Puttin' on the Ritz
The “reader’s favorite” page in the latest issue of Via, the American Automobile Association’s magazine, has a photo and caption about the Hotel Diamond.
Robby Halford of Salinas, the reader who recommended the hotel, commented: “Ask for the Diamond Suite. It’s decorated with antiques and has an amazing view of the town. Recently reconstructed, the hotel meets the modern needs of today’s travelers with grace and beauty.”
Other “hotels with history” favorites mentioned on that page include Benbow Inn in Garberville, Gold Hill Hotel in Gold Hill, La Playa Hotel in Carmel, Mission Inn in Riverside and Wolf Creek Inn in Wolf Creek, Ore. The Mission Inn is the hotel to beat all hotels. Hotel Diamond is in good company.
As most Chicoans know, Hotel Diamond is the culmination of a major reconstruction project. Owner Wayne Cook has brought it back from the dead. When he bought it, the building was still standing, but that was about it. Its grace, beauty and modernity are all the result his efforts.
In my Enterprise-Record column “But this is Chico,” I’m doing a series based on readers’ comments about buildings. Hotel Diamond is on several people’s favorites lists. The building that had become all but forgotten is rapidly reclaiming its place as a landmark.
I like its upscale quality, but I prefer to use words like elegant, classy — even swank. In this laid-back, tieless and T-shirted city, we need a few places like these. In an era when we have plenty of places to hang and let our hair down, we need venues where we can indulge our urge to get all gussied up and put on the Ritz.
It would be nice to see one or two other hotels of this sort go in downtown. It would give out-of-town visitors more reasons to come here and become acquainted with Chico’s extradordinary downtown. There must be some other nice old buildings that could be converted to this use. A big question is, where would people park. Part of that answer hinges on how soon the new city parking garage can be built.