There’s something so shiny and sparkly about a new year — and we’re not just talking sequins and disco balls. That fresh start feeling goes for the world of travel, too. The new year will bring a flurry of new hotels and other attractions up and down the West Coast. Here’s just a peek at the fun ahead, from a new beachside resort in Santa Cruz to a Charlie Palmer-helmed hotel in Morgan Hill, midcentury-mod lodging in Palm Springs and national park foodie news in San Francisco.
A beachy La Bahia
Santa Cruz’s newest beachside hotel is set to open this summer on Beach Street near the wharf. Originally built in 1926 as an apartment and hotel complex with an iconic bell tower, La Bahia has been rebuilt and transformed — with interiors by ForrestPerkins, the high-end San Francisco design team — into a swanky coastal escape with 155 guest rooms, a Champagne lounge and a surf culture-meets-luxe resort vibe. And a newly restored bell tower.
Expect chaises and umbrellas on the beach along with a “beach butler,” a spa complete with sauna+view, and four new restaurants including the Pacific Rim-inspired High Tide, Low Tide Bar & Grill, Pearl bar and Plunge, a poolside cocktail bar.
Details: 215 Beach St. in Santa Cruz; and @labahiahotelandspa.
Columbia River glamping
The Pacific Northwest is getting its own upscale Under Canvas resort this summer. Set on 120 acres of land in Washington’s White Salmon River Valley along the Columbia River Gorge, the new resort will be about an hour’s drive from Portland, Oregon.
Over the last decade, Under Canvas has elevated the glamping concept into a series of outdoorsy resorts near a dozen national parks and monuments, from Yosemite to Acadia. Think safari-inspired tents with king size beds, private decks and en suite bathrooms with hot running water. You’ll find West Elm furniture in the main lobby tent, daily yoga sessions on the patio, s’mores by the firepit, and an “adventure concierge.”
Plus: A cafe serving location-specific fare and picnics to go. Columbia River Gorge campers can expect a menu that includes Columbia River salmon and seafood from Portland and Seattle, for example, as well as local wines and craft beer.
Details: Under Canvas Columbia River Gorge will open May 29, and reservations (starting at $299 per night) are now open for the inaugural season; www.undercanvas.com.
Palm Springs’ newest
The distinctive new Thompson Palm Springs hotel that opened in October near the city’s Design District will go even more glam in the new year. The 168-room hotel is a natural fit with this oh-so-mid-century-mod city in architecture, with bungalow-inspired rooms boasting views of the San Jacinto Mountains and cityscape. Throughout the complex, you’ll find art by Indigenous artists, including a glass-tile mosaic on the hotel facade by Indigenous artist Jeffrey Gibson, whose appearance in the 60th Venice Biennale held earlier this year, was a first for the U.S. Pavilion.
Now, it’s rolling out more bells and whistles – and dining options. The hotel’s Lola Rose Grand Mezze restaurant has been joined by Napa Valley’s HALL Wines, which opened a tasting room and wine lounge in November. Look for a new Mediterranean restaurant, Bar Issi – run by the same people behind SoCal’s The Draycott and Olivetta – to open in early 2025.
Meanwhile, Palm Springs’ other hotels have been abuzz with renovations, including the return of the Riviera Resort and Spa — a former Margaritaville — with refreshed midcentury modern guest rooms; major renovations at the Grand Hyatt Indian Wells that extend to two new dining concepts, Carmocha and Tia Carmen; and a new restaurant, Kestrel, from “Top Chef” star Richard Blais at the Indian Wells Golf Resort.
Details: Thompson Palm Springs rooms start at $550 per night. 414 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs; www.hyatt.com and @thompsonpalmsprings.
A chef’s kiss hotel — or four
Most hotels are run by hoteliers, not chefs, but Hotel MOHI by Appellation and its new sister property in Healdsburg may be the exception. Opening next fall, the 76-room MOHI — as in Morgan Hill — hotel hails from wine country chef Charlie Palmer and Christopher Hunsberger. So what does a chef-driven hotel look like?
“We will be truly embedding food and beverage into every aspect of (the hotel), from design to programming,” Palmer says.
In Morgan Hill, that means guests and local foodies can expect a 215-seat Charlie Palmer restaurant and bar, with ingredients — including olive oil — sourced from the hotel gardens, small-batch coffee roasted on site and wines from local vineyards. Other attractions will include a terrace pool, a bakery cafe, flower shop lounge, Terroir Spa and craft classes — think mixology and flower arranging.
MOHI is one of four Appellation hotels set to open in the next two years, starting this summer with Appellation Healdsburg opening just a few blocks from the plaza and hotels in Petaluma and Pacific Grove on deck for 2026.
