SLO Courtyard completes $6M renovations
As the tourism season begins to hit its full stride for the Central Coast in the coming weeks, one San Luis Obispo County hotel is ready to handle all the visitors it can.
The Courtyard by Marriott San Luis Obispo completed its year-long renovation in late April, reopening the fully reimagined property that “introduces an elevated hospitality experience on California’s Central Coast.”
Dilraj Bhadare, ownership representative for the hotel, told the Business Times that the project cost about $6 million and that it was a significant investment in the property that had not been seen in a while.
“The bones of the hotel are incredible, so we saw a lot of opportunity to come in and modernize it a little bit, make it a little nicer, and improve some of the amenities for guests,” Bhadare said. “Six million is a lot to spend in a year, but over the course of 30, 40 years, it’s worth it.”
Billa Management, a Sonoma County-based, family-run real estate development firm, acquired the San Luis Obispo hotel in late 2023 from Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, for about $35 million.
“As an institution, they’re more about taking money out of properties than they are putting money into them,” Bhadare said. “But we liked what we saw from the property and, most importantly, we loved the area.”
Position is very key for this specific courtyard, as it is positioned alongside the 720-acre Irish Hills Natural Reserve, creating a “resort-like feel.”
“When you’re in the pool, you’re looking at the rolling hills in the background. It’s also got large conference space, so we can host events, weddings, corporate events, and being near the university, we host a lot of sports teams and it just has this natural feel for everybody who visits,” Bhadare said.
Additionally, the hotel is also the closest Marriott-branded property to Avila Beach (a beach destination known for independent hotels and Airbnbs), making it an ideal option for Marriott Bonvoy members seeking a familiar experience while staying near the coast.
The hotel never fully closed due to the renovations, instead opting to do many workarounds while many of the different areas, from the lobby to the bar, were being renovated, Bhadare said.
“I’m very thankful to our team and our contractors for working together to make as little disruption to our guests as possible,” he said.
Renovations to the hotel include a refreshed exterior, a more expansive lobby area that offers a range of experiences from family breakfasts to evening cocktails, updates to its pool and hot tub area, upgrades to many of the guest rooms and the doubling in size of its fitness center, now offering a full range of brand-new cardio and strength training equipment.
“When you step in, it’s very easy to tell that the hotel has been renovated,” Bhadare said. “I’ve been to hotels that were freshly renovated, and that will usually entail just the lobby or not the rooms, or vice versa. That’s not how our family operates. If we’re going to do something, we’re going to do it as best and as possible. Every inch of the hotel has been renovated, so once you step inside, it’s very clear that everything’s brand new, and guests appreciate that.”
Though the hotel renovations were not done ahead of schedule, the fact that they were completed before some of the major events, such as Cal Poly’s graduation — the hotel’s Super Bowl, Bhadare said — was very important.
“There’s a little bit less business activity in the summer, but we more than make up for it with the tourism,” Bhadare said. “We’re centrally located to Avila Beach, to Pismo Beach to a lot of great restaurants and activities that San Luis Obispo has to offer, so we are very excited.”
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