108
winter
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spring
BERNARDUS LODGE
T
his time around, we (my wife, Helen, and I) chose two different
destinations in the Monterey Peninsula for our weekend away.
The 57-room (46 premium and 11 luxury units) Bernardus Lodge
& Spa in Carmel Valley, where the sun – daily and almost always
successfully – pushes back against the marine layer that often envelops
Carmel By-The-Sea, 9 miles west on the ocean’s edge (as the seagull
flies). Sunshine prevails in Carmel Valley and in summer months that
is a godsend, as the entire California coast can be socked in for weeks
during what is for most people prime vacation time. Not this year,
perhaps, but in past years that has been true and no doubt will be so in
the future.
In any case, we arrived way ahead of time, having taken three-
and-a-half hours to get there. Our room was ready, even though it was
barely 2 pm.
Carmel Valley is all about being outside. In the usually cool
evenings, firewalls and fire pits are visual as well as climate elements.
The main lobby at Bernardus features a giant wood-burning fireplace
that has been grandfathered in and is a welcome sight as one arrives
to check in. The open-to-the-air lobby also features a grand piano and
a wrap or blanket on every seating arrangement, just right for those
crisp evenings. This is California, after all. Wood-burning fireplaces
are no longer allowed in new construction, but another wood-burning
fireplace, also grandfathered in, holds center stage on the Lucia
restaurant patio.
WEEKEND GETAWAY
