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Fireside Monterey: The Spindrift Inn
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Photo courtesy of Spindrift Inn
If you’ve ever been on Cannery Row, you’ve passed by the Spindrift Inn—yet, with its unassuming entryway and discreet location, you might not have known it. To step outside of its lobby is to arrive on the main shopping drag, to be drawn into the orbit of restaurants, art galleries, jewelers, and tasting rooms, and to be lured by the ever-seductive pull of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. A step back inside its entryway, however, transports you to a place of elegant comfort, creating distance from the hustle and bustle of Cannery Row and inviting a distinct feeling of calm.
The Spindrift Inn sits on McAbee Beach on the former site of the Ocean View Hotel, a 1927 luxury hotel erected by Chinese investor Maen Chang Wu. The original establishment’s heyday was brief, and the hotel fell into decline during the era of the Great Depression, when its base of wealthy clientele waned. In subsequent years, it was frequented by working class guests, who supported the hotel until its 1951 demise. The land was rebuilt in 1984, its role as a luxury lodging reprised by the Spindrift Inn, which has operated continuously ever since. A 2009 soft goods renovation included new design, furnishings, flooring, fabrics and refurbished bathrooms.
As a Bed and Breakfast which neither has—nor requires—a full spectrum of on-site amenities, what the Spindrift Inn does, it does well. Guest rooms are excellently designed, uncommonly spacious, and furnished with wood-burning fireplaces. Some bay-facing rooms sit directly above the water. And evening turndown service welcomes the travel-weary to rest even easier in exceptionally comfortable beds.
When I consider what I liked most about my stay, I think of the window seat in my room, which made for even better enjoyment of an already-spectacular view of the bay, the gas-assisted wood-burning fireplace, which gave all the warmth and fragrance of a campfire without the hassle of building one, the soundtrack of waves crashing against the rocky shore beneath my window as I slept, and the well-thought-out room design—all comfy high-backed chairs with ottomans, light hardwood floors, and a well-placed flatscreen that was subtle enough not to interrupt the European design.
For those duly conscious of value, comfort, and superior bay views, The Spindrift Inn is the best pick in Monterey. Competitive rates are particularly reasonable given location, guest room quality, and value-added amenities that are included in the room rate (e.g., custom breakfast delivered to guest rooms, hosted wine and cheese reception served in the lobby each afternoon, Aveda bath products).
Summer Rates: $179-$229 for Cannery Row Views, $269-$369 for Ocean Views. Packages can be viewed at www.spindriftinn.com.
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