Capitola's Historical Landmark Since 1895

Monarch Cove Inn’s colorful past began in 1895, when two English families, the Rawlins & the Robertson’s, developed the property into a private family retreat. The estate was replete with two main houses: Monarch Cove Inn's main venue. It also had four cottages, tennis courts, extensive English gardens, a barn, boathouse, a large hothouse, and a croquet lawn. Its boundaries extended from Livermore Avenue to where the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary is today, along the cliff tops leading to New Brighton State Park.

In the 1920s, the estate was sold to a wealthy California oil family, the Hanchets. They were the first to build additional cottages (two of which are still in use) for guests and renamed the property “El Salto Resort” (which means ‘the dive’). Celebrities like actress Mary Pickford, tennis star Helen Willis, and even the infamous Al Capone were among them. There have been other celebrities in recent years, and Monarch Cove still hosts many artists and performers traveling through the area.

It remained in the Blodgett family to this day and was renamed the “Monarch Cove Inn” in 1991 to honor our annual visitation by thousands of Monarch Butterflies.