Details: Appellation Healdsburg will open this summer at 165 Foss Creek Circle. Hotel Mohi is set to open this fall at 17490 Monterey Road in Morgan Hill; appellationhotels.com.
A rebuilt Boat Shack in Marshall
West Marin’s much-loved Nick’s Cove restaurant and cottages are entering the new year with a new executive chef, Matt Alfus (Hog Island Oyster Co., Chicago’s The Butcher & Larder and Alinea Group’s Next), and good news about the property’s historic Boat Shack.
The Tomales Bay establishment dates back to 1931, when Nick and Frances Kojich moved several buildings – by barge – from their ranch on the west side of the bay to its eastern shore to create cottages and a seafood restaurant. But a devastating fire at the end of the pier last January destroyed the Boat Shack and the treasures inside, which included wooden ship models, anchors, glass floats, vintage fishing rods and a 70-year-old piano.
A new Boat Shack — filled with vintage items, courtesy of community donations — is expected to rise again in 2025. And Santa, who arrived via merry red truck to greet visitors at the Waterfront Oyster Bar this year, says he’ll be taking his traditional mode of transport — a water sleigh — to the Boat Shack next holiday season.
Details: Nick’s Cove Restaurant is open from noon to 8 p.m. Monday-Tuesday and 11 am. to 8 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday at 23240 Highway One, Marshall; www.nickscove.com.
A Tunnel Top Mess Hall
A market hall, bar and all-day cafe are coming to Presidio Tunnel Tops, the newest national park site in San Francisco, in 2025. Dubbed The Mess Hall, this will be the most ambitious food-related project to date for the popular park. Housed in a 6,200-square-foot building that dates back to 1897, the food hall will offer casual fare, takeaway-friendly picnic items and craft cocktails to enjoy on an expansive patio with views of the Bay.
The Mess Hall’s culinary end will be led by chef Peter Serpico, a James Beard award winner for his Serpico restaurant in Philadelphia and director of operations for two of David Chang’s Momofuku endeavors. Zach Negin (Los Angeles’ Tabula Rasa Bar, San Francisco’s Dolores Deluxe) will oversee the Mess Hall Bar.
No opening date has been set, but while you wait, remember that you can still enjoy food truck bites at the Presidio Pop Up, as well as sit-down fare at the Presidio’s Dalida, Colibri and Il Parco.
Details: The Mess Hall will be located at 201 Halleck St. at the Presidio Tunnel Tops, San Francisco; www.messhallpresidio.com; @messhallpresidio.
Luxe glamping in Guerneville
The Russian River will be getting a new luxe glamping resort this summer, when Shelter Co. unveils River Electric in Guerneville. The company is known for its luxury event production – creating 32 VIP suites at BottleRock Napa Valley, for example, and a four-day Virgin Galactic event during the Great American Eclipse that included 129 sleeping tents, bar and lounge tents and catered meals far, far off the grid in Idaho.
Billed as a camp resort and swim club, Guerneville’s 11-acre River Electric is set to open with 40 glamping tents, two swimming pools, a bar and restaurant.
Details: 16101 Neeley Road, Guerneville; @riverelectric
A Sunnyvale treehouse
The U.K.’s five-year-old Treehouse Hotels will be opening its first U.S. property in Silicon Valley in March, bringing its outdoorsy take on lodging to Sunnyvale. No actual tree climbing required. Treehouse Hotel Silicon Valley will offer 111 guest rooms when it opens — 254 by the time the hotel has been fully realized — with an emphasis on natural materials, cozy, rustic furnishings and playful touches, such as colorful quilts and whimsical, embroidered pillows made by Coral & Tusk.
Even if you don’t plan to book a hotel room in your own backyard, the hotel’s new restaurants should stir interest among Bay Area foodies. “Top Chef” star Stephanie Izard is opening Valley Goat, her first NorCal restaurant, here, and the hotel is planning a seasonal beer garden.
Details: 1100 N. Mathilda Ave. in Sunnyvale; www.treehousehotels.com/silicon-valley
Seattle’s RailSpur sensation
This new microdistrict — dubbed RailSpur — in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square is transforming three historic brick-and-timber warehouses and surrounding alleys into a mixed-use community that includes offices, retail and in 2025, a new boutique hotel and restaurants.
The 120-room Hotel Westland will include a restaurant and rooftop bar with Puget Sound views. Death & Co is opening a new bar. And prolific Seattle chef and restaurateur Renee Erickson (Walrus & the Carpenter, General Porpoise and more) will open a trio of RailSpur eateries that include Lowlander Brewery, Un Po Tipsy Pizzeria and a higher-end, as-yet-unnamed European-style restaurant.
Details: Seattle’s Hotel Westland is at 100 S. King St.; www.hotelwestlandseattle.com. Find more information about RailSpur at https://railspurseattle.com/.
