Morro Bay is getting an 83-room hotel with an indoor pool. Here’s your first look
The second largest hotel in the city of Morro Bay has been approved.
The 83-room, 56,000-square-foot structure near Morro Bay High School got the unanimous go-ahead from the Morro Bay City Council on March 10.
The three-story, 35-foot-tall hotel is being planned at 295 Atascadero Road between the school campus and Highway 1.
The plan includes an indoor pool, fitness room, meeting room and interior dining and lounge areas, as well as on-site parking.
Also proposed are nine electrical vehicle charging stations, including the city’s first two DC fast chargers for high mileage, long distance driving.
New hotel could boost Morro Bay economy
The project plan by Hemant and Pradeep Patel of Escape Hospitality, LLC, would help boost Morro Bay’s economy, supporters say, in a city that’s largely dependent on tourism to support local revenues.
The new hotel would be the city’s second largest after the Inn at Morro Bay, which has 99 rooms. That’s 16 more than the planned project.
“We believe that this would be a benefit to Morro Bay...it brings more people to the city of Morro Bay, thus increasing tax revenues,” Morro Bay residents Frank and Sarah Massino wrote in a letter to the city. “It certainly will bring more jobs to Morro Bay...A boutique hotel would most likely target an upscale clientele.”
The Patels live in Morro Bay with their young children, they said at the March 10 meeting, and want to invest in their hometown.
“They are proud of their community and want to see it adopt projects that are economically and environmentally reasonable and responsible,” Morro Bay residents John and Joan Solu wrote in a letter of support to the city. “The investment they are willing to take comes with great risk.”
Electric vehicle chargers would help drivers
The council approved the new development for seven electric vehicle chargers at Level 2 capability, a mid-level 240-volt charger.
Two of the seven Level 2 chargers will have infrastructure that equips them to upgrade to a Level 3 DC charging system, according to the council’s conditions of approval.
The developer will provide two DC chargers as part of its conditions of approval, which will be the city’s first, said Cindy Jacinth, a Morro Bay senior planner.
DC charging provides up to 40 miles of range for every 10 minutes of charging.
“These stations are expensive (up to $100,000) and require more power than your house, so you’ll never have one of these in your garage,” according to Plug In America , a nonprofit advocacy group.
The website stated Level 2 allows for a “wide range of charging speeds, all the way up to 19.2 kilowatts (kW), or about 70 miles of range per hour of charging.”
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