Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Scandia Motel sits nearly vacant

Carlsbad owner rents for $55 but is selective

What if you had a fairly well maintained, 23-unit motel, two blocks from the beach, and during the first week of spring break, nobody checked in?

Such is the case of the Scandia Motel at 2550 Carlsbad Village Drive (Coast Highway). The motel is one of the last remaining “motor courts” along Coast Highway in North San Diego County. In Carlsbad since the 1950s, the paint color scheme appears a little old and faded, but the lawn is green and mowed, and spring flowers lining the parking lot are in full bloom.

Yet the guest parking in front of each motel unit has been empty for weeks. I thought it was out of business, but each time I passed, the front door of the office was opened.

Sponsored
Sponsored

On March 20 I stopped by and rang the little desk bell several times. I walked around the property yelling “hello?” — still nothing. I then called the phone number listed; let it ring at least 10 times.

An older woman, identified by others as Mrs. Ljubicam, finally answered as I walked into to the darkly paneled registration lobby adorned with yellowing signs. I tried to ask her several questions as to why the motel was vacant, usually not getting more of a response than some shoulder shrugs. She simply said, “It is slow.”

I had to narrow down my questions just to find out how much the rooms rent for. I asked, “Higher than 75 a night? Lower than 50?” She then finally answered, “55 dollars a night plus tax.”

Others Carlsbad Village Drive business owners said Mrs. Ljubicam is very selective as to who she rents to.”

According to county records, the Ljubicam family appears to have owned the business since at least 1999. “Her husband passed away, and she’s trying to do it all herself,” said one storeowner.

Amy McNamara, with the commercial real estate firm of Cushman Wakefield, is the agent trying to lease two one-story commercial offices, which are owned by the motel. The coast highway-facing offices border the Army Navy Academy’s new athletic complex.

McNamara assured me she only represents the leasing of the offices, which she hopes to rent out to visitor-serving businesses. “The motel is not for sale. The owner is running it the way she wants to.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Bluefin are Back! – Dolphin Scores on San Diego Bay Halibut, and Corvina Too

Turn in Your White Seabass Heads – Birds are Angler’s Friends
Next Article

Ten women founded UCSD’s Cafe Minerva

And ten bucks will more than likely fill your belly

What if you had a fairly well maintained, 23-unit motel, two blocks from the beach, and during the first week of spring break, nobody checked in?

Such is the case of the Scandia Motel at 2550 Carlsbad Village Drive (Coast Highway). The motel is one of the last remaining “motor courts” along Coast Highway in North San Diego County. In Carlsbad since the 1950s, the paint color scheme appears a little old and faded, but the lawn is green and mowed, and spring flowers lining the parking lot are in full bloom.

Yet the guest parking in front of each motel unit has been empty for weeks. I thought it was out of business, but each time I passed, the front door of the office was opened.

Sponsored
Sponsored

On March 20 I stopped by and rang the little desk bell several times. I walked around the property yelling “hello?” — still nothing. I then called the phone number listed; let it ring at least 10 times.

An older woman, identified by others as Mrs. Ljubicam, finally answered as I walked into to the darkly paneled registration lobby adorned with yellowing signs. I tried to ask her several questions as to why the motel was vacant, usually not getting more of a response than some shoulder shrugs. She simply said, “It is slow.”

I had to narrow down my questions just to find out how much the rooms rent for. I asked, “Higher than 75 a night? Lower than 50?” She then finally answered, “55 dollars a night plus tax.”

Others Carlsbad Village Drive business owners said Mrs. Ljubicam is very selective as to who she rents to.”

According to county records, the Ljubicam family appears to have owned the business since at least 1999. “Her husband passed away, and she’s trying to do it all herself,” said one storeowner.

Amy McNamara, with the commercial real estate firm of Cushman Wakefield, is the agent trying to lease two one-story commercial offices, which are owned by the motel. The coast highway-facing offices border the Army Navy Academy’s new athletic complex.

McNamara assured me she only represents the leasing of the offices, which she hopes to rent out to visitor-serving businesses. “The motel is not for sale. The owner is running it the way she wants to.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

I saw Suitcase Man all the time.

Vons. The Grossmont Center Food Court. Heading up Lowell Street
Next Article

Chula Vista not boring

I had to play “Johnny B. Goode” five times in a row. I got knocked out with an upper-cut on stage for not playing Aerosmith.
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.