| The Palo Alto History Project |
| The Hotel Cabaña 4290 El Camino Real |
| 2006 |
| The Hotel Cabaña: Vegas Comes to Palo Alto Jay Sarno reinvented Las Vegas. In 1966, he gambled big-time with “Caesar’s Palace,” an outrageously conceptualized hotel that paved the way for the “New Las Vegas”--- an eclectic collection of quasi-theme park replica hotels that has made the desert city a kind fantastical ode to the rest of the world. Whether it’s San Marcos Square, the Eiffel Tower, the Manhattan Skyline or Rome --- you can get them all in Vegas, at a smaller scale, yes, but with quarter slots just one floor down. And it was Caesar’s Palace, a grandiose, almost garishly obscene monument to ancient Rome, done up Vegas- style, that started it all. Just in time, too. By the mid-60s, Vegas had become a tired collection of old Western- themed gambling hotels centered in the increasingly adults-only Downtown area. Strangely, before Sarno took his miniature model vision to the Sin City, however, he did a kind of test run --- and in Palo Alto of all places. The Palo Alto Cabaña Hotel maybe wasn’t as full-frontal in its exhibitionism as Caesar’s would be, but with statues of the Winged Victory and Michelangelo's David out front, it wasn’t too far off the pace, either. Palo Altans were a bit overcome by the El Camino Real hotel. With its Roman-themed Nero bar, $20,000 in cypress trees imported direct from Italy, and waitresses dressed in togas, the Cabaña was something else alright. Opening in 1962, the Cabaña was originally awarded a 5-star rating and was described by Life Magazine as one of the best hotels on the West Coast. In the 1960s, it attracted such high-profile celebrities as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and the Beatles. Perhaps the most unforgettable night in the hotel's history was August 31st, 1965, when the Beatles stayed at the Cabaña. Crowds of teenage girls held a two-night vigil outside the hotel, causing a traffic jam on El Camino. Hundreds of fans were disappointed when the band snuck out in a 1.5 ton truck the next day (The Cabaña’s present owners have dedicated Room 810 to the group, decorating it with Beatles paraphernalia, books, and newspaper clippings from the Fab Four's stay in Palo Alto). But although The Cabaña managed to attract the celebrity crowd to Palo Alto, not all were so impressed by its design. Doris Day, unwitting part owner of the hotel, did not exactly sing its praises when she first saw it. Actually, she burst into tears. And that was just upon seeing the outside. “Impossible as it may seem, the inside was worse." Day said, recalling the Cabaña in her autobiography. "I got physically ill just walking through the lobby." And Day wasn’t convinced of the location either. She told her husband, "But it's Palo Alto, Marty! Who's going to stay at a hotel like that in Palo Alto --- and without gambling?" Day proved to be correct. Over time, the Cabaña lost its stars---both celebrities and those in the ratings guides--- and by 1992 the hotel was washed-up. Four years later, just as the City Council was getting ready to hear final approval to build 93 homes in its place, hotelier B. B. Patel purchased the Cabaña and overhauled the design. Today it operates as the more run-of-the-mill Crowne Plaza Cabaña, a hotel on a strip of hotels. Still although few know it --- like a retired Vegas showgirl --- the Cabaña had a little glitz and glamour in its day. -Matt Bowling |
| Palo Alto: Then & Now |
| The modern day Hotel Cabana |
| The sign out on El Camino Real |
| The top floors |
| The Cabana from the back |
| The Cabana through the cypress trees |
| Cabana Beatles artifacts |
| The map below shows some of the major hotels in the Palo Alto area |
| circa 1965 |
| 2007 |
| The Cabana here in its Vegas days as evidenced by the Venus De Milo and David statues set among the fountains. The Italian Cypress trees can be seen at far right and far left. |
| Today all references to Italy are gone save the Cypress trees which have been transplanted somewhat. The hotel itself underwent a major remodelling in 1996. |
| Inside the Cabana in its glitzier days |
| I thought it was beautiful. We stayed there a couple of weekends and went dancing there several times. It was pretty "out there" for the likes of Palo Alto. -Carol |
| Memories added by readers: |
| The Cabana's glitzy ballroom. |
| Sources: Palo Alto Times, Palo Alto Weekly, Palo Alto Historical Association, San Francisco Chronicle |
| Links: Today's Cabana |