Despite a dramatic drop in travel due to COVID-19 this year, summer 2020 turned out to be the season of the road trip. Although most folks seem to have skipped their vacations altogether, many Americans still sought relief from months of quarantines, lockdowns and other restrictions by taking to the open road. Some visited the nation’s parks, while others settled for less-than-relaxing beach getaways. By the time August rolled around, my partner and I were ready for a leisurely road trip up central California coast ourselves.
After months of lockdowns, we were looking forward to hitting the open road along the California ... [+]
When researching our trip, I made sure to prepare a strategy for staying safe and healthy that included steps like planning ahead for hygienic pit stops, locating restaurants with takeaway options so we could dine in private, and settling on hotels with rigorous health protocols in place. I pinpointed spots that would allow us to enjoy beautiful places and outdoor activities at a social distance, and to avoid having a negative impact on any destinations we ended up visiting.
Getting to drive a 2021 Jaguar F-Type made the trip all the more fun.
I also arranged to borrow a 2021 Jaguar F-Type convertible to add just the right soupcon of sportiness to the trip and its scenic stretches. The car made what was already a exciting expedition that much more fun, roaring to life each time we started the engine, and hugging the curves of Highway 1 in Big Sur thanks to a supercharged V6 and all-wheel drive. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the drop top let us enjoy plenty of sunshine and showed off the car’s jaunty red interior.
Wine and Wildlife In San Luis Obispo County
The first part of our drive from Los Angeles up through Santa Barbara and the Santa Ynez Valley to San Luis Obispo County was more than manageable, at just over three hours. Before heading into the idyllic town of San Luis Obispo itself, we made a quick stop to taste wine at the family-owned Kynsi Winery. The garden contained various seating areas carefully spaced apart, and masked staff came by with a tasting list and snack menus. The black winery cat, Tallulah, also stopped for a quick pet as we sipped through vintages like the crisp Barn Owl Blush rosé of pinot noir, and the earthy, brambly Jespersen Vineyard grenache.
Our first stop at Kynsi set a relaxing tone for the trip.
Our home for the next two nights was the 65-room Hotel Cerro, which debuted in the heart of San Luis Obispo’s bustling downtown district back in December 2019 (it closed for a few months earlier this year due to COVID, but reopened in June). This was one of my first hotel stays since COVID-19 emerged, so I was slightly anxious about how the staff would handle sanitation and hygiene. I need not have worried, though. Everyone we interacted with kept a distance and wore masks at all times, hand sanitizer stations were positioned throughout the public areas and hallways, we could see people cleaning surfaces throughout the hotel frequently, especially in the lobby and at the pool, and we were able to defer housekeeping for our stay. While those measures all set us at ease, what did so even more was the warm hospitality of the staff – a hard feat during these trying times. The folks at the front desk were phenomenal about everything from helping with dinner deliveries and getting extra towels for our outings to making sure we had information on where we were going and even arranging a private outdoor dinner for us.
Rooms at Hotel Cerro were contemporary but comfortable.
We had booked into one of the hotel’s spacious Garden Suites, which measured up at 750 square feet and included standout features like an enormous freestanding soaking tub that filled from the ceiling, a cozy sitting area with a fireplace, and a king-size bed dressed in sumptuous Anichini linens. As the suite’s name suggested, it also included a private, walled outdoor patio with its own fire pit, which opened out onto the restaurant’s edible garden, where executive chef James Anderson sources many of his ingredients.
We enjoyed a private dinner out in the edible garden.
While we simply ordered in one night, the other, we decided to try the hotel’s Brasserie SLO. Rather than dining outside on the hotel’s Mission Fig Patio, which is a delightful little space just off the lobby, we opted for an experience in the edible garden so we could enjoy the fresh air without worrying about other people. Our meal began with tender, grilled Spanish octopus with romesco, pickled shallots and charred lemon; and we shared oak-roasted Muscovy duck breast with black garlic, peach-brandy compote and ancient grains; and pan-seared wild king salmon in lemon-vermouth sauce with summer zucchini and cauliflower purée. Both paired beautifully with a bottle of 2018 August West pinot noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands. For dessert, we tried one of the pastry chef’s signature pies, a slice of blackberry-peach, which was the perfect taste of summer, along with a chocolate-almond bar with chocolate ganache and a drizzle of passion fruit sauce.
The quiet rooftop pool was a highlight at Hotel Cerro.
