Fun in the Sun: New SoCal Getaways

Riviera Resort & Spa in Palm Springs features a relaxing Watsu pool at its SpaTerre spa.

This is the time of year we start craving a change of scenery as the winter doldrums set in. While there will be travels back home for the holidays, that’s not the jolt of novelty that we’re seeking. What we need is a road trip, and fortunately, in Los Angeles, one of the cities we call home, nearby choices abound, including these new resorts.

Riviera Resort & Spa, Palm Springs
If you can walk into the Riviera’s lobby and not smile, you’re in need of something far more restorative — dare we say, pharmaceutical — than a resort. The palette of funhouse colors (fuchsia, tangerine, poppy) and whimsical design (ginormous Turkish ottomans, Warhol-inspired portraits of onetime guests like Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe, and the rhinestone-encrusted “Liberace” pool table) are a ticklish delight. This motif of mid-century meets Hollywood Regency carries over into the 406 guest rooms, but there’s also serious comfort and convenience amid the Lucite, chrome and vinyl, including flat-screen plasma TVs and complimentary wireless access. The centerpiece of the resort is the stunning starfish-shaped swimming pool with its spectacular views of the San Jacinto Mountains. Spend an hour or two dog paddling with a water noodle, then head to the Asian-inspired SpaTerre to turn into a noodle yourself with an Indonesian, Thai or Balinese treatment.

The Resort at Pelican Hill, Newport Beach
Sure, a night here costs about as much as a pair of Christian Louboutin pumps — $695 for an ocean-view bungalow — but the opulence of this resort, which sits on a 504-acre seaside bluff above Crystal Cove State Park on the Newport Coast, does not disappoint. Built to evoke the vision of the celebrated Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, with rows of arched porticos, soaring rotundas, 750 olive trees and the world’s largest circular pool, Pelican Hill feels more like a seaside Italian village than a SoCal beach town. Indulgence is all in the details, and here are some details we adored: the Bose iPod player and grind-and-brew coffee maker in our room; the foot-soaking ceremony that preceded our pomegranate body wrap; the package of housemade bucatini — freshly prepared in the restaurant’s temperature-controlled pasta room — that we were given as a parting gift after a scrumptious dinner at the resort’s signature restaurant, Andrea.

Stay tuned for part two of our SoCal roundup. And tell us, what’s your favorite winter getaway?

Photo credit: Kevin Syms

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