CARLSBAD: Legoland hotel project wins council approval

A proposal to build a 254-room, Lego-themed hotel at the Legoland California amusement park won the support it needed Tuesday from the Carlsbad City Council.

The state’s Coastal Commission also is expected to soon sign off on the plans, but when construction will begin is uncertain, project backers said, adding that it depends on national economic conditions.

“We need to see signs of recovery first,” Legoland general manager Peter Ronchetti told the City Council.

Once the park’s owners —- Merlin Entertainments —- agree to begin the job, it will take about 18 months of work before the proposed hotel can open its doors to paying customers, Ronchetti said.

Tucked out of sight between Cannon Road to the north and Palomar Airport Road to the south, the Legoland California park opened in 1999 and added a separate aquarium attraction last year. The park’s rides and other attractions are inspired by creations made from the plastic Lego building blocks.

The proposed hotel will include a Lego clock tower and brightly colored Lego decorations around its exterior. Plans call for the serpentine-shaped hotel, which will wrap around a pool area, to be built in two phases, with the first phase consisting of 152 rooms. The hotel is proposed to go on what’s now the RV parking lot next to the ticket counters.

The RV lot is seldom used, so the loss of its parking spaces isn’t considered a big concern, city senior planner Van Lynch told the council.

In fact, Legoland has so much excess parking space that it leases part of its lower lots to car dealerships for new-car storage.

Council members said they were eager for the place to open. Councilwoman Ann Kulchin noted that city leaders have expected a Lego-themed hotel ever since the park opened a decade ago.

Others said they loved the room designs, particularly the luxury ones with pirate and castle themes.

“I think this is obviously a very unique hotel,” Councilman Mark Packard said.

Ronchetti said that even the basic rooms will carry a Lego look, with special carpeting that has the texture of the bumpy top of Lego blocks. The wall paper will feature building plans for Lego objects, he added.

Reprinted from North County Times