Pelican Grill Is Dark Until May. Here's How Newport Coast Locals Still Get Into Pelican Hill.

On Nov. 2, The Resort at Pelican Hill started the renovation that will turn it into the world's first St. Regis Estate in fall 2027. The first phase hits the places many Newport Coast neighbors use most. Pelican Grill, the Coliseum Pool and Grill, Andrea, and the Main Estate lobby and spa are all closed for work into 2027.

The resort stays open. For the next several months it runs mostly from the Villa Clubhouse, the Bungalows on Via Bellagio, and the golf clubhouse. For someone who lives a few minutes away and isn't checking in, two ways in still work: a spa appointment and a tee time. Beginning in May, the Main Estate adds a café and a market, then a library and afternoon tea. All of them are new, and all are easy to drop into on a Tuesday afternoon.

The Spa Reservation Is the Way In

While the Main Estate spa is under renovation, many of its signature treatments have moved to The Spa at North Villas. The resort lists it as open to locals as well as guests, with massages, facials, salon services, co-ed lounges and a spa boutique. Hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

The reservation gets you more than the treatment. The resort says locals who book a spa service may also use the Villa Clubhouse, including its dining and the Villa Pool, when space allows. Local spa visitors valet at the Villa Clubhouse at no charge, and a shuttle takes them to the spa.

The Villa Clubhouse has taken over the meals the closed restaurants used to serve:

• Breakfast: 7 to 10:30 a.m.
• Lunch: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday
• Weekend brunch: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday
• Dinner: 4 to 8 p.m. daily
• Villa Pool food and beverage: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily

Only dinner takes reservations. Breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch are first come, first served. On weekends the clubhouse adds entertainment, pizza, s'mores and sabrage, and there are ten private cabanas around the pool. A massage followed by brunch in a cabana is how a local can get a full day at Pelican Hill this winter.

Construction runs Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., so a weekend visit should be the quietest.

The Golf Clubhouse Kept Its Kitchen

The other way in is at Pelican Hill Golf Club, which ran its own restoration on a separate schedule. Golf Course Architecture reported in October 2025 that Brian Curley of Curley-Wagner Golf Design would lead the restoration of both courses, with McDonald & Sons as contractor. The work started on the South Course in November 2025 and closed nine holes at a time so that 27 stayed open.

Ocean South reopened in 2026. From Aug. 10 through Nov. 2, holes 1 through 3 and 13 through 18 on Ocean North were closed, and holes 4 through 12 stayed open as a nine-hole loop. The resort now describes both Ocean North and Ocean South as newly restored. PGA Magazine's October 2026 issue reported that Curley's restoration of both Ocean North and Ocean South was completed this fall. Tee times for the general public are on the Pelican Hill booking page, and golf memberships have nothing to do with Marriott Bonvoy tiers.

Caffè 2 also stays open through all of this. It's the golf club's café, open 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. It serves coffee, breakfast burritos, pastries and gourmet sandwiches, plus a special menu from an outdoor grill. With Pelican Grill and the Coliseum Grill both closed, Caffè 2 is the one food spot on the property that a non-guest can visit without booking a treatment or a room.

What Comes Back, Month by Month

Reopening is spread over most of 2027, and the dates come with the resort's caution that timelines may change. For locals, the big dates are in late spring.

When Pelican Grill reopens in May, its bar and private dining room will have new interiors. The resort says the menu will add new dishes and keep many longtime favorites. The Coliseum is getting new cabanas, a retail kiosk, a redesigned terrace, new stone flooring and a new private dining room, and a new menu will start when the restaurant reopens.

The New Rooms Are Built for Everyday Visits

Pelican Hill has had several owners and operators over the years. According to the Orange County Business Journal, Marriott took over management in July 2024. The Los Angeles Times reported that Irvine Company stayed on as the long-term owner. On Dec. 3, 2025, Marriott introduced St. Regis Estates, a new tier within the St. Regis brand, and named Pelican Hill its first property. The announcement promised a culinary experience led by a world-renowned chef, along with a signature bar and lobby. In January, the Business Journal listed butler service, afternoon tea and sabrage among the planned additions.

Several of the new spaces are made for short visits. The old Allegra shop becomes a European-style café with artisanal coffee, house-made pastries, fresh sandwiches and light food all day. Next to it, a market will sell gourmet provisions and items with the Estate's branding. The former Caffè & Market becomes the Signature Lounge. The old Concierge Gallery becomes The Library, which will serve handcrafted cocktails with views of the Pacific. When the Main Estate reopens, the Great Room will begin serving afternoon tea on a regular schedule.

The plan for the Main Estate adds an all-day café, a market, a cocktail library and a set teatime to a building whose day-to-day offerings were a lobby café and a shop. Those are places a neighbor can visit for half an hour.

The last piece arrives in October 2027. Andrea's restaurant, bar, patio and kitchen are being completely rebuilt, and the space will reopen with a new name and concept created with what the resort calls "a celebrated chef." Room work follows on a slower schedule. Bungalows get updates from June to December 2027, the Villa Clubhouse is refreshed from September 2027 to January 2028, and the North Villas get theirs in the first half of 2028. Floor plans won't change.

Until then, most locals will get into Pelican Hill through a spa booking at North Villas or a breakfast burrito at Caffè 2. Pelican Grill and the new Allegra café are scheduled to reopen in May.

Living near Pelican Hill puts you close to one of the biggest hospitality projects on the Orange County coast. Suzi and Ryan Dailey follow changes like this one closely because they affect how buyers see the area around them. If you'd like to know where your Newport Coast home stands during the change, DaileybytheSea will give you a clear, personal assessment. Get Your Free Home Valuation.