There’s a small swath of sand on the northeast side of Cannery Row that locals call Secret Beach. It’s part industrial, part paradise, easy to miss, hard to forget.
By night, its gentle tides provide the best white noise going for the hotel rooms above. By dawn it helps frame lush sunrises. By midmorning, it awaits a picnic, paddle or swim (wetsuit advised).
It also slips underneath Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa (400 Cannery Row, Monterey), making for stunning looks down from several floors of balconies, perhaps paired with in-room local petrale sole with rock shrimp and Champagne saffron reduction, and a glass of the Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir selected and blended by MPHS Executive Chef Michael Rotondo and Sommelier Conrad Reddick.
All sorts of additional elements make a visit here memorable, some less secret than others, but they all emphasize the unreal setting.
The Michelin-noted food program might top the list, thanks to two sublime restaurants and Rotondo’s clear-eyed seafood stylings. Then again, the top-floor spa is a Top 25’er for Travel + Leisure, worldwide, with roof-deck hot pools, arguably the best gym view on the West Coast and bespoke massages and facials, the latter of which left me glowing like a shiny silver dollar.
Then there are on-campus live piano happy hours, eBike tour options and an old-school expression of hospitality that nods to the family-owned leadership at play.
Euphoric seems a little over the top to sum it up, but that was a real note that emerged from the spa treatment (how did Gaby do that?!), and felt applicable when our media group first met up.
We were standing on the deck of the Presidential Suite where Barack Obama stays, when a double rainbow showed up, arching across the post-rain spring sky, and guiding my eye down to the Pacific waters, where a sea otter splashes into view, vivid in the ROYGBIV beams.
I’ve explored this part of the world for decades, but never seen anything quite like that. It felt like being in on a fun little secret.
GO MOTIVATION
The Plaza Hotel’s strategic location means guests can hit Fisherman’s Wharf, The Lighthouse District’s many restaurants and Pacific Grove, among other spots, while leaving the car at valet. Monterey Bay Aquarium, for example, is about a 5-minute walk. It’s also where an atypical bit of uplift is happening Saturday, April 18, with an after-hours dance party—with a conservation cause—throughout the epic complex of marine exhibits. The event includes a chance to meet Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a copy of her What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures, bar-style trivia in the Kelp Forest, silent disco in the Open Sea, ++ passed bites, and fine wines from Pisoni Vineyards and Morgan Vineyards (18+, $135-$150, montereybayaquarium.org).
MEATY MORSELS
Downtown infill: Bay Area chain Palmetto Superfoods now slangs Brazilian açaí bowls, smoothies and fully customizable superfood options in the former Rock N Roll Donut Bar (1335 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz), palmettosuperfoods.com…Westside bye bye bummer: D20 Pizza (1520 Mission St., Santa Cruz) has ended its run doing Detroit pizza and board games…April 21, EcoFarm and the Rodale Institute host a hands-on, all-day intensive at JSM Organics (420 Hall Road, Royal Oaks) that brings together buyers, farmers, and food hubs for panel discussions, practical tips, and real-world case studies, all designed to make farming organic easier, with a farm tour, lunch, and a closing mixer, eco-farm.org…Nashville hot chicken chain Angry Chickz opened a new outpost last month (975 Main St., Suite 5, Watsonville) and is open 10am to midnight (!) daily, angrychickz.com…Shiny new La Bahia Hotel & Spa has locals-focused opportunities in the form of day passes and Sunrise Oceanview Rooftop Yoga 9am Saturday and Sunday on its open-air rooftop deck, labahiahotel.com…The Santa Cruz Vegan Chef Challenge is in full swing for the month of April, with a bunch of great restaurants participating—more at veganchefchallenge.org/SantaCruz…Plant-based eater Ariana Grande: “I love animals more than I love most people, not kidding.”
