La Jolla’s nearly century-old Grande Colonial Hotel began a grand renovation at its 910 Prospect St. property last month to improve the hotel’s main lobby, elevator and lower public restroom foyers, and two of the hotel’s three meeting rooms. San Francisco-based architectural and interior design firm Warren Sheets Design, Inc. led the three week, $500,000 interior overhaul, which included refurbished flooring, wall coverings, paint, lighting, furniture and artwork in the foyers and main lobby, restoration of the original crown molding on the lobby’s fireplace, and new flooring, wall coverings and meeting room chairs in the meeting rooms adjacent to the lobby. One of the meeting rooms, the Sun Room, also received new entry doors, custom-built cabinets, a buffet station, new window coverings and traditional refurbishment of the fireplace facade to restore the former main lobby to its original 1913 glory. “We are excited to be working with Warren Sheets and his design team,” said general manager Terrence Underwood prior to the project. “We are going to great lengths to enhance the feel of the still intact turn-of-the-century Colonial Revival architecture designed by noted area architect Richard Requa back in 1913, while creating a classic environment augmented with contemporary nuances.” Although modern elements have been infused in the decor with splashes of bold Mediterranean blue and warm gold color, the overall decor carefully preserved the hotel’s sophisticated classic European ambiance and refined historic appeal. “The renovation is very timely as we near the hotel’s centennial anniversary in 2013,” said Underwood. “And as major renovations are underway at the La Valencia and the new Kimpton Hotel La Jolla, it is imperative that we continue to make these types of improvements to the property in order to remain competitive.” The project finished, as expected, the first week of January. During the renovation, guests were able to enter the hotel through the La Jolla Room, located just off the main lobby with direct access to Prospect Street. The renovation, said spokeswoman Leslie Araiza, was a “huge success.”