ASCENT DIGITAL SOLUTIONS A drone image over the El Capitan Hotel during the Christmas season.

PHOTO BY MICAH DIELE An image of the new El Capitan Hotel in downtown Merced is reflected in a puddle on Main Street.

Downtown Merced’s El Capitan Hotel – a historic building renovated and expanded by Hyatt’s Joie de Vivre brand – was recently featured in a Forbes Magazine article titled “New Years New Hotels: 60 Exciting Hotel Openings Around the World this winter ”. ”

The El Capitan was one of 60 hotels worldwide whose planned opening in 2021 was celebrated in the magazine with a worldwide readership.

Other hotels presented in the article are opening on the exotic Caribbean islands, in Central America, South America, Asia, Australia and Africa.

El Capitan is expected to open in late March or early April.

“El Capitan is under the same roof as The Mainzer, which opened in August 2020, and under the same roof as The Tioga,” said Robin Donovan, managing director of all three projects in downtown Merced. “The Tioga opened in April 2020 and we have occupied approximately 95 percent of the 70 units. We are very, very happy because it was filled so quickly. …

“This shows that the inner city is already a very viable and inexpensive place to live. Downtown Merced will grow and become more alive in the years to come.

“The Hyatt Joie de Vivre collection was founded over 30 years ago and has a unique history.

“We are not a cookie cutter hotel. We are very different. We expect people to come here to be in Merced and stay at the hotel. Merced is the gateway to Yosemite and as such a destination city.

“The hotel will have 114 rooms as well as social and event rooms for meetings and weddings. Some of the indoor event spaces include The Sentinel, Joe’s Boardroom, and the Salon.

“We have a list of 101 activities in and around Merced that we would like to present at the hotel.

“El Capitan is here to serve this city and re-introduce the area to visitors.

“We have hired local artists and their art is on display at the hotel.

“We love the art here and the deeply ingrained history in Merced and we play that into our decor and design at El Capitan.

“There are three restaurants – Rainbird, Native Son, and The Courtyard.

“Rainbird will have a special opening date later after the hotel opens. It’s a destination restaurant with a unique concept and brand, and we wanted it to have its own opening.

“We will open the hotel with Native Son and the Courtyard.

“Native Son is inspired by our namesake El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The restaurant is open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast is served at the counter. Lunch and dinner are served in a casual atmosphere. There is also a full bar.

“The inner courtyard is a relaxed place to eat and enjoy for hotel guests and the public. It is open afternoons and evenings seven days a week. It has the feel of an outdoor communal garden party with lots of live landscaping including trees, plants, and a water feature, and there will be a horse trailer that we turned into a bar. It’s our nod to farming and the beautiful scenery we have around here, and it’s just plain fun. It will serve light bites and cocktails and is a good place to hang out with friends and family in the evening and a great place for private events.

“We’re still hiring. We’re hiring 75 people. We assume that we will be working to full capacity with the employees that we expect to be hiring this summer. “

Donovan’s background

When Donovan shared her background, she told the Times, “I moved here from Scotts Valley / Santa Cruz two years ago.

“I was born and raised in New Hampshire, moved to Seattle and then to California, where I had three hotels in Silicon Valley. Then I moved to Merced. This is where I know my neighbors, the city officials, and many community members who I think are doing good, philanthropic things.

“When I moved here, I built a house and my family moved. I’m a Mercedian now and I love it. I am honored to be part of a community that is welcoming and supportive. “

How will the new venues perform during the pandemic?

According to Donovan, The Mainzer is doing fine and the community enjoyed dining there.

Describing the Tioga, she said, “Tioga has retail space that is rented and occupied. We’re still in discussion with a local brewery for one of the rooms, and we’ve spoken to others who will help liven up the downtown experience.

“We want retailers who can do it so that Tioga tenants can enjoy service, and we want our neighbors to enjoy the area too. We want to make the city center shine even more than before.

“Everything we do is very deliberate and well thought out. This is our process.

“The occupancy rate in the region has decreased somewhat in this market, but it is still higher than in the Bay Area or in other cities. This is due to the fact that it is still thriving between agriculture, construction and the UC and other industries here in Merced. We are therefore positive about the capacity utilization and use of the food and beverage facilities.

“We are committed to Merced, and we see this area doing well. We have invested a lot of energy in this project on many levels. The city of Merced has been very responsive and we appreciate their support. They understand the impact we want to have on this community. The general public has been very supportive of us, and we felt the love and support at the opening of The Mainzer and The Tioga, and we know that we will receive that support as the hotel opens. We know we did something right and needed something downtown. “