Dunes adding cabins to the mix

Paul Clinton

Operators of the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort plan to install

12 luxury cabins on the hotel’s existing property, complementing its

hundreds of spots for recreational vehicles and boat owners.

The movable vacation lodgings, which will rent for between $70 and

$200 per night, are set to open March 8 in the resort’s RV park.

“By offering these beautiful, fully equipped cabins, visitors to

Newport Dunes who don’t own RVs will be able to conveniently enjoy

stays and experience our amenities,” general manager Andrew Theodorou

said. “The cottages are ideal for family and friends of our RV

guests, as well as ... those who are interested in enjoying the

beauty and majesty of waterfront living.”

The 400-square-foot structures, which will be provided by

cabin-maker Stewart Lodges, are modeled after private cottages and

include large ceilings, spacious bedrooms, porches, full-serve

kitchens and private bathrooms.

They are also equipped with hardwood floors, birch and cedar

paneled walls and a dining area.

“We manufacture the highest-quality cabins available, which are

ideal for first-rate resorts such as Newport Dunes,” said Ken

Currier, West Coast director of Stewart Lodges. “The reaction to the

cabins at other resorts has been nothing short of phenomenal.”

The resort includes a 406-stall RV park that offers outlets for

cable television and Internet use. The resort also offers a

restaurant, a grocery store, a pool and spa, a game room, a fitness

center, a 450-slip marina, a seven-lane boat-launch ramp, dry boat

storage and conference rooms.

City leaders said the cabins would be a welcome addition, as long

as they don’t bring too much traffic or other congestion with them.

They may even offer a legitimate substitute to plans made by previous

Dunes owners to build a “family inn” next door. That project has been

a sore-spot with city leaders and residents.

“It’s a very interesting, thinking-out-of-the-box concept,” Mayor

Steve Bromberg said. “It sounds like a concept that could work as

long as it doesn’t increase density.”

On Aug. 1, Culver-City real estate group Goldrich & Kest

Industries and Terra Vista Management bought the resort for about

$25.5 million.

Those owners have the right to build the already-approved 275-room

family-style inn.

Previous owner Evans Hotel Co. had sought to build a

581,000-square-foot, 470-room hotel and conference center. But when

the city’s Greenlight Initiative became law, requiring voter approval

for some projects this size, Evans representatives decided they would

abandon the unpopular plan.

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment, business and politics. He

may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

[email protected].