Golden Sails Away

Well after Tina Turner fled from Ike Turner and a few years before she became a pop diva in 1984, according to Beachcomber reader Paul Kaminski, Tina made an underpublicized appearance at the Golden Sails at 6285 E. Pacific Coast Highway. Documentation of this appearance is lacking, but is not hard to accept, given the wide variety of acts that have appeared in that hotel’s Crystal Ballroom.

For several decades, three area clubs presented local and worldwide acts with a wide range of styles. Probably the best known, Bogarts, across the highway, a 300-capacity venue offered blues, folk, rock, punk and metal. Alternative acts like Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots and Sublime, rockers like Top Jimmy and Alex Chilton and blues giants like Buddy Guy and John Mayall and the Blues Breakers appeared there. 

Bogarts shuttered in 1993, now both the Nugget and the Golden Sails have closed, the Nugget in October, the Golden Sails in November.

According to a voice mail, the Golden Sails permanently ceased operations on Nov. 11, 2025 “as a result of building and infrastructure issues that made the property unsafe” with no clarification as to what these issues are. Calls for more information were referred to Pacific Hotels voicemail.

In the past two years, based on 915 hotel reviews of the Golden Sails on Booking.com, the highest ratings were for location and staff; lowest rating for value and facilities.  “Everything is old,” said one reviewer. “Building is old, room carpet is old and extremely dirty. Corridors are not clean, bathroom is old and very small. Toilet seat very small. Gym equipment broken. Bad smell outside. Rates are too high for this kind of property.”

Another said, “rooms smell stagnant. Room had a popcorn ceiling that had stains. I don’t think these rooms have ever been renovated.” Said a third, “There are areas that are currently under construction which would’ve been nice to know prior but they were minor inconveniences. The hot tub isn’t in operation right now but the pool more than makes up for it and honestly you want to be at the beach anyway.” A fourth reviewer noted, “Thin walls very noisy rooms need renovation ... cracks in floor tiles.”

On the plus side, “housekeeping staff was really nice and so was the maintenance man.” Another reviewer noted, “the property has a history of both Elvis and Tina Turner stayed here. It’s located next to the iconic Gaslamp venue plus it’s clean, comfortable.” Said a third rater, “It’s a little dated and could use a refresh, but you can’t beat it for a comfortable, affordable place in a great location. The pool and gazebo area are beautiful and inviting, and the staff was friendly and very helpful. This was a great find.”

Founded 61 years ago, at first a Best Western Hotel, it’s unclear when it took on the Golden Sails moniker, but for much of the latter 1980s and into the 90s, it was the place to go for first-class blues shows, Grateful Dead music or reggae nights on weekends.

A veteran of blues production at KLON, Long Beach’s ShowFest producer Dan Jacobson brought the blues to the Golden Sails the same year Bogarts opened, “From 1987 to 2013, I booked acts like Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Otis Rush, Albert Collins and John Mayall at the Crystal Ballroom at the Golden Sails.”

Jacobson also presented the well-received Battle of the Blues Harps from 1989 to 2013, which he passed on to another producer, and continues on at the neighboring Gaslamp, Jacobson recalled, “I booked Larry Davis, Charlie Musselwhite, Walter Trout, Papa Chubby and scores of touring and local blues acts in the Marina Bay Club, the hotel bar and lounge,” according to the hotel’s website with “beautiful water views and the ability to host up to 350 guests banquet-style,”

Prior to his ShowFest operation, Jacobson booked acts for KLON “Blues at the Nugget” at the recently-closed 49-year-old Cal State Long Beach bar and music the Nugget Grill & Pub. As KLON and the Nugget were both under the CSULB umbrella, the club did not charge KLON for the concerts.

“We booked the Nugget for KLON from about 1982 through 1985” with acts like Big Joe Turner, Pee Wee Crayton, Lowell Fulson, Johnny Otis, Etta James, Robert Cray and a New Orleans Carnival Ball with Johnny Adams, Earl King and Henry Butler. “We sold out two shows with James Cotton” in the 250 capacity club, “at about $8 to $10 a ticket,” said Jacobson.

It was at the Johnny Otis show that he 86ed his guitarist son Shuggie from the stage for straying into psychedelia, a long-lasting break. James’ presentation was notable for her opening number, “I Just Want To Make Love To You” while thrusting her hips in a suggestive manner, both memorable events.

Non-blues acts that appeared at the Nugget included the Eagles, Sublime, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Persuasions, No Doubt, jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo, folky Tim Buckley and comic George Carlin. The shows stopped when the Nugget closed for “remodeling,” the contractor apparently neglecting to avoid placing a water source in proximity to an electrical box. When the Nugget reopened in fall of 1987, the warm wooden brew-soaked room-feel was absent. As the Forty-Niner noted in student reaction, “too much Formica, not enough beer.”

In November, 2025 the school’s LB Current reported, “last month, corroded water heaters leaked onto an electrical transformer, causing a power outage and more than $1 million in damage  –  too expensive to repair for the short-term.” Plans are for the Nugget to “get another life in a modern student union, slated to open in 2028,” possibly in time for the Olympics.

The most recent major event held at the Golden Sails was the “15th Annual Surf Guitar 101 Festival” in late July with dozens of bands, sort of a Comic Con for surf rockers. The show did not sell out. Punk bands the Dickies and Adolescents were set to play at the Golden Sails the weekend after closing. An end-of-year scheduled event at the Golden Sails, “A Smokin’ Rock & Rollin’ New Year’s Eve” with Blasters’ singer Dave Alvin & the The Guilty Ones, Rosie Flores, the Rockabilly Filly and guitar hero Deke Dickerson has been relocated to the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Long Beach.

Said in reaction to the closing of the Golden Sails, “that entire corner will be redeveloped. Rumor is it will become a boutique hotel.”