While the Keating will breathe new life into its namesake historic building in San Diego when it opens this autumn, the luxury property has already begun making history of its own as the first hotel project designed by Italian design powerhouse Pininfarina. World renowned for their cutting edge design aesthetic and perhaps best known for their luxury automotive design achievements such as Ferrari and Maserati, Pininfarina’s involvement with The Keating is a fantastic partnership of passionate entrepreneurs. Conceived and developed by local real estate entrepreneur, Edward Kaen, The Keating marks a significant milestone for both Pininfarina and Mr. Kaen as well as for San Diego’s burgeoning status as a true metropolitan destination. Operated by San Diego based lifestyle group BOND Urban Habitat, the 35-room hotel will be one of the city’s most luxurious lifestyle experiences.

A springboard for design "firsts," the significance of The Keating’s highly-anticipated emergence into the San Diego market is further punctuated by innovative partnerships with such high profile names as Pininfarina, Jacuzzi, Dornbracht, Bang & Olufsen, and LavAzza, creating the ultimate in luxury accommodations.

The partnership between The Keating and Pininfarina can be traced back to Edward Kaen’s admiration for Italian design sparked 3 years ago when he was contemplating the purchase of his first Ferrari and was invigorated by Pininfarina’s excellence in design. He seized upon a unique opportunity. Already busy making plans for a chic hotel property, he contacted the team at Pininfarina in Italy and pitched a collaboration that neither could pass up -- an intimate, 35-room luxury property with impeccable, personalized service in the heart of downtown San Diego. Utilizing the innovative architectural and design talents of Pininfarina, the combination would provide an ideal and unique experience.

"Pininfarina had been approached on numerous occasions in the past to collaborate on hotel projects of varying scales -- from designing one room in a hotel to projects with a couple hundred rooms. They turned them all down," said Edward Kaen. "The Keating provided the perfect opportunity because of its intimate size, its historical significance and its location in one of the most dynamic, emerging cities in the United States." Inspired by the intricate façade of the historic building, Pininfarina’s vision for the property strives to create an unexpected juxtaposition of the traditional and modern, drawing guests to experience innovative design solutions at every turn. The signature red colour palette of The Keating will be found in all aspects of the property, reflecting the vibrancy of San Diego’s thriving urban core, the historic Gaslamp Quarter. While snapshots of the building’s heritage will be found in original exposed brick, Pininfarina focused on sky blue hues in the bathrooms and rich, custom designed mahogany furniture and stainless steel accents in each Stanza (Italian for guestroom) to create a colourful contrast for this unique hotel.

"Our goal in the design of The Keating is to evoke emotion from our guests," said Paolo Pininfarina, President and CEO of Pininfarina EXTRA. "We want them to feel as if they are taking part in an exciting new experience, but one that has a familiar, comforting feel derived from pleasing colours and textures that create a sense of relaxation."

"Creating a sense of enveloping comfort and luxury, all elements of the property will be sleek and distinctively Pininfarina by design," said Kaen. "The Keating experience is focused on captivating each of the five senses and creating anticipation of what’s to come next." Heightening the guests’ overall experience and further establishing high design as an inherent feature of the property is the Pininfarina-designed Jacuzzi Morphosis bathtub.
 

Showcased in each Stanza Imperiale, its fluid shape and smooth lines embrace the body and mind, blending creativity and functionality never before used in a hotel setting. Whether a luxury to start the day or the ultimate luxury to end it, Dornbracht’s JustRain showerhead immerses guests in a relaxing, modern translation of a sensuous, warm rain shower. And Dornbracht’s MEM series bath fixtures; with their fresh, elementary approach, further compliment Pininfarina’s overall design vision.

The Keating will also be the first hotel in the United States to utilize state of the art Bang & Olufsen audio and visual products in every Stanza. The elegantly designed BeoVision plasma television features clean lines and delivers high definition picture quality and exceptional sound performance from the stereo active loudspeakers. Each stanza will also feature BeoSound radio cd players and the BeoComm handset phone. As if the experience of Pininfarina, Jacuzzi, Dornbracht and Bang & Olufsen weren’t enough to dazzle one’s senses, each Stanza will also include a Pininfarina-designed LavAzza BLUE espresso machine further adding style and convenience. This handsome, commercial grade machine will recreate the feeling of home and comfort as the aroma of freshly brewed, rich espresso fills the room.

"Every aspect of The Keating is focused on creating a personalized experience for our guests," said Robert Watson, Founder, BOND Urban Habitat. "Our goal with this project is to set a new standard for luxury boutique hotels throughout Southern California. We feel very fortunate to have the opportunity not only to partner with such highly-regarded brands in the world of design and consumer goods, but to be the first to deliver this unrivaled concept to San Diego."

Edward Kaen

Owner, developer and entrepreneur, Edward Kaen established Gotham Property Group, a locally based real estate investment and development company, to fully execute his vision of capturing the potential of San Diego as a world class metropolitan destination. In 2006, his first hotel venture, The Keating, will bring new excitement and a new level of sophistication to downtown. With a focus on luxurious design and exemplary service, this 35-room hotel in the heart of the San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter will be the city’s first true urban boutique hotel experience. Other development projects are in various stages of development throughout the county.

Pininfarina

The Keating project was developed by Pininfarina Extra, the Pininfarina Group that specialises in interior and product design, formed in 1986 to extend the Group's services, quality and skills to firms engaged in all business sectors except the automobile and collective transport sector. It makes use of all the knowledge and research derived from more than 76 years' experience in the design and production of cars and other means of transport. Pininfarina Extra Chief Executive Officer is Paolo Pininfarina.

BOND

BOND Urban Habitat is a San Diego based diversified hospitality and real estate company. Its executive and management team consists of some of the best talent in the hospitality industry, each with experience from premier cities such as New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago. And operating experience from such style and service companies as Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group and W Hotels. BOND specializes in developing, opening, and operating highly serviced, uniquely stylized, and architecturally significant, boutique hotels, destination restaurants and lounges, residences, and other mixed-use projects. BOND is a lifestyle company with a deliberate growth strategy, backed by a sound business model and solid financial support. BOND was created to exceed the expectations of an emerging, highly sophisticated, urban client. In 2005 the company was responsible for the successful creation and opening of TOWER23 Hotel, a 2006 Conde Nast Hot List Hotels Worldwide award recipient. In addition to The Keating, other BOND projects in San Diego, Orange County, Palm Springs and Baja California Mexico are in various stages of development and management contract discussions.