During the rest of our time at the hotel, we made sure to spend an afternoon in the sun at the rooftop pool, which was lined with lounges and comfortable cabanas with views over the city and the surrounding hills. We also went on a moderate hike up Cerro San Luis, and drove to Morro Bay, 15 minutes away, to kayak among sea otters and sea lions. Lunch on the breezy outdoor deck at the Sextant Wines tasting room in the Edna Valley included the Dane Bird panini with herb-crusted, oven-roasted turkey, Havarti and caramelized onion-cranberry pesto, and a light kale Caesar salad as we sipped through selections like the tangy 2019 estate grenache blanc. Afterwards we stopped for two more quick outdoor tastings at nearby Wolff Vineyards and Baileyana.
Big Sur Beauty
The following morning, we packed up the car for the next leg of our journey and added a deluxe picnic basket from the soon-to-open Park 1039, a wine and gourmet provisions shop in San Luis Obispo. The goodies inside included spicy chorizo, Spanish boquerones, house-smoked salmon, homemade sourdough, Manchego and triple-cream Brie, lavender-dusted Marcona almonds, persimmon kimchi, and peach sambal. The savories made for a perfect picnic at Willow Creek Beach.
We enjoyed a beach picnic with goodies from the new Park 1039.
From there, it was a short drive to see the spectacular 80-foot ribbon of McWay Falls, which tumbles from seaside cliffs right onto the beach below. Another 15 minutes brought us to one of California’s most famous luxury lodges, Ventana Big Sur.
McWay Falls is worth a stop along the drive.
Ventana is now part of Alila Hotels & Resorts, which means you can earn and redeem World of Hyatt points for stays there. That’s how I managed to book us in for three nights rather than paying the going rate for a Forest Shower Suite, which would have totaled $8,400. Reopening in July after a brief COVID closure, Ventana Big Sur recently switched to an all-inclusive model where meals and certain activities are factored into the rate, though add-ons like premium excursions, alcohol, and spa treatments (if and when they resume) cost extra.
Most guests seemed to check in at reception, which was located in a building called the Social House. However, the person handling our booking took us right to our room, where our luggage had already been deposited by the valet. There was a seal on the door to show that it had been cleaned and sanitized then left undisturbed, which was a well thought-out gesture. The room itself was large, with wood-paneled walls, a small seating area with a table, and a king-size bed facing another small sitting area with two armchairs fronting the fireplace. Housekeeping, which we opted for, stocked it with easy-to-burn wood bundles each day. The attached deck had a panorama of the mountains and redwood groves, and included a two-person outdoor shower. The main bathroom, meanwhile, held another walk-in shower plus dual sinks and a separate bathtub looking onto the main room.
The Forest Shower Suite would have cost $8,400 for our three-night stay.
We chose to have breakfast each day in our room, and sampled specialties like mashed avocado on Ad Astra seeded bread with arugula, sunflower seeds, tomato, cucumber and lemon; and smoked Scottish salmon lox on an everything bagel with all the fixings. Guests could also order lunch and dinner to the room, including items served at the main restaurant, Sur House, which was a good quarter-mile hike through the hills away. While we ordered in our first night so that we could also enjoy s’mores among the redwoods that evening, the other two nights we chose to dine at the restaurant since its hilltop outdoor deck had been set up with tables distanced well apart from one another and the staff were all very conscientious about wearing masks and gloves.
We dined alfresco at Ventana's Sur House.
Among the highlights we enjoyed were a Dungeness crab cocktail layered with luscious Brokaw avocado, celery, and green apple over a spicy pepper-tomato soup; and delicate California halibut ceviche laced with a tongue-tingling leche de tigre, hominy and shiso. The mains we tried included a juicy beef New York striploin with cauliflower and cabbage, tropea onion agrodolce, carrot confit and pinot jus; and Skuna Bay salmon with Yukon gold potatoes, cucumbers, buttermilk, watercress, ikura and herbaceous borage. The wine list comprised dozens of options from Monterey County and the Central Coast as well as bottles from further afield in California and abroad.
During the day, guests could order picnic baskets with options like wraps, sandwiches and salads, or lunch poolside on healthy treats like pea-edamame hummus; salmon poke with coconut, apple, chili, coriander and jicama; and mini chickpea falafel with sesame, mint, orange, poppy seed and a creamy ranch raita sauce.
The Meadow Pool at Ventana Big Sur was a popular spot to spend the afternoon.
