Thirty years ago, on August 9th, 1996, we opened our doors to our very first guests.

By all accounts, this day was not a seamless start but rather a state of organized chaos. Our father Howard was still sweeping construction sawdust from the lobby floor in his flannel logging shirt with minutes to spare, and the contractors' trucks were being loaded with tools in the porte cochere as a line of Mercedes, BMWs, and Cadillacs began arriving to check in. Our team carried every piece of luggage up two to three flights of stairs, as the elevator had not yet been commissioned.

Dinner that evening would prove just as memorable. The line for the restaurant, made up of both residents and hotel guests, stretched through the lobby and beyond the front doors. My brother Bruce, our Restaurant Manager at the time, had been advised by our Chef Rod Butters to hold to fifty covers. Bruce could not bring himself to turn eager guests away, and by the end of the night we had served over one hundred and ten covers. Half the kitchen scrambled to prepare dishes at the last minute, while the other half cooked as quickly as they could manage.

It was, as we say in the business, a true "whiteout” of order slips in the middle of August. Adding to the scene, we had more electricians, plumbers, and members of our maintenance team working in the kitchen that evening than we had cooks, as equipment was still being connected that afternoon and while dinner service was underway. Our dishwasher never did come to life that first night, so every plate, glass, and piece of cutlery was washed by hand.

Once all arriving guests had been checked in and the last dinner guests were seated, my father and I shared a brief celebratory moment in the On the Rocks Bar, raising a glass of champagne to mark the occasion.

No sooner was the sun setting on this day of mayhem than the phones began to ring. It turned out we had forgotten a rather essential item: lamps for the rooms. Our team went home and returned with their own, ensuring every guest could settle into a room lit warmly for the night.

As timelines kept shifting in the final weeks of the Inn's construction, our team truly came together as one.

People hired for specific roles were reengaged to assist with a variety of tasks, from supporting our tradespeople to moving furniture into guest rooms. Working together to accomplish what it took to get us to opening forged a strong bond of camaraderie among us, one that has stayed with us ever since.

Three decades later, every one of our team members continues to carry this sense of ownership over the guest experience, down to the most minute detail. In many ways, it is the same spirit that carried us through that very first night, even as so much else about the Inn has grown and evolved over the years. As we celebrate this milestone, I look forward to everything the years ahead will bring, and to sharing it with you here on the coast.

Warmly,
Charles

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