The Anabella Hotel says Goodbye to Its Last Guests
The Anabella Hotel closes its doors to prepare for redevelopment as a new four-diamond hotel, with construction to begin next month
ANAHEIM, Calif., August 15, 2017—Today the Anabella Hotel closes its doors as the last guests check out before the demolition of the existing hotel and construction beginning on the new, four-diamond hotel scheduled to open in late 2019. The Anabella Hotel became an oasis of tranquility where visitors could relax after exploring all of what Anaheim has to offer. The California-mission style architecture drew guests from all over the world, making it the perfect place to create family memories and celebrate anniversaries. Today the Anabella Hotel, a Wincome Group property, said its final farewells to guests.
Bob Balestieri, an annual returning guest since 2004, remembers why he fell in love with the hotel and recounts what made it so special.
“It was quaintness that caught our attention, but more so it was the friendliness of the folks that we dealt with that made the difference,” Balestieri said. “We found the staff at the Anabella to be so much more friendly and accommodating than at other hotels. The Anabella turned into my home away from home.”
Balestieri is one of the last guests staying at the Anabella hotel and he looks forward to starting more memories at the new hotel once it opens.
Many guests who couldn’t make it to the Anabella’s closing day, poured in letters requesting keepsakes from the hotel to remind them of their happy memories at the resort.
Although most visitors only remember the Anabella hotel as “Anaheim’s Most Beautiful Property,” longtime Anaheim residents know that in the 1990s, before a Wincome Group affiliated company acquired the property, the three previous hotels that made up the site on West Katella Avenue were known more for drug arrests and domestic violence calls to the police department than family-friendly accommodations. Wincome Group, who had previously bought and upgraded the Carousel Inn, continued their reputation for upgrading the community by greatly improving hotels and buildings they take over, by turning those hotels into the beautiful Anabella.
“I understand that the locals referred to the [motels] as ‘The golden toilet’ and ‘Diaper alley,” said Tina Riley, Director of Sales and Marketing for the Anabella Hotel. “The next step in the evolution of this property will help to take the whole city to the next level, with the addition of a 600-room, four-diamond hotel with 42,000 square feet of meeting space and high-end restaurant and retail opportunities. Bringing this new hotel to Anaheim will help the city attract a tier of business that previously would not stay in Anaheim. And that means more jobs and more tax revenue for Anaheim.”
The groundbreaking for the new Anabella will take place in early September followed immediately by the demolition of the existing buildings.