The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay is a luxury hotel and golf resort in

Half Moon Bay Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, San Mateo County, California, United States, approximately south of San Francisco. Its population was 11,795 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Immediately north of Half Mo ...

northern California. The hotel is a Forbes Five Star hotel, and was featured on the travel channel series

Great Hotels ''Great Hotels'' is a television show on the Travel Channel. The show, hosted by Samantha Brown, travels around the United States to show some of its most renowned hotels. Brown stays at the hotel and walks the viewer through the layout, the roo ...

. The hotel has 261 rooms, that in 2019, started at US$920 a night. The hotel began construction in 1998, and finished in 2001. The hotel is the biggest employer for the town of

Half Moon Bay, California Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, United States, approximately south of San Francisco. Its population was 11,795 2020 census. Immediately north of Half Moon Bay is Pillar Point Harbor and the unincorporated co ...

, with approximately 550 jobs. The hotel was purchased by

Anbang Insurance Group Anbang Insurance Group () was a Chinese holding company whose subsidiaries mainly deal with insurance, banking, and financial services based in Beijing. As of February 2017, the company had assets worth more than (US$301 billion). The ''Financ ...

in 2015, and after its bankruptcy has had repeated offers from other buyers, but as of September 2021 there were no buyers. The hotel sits on a point in the bay, that allows for views along a long section of the coast. Parts of the hotel services are themed around the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

. One of the two golf courses was designed by

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

. The hotel services also include a spa and three tennis courts.

Issues

The hotel contributes most of the tourism income for the local

government, including both transient resident and property taxes. A 2022 study published by the local government also found that the hotel and its infrastructure were vulnerable to

sea level rise The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...

. A February 2017 storm eroded significant sections of the bluff, which the builders had previously intended to be included in the building. In 2019, the hotel was fined 1.6 million dollars by the

California Coastal Commission The California Coastal Commission (CCC) is a state agency within the California Natural Resources Agency with quasi-judicial control of land and public access along the state's of coastline. Its mission as defined in the California Coastal Ac ...

for impeding beach access for non-guests. Some of the money from the fine was given to local conservation group

Peninsula Open Space Trust The Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) is a nonprofit land trust headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Mission and Work POST's mission is to protect open space on the Peninsula and in the South Bay for the benefit of all. The organization has b ...

Legend of the Motorcycle

The Legend of the Motorcycle International Concours d’Elegance was an international motorcycle exhibition held at the hotel, for 3 years from 2006-2008. It was the first motorcycle Concours d'Dlegance held in the United States with a team of judges and exhibited motorcycles brought in from around the world, and was notable for several first-ever or largest-ever displays of

Brough Superior Brough Superior ( ) motorcycles, sidecars, and motor cars were made by George Brough in his Brough Superior works on Haydn Road in Nottingham, England, from 1919 to 1940. The motorcycles were dubbed the "Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles" by H. D. ...

s, Crockers,

Excelsior-Henderson Excelsior-Henderson Motorcycle was a motorcycle manufacturing company located in Belle Plaine, Minnesota, in the late 1990s that briefly produced a single model before falling into bankruptcy. History The company was originally founded as Hanlon M ...

s, etc. The event was organized by husband and wife team Jared Zaugg and Brooke Roner of San Francisco, with major corporate sponsorship by

Kiehls Kiehl's LLC is an American cosmetics brand retailer that specializes in skin, hair, and body care products. It started as a single pharmacy in Manhattan at Third Avenue and List of numbered streets in Manhattan#10th to 13th Streets, East 13th Str ...

and

Men's Vogue ''Men's Vogue'' was a monthly men's magazine that covered culture, fashion, design, art, sports, and technology. The premier issue was August 2005; the magazine was published on a quarterly schedule. It subsequently went bimonthly before stepping ...

. The three-day-event included art and ephemera exhibitions inside the Ritz-Carlton hotel itself, a Friday evening reception dinner, the Saturday Concours d'Elegance and prize-giving ceremony, and a Sunday 'Legends Ride', a 44-mile (72 km) scenic loop over the mountain ridge-top that overlooks the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

and included Highway 1 and Skyline Boulevard. The inclusion of a ride with the Concours d'Elegance reinforced the requirement that any motorcycle winning an award at the LOTM Concours must be in running condition (with specific exceptions, such as Land Speed Racers and

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

racers); motorcycles that could not be started and ridden over the awards podium forfeited their prize. This atypical concours d’elegance was established to create a competitive event for motorcycles that previously had been associated with fine automobiles.Archives
/ref> The Concours exhibited up to two hundred motorcycles on the lawn of the Ritz-Carlton golf course, and represented motorcycle history from its origins in 1869 (with a replica of Sylvester Roper's steamer present), to the present, with factory prototypes and

custom motorcycle A custom motorcycle is a motorcycle with stylistic and/or structural changes to the 'standard' mass-produced machine offered by major manufacturers. Custom motorcycles might be unique, or built in limited quantities. While individual motorcycli ...

s. Each year a different motorcycle factory was specially featured, including

Vincent Vincent (Latin: ''Vincentius'') is a masculine given name originating from the Roman name ''Vincentius'', which itself comes from the Latin verb ''vincere'', meaning "to conquer." People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003) ...

