By Kendra Weinisch
In Southern California, where plastic surgery is as much a status symbol as the car you drive, you can tell how hot an event is by how nipply cold the near-naked beauties queuing outside are. That said, the party to celebrate the launch of sales at the Hard Rock Condo Hotel in San Diego was as sultry as the condos themselves.
Hosted by Ashlee Simpson and Carmen Electra, and headlined by Hoobastank and the Ying Yang Twins, the downtown party demonstrated that San Diego is no longer Los Angeles’ distant, sleepy suburb. The line to get in was sparkly and taut, with plenty of exposed skin and VIP attitude to go around.
Inside the club, On Broadway””the Condo Hotel’s 5,000-square-foot sales gallery was apparently too small to hold the 2,000 prospective buyers and real estate revelers””drinks and music established the spirit that will pervade the halls of the next big thing in vacation homes. An ice sculpture of the project stood in the background while gangs of girls in matching outfits and hip, leather-clad 50-somethings called drink orders to the bartenders. Downstairs, this year’s chocolate fountain, the Cosmopolitan ice luge, inspired dancing while the Ying Yang Twins’ Kaine played captive through the metal bars of the performers’ protected grotto.
The mood was definitely more about celebration than sales, a spirit that is justified by the dwindling room on the interest list. According to Greg Casserly, president of the operating company behind the project, the Hard Rock Condo Hotel promises “a piece of the Hard Rock experience” for a staring bid of $400,000. The first branded condo-hotel in San Diego, it will provide the “conveniences of a luxury hotel without any of the hassles of second-home ownership.”
It will feature rooms with modern furniture and lighting, LCD TVs, iPod connections, martini bars and WiFi Internet access. The 12-story palace in the regentrified community will neighbor the House of Blues, Horton Plaza and Little Italy, and be just blocks from the city’s Petco Park baseball stadium. In addition to a 24-hour concierge, cabana-peppered pool deck and high-end spa and fitness center, the condo hotel will house San Diego’s first Nobu sushi restaurant.
Those who live in San Diego appreciate that it is on the brink of becoming a bona fide metropolis. Its 12 months of perfect weather and casual vibe have attracted vacationers and retirees for years, but it wasn’t until the past decade that the spicy tuna hand roll overtook the fish taco as the entrée of choice. The former hamlet’s budding modernity is illustrated by the growing number of after-hours hot spots, retail boutiques and personal stylists. And while the Hard Rock Condo Hotel may seek to leverage this sophistication, those who buy in will appreciate that all the glitter is still just blocks from a darn good $3-burrito joint.
To get a piece of what will surely be one of the hippest places to lie your head in San Diego, visit www.hardrockcondos.com/?section=home for details.
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