It’s not a good time to open a new luxury hotel, but the 582 room Terranea in Rancho Palos Verdes, just outside Los Angeles, lasted all of 2 months before the ground caved in – the Terranea has gone into default with one of it’s lenders, and missed a chance to get a very essential tax rebate agreement from the City.

Terranea, Rancho Palos Verdes

The oceanfront luxury hotel and accompanying resort facilities – built on the former site of Marineland of the Pacific - opened it’s doors on June 12, 2009, built over a 10 year period by the Lowe Hospitality Group with a massive price tag of $480 million. 

 Terranea’s primary lender is Chicago based Corus Bankshares, a bank which is itself in serious danger of being taken into recievership by the FDIC. Corus has invested $180m in Terranea, but is now unable to offer any more financial support to the Terranea.

This financial muddle led to Terranea missing a deadline for enrolling into a tax rebate agreement with the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, for which it needed $12.5m. The agreement was apparently a very critical element of Terranea’s ability to remain financially viable, and it’s entire future is now at stake.

With $322 million in loans, struggling to keep it’s doors open due to lack of funds and support from it’s primary lender, the Terranea could quite possibly go into foreclosure, or be taken over by another entity.

The management says they’re talking to their remaining lenders – which includes Cascade Investment Co. which is controlled by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Cascade has filed a notice of default because Terranea has not been meeting it’s payments.

Photo courtesy Destination Hotels & Resorts.

Birthday

Destination Hotels & Resorts apparently knows this, so they’re offering a Birthday Credit promotion to soften the blow. Guests receive hotel credit equal to their age, so the older you are, more credit to you. You also get a complimentary breakfast and a special celebratory birthday welcome amenity.

All you need to do is book a 2-night stay (or more) to celebrate your birthday at one of Destination’s 30 hotels. And sign up for destination’s customer loyalty program – Destination Delivers.

If you think Southern California makes for a good birthday destination, you might want to combine Destination’s Birthday Credit offer with the free birthday admission offer from Disneyland. 

Destination has two Los Angeles area hotels – The Sheraton Universal Hotel next to Universal Studios in Hollywood, and the new Terranea Resort which recently opened along the Palos Verdes Peninsula just 20 miles south of Los Angeles.

Terranea Resort, Palos Verdes, CA

Another Southern California favorite in the collection is the seaside L’Auberge Del Mar in San Diego, which recently completed a $25 million renovation featuring a new restaurant and spa.

L'Auberge Del Mar, San Diego, CA

Other great Destination properties to choose from include Royal Palms Resort & Spa in Phoenix, Sunriver in Oregon, Vail Cascade in Colorado or East Coast locations such as Stowe Mountain Lodge in Vermont, Wild Dunes in South Carolina or The Shores Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach Shores, Fla.

Dalmatian photo credit – hassan abdel-rahman; Cake photo credit – atp_tyreseus; Terranea & L’Auberge Del mar photos courtesy Destination Hotels & Resorts.