Hotel at a Glance: Ventana Inn & Spa

Ventana Inn & Spa recently emerged from a $26 million renovation, and it shows. Guest rooms are thoroughly modern, yet designed with the surrounding scenery in mind. That scenery consists of 243 secluded acres of meadows, wooded hillsides, and the occasional ocean view. While here, you can go hiking by day, stargaze from your balcony by night, and enjoy a host of thoughtful amenities throughout your stay.

• Guest rooms and suites have decks or patios, and many have wood-burning fireplaces or hot tubs.
• Relax and renew: The Spa at Ventana offers a full menu of treatments, including massages and seaweed wraps. Daily yoga and Pilates classes are also available.
• Take a swim: There are two heated outdoor pools, one of them clothing optional; they’re adjacent to a clothing-optional sun deck and japanese hot baths, which stay open day and night.
• Hiking gear on hand: The hotel has a collection of binoculars, umbrellas, flashlights, and walking sticks for guests to use.
• Transition into evening with a drink at the inn’s wine-and-cheese reception, held every afternoon.
• Onsite dining: The elegant Restaurant at Ventana has an extensive wine list to complement its dishes prepared with locally sourced ingredients.
• Wake up to a complimentary breakfast, where choices range from fresh-baked muffins to scrambled eggs.

Guests must be 18 or older stay at Ventana Inn & Spa.

Big Sur, California: Stunning Coastal Scenery Beloved by Famous Authors

In Big Sur, the rugged Santa Lucia Mountains jut directly out of the Pacific Ocean, forging one of the most dramatic vistas in central California. Green and golden flowered meadows carpet the mountain slopes, and a little farther inland, you can hike through redwood groves. Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is a must-visit; tucked amid its native black-tailed deer and redwood groves are the 60-foot-high Pfeiffer Falls and Pfeiffer Beach, where sand is streaked with purple from nearby manganese-garnet deposits.

Because of its natural beauty and relative isolation, Big Sur has long attracted artists and writers from across the world. Jack Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson have spent time here. American writer and painter Henry Miller spent 18 years living in Big Sur, too; in tribute, one of his friends converted a home into the Henry Miller Memorial Library, which celebrates his life and career. Stop here to shop for books or sip a cup of tea right next to a fireplace, just as Miller did.

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