An 80-room hotel on South Highway 101 has opened following a complete renovation, debuting as the first voco property in San Diego County. The hotel, now called voco Solana Beach-Del Mar, sits at 621 South Highway 101 near Fletcher Cove, reimagined from the former Holiday Inn Express and Suites into what's being described as a modern, surf-inspired upgrade.
The transformation, completed by Pacifica Host Hotels, included redesigned guest rooms and bathrooms along with updates to the lobby and exterior, according to The Coast News. The property also gained a new restaurant and bar, 101 & Vine, which seats up to 35 people under vaulted ceilings and includes a bar with nine stools, per the San Diego Business Journal. Pacifica Host Hotels owns and manages the property.
Amenities and a Welcome With Local Flavor
Guests arriving at the hotel are greeted with Mexican concha pastries, and the property offers bicycles to borrow for trips to the beach, Cedros Avenue or the Belly Up, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The business journal's report similarly notes guests get free use of beach cruiser bicycles to explore Solana Beach.
The hotel includes an outdoor pool, a hot tub and a 24-hour fitness center, the same report states. There's also a spa and a 24-hour market on-site, rounding out amenities aimed at both leisure travelers and business guests passing through the coastal corridor.
Rates, Leadership and a Wider Brand Push
Stephanie Downs, the hotel's general manager, said nightly rates for standard rooms range from about $200 to $600 depending on the season, with the hotel's six suites priced at $470 per night, the business journal reported. The company has not disclosed what the renovation cost.
Sushil Israni, managing partner of Pacifica Host Hotels, said voco's character and personal touches make it a perfect fit for Solana Beach. Israni added that Pacifica Host Hotels is proud to bring the first voco in San Diego to Highway 101 and expects guests to enjoy its location close to the beach and regional attractions.
The opening marks the first hotel for IHG Hotels & Resorts' voco brand in San Diego and its third property in Southern California, according to Asian Hospitality. Voco is a premium brand under IHG Resorts and Hotels, whose portfolio also includes Kimpton, Regent, InterContinental, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites. The general manager noted there are only two hotels in Solana Beach — the voco and a Courtyard by Marriott.
Part of a Broader Expansion for the Brand
Voco hotels have recently opened in Aruba and Times Square in New York City, with properties also located in Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Italy. As of June, there were 148 voco hotels across 25 countries, the business journal reported. Elsewhere in California, IHG opened the 51-room voco Ardez Hotel Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley, a property with a fitness center, a full-swing golf simulator suite and the Verd'e craft cocktail lounge and restaurant, according to Hotel Dive. That outlet also reported IHG debuted voco Times Square – Broadway earlier in the same year, and that conversions accounted for more than half of the company's hotel signings in the first quarter of 2026.
The Solana Beach debut also reflects a broader pattern of hotel conversions reshaping San Diego's lodging scene. Asian Hospitality reports that ALPS Group of Hotels is separately converting a former Four Points by Sheraton in San Diego into The Goldfinch Hotel.
A Debut Amid Softening Tourism Numbers
The hotel's arrival comes as San Diego County's tourism outlook has cooled. The San Diego Tourism Authority forecast 32.8 million day and overnight visitors to the county in 2025, less than a 1% increase over 2024 and still far below the 2018 peak of 35.8 million, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
County hotel occupancy was expected to average 72% in 2025, down two percentage points, with a further decline to 71% forecast for 2026, the same report found. The Tourism Authority anticipates little change in the number of out-of-town visitors to the county next year, and Canadian visitation was expected to fall from nearly 315,000 in 2024 to a little more than 270,000 in 2025.
