Channel Road Inn: A Dream Come True for Owner Susan Zolla

By Laurel Busby

News & Information Editor

In the 1980s, Susan Zolla sought to create a hotel that felt like a home.

“My husband and I traveled a lot, and all hotels looked the same,” Zolla said. “They didn't have any feeling of being at home, of being comfortable. They just all were the same. Same chair. Same two lamps. Same bed. So, I wanted to make something that was more welcoming.”

Channel Road Inn Owner Susan Zolla

Zolla found a 14-bedroom house at 219 W. Channel Rd. that she could envision as a homey spot for travelers to find refuge. The conversion would be challenging though as the future Channel Road Inn was “in terrible shape” and needed nine additional bathrooms to provide each bedroom with its own bath, she said. There were holes in the roof, a front door that was off, and missing stairs.

It would eventually take her three years not only to repair the damage and remodel, but to get the necessary zoning permit to allow a hotel to operate on the property. To create an inviting feel, she decorated each bedroom in its own unique style, while also updating the kitchen so she could prepare a hot breakfast for her guests each morning. She engineered warm community spaces, such as a cozy room where guests could sit by the fire and put together a puzzle or an adjacent room where they could lounge by a window or enjoy their breakfasts.

A warm community space in the Channel Road Inn

When she began accepting reservations in December of 1988, the inn quickly drew customers.

“The 14 rooms filled up almost right away,” said Zolla, noting that she later converted part of the office space to add an additional bedroom. “It’s been a great business, and we’ve had great guests over the years.”

In order not to “nickel and dime” visitors, special perks, such as the breakfasts, fresh baked cookies, coffee, and a late afternoon wine and cheese hour, were included in the price of the rooms, some of which include a balcony and/or fireplace. For the first 18 years, Zolla was a hands-on owner who delighted in getting to know the guests and working to make their stays a pleasure.

“I loved the job—cooking the breakfasts, treating the guests, doing the wine and cheese,” Zolla said. “I loved the camaraderie that the inn imbued in the guests.”

The quirks of some guests were also an interesting and sometimes humorous part of the job. During one stay, the new wife of a famous singer brought in huge amounts of spinach.

“We thought she wanted us to cook it, but she went right up there and made her husband take a bath in it,” Zolla said. “Every day, there’s a story. You just have to get in the kitchen and hear it…. People are funny and unforgettable.”

Once, late actor Robert Redford stayed at the inn. He was warm, asked the staff to call him Bob, and strolled downstairs to get his coffee, Zolla said. After he passed through, another guest, who was on the phone, gushed to her friend, “Oh my God, Betty, you'll never guess who's here. It's Paul Newman.”

On another occasion, a guest inadvertently drove off in another guest’s rental car, because their key fobs were identical and the cars looked similar, Zolla said. Such incidents were part of what made the hotel both unique and a fun place to work.

“You have to think on your feet,” Zolla said. “But also it's a different kind of guest we get…. I say, ‘They can take a joke.’ They're happy to be here. They chose something different, and they're usually pretty happy with it.”

Pacific Palisades residents often get rooms for their grandparents or other relatives in order to treat them to a special experience, Zolla said. During their stays, guests typically enjoy the Canyon location since they can walk to the beach or grab dinner at one of the unique restaurants nearby. She’s employed the same housekeepers since the inn first opened, which provides a comforting continuity for repeat customers.

The first location of the future Channel Road Inn on Second Street in Santa Monica

Thomas McCall

The inn has a history that also appeals to both Zolla and many of her guests. The building wasn’t erected on its present location, but instead was constructed in 1910 on Second Street in Santa Monica. Thomas McCall, a Scottish immigrant who co-founded the Brentwood Country Club and rode polo ponies with Will Rogers, owned it for decades and had five daughters who each had a bedroom on the second floor. The inn has a large notebook with copies of many of his letters, which were written between 1883-1941.

A McCall family letter

“He was very witty,” Zolla said. “One daughter gave him a tie and socks every single year for Christmas, and every year, he wrote a new description about why he felt so elegant in those socks or he was so dapper with that tie…. He had a different reason why that was an outstanding gift every single year.”

Once a friend of McCall’s visited, and Zolla recalled chatting with him: “He said, ‘Thomas McCall was the finest man I've ever met.’ I said, ‘But he died in 1941,’ and the guy said, ‘Did you hear me? He was the finest man I ever met.’”

After McCall’s death, the house, which had an ocean view, was eventually sold. A third story was also added, and in the late 1970s, then owner Phyllis Bonner moved the house in three pieces to the Canyon, where she intended to operate a boarding house, Zolla said. Bonner wasn’t able to achieve that goal, but instead sold the property to a group of around 11 co-owners, who then sold it to Zolla.

Zolla had her own unique history before she took over the house. After growing up in Philadelphia, Zolla headed to Los Angeles in 1968 when she was 22 years old. She had no dreams of running a hotel at the time, but the city intrigued her.

“I really hate the cold, and I really thought I could do something here,” Zolla said.

First, she taught history in Santa Ana and lived in Manhattan Beach. She also fell in love with her husband, Edward, who she married in 1971. Seven years later, her desire for a backyard brought the family to Brentwood, where they raised three children and opened the Channel Road Inn. In 1995, the couple built a second hotel, the Inn at Playa Del Rey.

Unfortunately, in 2006, Edward died, and Zolla had to step back from her work at the Channel Road Inn in order to manage his business, Horizon Buildings, which invests in various apartment buildings.

Four Sisters, a boutique hotel company with a similar philosophy to Zolla’s, took over the management of both inns and has been a good partner to Zolla, although she misses her time as a hands-on owner.

“I love the Canyon,” Zolla said. “I spent a lot of time there. I’d still be there if Ed hadn’t died.”

(For further information about the inn, contact Manager Taras Maksymchuk at (310) 459-1920 or visit channelroadinn.com.)

The Channel Road Inn