Douglas Ayres
“Across history, people have expressed their connection to a deeper source through their environment, food, song, dance, and celebration,” he says. “The Allegretto is another of those human expressions. It tells a story in time – a story of joy.”
Douglas, son of Donald Ayres Jr., grew up in Newport Beach and studied Religion and Music at the University of Southern California before embarking on a busy career in sound recording and design. He also completed studies in anthropology while living with a tribe during his time in the Amazon.
Representing the third generation of Ayres hoteliers, he took up the industry of his forebears in 1989 when Doug joined the family business. Since this embarkment, he has gained extensive experience in and personally leads the development of hotel projects (i.e. site selection, entitlement, design, and construction) as well as being critically involved in the pre-opening process and communications with investors and government officials. He was also instrumental in creating the updated European ambiance for which the Ayres Hotels collection is known.
In August 2015, Doug completed the construction of the Allegretto Vineyard Resort by Ayres in Paso Robles, CA. As a hands-on investor, developer, and project manager, Douglas led the project daily, from land acquisition to the resort’s grand opening. Doug was taken with the beauty and agriculture of the Paso Robles region and populated the hotel with arts and artifacts from his many travels throughout South America, Asia, Europe, and beyond. This is his most personal project yet; designed to recreate the peace and proportion of ancient spaces.