Traveling Thursdays: Seeing Red at The Keating Hotel in San Diego

Recently, thanks to a birthday gift, I was able to spend a few nights at the Keating Hotel in San Diego. Conveniently located in the Gaslamp Quarter of the city, The Keating was a great homebase to be able to explore parts of the city I rarely see since parking is such a $%^&.

The entrance was festively decorated for Halloween:



Fannie Keating began construction of The Keating Building as a tribute to her late husband, George, back in 1890. The Reid Brothers, best known as the architects of the famous Hotel Del Coronado, were also the designers of The Keating Building. Completed one year later, the five story Romanesque Revival style office building had steam heat, a wire cage elevator, and roomy office spaces. Since 2007, The Keating Building has been repurposed as a restaurant/bar on the first floor and in the lower basement and a hotel on the second through fifth floors. Designed by Pininfarina, The Keating Hotel has 35 rooms.



You'll note the color red is used throughout the building. I was told by the concierge that Pininfarina, the Italian car designers behind Ferrari and Maserati, let the flaming red colors of those autos inspire the palette of the hotel. Each floor has a car model at the top of the stairs.



A few shots of the vibrant lobby:







The bed was extremely comfortable! I slept like a baby on this fantastic mattress!



The color scheme of the room is much cooler, as you can see by this shot of the shower area:



I give high marks to The Keating; a very friendly and knowledgeable staff, comfortable rooms, and excellent location. I would also recommend the Breakfast Pizza - chocolate nutella with fresh bananas and strawberries - yum!

See more Keating Hotel photos on my San Diego web page.