, and Crocker.

Custom motorcycle A custom motorcycle is a motorcycle with stylistic and/or structural changes to the 'standard' mass-produced machine offered by major manufacturers. Custom motorcycles might be unique, or built in limited quantities. While individual motorcycli ...

s were included for the first time in a major Concours d'Elegance, recognizing the impact of these hand-made works of art on the motorcycle industry as a whole. The builders featured included the Japanese master

Shinya Kimura Shinya Kimura is a Japanese born custom motorcycle builder. He founded Zero Engineering in 1992 and Chabott Engineering in 2002. He is the originator of the "zero style" custom bike. Biography Zero Engineering Kimura founded Zero Engineering i ...

, and the noted bike builder, stuntman, and innovator,

Indian Larry Indian Larry (born Lawrence DeSmedt; April 28, 1949 – August 30, 2004) was an American motorcycle builder and artist, stunt rider, and biker. He first became known as Indian Larry in the 1980s when he was riding the streets of New York City on ...

, and TV celebrity motorcycle customizer

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, Bank robbery, bank and Train robbery, train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie (Missouri), Little Dixie" area of M ...

, founder of the

West Coast Choppers West Coast Choppers (WCC) is a brand that began selling screen-printed T-shirts and stickers with the company's Biker Cross, Iron cross/Maltese cross logo while founder and "master marketer" Jesse James (television personality), Jesse James was ...

, who showed his ''Radial Hell aero bike'',Aero
/ref> which is powered by a 7-cylinder Rotec radial aircraft engine. West Coast Choppers unveiled their Airstream Bike at the Legend show, which cost over $300,000 and was made for

Airstream Airstream is an American brand of travel trailer easily recognized by the distinctive shape of its rounded and polished aluminum coachwork. This body shape dates back to the 1930s and is based on the Bowlus Road Chief, an earlier model of the ...

CEO, Bob Wheeler.West Coast Choppers
/ref> Ian Barry at

Falcon Motorcycles Falcon Motorcycles is a company founded by Ian Barry and Amaryllis Knight in Los Angeles, California in 2008 to build a series of custom motorcycles. Barry set out to design, engineer, and fabricate ten custom motorcycles built around rare engines ...

also unveiled ''The Bullet Falcon'', at the 2008 concours.Legend Of The Motorcycle Press Release
/ref> It was custom-created for the skateboarder and actor

Jason Lee Jason Michael Lee (born April 25, 1970) is an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and former professional skateboarder. He is known for playing Earl Hickey in the television comedy series ''My Name Is Earl'', for which he was nominated for ...

, and won "Best Custom" at the show.Falcon Motorcycles/CNBC
/ref> On average, 6,000 visitors attended the event, including iconic motorcycle riders such as

Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. He was a two-time Academy Award nominee, both for acting and screenwriting, and a two-time Golden Globe Award winner for his a ...

Chad McQueen Chadwick Steven McQueen (December 28, 1960 – September 11, 2024) was an American actor, film producer, martial artist, and race car driver. He was the only son and last living child of actor Steve McQueen (1930–1980). Early life Chadwic ...

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama and ...

, and the famed stuntman and racer

Bud Ekins James Sherwin "Bud" Ekins (May 11, 1930 – October 6, 2007) was an American professional stuntman in the U.S. film industry. He is considered to be one of the film industry's most accomplished stuntmen with a body of work that includes class ...

.Motorcycle World

In popular culture

The hotel was a filming location for the 2003 movie ''

American Wedding ''American Wedding'' (known as ''American Pie 3: The Wedding'' or ''American Pie: The Wedding'', in some countries) is a 2003 American sex comedy film written by Adam Herz and directed by Jesse Dylan. It is the sequel to '' American Pie'' (19 ...

''.

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 37, 26, 2, N, 122, 26, 30, W, region:US-CA, display=title Hotels in California Luxury hotels CCT San Mateo Section 5