Sneak Peek: Restoring The Green Room Hotel In South Oceanside

OCEANSIDE, CA — Preserving a piece of Oceanside's past while modernizing it for today is no easy task. Besides the obvious commitment of time and money, Steve and Brett Poovey felt a genuine call to restore the surf and sound culture embodied in North County when they purchased a broken-down motel on PCH.

The Green Room Hotel was originally a motel built in the 1940s. The location was in such bad shape that the Poovey's could have just torn it down and built something new. Instead, they are giving it a second life as a modernized bungalow-style boutique hotel.

The Green Room Hotel was discovered during a date night in Oceanside when the Poovey's stumbled upon the forgotten motel nestled between Carlsbad and South Oceanside on the Coast Highway.

"We started this company called Revival Homes and the whole idea is to take kind of the mid-century aesthetic and vibe and really preserve it." said owner, Steve Poovey. "We live in a 1955 home in Old Carlsbad and we changed very little about it and then we did another home in the area really just trying to preserve that aesthetic and update it with a modern design."

"Brett and I spend a lot of time in Oceanside and some of our favorite restaurants are just down the Coast Hwy like Dija Mara, Revolution Roasters, Wrench and Rodent and places like that."

"We just really love what's happening up the whole stretch of PCH from North Carlsbad and in South Oceanside and now continuing all the way up to the pier. We also love all the independent makers that are here. From the beginning, we wanted to feature some of them in the hotel."

"I just remember checking this place out and loving the mix of materials, the brick, and the exposed beams in the rooms. It felt eclectic, but it all kind of works together and nobody builds like this anymore. You'll see there are solid concrete walls between the rooms."

"My biggest challenge was keeping a lot of open space back from the street. How can we take a mid-century motel and make it feel more private, quiet and tucked-in. The Green Room obviously has music and performance ideas behind it but also a surfing green room being tucked in the pocket. So we really wanted to create a feeling of a nice little pocket in here."

"We did the breeze block up a little higher and we've got the double hedges. So our parking area is totally closed off from PCH. For the rooms, we essentially did a triple barrier. Before, you could park three feet in front of your door. What we did was put in the patios, the walkway and the hedge and now the cars are 15 ft back from the doors and we really love it when guests are enjoying the private patios."

"As you walk in here, you'll start to hear some music from the playlist on our speakers. Then you tuck in here behind the hedges in our fire pit patio area and we're super excited to get the hot tub up and running. The whole idea is that people get comfortable just hanging out and feeding off each other's vibes a little bit."

"Guests check-in is pretty easy. We skip the whole check-in process and guests go straight to their room and use a pre-assigned code."

The Green Room Hotel uses Igloohome smart padlocks allowing guests to use their smartphones as their room keys for contactless check-in.

We took a tour of Room 11, which is called the "Hell or High Water" Suite and has a queen bed and then a full sofa bed to sleep up to four people. If someone wants a little bit more of a value and wants to pack people in, they will offer an additional inflated bed.

"Six is one of our most popular rooms. This is called Cloud Break after the surf spot. This room kind of hits all the sweet spots. If my wife and I ever stayed here, this would be right at the top. It's got the double patio and it's kind of tucked back a little bit, but it's funky and comfy."

"Our goal for The Green Room is for it to feel like a hub that pushes people into the community. When we travel, we love to stay in places like this. Places that are all original, they're small, they've got a lot of personality and they really reflect and tie you into the local community. We've tried to take the best concepts of our favorite places like a Treasure Map of the best things we like to do with our kids. We compiled a list of go-to local surf breaks, restaurants and coffee shops onto this map that is in each room."

"Right next door is Municipal Taco and Cream of the Crop Market across the street is an amazing neighbor for grab and go meals. Five of our rooms have kitchens or kitchenettes and guests are able to get groceries right there."

"The whole idea is to be able to come here and Surf, Bike, Explore, Take a shower outside, soak in the hot tub after your surf session or under the stars at night. While we do embrace surf, rock and roll culture, we want to be a little bit harder to pin down. We love the vintage seventies and sixties, and we want people to discover for themselves what's going on here and we also want to naturally evolve over time."

The pet friendly hotel features six studios, five one-bedroom suites, and one two-bedroom suite. There are no cookie-cutter rooms at the Green Room Hotel as every room is distinctly different. With interior design led by local designers Jessica Tingle and the co-owner’s sister, Leigh Jendrusina, founder of Salthouse Collective Interior Design & Styling, each room features custom art from local artists, found pieces of mid-century modern furnishings, unique Moroccan rugs, playful bathroom tiling, and in some units, kitchenettes with whimsical touches like retro-style appliances. Public Goods natural personal care amenities can also be found in each room with sustainable packaging and curated snacks.

The hotel provides guests with free parking and complimentary morning coffee, donuts and pastries from local bakeries on the weekends. In partnership with Catch Surf and SoCal Bike, grab-and-go surfboards and beach cruisers are available for guests to enjoy.

Ultimately the Green Room Hotel offers guests a modern, comfortable place to stay that exudes a taste of local flavor.

For more information about The Green Room Hotel or to book your stay, visit www.thegreenroomhotel.com

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