Brothers show their love for Leucadia through new boutique motel Surfhouse

Brothers Nikki Harth and Sander Harth have taken their love for Leucadia and created a place where visitors can enjoy the area’s essence.

The San Dieguito Academy graduates are opening a boutique motel, called Surfhouse, in the heart of Leucadia at 960 N. Coast Highway 101.

“Sander and I were born and raised in Leucadia, just up the street,” said Nikki Harth, 26. “We just wanted to reinvest in this little area, because this is where our heart and soul is. [The building] came on the market and was just kind of perfect.”

Still, the eight-room building — which the Harths found for sale in late 2015 — needed a lot of work.

The interior, including electrical work and plumbing, had to be redone. And the exterior had to be re-stuccoed.

But for the brothers who grew up surfing at Beacon’s Beach a few blocks away, the location was ideal.

An open house event will be held Feb. 11 from 2 to 5 p.m. so people can get a sneak-peek at the rooms before they are available for booking, which could be as early as Feb. 15, the brothers said.

Fish 101 will grill up fish tacos and make poke bowls at the event. Attendees are encouraged to make donations there toward the Leucadia Main Street Association. The Harths said they would match the donations.

The eight rooms — each named after local surf breaks — will go for between $125 and $200 a night, Nikki Harth said.

Reservations can be made on Airbnb.com, which now advertises boutique hotels and motels.

“There’s this little resurgence of motels,” Nikki Harth said. “A lot of people are getting older motels, remodeling them and making them a little bit nicer. And a lot of people these days don’t want to stay in a huge resort. They want to be connected to the local community.”

The rooms — which have either one queen bed, two twin beds or two bunk beds — will have no coffee makers because the brothers want to encourage guests to explore the town, including Coffee Coffee, which is directly across the street from Surfhouse. The brothers also encourage their visitors to shop and eat locally.

Guests will also be able to borrow beach cruiser bikes or high-quality boards from Firewire Surfboards at their leisure.

“We just really want people to come and enjoy the town and appreciate being close to the beach,” Sander Harth said. “We’ll take people who want to stay for a night, but we want people to stay a little bit longer and really get to know the town. We want to give them the full Leucadia experience.”

For more information, visit www.surfhouseadventures.com