MARRIOTT COURTYARD HOTEL, CORNERSTONE OF EL CAJON’S DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT, CELEBRATES GRAND OPENING

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor, and Miriam Raftery, Editor

June 21, 2018 (El Cajon) — The seeds of El Cajon’s Herculean downtown redevelopment plans for the city's historic heart bore fruit at Thursday's grand opening of the Courtyard-by-Marriott El Cajon hotel, drawing an enthusiastic crowd.

The four-story, 88,000-square foot hotel is located on Magnolia Street just off Main Street near the city's “superblock”, which also includes the East County Performing Arts Center set to reopen in spring under management of international concert promoter and producer Live Nation.

Numerous restaurants, sidewalk cafes, shops, galleries, and civic festivals  are all within a couple of blocks of the hotel in the revitalized heart of El Cajon, a city that celebrated its centennial in 2013. Located just off Interstate 8 in San Diego's East County,  the hotel is 20 to 30 minutes from downtown San Diego and beach areas, also close to attractions in the region's backcountry. 

But there's plenty to do right here in downtown El Cajon, where major community events include Friday night outdoor concerts at Prescott Promenade Park and Wedneday night classic car shows (photo, below right)on Main Street all summer long. Visitors can also enjoy seasonal celebrations such as America on Main Street, Hauntfest on Main, and holiday festivities. The superblock also includes city hall, the courthouse, library, and police headquarters.

Mayor Bill Wells, speaking at a ribbon cutting ceremony, said he’s so proud of the new hotel that he’s been showing off photos of it on his cellphone even before photos of his grandchildren. The new Marriott Courtyard is the first major branded hotel to open in East County in a quarter of a century.   (Photo, left: bar in Marriott lobby)

Vice Mayor Pro Tem Gary Kendrick told ECM that  the new Marriott is already at over 80 percent capacity since opening its doors in March. Once the performing arts center reopens, Kendrick predicts, “Imagine the synergy,” adding that performers can stay at the new Marriott, while hotel guests can enjoy world-class entertainment.

San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce President called the new hotel “awesome.”The grand opening was also attended by many East County city officials from La Mesa, Santee and El Cajon. Also attending were Neil Patel of the Excel Hotel Group, Tye Turman, Senior Vice President of Lodging Development at Marriott International, and Juan Alarid, General Manager of the new hotel.

Turman told the crowd that Marriott is “creating jobs, opportunities, and a wonderful place for our guests to stay.”  He praised Marriott’s founder for advising staff through the years to take good care of associates, who in turn will take good care of guests “and the guests will return again and again.” 

Excel operates hotels under various brands in San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Denver. It will be opening additional hotels in the coming year in Escondido, Bakersfield, and downtown San Diego, and properties on the east coast.

The Courtyard-by-Marriot new development in El Cajon features 120 rooms set alongside a bistro, full-service bar, 24-hour market, a fitness center and heated swimming pool and spa, outdoor dining areas, nearly 5000 feet of meeting space including a banquet room, outdoor courtyard that can be used for weddings or receptions, 325 square foot board rooms (photo, below left), and spaces off the lobby for mini-meetings (photo, left, mini-meeting space).

Room options include king, two queens, or a king suite (photo, right). All rooms also have sofa sleepers as well as large screen TVs, mini refrigerators, microwaves and wifi, among other amenities. The site has 100 parking spaces available immediately adjacent to the hotel and nearby.

Room rates start at $130 a night and range up to $300 in peak season; rates vary seasonally with corporate discount rates available.

The hotel serves breakfast, lunch and dinner in its restaurant as well as a happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. daily.

Guests at the grand opening feasted on appetizers and desserts cooked up by the Marriott chef including pineapple chicken skewers, mini-cheesecakes (photo, left) and more, as well as local wines from Granite Lion Cellars (photo, right) in Jamul. Visitors also took tours of the facility and enjoyed live music by a jazz combo.

Gabe Marrujo, owner of Downtown Cafe and Por Favor restaurants nearby, was among the guests. He told ECM that the new Marriott has been good for his business, and vice versa.  "We just had a wedding, and we sent our guests here to stay," he said, adding that hotel guests have also been patronizing his popular eateries.

During the ribbon cutting, Alarid presented a check to Pastor Harold Brown from the East County Transitional Living Center ton behalf of the Marriott o help the homeless transition off the streets and into permanent housing. “Everywhere we go, we like to be involved with the community,” he said. (Photo, left: Alarid and Pastor Brown.)

El Cajon Police Captain Rob Ransweiler presented a proclamation to the Marriott on behalf of Congressman Duncan Hunter. (photo, right)

On the heels of the Courtyard grand opening, the ground breaking of a second major hotel – located on the site of the old El Cajon Police Station on Fletcher Parkway across from Parkway Plaza, a Hampton Inn by Hilton -- is expected later this year.

While the Marriott Courtyard hotel has been operating for the past several months after a “soft opening” in March, it has already been recognized for its attention for customer service, ranking third in California Marriott Courtyard hotels, first in San Diego County, and 59th in the world, out of over 1,100 Marriott-operated hotels around the world.

“That’s a great testament to the team that we have here that really tries to do what we think is best, which is serving the community and serving our guests, said Patel (photo, left, with his sister, Sima Patel.)

Turman praised the City of El Cajon and others responsible for bringing the hotel to the city.

“To the city officials who are here, the Chamber of Commerce, the lenders, the contractors, and everyone who was responsible for sponsoring Excel Hotel Group – from the bottom of my heart,” he concluded, “thank you.”

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East County Magazine gratefully acknowledges the County of San Diego for providing a Community Enhancement Grant to support our “Backcountry Hidden Pleasures” weekend getaways coverage.