A rooftop pool, 3 restaurants and more: Get a peek inside Paso Robles’ newest hotel

A major new hotel that will bring a rooftop pool and bar, three restaurants and several shops to downtown Paso Robles is set to open this summer.

The Ava Hotel, just 90 feet away from the Downtown City Park, is finishing construction and scheduled to welcome guests in August.

“I’m excited how it looks, and engaging in the city the way it’s laid out, it’s kind of extending the downtown,” Ava Hotel general manager Matt Kleefisch told The Tribune during a recent tour of the property. “The guests will be able to arrive here in about six weeks and just be able to enjoy it.”

The project started as an idea in 2012, bringing together the minds of Debbie and Brett VanSteenwyk and Robert Gustin to create blueprints of what is now The Ava Hotel.

The boutique hotel is part of Hilton’s Curio Collection, which Kleefisch said truly emphasizes the community of Paso Robles.

“It really allows us to embrace the local culture and design,” he said. “We wanted to be authentic to Paso Robles, so it’s going to be sophisticated. It’s an upper upscale brand, so it’ll be beautiful, modern, but authentic to pass through.”

The Ava Hotel has four stories with 151 rooms and 24 different room types, ranging from standard to double king suites. All rooms follow the same theme, with wooden accents and a classic vineyard-themed wallpaper in the bathroom.

“The rooms weren’t meant to necessarily lounge in all day long,” director of aales and marketing Corina Ketchum told The Tribune. “I think the main focus of the rooms was to give somebody a very comfortable night’s sleep and a wonderful space, but then experience the restaurants and the rest of downtown.”

The Ava Hotel in Paso Robles features 3 restaurants

The hotel’s shining stars are its three restaurants, each with their own unique flavors and ambiance.

An open-concept lobby leads to Pine Street Bistro, with American cuisine offerings inspired by a classic French bistro along with grab-and-go pastries, salads and sandwiches. The restaurant has both open and outdoor seating, Kleefisch said.

On the other side of the lobby is the Tablas Ballroom, holding 3,000 square feet of event space, and EMRE, The Ava Hotel’s flagship restaurant, serving dinner and brunch on the weekends. EMRE means “friend,” Kleefisch said, and brings a Mediterranean and coastal ambiance.

“We want people who come to EMRE to feel the warmth, feel the friendship, like you’re out in the Mediterranean with family and having this great dinner,” Kleefisch said. “You’re sharing wine and food, so that will be the vibe.”

The Ava Hotel’s third restaurant is called Esperanza, and located is on the hotel’s second-floor rooftop alongside a saltwater pool and courtyard event space. With its lounge seating and fire pits, Esperanza offers a Baja coastline-inspired cuisine and tequila and mezcal drinks, Kleefisch said.

The restaurant is open on three sides, offering lots of natural light and views of downtown Paso Robles.

“We’re getting to really play with different flavors in each outlet and I’m so excited for that,” he said. “We’ll have some great wins from Mexico and Paso Robles and we’ll have some cocktails on tap on our draft system.”

For all the restaurants, but EMRE and Esperanza especially, an elevator on the outside of The Ava Hotel takes non-hotel guests immediately up to the rooftop, with no hassle or lobby-loitering involved.

“It could be very intimidating going to a restaurant that’s within a hotel, and we totally understand that,” Ketchum said. “We want guests to feel like they’re going to a restaurant just like they would in the general downtown area.”

On the hotel’s first floor, six to seven retail spaces will house a tasting room, spa, dry bar and clothing store. The shops will open after The Ava Hotel debuts in August, as leases are not signed yet, according to Ketchum.

The “Ava” in the hotel’s name stands for American Viticulture Area, to highlight Paso Robles’ wine country and history, but also for a person’s general name, Ketchum told The Tribune.

“If you think of a woman or girl named Ava, she’s fun, she’s modern, she’s approachable, she’s genuine,” Ketchum said. “When I think of that name, I like Ava.”

The Ava Hotel is open for reservations, with plans to open by early August. Room prices vary but are in the range of $300 to $500 a night, according to Ketchum.

For more information

For more information about The Ava Hotel, visit theavahotel.com or call 805-257-1000.

This story was originally published June 24, 2025 at 5:00 AM.