Built in 1959 by Charles Brown under Atlas Hotels, the 145-room inn at 1333 Hotel Circle South was considered back then what travelers with discerning taste today would call a \u201cboutique\u201d hotel.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was upscale, smaller and not necessarily inexpensive compared to others in Mission Valley,\u201d said operations manager David Parrent, who was hired in 2009 by current owners Andy Petersen and his wife, Stephanie. The Alpine couple purchased the three-section property in 1994 after it fell into receivership.<\/p>\n In earlier days, across Interstate 8 on the north side of Hotel Circle, a Hawaiian theme pervaded throughout The Hanalei (now the Crowne Plaza San Diego). Its neighbor, the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, continued expanding from a humble motor lodge into a sprawling resort filled with gardens and varied architectural styles that included touches of Polynesia.<\/p>\n Those properties were also built by Atlas, shortly before other developers brought to the loop comfy budget motels constructed in common Mid-Century style.<\/p>\n The Kings Inn, however, offered visitors something different compared to all of the other lodging options dotting Hotel Circle. It transported guests to rural England with frilly room decor and a pub-like restaurant called the Kings Grille, which was fronted by a mini moat and faux draw bridge, and specialized in steaks and mock turtle soup enjoyed from green leather booths.<\/p>\n Aside from several tall palm trees standing guard over the outdoor pool, the hotel\u2019s overall ambiance didn\u2019t fully reflect the San Diego lifestyle.<\/p>\n The Petersens soon transformed the steakhouse into a colorful Mexican restaurant called the Amigo Spot, marked today by a wagon and spotted donkey at the entrance.<\/p>\n They also re-branded the property\u2019s second original restaurant, The Queen\u2019s Pantry, turning it into The Waffle Spot, which remains famous for its malted waffles and cartoonish mascot, Sir Wafflelot.<\/p>\n \u201cThe property was rundown and needed care when the Petersens took over,\u201d Parrent said, speaking on the couple\u2019s behalf per their request. \u201cThey did a major cleaning of the hotel right away while reinventing the restaurants.\u201d<\/p>\n Longtime cook Roberto Equihua recalls the transition, saying that when he was hired in 1983, the hotel catered largely to Atlas members and couples, and not so much to kids.<\/p>\n \u201cAtlas used to also book banquets and events here every day of the week, at a time when Hotel Circle was much busier and Downtown not so much,\u201d he said. \u201cBut they took a lot of that business to their other properties when they left.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the more memorable parties Equihua catered during the Atlas days was a Christmas party thrown by a clique of businessmen.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I walked into the banquet room to check on the food, I was very surprised to see they had hired a group of naked women to dance for them.\u201d<\/p>\n In later years, after the Petersens took over, the hotel began hosting meetings and fundraisers for groups such as the San Diego Tennis Federation, San Diego Hoops and Neutral Corner, a transgender support group.<\/p>\n![\"Kings](\"https:\/\/missionvalleynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Kings-Inn-present-day1webtop.jpg\")
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