Turn back the clock to the 1940’s with Bob Hope and Ava Gardner visiting the fabled Lafayette Hotel on old Hwy 80. Legendary Olympic swimmer and Tarzan actor, Johnny Weissmuller is training in the famous pool he designed, while celebrities sip cocktails in surrounding cabanas. The Mississippi Ballroom has a well-known orchestra playing on the clam shell stage and couples dance the night away.

Lafayette Hotel

Lafayette Hotel

That era is no more but the Lafayette hotel is in full swing. Nostalgically renovated and a nationally registered historic place, dark and clubby Red Fox Steak House serves it’s time honored menu as the piano bar entertains locals and tourists. The ballroom is ready for a New Year’s Eve bash and the pool glistens. Pictures of San Diego’s bye gone days hosting stars and starlets line the lobby and there’s a feeling the past has been captured in a new age.

Weissmuller designed pool

Weissmuller designed pool