Long Beach Rave: the New Hotel Maya

I took a tour this week of the new Hotel Maya in Long Beach and can't begin to tell you how excited I am. Chip Conley, owner of Joie de Vivre Hotels, has created a stunning boutique resort hotel, out of what was previously the drab and outdated Coast Hotel. This prime location finally has a hotel worthy of the sublime views of the Long Beach skyline across the water and to its neighbor, the Queen Mary. The Mayan theme makes sense of the pseudo-pyramid-shaped buildings, tying them together with an unusual combination of bright tropical colors and earth tones, like splashes of bougainvillea in a terra cotta pot. I'll be back with more on this new development after I've had a chance to sleep there, but for now let me just say, wow! I can't wait.