When Hollywood movie producer Jack Skirball arrived at the dredged 46,000-acre Mission Bay in San Diego, situated on 27 miles of sandy shoreline, he envisioned a tropical oasis for family vacationers on a peninsula. Since the location was within the two-hour studio rule, stipulating that actors under studio contract shall travel no more than two-hours at any time, he purchased 44 acres. The rabbi-turned-movie-producer-turned-hotelier enlisted architect Eldridge Spencer and builder Bob Golden to help him create a Southeast Asian-style resort.
Skirball opened 150 of his one-story guest rooms in 1962 and charged $8 a night. The resort was named Vacation Village, because it offered a unique vacation island feel with lagoons, islands, pools, and waterfalls. He added artifact ideas from his film around the property, including a porpoise fountain and decorative masonry above the entryway of the original cottages on the bay.
He built a wooden observation tower sculpture to climb up at sunset to take in the views. There are 81-steps to climb up to the top of the viewing deck, offering 360 degree views of Mission Bay.
Since Skirballl had the largest collection of El Camino Real bells, that ran north and south along coastal roadways of Old California, he installed 8 of them on the grounds among a verdant garden inhabited with ducks, hummingbirds, herons, egrets and red-eared slider turtles.
He built one restaurant, two tennis courts and a small golf course. With continuing expansion and renovations, the facilities were purchased in 1983 by Princess Cruises and renamed it San Diego Princess, before it became Paradise Point.
Now the Mission Bay resort in San Diego features over 462 guest rooms with bay, lagoon and garden views. There are 34 bungalow suites, lanai patio and garden rooms. Guests staying in one of the beach bungalows enjoy a full living and dining room, wet bar with refrigerator and separate bedroom. There are two closets and a spacious bathroom. It's an ideal floorplan for families as you can open your front door to the sandy shoreline and calm bay water. In the evening guests gather around Adirondack chairs by fire pits sharing stories while roasting s'mores.
Other guest amenities that were added include 5 lit tennis courts, 5 swimming pools, a full-service spa, a marina, state-of-the-art fitness center, bicycle rentals and 6 electric Tesla and Blink charging stations.
The verdant grounds contrast sharply with the surrounding drier terrain typical of Southern California. The resort displays over 600 types of tropical plants from 20 countries that were imported and installed by famed landscape architect Frank Rich in the early 60s.
The award-winning landscape include rare and exotic Imperial bromeliad from Rio de Janeiro, a dragon tree from Madagascar and the Asian silk tree. Also growing on the grounds are bird of paradise, hibiscus, and towering palm trees, with over 1,000 of each planted.
The resort's aquatic marina offers an array of water sports including sail and motor boats, kayaks, paddleboards, and WaveRunners to rent for an hour, half day or full day.
Now there are two unique and exciting restaurants overlooking picturesque Mission Bay. The Barefoot Bar and Grill was the original restaurant built in 1962, and doubled as a safety bunker since the resort was built at the height of the Cuban Missle crisis. Now the casual California dining atmosphere offers a lively bar to enjoy craft beers and refreshing cocktails, with burgers, fresh seafood and salads. Diners can sit at tables near a tropical waterfall, the marina, or sea-life lagoon filled with small leopard sharks, stingrays, shovel-nose guitar fish and yellowtail fish.
Tidal Craft & Catch restaurant is the former Jack Skirball beach house at the resort. Perched where land and the bay meet, Executive chef Eddie Zamora creates a thoughtful menu selection of local seafood, proteins and vegetables. Sitting at one of the fire-pits on the deck is an ideal spot for sunset gazing while enjoying appetizers, entrees and desserts with a nod to neighboring Baja California.
With wedding season approaching, Paradise Point offers over 80,000 square feet of indoor ballrooms and outdoor gardens, bay front lawns, soothing lagoons, and sandy beaches for parties, the ceremony, reception and day after meals.
Start with a bachelorette kayak, paddleboard or surf lesson party. Then go for a cruise with immediate family on a sunset sail before a s'mores and Ballast Point beer party at one of the beach bonfires. The staff at the resort will arrange it all.
The professionals at The Spa at Paradise Point will expertly apply makeup and coiffed haif as the bride and her bridal party sip champagne, after a facial or massage. The girls can bond in the outdoor spa gardens or private hot tub.
Paradise Point is only a drive away to a tropical oasis that offers everything for a memorable vacation or destination wedding.
