony goes straight to his room, which is a deluxe suite.
The entrance is uninspiring with bland brick walls but the views are spectacular.
The balcony has rusted furniture and the interior of the room is dated but it is clean.
The suite kitchen looks like an apartment kitchen with worn fittings.
The bed has ugly comforters and the mattress is old and ripped.
Anthony sits with Krista and she explains how her grandfather built the hotel in 1959.
She took over the hotel in 2001, which has divided the family.
She had to go into litigation to remove her cousin because of how badly the hotel had been managed.
The hotel is not profitable and she is using her own money to take care of basics.
She had to buy furniture for the rooms herself using her own credit card.
Anthony reads all of the negative reviews for her so they know what to work on with the hotel.
She is currently renovating 3 rooms and she shows him the room in progress.
Krista is planning on using $20,000 on her biggest room.
Anthony thinks it is too much to spend on just one room.
She is not forthcoming when asked some questions and Anthony begs her to trust him and his experience.
Anthony brings in Blanche to look at the King Deluxe and the Deluxe room.
The challenge is to use limited money and resources to make something luxe to show Krista she does not have to use a lot.
Anthony goes exploring and finds algae all over the exterior concrete walls and steps.
There is an open trash chute that is a safety issue.
It is clear that upkeep is a problem.
He runs into the maintenance man, Ramon, who has been there for 8 months.
He is the only one working on the large resort.
The next day, Anthony meets Ramon at his maintenance shop.
It is fully stocked and they know what to do with the hotel.
They do not keep track of maintenance issues properly.
Anthony directs them on what they should do.
Anthony takes Krista to see the exterior of the hotel.
The crumbling pillars she says she has family ties to, as they did them by hand.
Anthony promises to help her fix it and he spends the rest of the day going through the papers.
The next day, Anthony tells Krista and her director of revenue management Joanna what he found.
The hotel is clean but occupancy is low.
The rooms are priced too high and if they lower the prices, they can get more people in.
He promises to show them a system for pricing their rooms.
Anthony checks in on Blanche and she is still working
Anthony finds a deck that is not used properly and Krista confirms there are no planned activities.
They charge too little for the use of the space or allow guests to use it for free.
They need proper marketing for the space to generate more money.
Anthony offers to conduct the interviews.
The first two are not exactly what they need but a current member of staff interviews for the role.
She is given the space to work on for 24 hours to show them what she can do.
On the last day, Anthony comes in and meets Krista’s sons who are regrouting the tiles to repair the pillars.
Anthony checks in on Joy who has decided to show she can do more by organising a tour as well as the party.
Anthony checks in on Blanche and she is almost done but has some statement curtains that make him nervous.
The room has to be usable by check in as a guest is coming in.
Joy has decided on a wine tasting and the venue has been decorated but there are no guests yet.
Anthony shows Krista and her team a virtual concierge on an app he has created for them.
They love it, especially the about us section that has the family history of the hotel.
Krista is shown the room that has been updated using their old furnishings but it now looks refreshed.
The kitchen counter tops have been replaced and the bedroom looks amazing, fresh and modern.
The guests who booked the room are surprised by the changes.
The roof deck wine tasting has started and it is packed with guests.
Anthony is impressed at how well Joy has delivered.
What Happened Next at La Jolla Cove Suites?
La Jolla Cove Suites is open.
Reviews are mixed.
The location of the hotel is a big hit with customers.
There are some complaints about other issues, mostly the air conditioning.
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