More Fun in the Sun: Hotel Maya, Terranea Resort

Let your worries drift away while lounging on one of Hotel Maya's floating cabanas.

For part two of our SoCal roundup, we visited a Long Beach getaway with luxurious Latin flair and a brand-new oceanfront resort just 20 miles south of LAX. We can’t wait to go back to both!

Hotel Maya, Long Beach
Next time we feel the impulse to fly to Cabo San Lucas for the weekend, but can’t hack the hassle and the expense, we’ll consider this Long Beach newcomer instead. The waterfront Hotel Maya sits directly across the bay from downtown Long Beach and a water taxi will ferry you there, but why leave? Settle into one of the spacious cabanas that float on a water canal and enjoy the heated full-size lap pool. With just 197 rooms on 11 acres, the Maya is a boutique hotel but it has the huge outdoor esplanades of a much larger resort. We loved the Mayan-meets-modern design with its reclaimed wood walls, copper-topped bar, rusty buoys sliced in half to serve as fire pits, huge outdoor esplanades and vibrant orange, red and magenta armchairs. After dinner at Fuego, the resort’s stellar Latin restaurant, retire to one of the cozy outdoor seating areas; color spotlights cast a very flattering romantic glow and the accommodating waitstaff will gladly fetch a final flight of tequilas, along with flourless Mexican chocolate cake or caramel flan.

Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes
This six-month old oceanfront luxury resort is convenient — just 20 miles south of LAX — yet feels blessedly remote. Perched above the tip of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, it offers breathtaking unobstructed views of the Pacific from almost every vantage point throughout its sprawling 102 acres. We watched pelicans swoop into the waves as we soaked in a hot tub on the pool deck of the spa, and observed dolphins and whales frolicking as we enjoyed beer-battered fish and chips on the terrace of Nelson’s, one of the resort’s eight eateries. Rouse yourself from your ocean-facing lounge chair and you can amble down a walkway to a sandy beach cove or take a self-guided hike along the scenic bluffs of the Discovery Trail. When you turn around for a glance at the resort you’ll appreciate how harmoniously the Spanish Mediterranean architecture blends with the stunning setting.

Watching the sun set into the ocean is one of our favorite ways to unwind after a long day. Which waterfront resorts do you love?

Photo credit: Matthew Millman/Hotel Maya

Tags: boutique hotel, Discovery Trail, Fuego, Geography of California, Hospitality/Recreation, Hotel Maya, Latin restaurant, LAX, Long Beach, Long Beach California, Matthew Millman, MAYA, ocean-facing lounge chair, Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Spanish Mediterranean