The hotel’s fitness center and Spa Alila were closed during our stay due to COVID concerns, as were the famous Japanese baths. However, guests could still sunbathe and swim at either of the two main pools, where loungers had been distanced and were frequently wiped down by pool attendants. Closer to reception, the Meadow Pool overlooked the Pacific and appeared to be more popular, though not exactly crowded. We headed to the tranquil Mountain Pool, which remains clothing optional in a nod to the area’s eccentric past, and was very quiet the whole time.
Breathtaking views of the coast in Andrew Molera State Park.
While we enjoyed a hike through the redwood forest and in the mountains surrounding the property one day, the other, we ventured up Highway 1 for 20 minutes to Andrew Molera State Park. Families trundled along the trail directly to the wide-open beach, but hikers like us headed for some of the more strenuous paths, including the breathtaking trail along the bluffs, which snaked along a particularly gorgeous strip of coast past several secluded beaches.
Carmel Comfort
After three relaxing days at Ventana Big Sur, it was time to head to the final stop on our trip, Carmel By The Sea…with the top of the Jaguar down again for the hour-long morning drive, of course. All the better to take in views of the historic bridges that span this particular stretch of the highway.
Before we got to town, we turned off at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. The parking lots inside the park were mostly closed to limit visitor numbers, but that didn’t stop many folks, including us, from simply parking along the side of the road and walking in. While it was a busy Sunday, most of the trails were completely uncrowded, and we were free to wander through ghostly cypress groves, rugged rocky coves, and wildflower-dotted meadows mostly by ourselves.
Coastal view of the Cypress Cove trail. Point Lobos Natural Reserve. Carmel-by-the-Sea. California. ... [+]
After a brief visit to Bruno’s Market & Deli, which has been stocking the pantries of Carmel with gourmandises since 1953, for enormous sub sandwiches and some bottles of wine from nearby vineyards, we checked into our last accommodation, the stately La Playa Carmel. The historic hotel began its life back in 1905 as a retreat for Norwegian-born artist Christian Jorgensen and his wife, Angela Ghirardelli. Yes, of those Ghirardellis. That heritage lives on today in the form of fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies with Ghirardelli chocolate chips that guests can still swipe from reception every evening.
La Playa Carmel dates to 1905.
Like the other hotels we had visited, La Playa Carmel had stringent health protocols in place, including plastic shields between receptionists and guests, signage promoting social distancing, and plentiful sanitizer dispensers. One drawback was that meal service was somewhat limited, and breakfast was served at the bar as takeaway boxes, which limited the choices. Still, the staff were extremely gracious and diligent, preparing each box with the items that individual guests asked for, including yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, cereal, and fresh fruit. We took advantage of the fact that there were only a few guests to enjoy our Bruno’s sandwiches on a quaint patio by the pool, which overlooked the hotel’s lush lawn and colorful flower gardens. Another couple brought glasses of wine out from the bar to enjoy alfresco, too.
The rooms at La Playa Carmel were beachy and bright.
Guests with mobility issues should make the hotel aware of them ahead of time since, as a historic property, there are no elevators. The hike to our fourth-floor room kept us trim during our stay, but he views over town and the ocean were worth the effort. Our room was on the small side, as you might expect in a building this old, but still comfortable, with bright, beachy touches, and all the comforts of home thanks to a recent restoration.
Perhaps best of all, the hotel was just two blocks from Scenic Road and Carmel Beach, so it was perfect for walking down to the ocean in one direction, or to the shops, galleries, tasting rooms and restaurants of Carmel in the opposite direction. Some restaurants in town had opened outdoor spaces for dining with tables set apart from one another. That said, many seemed packed, so we decided just to order takeout both evenings of our stay.
The Carmel Mission Basilica was unfortunately closed, as was the world-famous aquarium in nearby Monterey. Instead, we spent the next morning cruising along 17 Mile Drive through tony Pebble Beach, then went for a long, leisurely walk along Scenic Road and Carmel River State Beach, which was practically empty that afternoon. The following day, it was time to repack the car and shoot back down the highway to Los Angeles. I had set out with some anxiety about how COVID might limit our experiences and enjoyment. However, the care with which the hotels, restaurants, and wineries we visited handled the new needs of travelers during this pandemic were comforting, and I cannot wait to start planning another road trip to explore even more of the state.
Nightly rates at Hotel Cerro start at $325 in September. Rates at Ventana Big Sur start at $1,775 per night in September. Finally, room rates at La Playa Carmel start at $251 in September.
Disclosure: Jaguar USA loaned the author a vehicle, and he was a guest of Hotel Cerro and La Playa Carmel for two nights each, but all opinions expressed are entirely his own.
