Viejas Casino & Resort marked a milestone in its major expansion Friday with the installation of the final steel beam in a new, five-story all-suites hotel tower.
The “topping off” ceremony symbolized that the construction project — which includes an adults-only saltwater pool, a new spa, three new restaurants and an additional 500 slot machines in the casino — is about six months from completion, but Viejas officials said it kicks off a new era in San Diego’s booming casino industry.
The 21-and-over hotel will be a resort within a resort, offering a luxury boutique experience unlike any other in the county, said Tom McCartney, Viejas’ president and general manager.
“Viejas Casino & Resort will have a 158 all-suites tower, with its own check-in and arrival, its own room service and its own point of view,” McCartney said.
At the new hotel tower will be an adults-only pool, a spa with nine indoor/outdoor treatment room and three new restaurants built from the ground up, which — in addition to existing amenities — will offer guests “a fully integrated resort,” he said.
“We’re being a little disruptive in how we’re thinking about things,” McCartney added. “The quality will be excellent, that’s just a point of entry. We’re allowing customers to enjoy the resort in a more customized way, where you’re not just buying a hotel package, you’re getting a more dynamic experience.”
At the topping off, a Swinerton Builders crane slowly lifted the beam to the hotel’s top floor, with its arrival punctuated by the explosion of fireworks.
Robert Welch, Jr., Viejas Tribal Council chairman, then raised a glass of sparkling wine to toast the milestone.
“Who would have thought in 2011, (when) we had a dream of building our first hotel tower, who would have thought that today, in 2017, we would be gathered together once more for our third topping off ceremony,” Welch said.
The chairman was coy on the project’s specifics, itting that he was withholding them, but he promised those gathered for the occasion that “you’ll be awed and impressed.”
In an interview before the ceremony, McCartney said the new pool area will be a respite for adults who are ed guests at any of the hotel towers, while children will be welcome at the existing pool.
The three new food and beverage concepts are a gourmet coffee cafe, a 130-seat pan-Asian restaurant with a full bar and indoor-outdoor seating, and a signature 250-seat restaurant with communal areas, a lounge and a cooking display area.
“What we’re trying to do is create an environment that’s communal, that’s eclectic, that’s attractive to people like me at 7 p.m., and then with music later, attractive to others after 9 p.m., McCartney said.
Viejas also recently announced the revival of its popular outdoor concert series, kicking off with country star Martina McBride on July 3.
The 52,000-square-foot venue, located between the two existing hotel towers, is more than three times the size of its previous one. The capacity has also doubled to about 3,000 for standing room general ission tickets.
McCartney declined to give the cost of Viejas’ full build out, which is expected to be finished in early 2018. But as one of five casino expansion projects — of varying size and expense — currently under way in the San Diego area, Viejas is launching its own salvo in an unprecedented casino resort arms race that is estimated to be costing about $1 billion combined. Properties are adding an increasing number of amenities and upping their luxury quotient in the pursuit of not just local gamblers, but foodies, spa seekers, conventioneers, concert-goers and visitors from L.A., Orange County, Arizona and Mexico.
“As with any business, you want to give people as many reasons as possible to come and you want to create new customers,” McCarthy said, adding that Viejas has among its amenities an extensive outlet retail center, a bowling alley, a year-round roller/ice skating rink, and convention space.
“This allows us to seriously compete regionally for convention business, gaming customers and those willing to stay two to three days here,” McCartney said.
Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula is doubling its hotel capacity to 1,090 rooms, which will make it the largest casino hotel in California. Its expansion, which is generating 750 new jobs, is scheduled to be completed in December.
On a smaller scale, Barona Resort & Casino is undergoing a renovation and enlargement of select facilities, while Harrah’s Resort Southern California, is putting the finishing touches on its renovated, expanded 11,000-square-foot spa. Late last year, Harrah’s SoCal opened a hiply designed, 5,000-square-foot brewery on its property, SR76.
Closer to home, the Alpine-based Viejas is facing more direct geographic competition from the new Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego and Sycuan Casino in El Cajon, which recently announced a $226 million expansion. Sycuan is launching its property into the luxury resort category with a 12-story, 300-room hotel (its first), a sprawling pool complex with an adult pool lined with cabanas and a lazy river, a new spa, conference space and four new restaurants.
While Viejas is the San Diego area’s only AAA 4-Diamond and Forbes 4-Star property, the fiercely competitive casino economy makes resting on its laurels a bad bet.
“All businesses always need to challenge themselves, to find ways to provide better products and experiences for existing customers and for potential new customers,” McCartney said.
“And we can provide the best of what you can get in Las Vegas or anywhere else.”
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