Iconic Big Sur hotel, restaurant to ‘indefinitely close’ after more than 50 years
Even for those who suspected it was coming, news of the closure of the historic Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn came as a gut punch.
“It is with great sadness and extreme disappointment that we announce the indefinite suspension of the operation of Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn,” directors of the nonprofit Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn Preservation Foundation wrote in a letter to “loyal supporters, friends and lovers of Deetjen’s” posted on Facebook on Aug. 28.
“For more than half a century, Deetjen’s has been a community-centered nonprofit dedicated to preserving the time and place of the homesteading era in Big Sur,” the letter read. “You have celebrated your milestone anniversaries with us; you have celebrated family birthdays, you have slept here on your wedding night, you have written infinite words in the journals and you have never stopped loving the inn.”
The announcement came after smoke from the Dolan Fire near Big Sur forced the inn to cancel advance reservations and refund deposits.
Decades of wildfires took their toll on the nonprofit operation of the inn off Highway 1.
So did floods, mudslides, road closures, a Highway 1 bridge that had to be removed and replaced and COVID-19 restrictions that required the inn to close in March.
Four of Deetjen’s iconic units were destroyed during heavy storms in 2017.
Add to that “the end of a long-term lease” for the facilities, which the letter mentioned, and the closure became all but inevitable.
“It is with an extremely heavy heart that we say our goodbyes and indefinitely close our doors,” the foundation directions wrote in an Aug. 28 Facebook post.
History of Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn
The history of Deetjen’s Big Sur stretches back to the early 1930s, when Helmuth and Helen Deetjen settled in the Castro Canyon area of Big Sur, living in tents while building a small house and a big barn, according to the inn’s website.
In 1939, a main building became the inn’s restaurant. Eventually, as Highway 1 was built and more people flocked to the area, the property became a hotel — and an iconic symbol of Big Sur.
Surrounded by redwoods and gardens including a massive wisteria plant, the inn offered an hand-crafted ambiance that combined the rustic aura and sensibility of Big Sur with old-world romanticism. Rooms featured linen sheets and duvet covers, along with no television, telephones, internet access or cellphone coverage.
Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The future of the property is uncertain, according to Kirk Gafill, general manager of Nepenthe and the president of the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce.
In a phone interview Monday, Gafill said that specific details about the closure and what might be next have been hard to come by. “There’s lots of rumor and speculation,” he said.
The community understanding, he said, is that one nonprofit owns the property, the inn and the restaurant, and another nonprofit leased and operated the facilities.
Gafill said that, while everybody hopes the Inn and restaurant will reopen sooner rather than later, “what’s most important is that the property be well cared for” while it’s closed.
Given the age of the facilities, he guessed that “it’s a miracle that it’s lasted so long and gotten this far.”
Earlier in 2020, the Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn Preservation Foundation launched a successful fundraising drive that raised $50,000 — allowing the inn to continue operations amid COVID-19 restrictions and retain some longtime staffers.
Apparently, time, money and the lease ran out.
“We hope for a day when Big Sur Inn will rise from these challenges and we all get to meet at the Inn once again,” the letter read.
Big Sur blogger Kate Novoa, better known as Big Sur Kate, told The Tribune on Monday that “the Big Sur and Deetjen’s family is heartbroken by the announcement. All of us have so many memories of special events celebrated here, or a wonderful breakfast of eggs Benedict.
“We will all miss it and hope something can eventually be worked out.”
This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 10:42 AM.
