Pelican Hill's Front Door Closes in November. Its Side Doors Stay Open.

Beginning in November 2026, most of the rooms that make up Pelican Hill for anyone who comes up for dinner will close for renovation. The resort's own project timeline lists work that month at the Main Estate, The Spa, Andrea, Coliseum Pool & Grill, and Pelican Grill, all part of turning the resort into the first St. Regis Estate. The resort now dates that debut to Fall 2027.

The resort stays open the whole time. Construction is limited to weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with buffer zones around active work. For people who live nearby, the useful parts of Pelican Hill move to its edges for about six months. The golf courses, a golf-club café, and a spa tucked into the North Villas are what remain. A spa appointment is also the only published way for a local to sit down in the one full-service dining room still running.

The Weeks Before the Main Estate Goes Dark

The Main Estate holds the lobby, the Great Room, and the Caffè, and its work window runs from November 2026 to June 2027. That leaves a short stretch this fall to use the Main Estate as it is now.

The newest thing up there is tea. In September, the Daily Pilot reported that Cultivated Afternoon Tea was being served on the Great Room Terrace Fridays through Sundays, noon to 3 p.m. The resort hasn't published an end date for the current service. Its timeline says the Great Room will offer regular Afternoon Tea once the Main Estate reopens. In other words, today's tea service is an early version of a St. Regis ritual. The Newport Beach Indy reported that afternoon tea and butler service will be part of the rebrand.

Pelican Grill is the other room to fit in before November. It closes for an interior refresh that covers the bar and the private dining room, and the resort lists its return as May 2027.

Thirty-Six Holes Return the Same Month the Dining Rooms Close

Golf runs on the opposite schedule. While the hotel side shuts down in November, the golf side finishes a restoration that has limited play this year.

The Ocean South course got new bunkers, restored green shapes, tee work, path repairs, landscape clearing, and sprinkler upgrades. A May press release dated the course's unveiling to May 18, 2026. The live tee-time page says it reopened in July, and that page is the better guide to what you can actually book.

On Ocean North, holes 1 through 3 and 13 through 18 are closed through Monday, November 2, 2026. Holes 4 through 12 are open, and only nine-hole North bookings are offered for now. The resort expects the North Course to fully reopen in early November 2026. Once it does, both Tom Fazio-designed courses will be playable as full 18-hole loops for the first time in months, in the same weeks the Main Estate closes.

Golfers keep their own café too. The resort lists Caffè 2 at the golf club for coffee, drinks, breakfast and lunch, and an outdoor grill menu.

A Spa Booking Gets You a Dinner Table

From November 2026 through May 2027, the resort centers hotel life on the Villa Clubhouse. It serves breakfast and lunch on weekdays, weekend brunch, and dinner daily from 4 to 8 p.m. The Villa Pool has ten private cabanas, plus pizza, s'mores, and sabrage. The resort describes the Clubhouse and pool as available to Villa and Bungalow guests.

Locals have one way in. The Spa at North Villas offers massages, facials, and salon services daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is open to locals as well as resort guests. According to the resort, "Locals who reserve a spa service may access the Villa Clubhouse including dining and the Villa Pool, based on availability."

So, as published, an afternoon facial followed by an early dinner at the Clubhouse is the one way a non-guest can eat a full meal at Pelican Hill this winter. Two limits apply. Access depends on availability, and the resort takes dinner reservations at the Villa Clubhouse from resort guests only. Breakfast, lunch, and weekend brunch are first come, first served. The Bungalow Caffè and The Lounge at the Bungalows on Via Bellagio are listed for coffee and evening drinks, but the resort doesn't say whether non-guests can use them.

The Return Calendar, Month by Month

The resort says all of these dates are subject to change. Here they are in order, so you can plan around them.

• Early November 2026. Ocean North fully reopens, so both courses are back to 18 holes.
• Late December 2026 or January 2027. Bella Vista Pool returns, resurfaced and with new furnishings.
• January 2027. The Main Estate fitness center returns.
• Late February or March 2027. The Coliseum Pool reopens with new cabanas, new furnishings, and a retail kiosk.
• May 2027. Pelican Grill returns, along with the lobby and a new caffè and market.
• June 2027. The Coliseum restaurant returns with a redesigned terrace and a new private dining room. The Spa, the Signature Lounge, and The Library open the same month.
• Mid-October 2027. The former Andrea space reopens as a new restaurant.

The pool dates come in pairs because the resort's timeline and its FAQ don't agree. The timeline lists Bella Vista for January 2027 and the Coliseum Pool for March 2027. The FAQ gives late December and late February and marks both as pending. The FAQ also says the Coliseum Pool will reopen with limited food service from noon to 5 p.m. before its restaurant returns in early summer.

Several Rooms Come Back as Something Else

Most of the calendar is refreshes: new finishes and the same layouts. The resort says guest-favorite layouts won't change across the Bungalows, Villas, meeting rooms, and key venues. A few spaces, though, will be entirely new.

The former Caffè & Market becomes the Estate's Signature Lounge. The former Concierge Gallery becomes The Library, a cocktail room with Pacific views. The former Allegra retail space turns into a European-style caffè serving coffee, house-made pastries, and sandwiches, with a small market next door. That puts the everyday coffee stop in a different room from the one regulars know.

The biggest change is Andrea. The Newport Beach Indy reported that the restaurant closed at the start of the pandemic. Work on the space began in September 2026 and covers the restaurant, bar, patio, and kitchen. The resort says it will reopen in mid-October 2027 under a new name and concept, created with a "celebrated chef" it hasn't named yet.

The returning restaurants already have a new chef in charge. In January 2026 the resort named Pedro Almeida executive chef, tasked with guiding Pelican Grill and Coliseum Pool & Grill through the transition. The Indy reported that he was raised in Sintra, Portugal, and started his career at the three-Michelin-starred Can Fabes in Spain. According to the resort, Pelican Grill will come back with new dishes and "many longtime guest favorites."

General manager Kevin Kelly framed the change this way in remarks reported by the Newport Beach Indy:

"This next chapter celebrates the resort's ethos as a true sanctuary."

The work continues after the restaurants reopen. Bungalows are scheduled for renovation in waves from June to December 2027, and the North Villas from January to July 2028. For locals who come mainly to eat and golf, the key dates are May and June 2027, when Pelican Grill, the Coliseum, and the Main Estate's new lounges are all scheduled to reopen.

If you're weighing a move near Pelican Hill, or want to hear how the St. Regis transition is playing out on the ground, Ballesteros Group is happy to talk it through. Let's Connect.