A low-rise stretch of coastline just south of downtown Laguna Beach has picked up a new kind of hospitality signal, the kind that feels less like a hotel opening and more like a repositioning of how stays are packaged altogether. AvantStay has brought The Mara Laguna Beach into its growing portfolio, stepping into a former Sonder Holdings Inc. property and reshaping it into something deliberately hybrid, part boutique hotel, part systematized short-term rental experience. The timing matters too, landing right as the industry continues to blur those once-clear categories.
Set along the curve of the Pacific Coast Highway at 1600 S. Coast Highway, the 66-room property leans into its geography without overplaying it. The rooftop, which pulls the horizon line of the Pacific right into view, feels like the anchor—less a feature and more the organizing idea behind the stay. Down below, the pool and hot tub soften the space into something communal, while interiors keep to that restrained coastal palette that Laguna Beach tends to reward: light woods, open textures, and just enough polish to keep it from drifting into rental anonymity.
What AvantStay is really doing here, though, sits behind the design. With more than 3,000 properties spread across dozens of destinations, the company has been building a tech-enabled operating layer that treats hospitality more like infrastructure than individual properties. This latest opening becomes its ninth conversion from a Sonder-managed location, which says as much about market consolidation as it does about strategy. Where Sonder leaned into a distributed, apartment-style model, AvantStay seems intent on tightening the experience into something more standardized, but still visually and geographically distinct.
The Mara’s location in Laguna’s Pearl District plays directly into that approach. One block from the water, within walking distance of galleries, restaurants, and smaller coves like Woods Cove and Crescent Bay, it offers exactly the kind of density that makes short stays feel full without needing a car. Concierge services fill in the gaps, not as a luxury layer but as a functional one—helping translate the destination into something frictionless for guests moving in and out quickly.
There’s a subtle shift happening across hospitality right now, and properties like this make it visible. Hotels are borrowing flexibility from rentals, rentals are borrowing consistency from hotels, and operators like AvantStay are positioning themselves in the middle, trying to own the blend. The Mara Laguna Beach doesn’t overstate that ambition, but it sits squarely inside it, a coastal property that doubles as a case study in where the industry is heading next.