In the roaring ’20s, a glitzy hotel that went on to count celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Cary Grant, Babe Ruth and Clark Gable as guests opened along the waterfront. No, not in Malibu or Santa Monica, but in Long Beach.
Today, the Breakers Hotel is undergoing a substantial redevelopment to turn it into Long Beach’s first luxury boutique hotel.
“The Breakers is an iconic piece of our city’s history, and I couldn’t be more excited to see it restored to a world-class hotel,” Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement.
The property, which is being renamed Fairmont The Breakers, Long Beach, is expected to reopen next year. It will have 185 hotel rooms and suites.
Accor’s Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Long Beach-based Pacific6 Enterprises are reimagining the hotel, whose amenities will include a rooftop pool and terrace overlooking a plaza, a rooftop lounge and bar with ocean views, a two-story spa, wellness and fitness center, a jazz club and music lounge, and meeting spaces.
The property will also have five food and beverage options.
John Molina, a founding partner of Pacific6, said in a statement that he hoped to “restore one of Long Beach’s most storied properties to its original grandeur” and “create the most memorable, high-end luxury hotel in one of the city’s most sought-after locations.”
Heather McCrory, chief executive of Accor North and Central America, called the timing “ideal” to work on the property ahead of the FIFA World Cup in 2026 and the Summer Olympics in 2028.
“Fairmont and Accor are committed to growing our unique collection of hotels in the region, and we are thrilled to add this landmark property to our North American portfolio,” she said in a statement. “Fairmont is renowned for the brand’s iconic, history-making properties, and The Breakers now becomes a part of that global legacy. The project will set the standard for luxury hospitality in Long Beach, bringing to life a vibrant and thriving destination appealing to locals and visitors alike.”
Fairmont, which operates more than 80 locations around the world, has other local properties: the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles and the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica.
Fairmont The Breakers, Long Beach is adjacent to the Long Beach Convention Center and near a Metro Blue Line station. It is expected to employ 1,500 people while it is being redeveloped and employ more than 230 when it opens.
