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RITZ CARLTON MARINA DEL REY FOR SPRING BREAK

03.11.11

By Sheryll Alexander

Celebrate spring break by the sea with a quick getaway and a three-nights-for-two deal at The Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey.

Located just minutes from LAX, Santa Monica and Venice, The Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey is offering a $299 room rate for the weekend of Apr. 14-17, plus a complimentary third night for those who purchase a two-night stay during those dates.

The Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey is the only AAA Five-Diamond waterfront property in Los Angeles and offers a central setting close to Santa Monica, Venice, Malibu, Beverly Hills, Hollywood and nearby LAX. For spring, the hotel feels like a private hideaway with 304 rooms and suites, seaside pool and jacuzzi, fitness center and acclaimed jer-ne restaurant + bar.

To make reservations call 310-823-1700 or visit http://www.ritzcarlton.com/marinadelrey.

Sheryll Alexander is a lifestyles editor and writer based in Costa Mesa, California.

COSMOPOLITAN HOTEL FOR OLD WEST ROMANCE AND FAMILY GETAWAYS

03.09.11

Review by Sheryll Alexander

California is known for its authentic, yet quirky getaways and none may be as classic or as captivating as Old TownSan Diego and its restored-to-perfection Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant.

But why would you want to stay at an old B&B in the middle of dusty Old Town San Diego? And how could this romantic or a cool family getaway?

Because after pushing for 50 years to restore this stately Grande Dame of Old Town San Diego, The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant underwent an extensive three-year renovation. Although the re-construction took many walls down to the adobe framing, the historic feel of The Cosmo remains in its bones and in its spirit too.

Also, the wise (and award winning!) renovators decided to keep the restaurant and saloon theme of the circa 1870s Cosmopolitan Hotel and yet elevate the food to a rustic elegance via Chef Joseph Melluso's brilliance. They did it and then some with their new restaurant, orchard-like outdoor courtyard patio and bar, veranda dining (for overnight guests only) and white stucco wine cave.

A stay at The Cosmo is a slice of Old West heaven when you combine the renovated B&B’s sophisticated modern attitude with a reverence for the history of this both energetic and relaxing place.

Staying at The Cosmopolitan

The spirit of this historic spot, which was once a home and then stagecoach stop, hotel, bar and restaurant is most evident in The Cosmopolitan Hotel’s ten rooms. As you ascend the original wooden staircase, you get the sense that you have landed inside a very special place.

Yes, you can just imagine characters from your favorite Westerns (such as HBO’s Deadwood miniseries or Tombstone, for example) walking the same steps and onto a wide second-floor outdoor veranda with large painted-gray plank floors, lady-like white mulled wooden columns and fancy-trimmed wooden doors painted in a saucy tomato red and mysterious black.

We stayed in Room 7 and we recommend this largest room for both romantic stays and family getaways. The room is much more than this picky hotel reviewer ever expected.

Perhaps the authentic feel of the room is because of the truly believable 1800s décor. The hand-wrought door trims are painted over, colorful Victorian-esque wallpaper hangs on every wall, brass-and-glass fixtures swing from the ceiling and a hand-carved wooden bed stands at the ready as does a marble vanity and a tufted side chair.

All of the rooms are decorated with restored antique furnishings to match the original 1869 manifests ordered by the second owner Albert Selley. He was the first proprietor of this venerable property to make it into a viable business concern (as a stagecoach stop, livery, rooms, bar and restaurant) and town community center with its large parlor and red brick fireplace.

We love how the new Cosmopolitan also works for modern-day getaways. For example Room 7 also features a small connecting room with a twin-sized bed and a side chair. This second room is perfect for kids and has a door that steps out onto the inner veranda and looks down at the hotel’s outdoor restaurant and bar area.

Taking a bath in a gigantic copper tub in Room 7’s posh, yet rustic bathroom is reminiscent of the Hollywood blockbuster film, Maverick. It takes almost 30 minutes to fill up this gorgeous deep soaking tub. While you are lounging in perhaps the best bath of your life, it isn’t hard to imagine you are a long-suffering stagecoach passenger from the Old West who is super grateful for a hot soapy bath.

Living in the Old West must have been cramped, so beware the beds in these rooms are full-sized and are not suitable for two large adults.

In fact, we were very thankful when fellow travel writer and Grandmother Joanne Tucker was bunked next door in lovely and luxurious Room 6 (which had a lovely rain shower but no bath tub). By booking Rooms 6 and 7, however, three guests sleep most comfortably and in style.

You also understand The Cosmo is an old building by the noise. Perhaps the adobe walls don't drown out sound, but beware that you will hear the water in your neighbor's room, you will get shivers from a creak now and then and you will be privy to any loud lovemaking.

Another weird, yet wonderful thing about the rooms at The Cosmo is they don’t come equipped with TVs or phones. We found this lack of technology to be disconcerting at first, but then easily lapsed into lacksadaisical mood of the place. Of course, the hotel supplies free wireless, and you’ll soon discover that you really don’t need a TV when all the drama you need is happening right downstairs and in the streets, shops, bars and restaurants of Old Town.

