Post Ranch Inn

Ventana Inn: A Sense of Calm in Big Sur

by Zack O'Malley Greenburg (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

From any direction, the drive to Big Sur is at once stunning and stressful, awe-inspiring and nauseating. Hairpin turns seem to punctuate every panorama, and as Highway 1 dips toward the Pacific and soars skyward, your stomach bounces along with it.

But when you leave the winding road for another, steeper, shorter street that runs up the side of Big Sur's highest hill to the Ventana Inn & Spa, a sense of calm sweeps over you. Perhaps it's the pungent scent of cedar that pervades the resort, or maybe it's the glass of wine you're given at check-in. Either way, the relaxation begins as soon as you arrive on the property.

Ventana has been that way since writer Lawrence Spector founded the resort in 1975 with funds earned from the film "Easy Rider." Early frequenters of the inn included Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw; more recently, Ventana has counted Anthony Hopkins and Oprah Winfrey among its visitors. All along, it's been a place for those who want to see – but not necessarily be seen.

And there's a lot to see. Though Ventana's 60 rooms and suites mostly resemble humble cabins on the outside, their interiors contain a mix of rustic and modern luxuries sure to please any vacationer. Each room comes with a view of valley, mountain, ocean, or all of the above. A private balcony or patio is also standard, as are real wood-burning fireplaces, heated stone floors, Egyptian cotton sheets, terry cloth robes, and of course, a flat-screen television. Many suites also boast private hot tubs.

Tags: awards-main, big sur, Big Sur coastline, California, Easy Rider, hotel, luxist-awards, luxury hotels, luxury travel, Post Ranch Inn, Sierra Mar, Ventana Inn

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Travel and Leisure's Top 500 Hotels

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

If you are already planning where to spend your next holiday you may want to check out Travel + Leisure magazine's list of the 500 greatest hotels in the world which will appear in the January 2007 issue. This is the fifth year of the list and features 81 new properties to check out. While California has the most hotels on the list, Chicago has the highest rated hotels. And it's no surprise that the most expensive hotels on the list are in New York City, averaging a steep $740 per night. The most affordable city in Europe is Istanbul where the hotels average $436 a night, way up from 2003 when Istanbul hotels averaged $285 a night. The photo on the right is the view from T & L's best hotel on the west coast, the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur.

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Tags: hotels, post ranch inn, PostRanchInn, travel, travel and leisure, vacation