All of the 420 guest rooms and suites at the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego have been sold, a spokeswoman says. The condo hotel is set to open this month.

Downtown’s hospitality index is about to take a big spike. By the end of 2009, more than 2,500 hotel rooms will be added to 92101’s inventory — now at 11,832. The biggest by far is the $350 million Hilton San Diego Convention Center, a 30-story, 1,190-room hotel under construction at the site of the former Campbell Shipyard. A soft opening is expected in October 2008, says Karima Zaki, a Hilton vice president.

Closer to completion are Downtown’s two condo-hotels at opposite points along Fifth Avenue — the Hard Rock and the Setai San Diego, formerly called The Diegan.

Just added to the mix is the Ivy Hotel, which opened last month on F Street after a $90 million renovation. It offers 159 rooms, including 14 luxury suites.

Other properties expected to come online before the decade is out are Hotel Indigo, 210 rooms; Residence Inn Gaslamp, 185 rooms, and the Marriott Renaissance, 344 rooms.

San Diego’s popularity as a convention destination and leisure travel destination will support the added growth in rooms, says Sal Giametta, vice president of public affairs and communication for the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Downtown hotel occupancy is projected to drop from 77.3 percent this year to 74.8 percent in 2008, even though the average room cost continues to increase because of Downtown’s popularity, says Giametta. (Downtown’s average daily room rates are projected to increase 6.7 percent in calendar year 2008 — or from $199.99 this year to $211.98.)

“Overall, San Diego continues to be a strong market,” says Giametta. “Because of the enormous influx of product in recent years — in hotels, dining and night spots — Downtown is fast becoming an urban getaway somewhat on par with Manhattan, San Francisco and Chicago.”

The Hilton

The Hilton San Diego Convention Center, under construction at the edge of San Diego Bay, will offer 1,190 rooms when completed in late 2008.

Hilton Hotels Corp. formed a joint venture with ING Clarion Partners, a real estate investment company, to own and operate the Convention Center hotel. It is co-developed by Portman Holdings and Phelps Development. The design was by John Portman & Associates. San Diego National Bank provided the construction financing for the hotel, which is on land leased from the Port of San Diego. A 2,000-space parking structure has been constructed by the Port for hotel guests and other visitors.

Entrance to the hotel will be elevated to provide views of the bay from the main lobby and meeting areas. Restaurant and retail guests and customers will have direct pedestrian access to the waterfront, a 4.3-acre waterfront park, the Convention Center and Petco Park. “Everyone will have a view,” says Zaki.

With more than 1 million square feet of interior space, the hotel will have four food and beverage outlets, 165,000 square feet of meeting space, a grand ballroom, a junior ballroom, a 7,300-square-foot health club and spa, 3,000 square feet of retail space and a 2,400-square-foot business center.

The Fox Sports Grill will make its home in the hotel, its first presence in San Diego. It has eight other locations in six states. The restaurant chain was launched in 2002 by the New York-based Fox television network.

The Hard Rock Hotel

Hard Rock Hotel San Diego is set to open this month across the street from the Convention Center. The 12-story, 315,000-square-foot condo hotel has 17 loft-like suites (Hard Rock International calls them “Rock Star suites”), 159 Hard Rock suites and 244 studios. All 420 have been sold, says spokeswoman Peyton Robertson.

The Hard Rock, designed to appeal to wealthy 30- to 40-year-olds, will have a lobby lounge and rooftop pool bar created by Rande Gerber, a Nobu restaurant, a fourth-floor “urban garden” overlooking the Gaslamp Quarter, 40,000 square feet of meeting space, a Maryjane’s Coffee Shop, a Rock Spa and a Rock Shop.

In a deal with Travel Planners Inc., the hotel will host attendees of the Comic-Con International and the Action Sports Retailer trade shows in 2008. Robertson says it will arrange for 300 rooms during each event and space for private media events associated with each show. The two trade shows are held at the Convention Center.

Setai San Diego

The Setai San Diego, formerly The Diegan, will have 185 rooms opening in the first quarter of next year. The 21-story, $130 million hotel is being developed by Fifth Avenue Partners.

Lee Mullinax, president of Vertical Properties Inc., which is handling sales and marketing for the Setai, the condo hotel under construction atop the House of Blues on Fifth Avenue, calls it “a rich boy’s toy for sure.” But he’s talking only about the 24 penthouse suites that will be built. He purchased for himself a 400-square-foot studio-like space in the building set to open in the first quarter of 2008. “It’s an investment,” says Mullinax. “I’m going to enjoy being an owner there.”

The 21-story, $130 million hotel, developed by Fifth Avenue Partners, will offer 185 rooms, including 24 luxury penthouse suites. Eighty-five have been sold, including 11 of the penthouses, which went for between $1.4 million and nearly $4 million each.

One of its main entertainment features will be Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce Burlesque Club. “I want to create a complete sensory experience, whether through ambience or an actual show, to convince you there’s another reason, aside from cocktails and canoodling, to go out,” says the New York-born Kane of his venues (he has clubs in Los Angeles and Las Vegas).

Maxim Prime, an upscale steakhouse, also will open in the Setai.

Mullinax says most buyers will use their suites as a second home investment and getaway destination rather than a primary residence. Owners can put their rooms into the hotel management program and share revenue generated by the units. Owners also get a one-year membership in the House of Blues Foundation Room.

The Ivy

Renovation of the Ivy Hotel at 600 F St. was performed by TSA Contracting for owner Kelly Capital. Three of its specialty suites are on two levels and have spiral staircases leading to a private poolside cabana. Other features include Damon Gordon’s Quarter Kitchen restaurant, a 17,000-square-foot Eden rooftop bar, the four-level Envy nightclub and 20,000 square feet of meeting space.