| Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel | |
|---|---|
| Location | United States |
| Address | One Market Place San Diego, California |
| Hotel chain | Global Hyatt Corporation |
| Opening date | 1992 |
| Developer | Doug Manchester |
| Architect | Skidmore, Owings and Merrill |
| Management | Hyatt |
| Owner | Doug Manchester |
| Rooms | 1,625 |
| Restaurants | Sally's Seafood on the Water Lael's Restaurant Top of the Hyatt Redfield's Sports Bar / Deli |
| Floors | 40 |
| Total height | 151.4 m (497 ft) |
| Website | manchestergrand.hyatt.com |
| References: [1][2][3] | |
Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel is a high-rise building in San Diego composed of two towers. The towers are the third and seventh tallest buildings in the city. Developed but no longer owned by the controversial San Diego developer, Doug Manchester,[4] the tower is the tallest building on the waterfront on the West Coast, and with 1,625 rooms, it is Southern California's largest hotel.[5][6] Because of its proximity to the waterfront, as well as its amenities, the Manchester Grand Hyatt is referred to as a spa and resort.[7]
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The Manchester Grand Hyatt consists of two towers, the 40-story Harbor Tower built in 1992 and the 33-story Seaport Tower which was added in 2003, prompted by the positive response to the space already allocated for private meetings.[8] A four-story building with a rooftop pool connects the towers to each other. The hotel's 1,625 guest rooms each have partial water or city views, and many offer panoramic vistas of the Pacific Ocean. All rooms are equipped with Wi-Fi Internet access, and iPod docking stations.[6]
The hotel has two bars: the Top of the Hyatt and the Grand Lobby Bar.[9] The third floor holds the hotel pool and the Kin Spa.
The 40th and top floor of the Manchester Grand Hyatt is known as the Top of the Hyatt. Instead of a traditional penthouse suite, former hotel owner Doug Manchester decided to create an upscale bar with panoramic views of San Diego, Coronado Island, and Mexico.[10] The bar was awarded the title of "Best Upscale Bar" by SignOnSanDiego, and is considered, "an unparalleled spot from which to watch the sunset."[11][12]
Kin Oasis is the new adult-only pool (ages 21 above) located on the third floor of Harbor Tower. The rooftop pool, described as "upscale", includes bottle service, cabana rentals, and hosts large pool parties on holiday weekends in conjunction with Fortune Industries.[13][14]
The Manchester Grand Hyatt is located on the Gaslamp Quarter’s waterfront, a few blocks away from the Gaslamp Quarter, Seaport Village, as well as the San Diego Convention Center.[15] The San Diego Trolley stops near the hotel which connects to several lines to reach the majority of the San Diego metropolitan area. The hotel is located less than a mile from Petco Park, an Amtrak train station, and Woodbury University's San Diego campus.[16]
Doug Manchester, chairman of Manchester Financial Group,[17] sparked controversy in 2008 when he backed California's Proposition 8 with financial support in the amount of $125,000.[18] The money was donated before Proposition 8 was a ballot initiative. Before a proposition can be officially placed on a ballot for voter consideration, 700,000 signatures need to be gathered. Supporters of the proposition used the $125,000 Manchester donated to pay professionals to acquire signatures in an effort to solidify the initiative's place on the ballot. When asked about his contribution, Manchester was quoted as saying, "When they say that we cannot say that a marriage is between a man and a woman, that's where I draw the line."[19] While Manchester has admitted that he "supports" his employees who are gay and lesbian, he cites the fact that he is Catholic as a motivation behind his actions.[20]
The support caused an immediate response from gay-rights organizations, including GLAAD, which canceled all events planned for the hotel.[17] Labor unions, including Hotel Workers Union Local 30, publicly admonished Manchester for his actions, with one member describing Proposition 8 as "pure and simple discrimination."[20] In addition, a boycott from Proposition 8 protesters quickly followed.[21] The boycott was originally intended to last one year, but subsequent protests of other Hyatt locations continued after that duration.[22] Also in turn some gay and lesbian employees of the hotel resigned in protest.
When Manchester was the owner of the Manchester Grand Hyatt, the Global Hyatt Corporation attempted to separate his views from that of the managing corporation. Global Hyatt contended that Manchester did not speak on its behalf and that the corporation has a proven history of supporting gay and lesbian rights. In addition, the Global Hyatt Corporation issued a statement that asserts many Hyatt hotels, including the Manchester Grand Hyatt, offer benefits to domestic partners of employees,[23] which is optional for businesses. Californians Against Hate, a gay-rights activist group, has estimated that the boycott resulted in a loss of over $7 million, despite Manchester's attempt to reach out to the gay community with room credits and donations.[24] The marketing manager for the hotel, Kelly Commerford, has confirmed that cancellations resulting directly from the protest cost the hotel $2.4 million.[25] This figure does not include estimates for those who choose other accommodations due to the boycott. The developer, Manchester, claimed that the boycotting unions are using gay marriage support as a screen "to cover [their] real goal of organizing" the hotel's workers.[25]
The hotel was sold near the end of May 2011 to Host Hotels and Resorts, thus severing Manchester's financial ties to it.[26]