A trip up California’s Pacific Coast offers incredible luxury and natural beauty.
I left my heart in San Francisco…and a thousand other places along the Californian coast. My wife and I spent our honeymoon five years ago driving the legendary Highway 1, so for our anniversary we decided to retrace our steps, rediscovering a road every bit as romantic as the one we remembered.
Our first night was spent at Montage Laguna Beach, a famed Arts and Crafts-style resort south of Los Angeles. Before turning in we admired the spot-lit beach (the resort illuminates the rocky reef each evening) and awoke the next day to a full Pacific Ocean panorama-the elegant 1930s-inspired architecture perfectly highlighted the rugged drama of the cliffs. After breakfast we added our footprints to the beach wiped clean by the tide, then strolled along the cliff path, bordered by exotic landscaped gardens full of plants resembling coral and octopus. This resort has scores of dramatic bluffs where you can exchange vows or just steal a kiss, not to mention a world-class spa focused on ocean-inspired treatments for two, like marine-algae wraps. Later at Studio, the resort’s formal restaurant, we surrendered ourselves to the chef’s tasting menu (I could have eaten the lobster tail with artichoke, smoked bacon, leek and sorrel for every course) and watched the palm trees darken against the ocean sunset from our candle-lit corner table.
The next morning we made like A-list celebrities and pointed our green, clean Toyota Prius north (“It’s California: everyone drives one,” said our valet when I tried to school him in the ways of hybrids). We followed the sweet-salty combination of sea and eucalyptus until we reached Santa Barbara, also known as “The American Riviera,” presumably thanks to the beautiful climate and people. The legendary San Ysidro Ranch, backed by the Santa Ynez foothills, seemed to have developed a signature scent all its own. The driveway was lined with lavender and each of the clapboard cottages was framed by jasmine. Our vast 1,230-square foot white cottage was decorated with botanical etchings and quirky antiques and had a private courtyard shaded with live oaks. The property, which recently reemerged from a $150 million facelift, was originally a way-station for Franciscan monks, and then an orange farm, before establishing itself as a guest house for bold-faced names like John and Jackie Kennedy, who honeymooned in the cottage next to ours.
It must be said, driving Highway 1 cannot be rushed. Around every bend the winding road revealed new picture-perfect vistas of the coast and archipelago. After leaving Santa Barbara, we watched gray seals lazing in the sun, the sole inhabitants of a rocky island. Five years ago we broke the journey at Big Sur and looked for migrating whales from the vantage point of the cliff-top. This time we set our sights further north, beyond the Golden Gate Bridge to Sonoma and Napa Valley to sample the region’s wines.
“We often host elopements,” remarked our innkeeper at Gaige House in Glen Ellen, Sonoma. The 15-room retreat, set among lush gardens, tastefully blends the traditional 1890 main house with private “Zen Suites” reached via a bamboo-lined path and featuring internal Japanese gardens and 3,000-pound black granite soaking tubs. Massage tables are dotted around the extraordinarily leafy grounds-by the pool, overlooking the river, tucked in a gazebo within a Japanese garden at the far end of the property-in case the desire for an al fresco massage strikes.
The drive from Sonoma to Napa Valley was barely an hour so we ventured down roads less traveled to visit several of the area’s boutique wineries. One particularly memorable moment was spent drinking a sparkling toast to Mount St. Helena from the sun-drenched hill of the family-run Iron Horse winery.
As we headed inland over Sugarloaf Ridge into Napa Valley, the color of the grapes changed from white to red: Cabernet Sauvignon is the county’s specialty. We arrived at Calistoga Ranch and settled into our lodge, one of 46 free-standing, cedar-sided modern villas nestled in a secluded ravine on the 157-acre property. The cedar-shingled exterior with weathered copper detail concealed two pavilions-one for sleeping, the other a lounge and kitchen-as well as a private deck, indoor/outdoor fireplace, Jacuzzi and outdoor shower. The ingenious design of the lodges and natural landscaping blurs the line between interior and exterior, wilderness and garden — a wonderful perk when the outdoors is as beautiful as it is in Northern California. As a deep golden light illuminated the enclave of villas against a canvas of redwood and pine, we ventured forth up the hill to the Lake House restaurant. A boardwalk led to an elegant exposed beam pavilion — the linen lit softly by a candles and a rising moon - where we dined on diver scallops with king trumpet mushrooms, fennel and herbs.
Gazing across the lake, we reminisced about all the natural wonders we’d seen: hummingbirds, woodpeckers, baby deer, seals, a majestic silver fox…all along the 600 mile-long route from Laguna Beach to Napa Valley (on around 40 dollars’ worth of fuel-no wonder Mother Nature loved us). That night we reserved the entire spa for ourselves-a romantic after-hours option the resort offers with a spa package-and vowed to take a honeymoon at least once a year.
Montage Laguna Beach, rooms from $695, montagelagunabeach.com. San Ysidro, rooms from $650, sanysidroranch.com. Gaige House, spa suites from $575, gaige.com. Calistoga Ranch, rooms from $650, calistogaranch.com.
Words by Adam McCulloch. Originally published in Elegant Bride. The format has been altered to suit Tumblr.
