Best of the Beach 2019 – Hospitality
Best Motel Sea Sprite’s new management promises to protect its timeless style. Photo The Sea Sprite For a few years in the late ‘50s and ‘60s, the Insomniac Cafe offered folk music, books, chess and conversation, powered by an immense espresso machine, on what is now Pier Plaza. Acts such as Odetta and Dave van Ronk performed on its stage, creating a counterpart to legendary jazz spot The Lighthouse Cafe across the street. The Insomniac was pressured to close by city officials, but for years some of its employees and patrons, scattered all over the country, returned to Hermosa for a reunion of sorts. Where did they gather, with their bluegrass instruments and head-spinning stories? The Sea Sprite Motel, of course. For decades the Sea Sprite has been a coastal oasis for budget-minded visitors, offering affordable lodging, complete with spectacular coastal views. Along with people who have been coming the same week every year, it’s been home to low-budget movie shoots, and its pool was the site of at least one baptism. But as real estate prices in the South Bay climbed ever higher, and the stores and restaurants aimed higher to match them, residents understandably wondered how long…
Read this story on easyreadernews.com