No High End Hotel Equals Loss For Livermore

When Hollywood came to Livermore this month, it barely touched down in the community.

. But no one stayed in Livermore hotels, and no confirmed sightings of anyone from the shoot at local eateries or even at the .

However, they were all over Pleasanton and Dublin, with the stars , eating at Dean’s Café,  drinking coffee at Peets,  seeing “The Avengers” at Dublin and even holding their wrap party at .

So why not Livermore? We certainly have our share of good restaurants, coffee spots and even a nice multiplex theater. But what we lack is an upscale hotel.

And although I have no inside information as to why the crew became Pleasanton-centric, Spock’s logic leads me to conclude it’s because of Pleasanton’s upscale Rose Hotel snuggled right in a very quaint downtown area.

Livermore, on the other hand, may have several decent hotels, but nary a single one in the luxury category. And that hurt us when it came to drawing in not only the “Star Trek” crowd, but also the cast of the HBO movie airing this month and starring and Clive Owen.   , they commuted to Livermore from San Francisco.

Had there been a suitable hotel in town we at least had a shot at keeping them around. 

The Livermore City Council has approved a request for proposal on a downtown hotel, located on the corner of Livermore and Railroad avenues. The right hotel in that spot would be fantastic for people who want to come and enjoy what Livermore has to offer.

But of course it has to be the right fit. You don’t just shove a four-story building into that space without careful consideration. What we need is a high-end boutique hotel because honestly, if you just need a room to park your clothes and spend the night, we’ve got plenty of options here.

The only luxury-type accomodations Livermore currently boasts is , and the limited rooms make it a hard sell for any group coming into the area.

The “Star Trek” cast, including Zachary Quinto (Mr. Spock), Chris Pine (Capt. Kirk) and Simon Pegg (Scotty) and producer/director Abrams and producer Bryan Burk stayed at the Rose Hotel in Pleasanton, a really lovely 34-room boutique hotel offering plenty of pampering. They filled 29 of the rooms, effectively turning it into their own personal starship.

The rest of the crew stayed down the road at the Four Points Sheraton on Hopyard. So once shooting wrapped, it was only logical for everyone to head down the road — and away from Livermore.

Which is how Livermore lost the game ball.

Production folks started calling the lab last year while searching for a really cool place to film. They were smitten by what they saw at the lab, but apparently not so taken with the lodging situation here in town.

That creates a ripple effect.

If people aren't staying here, they aren't eating here and they aren't buying here.

If Livermore had been able to offer a plush hotel, we might have been able to see some of that green spread over our town.