Legoland gets an OK to construct hotel

The building at Legoland continues.

Only two months after announcing plans to add a water attraction at the theme park in Carlsbad, Calif., Legoland has won approval from the city of Carlsbad to build a Lego-themed hotel on the property.

The Carlsbad City Council approved a plan last week to build a 254-room hotel outside the entrance to the park. The plan must also win approval from the California Coastal Commission, which regulates construction along the state’s coast.

A final price tag and a construction timeline are pending approval by the commission, said Julie Estrada, a spokeswoman for Legoland.

But she said the hotel would adopt the Lego theme throughout the building, including Lego-designed carpeting and wallpaper.

“You’ll feel like you are staying in Legoland,” she said of the hotel.

Despite the recession and a decline in tourism spending, Legoland has continued to expand the theme park in recent years. Last summer, the park added a 36,000-square-foot, two-story aquarium that houses more than 200 species of sea life. In September, the park submitted plans to the city to build a 5.5-acre water attraction in the park’s northern section.

Merlin Entertainments Group, which owns Legoland, wants to add to and expand the park on a regular basis to draw visitors and encourage them to stay longer, Estrada said.

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hugo.martin@latimes.com