FOOD FESTIVALS, MICHELIN-STARRED TASTING MENUS, AND TALENTED CHEFS MAKE EVERY MEAL MEMORABLE AT THESE CHIC CULINARY HOTELS
BY AMBER GIBSON
ROSEWOOD MIRAMAR BEACH
Montecito, California
With seven distinct dining concepts, this sprawling resort in the American Riviera is a foodie’s playground, whether you’re in the mood for a sushi omakase or housemade ice cream from the poolside scoop shop. White clapboard houses and impeccable landscaping feel like stepping into a 1950s utopian village, but your neighbors are Bottega Veneta, Brunello Cucinelli, and James Perse. Complimentary fitness classes are available each morning and Sense Spa is a must-visit sanctuary (request Rosa for the best facial of your life).
Michelin-starred Caruso’s is the resort’s crown jewel, named for Rosewood Miramar Beach owner Rick Caruso, and serving an oceanfront al fresco tasting menu and abbreviated three- or four-course prix fixe.
Caruso’s also holds a Michelin Green Star in recognition of its sustainability efforts, including fastidious local sourcing of fruits, vegetables, and seafood, along with raising bees for honey. Chef/partner Massimo Falsini celebrates his Italian heritage with perfectly al dente pasta, and California seafood like Monterey black cod, abalone, Santa Barbara uni, and king crab rule the day, accentuated with peak season produce and dramatic tableside flourishes. Pastry chef Vincent Donatelli’s desserts complex, intricately plated works of art are an ethereal highlight. End your evening with a nightcap at The Manor Bar, where cocktails are inspired by iconic fictional characters and literary master pieces ranging from Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray to The Little Mermaid.
Rates start at $1,699. 1759 South Jameson Lane, Montecito, California, rosewood hotels.com/miramarbeach
PEBBLE BEACH RESORTS
Pebble Beach, California
Golf may be Pebble Beach’s claim to fame, along with the breathtakingly beautiful 17-mile drive, but this coastal resort is also home to the premier culinary event in the United States. After a four-year hiatus, Pebble Beach Food & Wine returned this year better than ever, with hundreds of luminary chefs and elite wineries serving a feast you won’t soon forget. Most of the events, including a James Beard Foundation opening night reception with rare vintage wines poured by the magnum, take place at the Inn at Spanish Bay, which has 269 guest rooms with views of the Del Monte Forest and Pacific Ocean. The signature grand tasting takes place Saturday and Sunday, with a completely new lineup of chefs and dishes each day from vegan mushroom and parsnip “bone marrow” and dry-aged hamachi sashimi to goat curry and silky soft scrambled eggs topped with caviar.
The newly renovated spa at Casa Palermo is the perfect place for a pedicure or massage after long days on your feet. Book your tickets now for the four-day affair next spring for access to gold, platinum, and diamond event packages. The most popular intimate dinners and seminars like a Charles Heidsieck and Rare champagne and caviar tasting are sure to sell out.
Rates start at $1,100 for The Inn at Spanish Bay and $1,260 for The Lodge. 1700 17 Mile Drive, Pebble Beach, California, pebble beachfoodandwine.com
CASA CHAMELEON AT LAS CATALINAS
Catalinas, Costa Rica
All 21 villas at this Relais & Chateaux hotel boast private saltwater plunge pools, and every meal has a uniquely Costa Rican touch of “pura vida” with the freshest, most flavorful ingredients. From the welcome pan de elote cornbread and housemade coconut candy at check-in, to the minibar snacks, freshly caught fish, and deliciously strong cold brew coffee at breakfast, every bite is sourced as locally as possible. Tropical fruits like pineapple, mango, passion fruit, coconut, and watermelon burst with flavor, and you can even wander down to the greenhouse and see where the fresh herbs and vegetables that are sprinkled throughout the menu at Sentido Norte are grown.
The coastal boutique hotel is perched high on a rocky hilltop (with its own helicopter pad) overlooking the Pacific Ocean, located just a few minutes from the picturesque beach town of Las Catalinas and surrounded by more than 1,000 acres of tropical rainforest. This year, Casa Chameleon debuted the Flavors Beyond Borders food festival in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) to raise scholarship funds for female undergraduates, and the four-day feast was such a success that it will become an annual event in March with high-profile CIA graduate guest chefs like Houston’s Evelyn Garcia and MasterChef champion Dara Yu.
New condominiums and single-family homes are currently under construction and for sale, too, along with dizzying new amenities like a luxurious spa and teaching kitchen for cooking classes. Rates start at $895. Playa Danta, Potrero, Provincia de Guanacaste, Las Catalinas, Costa Rica, casachameleonhotels.com/en/las-catalinas.
HARRY’S GUEST HOUSE
Seattle, Washington
The latest venture from Harry’s Good Times Co. hospitality group, Harry’s Guest House, is a two-suite bed and breakfast next door to acclaimed restaurant Harry’s Fine Foods in a quieter residential slice of Seattle’s trendy Capitol Hill neighborhood. The charming two-story Dutch Colonial provides guests with all the comforts of home, including a well stocked kitchen and full-sized Kiehl’s and Grown Alchemist bath amenities, plus the luxuries of a hotel, with a friendly concierge just a text away. A mix of vintage and contemporary furniture, artwork, and textiles gives the space a lived-in feel. Wake up each morning to continental breakfast with fresh squeezed juice, yogurt, granola, pastries, and fresh fruit delivered to your porch in a wicker picnic basket.
Next door, husband-and-husband duo Chef Julian Hagood and Jake Santelli have curated a lovely selection of well-priced natural wine by the bottle, and you can enjoy dinner or weekend brunch at Harry’s Fine Foods. A few crowd favorites include purple sprouting broccoli with green garlic tahina and crispy garlic, delicately seared local halibut, rich uni-butter tagliatelle with local dungeness crab, and a delightfully refreshing cherry tiramisu for dessert. On Tuesday, enjoy half priced wine bottles all night with friends under gleaming chandeliers on the covered patio. Rates start at $435. 318 East Mercer Street, Seattle, harrysguesthouse.com