The Hacienda

The Hacienda is the current designation for an historic hotel in Monterey County, near the town of Jolon, California. It was completed in 1930 for use by William Randolph Hearst as temporary housing for his employees and guests and headquarters for activities taking place on the surrounding land. The lodge building, designed by architect Julia Morgan, replaced and expanded upon an earlier wooden structure known as the Milpitas Ranch House which was destroyed by fire in the 1920s. The 1930 hotel has also been known as Milpitas Hacienda, Hacienda Guest Lodge, Hearst Hacienda Lodge, and Milpitas Ranchhouse, under which name the property was placed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 2, 1977. The lodge currently has guest rooms and a bar but no food services. It is located within an active US Army Reserve unit, and guests must have proof of lodge reservations and a Real ID or passport to pass through a staffed guard gate to reach the lodge. Hearst sold the structure and its surrounding property to the United States Army in 1940 for use as a training facility. The land and buildings were established by the Army as Fort Hunter Liggett. Today, the Army owns the building and a concessionaire operates it as a public hotel within the military base.