The renovated Ventana Inn: what was always spectacular is now made better.
Ventana is Spanish for window. As you enter the property, near the top of The Hill, you will see a circular sand colored circular sculpture with an empty center. You must pull over and take the time to explore this view, especially through the sculpture hole, and then spin the solid block on its clever stand. Stare long at the Pacific, amid the white caps of waves, you might see occasional plume of a whale spout.
Arriving at the newly re-opened Ventana Inn, there was the usual greeting by the very warm parking staff. They put you and your luggage in a golf cart to drive up a short path to what they now call The Social Room. Really the main building.
Wood. That is the immediate impression — you have moved into a world where everything is made of wood – no plastic, leather, colors or anything artificial. You have entered the human expression of wood. You are now not just in, but a part, of the forest. People are relaxed, the details are easy, the paperwork simple, a fresh glass of citrus water awaits and you start to unwind.
The usual monotony of check-in was easy, friendly, a taste of the relaxed vibe that is at the heart of Ventana Inn. When they had redone the main building, they had added a pool table, and a vinyl album collection with turntable. Spiders from Mars by David Bowie was playing.
They load your bags in the golf cart, and you ride up to your…bungalow? Room? Hard to define. The air is filled wiht flowers and scents of pine. You immediately get immersed. The long drive disappears from your bones. (We will post a seperate review of the room…it was too spectacular to fit here).
Last we had stayed here, it was a quiet New Years 2017. Since then, a massive mudslide had washed out a bridge and isolated the property and most of Big Sur for 8 or more months. In that time, Ventana got acquired by the Alila hotel group, an Asian company with this being their first US site; they chose well, a five-star resort long known for its rustic luxury and private paths marked by quiet couples moving around in their bathrobes from pool to sauna to spa…and redwoods, redwoods, redwoods.
Besides evolving the Social Room, Alila hotels did a very good job adding some new features. Where there was once an overflow parking lot, they had replaced with a grassy lawn with Adirondack chairs overlooking a nearly 180 degree view of the Pacific. The lawn was wide and bare, and extended the view from the poolside.
Near the lower pool, a new infinity pool that is also a jacuzzi was only yards from the redwoods, rooted far below in the ravine below the pool. The line of site for the tree and pool was ultimately relaxing and high enough above the forest floor that your eyes were equal to the first branches. Behind the view of the trees was what must be a painted background of the long sloping valley of Pfeiffer Park, the sides of which changed colors as the day went on as the sun shifted its focus.
They offer several activities, all of which are worth doing. First, the morning was of the property at ten am. A civilized hour. You get a guide, always exuding the California upbeat, isn’t-it-just-glorious vibe, who takes out on the main path over to the Sur House, walking down into a small ravine with a few chairs, tables and a giant Redwood. The sense of peace settles over you. They point out the flowers, the bushes and their medicinal value.
As you pass the Sur House, because this is the same path that links the rooms to the restaurant, you turn and descend into more Redwoods and ravines, an easy descent, and then move up to view the new garden from which the chef derives his vegetables. The tour ends in a grove, or scared circle of Redwoods, where nothing grows inside them, only radiant beams of light make if through the thick canopy, and you feel that sense of otherworldly peace. It makes you want to take it with you, but you cannot. It lies with the Redwoods and is not ours to take, only to participate in.
The other activity is the off property hike with lunch. This is a great hike and the guide regales you with more details on the forest, herbs, medicinal. Moving along a barely visible after parking along the road, you come upon the last remnants of what looks like a railroad. We were told that after the San Francisco earthquake of 1902, when much of the city burnt down after the quake was over, this was where they got much of the wood for rebuilding. Over a century had passed, and any signs of mans deforestation were long gone.
Crossing back over highway 1, you then take a long descent into a short manmade tunnel to find the ruins of a dock, once again made for access to a place so remote. Then you eat your lunch and back to the resort for time by the pool, or reading in the chairs, or…whatever.
This was my fourth visit to Ventana in 15 years. Only one thing was disappointing. The restaurant, while still so beautiful with a patio that took in the view of the curving mountains to sea, they had changed chefs. The menu was so limited, printed in fine type on a linen paper, that you actually had the urge to turn it over to see what other food was offered. If you stayed there a week, as we did, you have to go off property to get some variety in dining.
The Ventana Inn experience was overwhelming consistently beautiful and relaxing — the property’s unique ability to embrace and channel the power of nature in air, wind, sea, scent, vistas and sun. Without exception, one one of the most magical places that we have ever stayed.
Breath. Take in the sun. Exhale. Breath again. This time it feels fresher. All the junk e collect in our lungs, heart and mind, is washed away.
Welcome!
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