Living & Dining the Cosmo Lifestyle

Old Town San Diego may be just steps outside your door, but this bustling historic plaza doesn’t really wake up and get the day rolling until about 10 a.m. Perhaps that’s why The Cosmopolitan Hotel serves you a small breakfast early each morning on either your room’s inner (looking at the garden courtyard and million dollars homes on nearby hills) or outer (looking directly at the most historic park in San Diego) verandas.

Although a San Diego Bay and Old Town San Diego State Historic Park view would be wonderful in the mornings, we chose to dine alfresco on the inner courtyard where the staff was bustling below and we were still in our robes. Sitting above the fray in wooden oval-backed chairs, we were served some strong hot coffee in a silver thermos, along with fresh juice and fresh-from-the-oven scones with two kinds of housemade fruit compotes. What a lovely way to start the day!

Next, get gussied up and walk down Cosmo’s historic steps to Old Town State Historic Park. Only about a mile wide, this “park” features a grassy central plaza and is surrounded by San Diego’s most historic buildings. All of the buildings have been restored and all house some kind of retail shop or free museum.

Kids especially enjoy learning about The Old West while walking through the Wells Fargo Museum, Mason Street School, U.S. House (part of the old courthouse), San Diego House and Blackhawk Livery Stable.

Two museums of note are La Casa de Estudillo and Seeley Stables. Once a ranch home to the wealthy Mexican-American Estudillo family, this residence is now a living museum and is located directly across from the hotel. Seeley Stables, which is located just behind The Cosmo, is one of the best museums in the area with loads of inspiring artifacts such as Wells Fargo stagecoaches, cowboy gear, a saloon girl’s vanity table and Native American headdresses.

Once you have toured the park for a few hours, it’s time to walk around the larger Old Town that sprung up after the state park became more of a theme park attraction. You may want to stop for a leisurely lunch and enjoy the convivial (and very touristy) atmosphere of Old Town.

We recommend Café Coyote for its fast service, huge margaritas, fresh and spicy food and women who make tortillas practically right on the sidewalk. Other good choices are the always-crowded Old Town Mexican Café and El Fandango, which is situated next to the hotel and has good discounts.

Shopping in Old Town State Historic Park is fun too as each shop sells new-and-old goods such as clothing and jewelry from The Johnson House, Racine & Laramie’s cigar store, Hacienda de las Rosas Winery, Temecula Olive Company and Alvarado Provisions with its modern-meets-old-fashioned foods and drinks.

Ditching the Car & Enjoying Luxury Moments

A getaway to The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Old Town San Diego is also cool for romance and families because you can ditch the car. Yep, once you find Parking Lot E and head towards the gravel lot (not kidding), your adventure to The Old West begins.

You see, there’s no road that drives right up to The Cosmo. Remember, this is perhaps San Diego’s most historic landmark and it sits on national park land. So when you pull your rolling suitcase out of the trunk, you gotta carry it a few hundred feet to just in front of the hotel.

Wheeled suitcases work well if you use the handicapped entrance out back, but otherwise you are hiking into history as The Cosmo is built on a series of stairs that come to a point at literally the apex of San Diego’s birth as a city. After a quick check in with a costumed front desk clerk, you lug your cases up the stairs (there is an elevator too) and into your room.

You really can have a car-less vacation here as Old Town is fascinating, relaxing and well worth just walking around for a day or two within these few square miles. Plus, tour buses roll through here regularly and trolley buses stop here too for such nearby locales as Downtown San Diego (Gaslamp Quarter and Horton Plaza), Sea World, Balboa Park (San Diego Zoo) and San Diego Harbor (Maritime Museum, Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum).

Whatever you do during the day, it’s best to come home early to The Cosmo. Start in the inside or the outside bar with some refreshing cocktails and an appetizer or two. Rag time will be playing in the corner on the aging piano, plates and glasses will be clinking and voices will be full of fun and energy. If you close your eyes, you can just see the hotel’s owner standing on the second floor veranda looking down at all his paying customers below.

Next, eat a fine and very satisfying dinner by Chef Melluso in the hotel’s charming main dining hall and then adjourn to your fluffy bed and a sensuous bath. As the sun sets, you can sit in your bath robe and watch purple, pink, yellow and golden hues over the turquoise blue Pacific.

As you shut your eyes for a good night’s sleep, you don’t mind the music and banter below as it (and your relaxed body from that glorious bath) lulls you into deep dreams. Life IS grand at The Cosmo!

The Cosmpolitan Hotel and Restaurant, 2660 Calhoun Street, 619-297-1874, www.oldtowncosmopolitan.com.

Sheryll Alexander runs a news media agency. Based in coastal Orange County, she is a lifestyles editor and writer. Follow me! @sheryllalexande

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