Lodging

Posted by Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip

Oceano Hotel Lobby

Don’t you love the smell of new cars? Well, new hotels have that same smell and feel to them. The Oceano Hotel and Spa is Half Moon Bay Harbor’s newest neighbor and I wanted to check it out. Having dropped my daughter at camp for a week, I was foot loose and fancy free for the afternoon. I drove up Highway One from Santa Cruz and admired the gorgeous California coastline.

After arriving at the Oceano, I dropped my bag and looked for a good place to get some fresh seafood. Yes, this would certainly be a nice place to bring my husband for a romantic getaway, but, as usual, he was home with our other child.

My room, #312, was called the Grand Oceano and rented for $379. The suite had a king bed, organic linens and panoramic views of Half Moon Bay’s Pillar Point Harbor. The sliding glass doors opened to the balcony looking out to the Pacific Ocean. As I mentioned, the hotel is new, having opened 16 months ago on March 13, 2008.  Each suite comes with a fireplace, private balcony, a 42 inch, flat screen, HD television, free Wireless Internet access, a separate sitting area and wet bar. Too bad you can’t see the Mavericks Surf contest from the hotel.

ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY

Oceano Room #312

As environmentally-conscientious Californians, we’re used to linen re-use programs, water efficient landscaping and reduced wattage lighting. Oceano Hotel clearly walked the eco-friendly talk with its low VOC paints, their ozone laundry facility and its biodegradable cleaning program and the use of reclaimed cooking oil used to produce Bio Diesel fuel. Heck, if I’d pulled up in my LEV and FEV (low emitting & fuel efficient) vehicle, I could have had free valet parking. But I don’t yet own a smart car, although it is on my list. Instead, I arrived in my slightly dented, but fully-paid for, Honda mini van and self parked in the garage. How very un-sexy.

The Green Suites certified hotel, also has a Spa and Health Club, although the spa wasn’t fully up and running on my visit. The Oceano Coastal Spa will officially open on August 29, 2009 with a soft opening taking place August 24-28. The Spa will offer a barbeque during the grand opening and all treatments, except massages, will be 50% off during the soft opening. Check the website for Getaway Packages and specials.

Oceano Hotel and Spa 1 (888) 623-2661

280 Capistrano Road, Half Moon Bay, California 94019

Seal Cove Inn in Moss Beach, Central Coast, CA.

I was six months pregnant and felt the need for a weekend getaway with the family before the arrival of my son. I wanted to go someplace not too far from our home in San Francisco, yet far enough to feel transported.

We drove south along the coast and checked into the cozy, inviting Seal Cove Inn in Moss Beach, CA, a thirty minute drive from the city and just north of Half Moon Bay.

The Seal Cove is unequivocally romantic, but with a two-year-old on a rollaway next to your bed — not so much.

Still, our room was sumptuous and comfortable with a gas fireplace and a door to the impeccably landscaped gardens.

Kicking back here  on a weathered Adirondack chair with a juicy book as the ocean foams and roils beyond, is the essence of relaxation.

Behind the inn, a tree-lined path leads through the meadow to secluded beaches, tide pools and ocean bluffs.

A 10-minute walk from the inn, the Moss Beach Distillery is steeped in legend and mystery. A Prohibition-era hideaway for politicians, socialites, silent movie stars and pleasure seekers, its best known for the “Blue Lady,” a former guest who is said to haunt the building and grounds.

According to lore, the young woman ventured out to meet her lover during a violent storm some 70 years ago and was killed in an automobile crash.

Since then, sightings of a woman dressed in blue, and other unexplained disturbances have been reported at the building, particularly at night.

We decided to stop in for warm drinks on the back deck that overlooks the ocean. It’s often chilly and windy here, so we helped ourselves to the heaps of wool blankets provided for snuggling. Food is mediocre and overpriced, but the view of the rugged, wind-swept coast is staggering.

Back at Seal Cove, we had afternoon tea and homemade cookies in front of the massive hearth in the main sitting room.

In the morning, a generous breakfast buffet of freshly-baked muffins, quiche, fruit and Irish oatmeal awaited.

My daughter played in the garden and I wrapped myself in a shawl and gazed out at the fog-shrouded Pacific. My mind wandered to the Blue Lady. There’s a beautiful loneliness to this part of the coast. I did feel far away from my life in the city.

Mission accomplished.

Photo by Dan Dion

I’ve always had a thing about lighthouses. Maybe it’s my New England upbringing and the summers spent on Cape Cod and in Nova Scotia. I find them intriguing, romantic and a bit spooky. It’s this fascination that led me to book my husband, 3-year-old daughter Parker and myself into a private room at the hostel at the Point Montara Lighthouse, in Montara, Calif, just north of Half Moon Bay.

The bargain accommodations are as small and spartan as you might imagine when you think “hostel,” but clean and efficient. We slept in bunk beds and shared a bathroom with the family next door who were traveling with their 6-month-old baby.

But you don’t come here for amenities. You come here for unparalleled views of the rugged, windswept coastline, to watch gray whales migrate in winter or to imagine Prohibition-era rum-runners sailing up the coast to the Moss Beach Distillery.

We sat outside by the historic lighthouse until the wind picked up, then warmed ourselves in the cozy main house before setting out for delicious Mediterranean fare with some local friends at Cafe Gibraltar. The appetizer plate with tender calamari was outstanding and the ocean views and jazz piano made for a wonderful dining experience, even with a small, sometimes unpredictable girl.

We slept soundly that night in our little bunks above the pounding surf and beneath the watchful gaze of the lighthouse.

In the morning we set out to explore Half Moon Bay, the oldest town in San Mateo County, originally called “Spanishtown” when it was established in 1840. Today, the delightful downtown is sweet without being cloying. The spirit and architecture of a western frontier town in apparent, but HMB also bears the distinct stamp of Northern California with two bookshops, an organic eatery, a gallery of Balinese art and a trendy boutique on one block of Main Street.

This block is anchored by Cunha’s Country Grocery, a combination specialty food store and mercantile of yore that has been a cornerstone of the community for more than 100 years. A bulletin board outside is pinned with an eclectic mix of announcements that speak to the essence of the town — children’s pony parties, New Agey healers, farming equipment for sale, women’s retreats and photos of chubby-faced little girls vying for the honor of “queen for the day” at the Portuguese Holy Ghost Festival.

Further down Main Street, the swanky Half Moon Bay Inn serves cocktails to a spirited mix of locals and tourists while a John Deere tractor slowly chugs by. Just another day in this funky little coastal, agricultural city.