Memorial Day weekend is approaching and many of you will be escaping the city. How fortunate we in the San Francisco Bay Area are that we have a bevy of fabulous hotels nearby for when we want to get away for a weekend or longer. Carmel may be on the Central Coast but it’s just two hours from the city. In the other direction, California’s famed wine country is just an hour and change away. Swank resorts from Bernardus Lodge & Spa to Meadowood Napa Valley are constantly adding amenities and renovating to please discerning guests like you. Here’s the latest news at the hautest resorts from Carmel to Calistoga.
Bernardus Lodge & Spa
Photo Credit: Bernardus Lodge
Carmel Valley recently welcomed a new player into the luxury hospitality arena when the repositioned Bernardus Lodge & Spa opened after a four-month, multi-million dollar transformation. The 57-guestroom property set on 28 fragrant acres of lavender, orchards and vineyards showcases a dramatic shift in style and interior design. Curated for epicureans and romantics, highlights include the new Lucia Restaurant & Bar under renowned Chef Cal Stamenov, a redesign of all luxury guestrooms, reconfigured public spaces with an indoor/outdoor aesthetic, expanded wedding and event spaces and re-envisioned Spa at Bernardus with a deep-rooted wellness and fitness slant. Under new ownership and management, Bernardus Lodge, shouldered by the rugged Santa Lucia Mountains, the Pacific Ocean to the west and Big Sur just 25 miles south, has stepped it up with an intimate and stylish experience deserving of its surroundings.
Meadowood Napa Valley
Photo Credit: Courtesy Meadowood
Meadowood Napa Valley’s Golf Course has reopened after an extensive and lengthy renovation. Meadowood Director of Golf Doug Pike and the resort team worked alongside renowned golf course architect Jim Lipe of Jim Lipe Design for the overall architecture and design, as well as builder Marc Logan of Greenway Golf, to improve the irrigation and drainage systems. What does that mean for you, the golfer? Well, the Par 28 course now offers better playing surfaces and conditions ideal for year-round play. Meadowood also welcomes a dedicated Golf Course Superintendent, Dave Camden, to help set and enforce the standard of world-class golf course conditions at this luxurious resort’s tranquil fairways.
The Spa at Pebble Beach
Photo Credit: Scott Campbell
While we do suggest you stay at one of the three Pebble Beach Resorts—The Lodge at Pebble Beach, The Inn at Spanish Bay and Casa Palmero at Pebble Beach—to have access to The Spa at Pebble Beach, it’s not a requirement. Either way, you can enjoy The Spa, which this week announces its new relationship with the California Skin Institute. This marriage combines one of only 48 spas in the world to receive the coveted Forbes Five-Star Award with the largest privately held dermatology practice in California offering state-of-the-art medical and cosmetic dermatology services and technologies. Now when you visit The Spa, you can receive Botox, laser and other cosmetic and medical dermatology treatments. Here are a couple of examples of treatments you can now book:
Silky Smooth
120 minutes
Smooth your skin with a SilkPeeltm retexturizing treatment that’s superior to micro-dermabrasion alone. Follow this relaxing treatment with “wrinkle filler” Restylane® or Restylane Silk® to soften creases on and around the lips for long-lasting correction.
The Botox Facial
90 minutes
Enjoy a custom facial designed to create a youthful glow with a professional glycolic peel, then relax and let the Doctor come to you! Botox is a highly successful treatment for wrinkles, frown lines and produces smooth skin.
Solage Calistoga
Photo Credit: Courtesy Solage Calistoga
There’s no need to let the hot summer days in Calistoga get the best of you when you’re poolside at Solage Calistoga. As of this week, you can now order a Kirin Frosty Beer at the Adult Pool. The luxe hotel with haute pool scene just installed a machine created by Japanese beer maker Kirin that creates frozen beer foam. That’s right beer drinkers, you can keep your beer cool longer with this great invention that creates the frosty foam top that keeps your beer at a chilly 34 degrees. Solage Calistoga is the only hotel in North America with this cool machine. Now that’s haute!
Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay
Photo Credit: Courtesy Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay
Taste and savor chocolate at its finest with the new Hot Chocolate & S’mores Bar at The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay. You can select from a premium chocolate assortment and relish hot, steaming cups of creamy cocoa while enjoying the ocean view from the bluff. A medley of toppings, including vanilla or cinnamon whipped cream, homemade marshmallows, toasted coconut, peppermint chips and more add to the decadent treat. To accompany the Hot Chocolate, you can also toast your own s’mores around the fire pits on the Ocean Lawn. The s’more selections include graham crackers, traditional chocolate bars, peanut butter cups and house made marshmallows in various flavors such as strawberry, chocolate and vanilla. Wooden roasting sticks are included, of course. The Hot Chocolate & S’mores Bar is available Friday and Saturday evenings from 4 to 8 p.m. on the Ocean Lawn.
