The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel
Dana Point, California
The remarkable beauty of the Ritz-Carlton's Dana Point location is
what sets this luxury resort apart. Situated high atop a 150-foot
bluff, the four-story Mediterranean-style hotel, set on 18 acres of
well-tended grounds, commands a view that is breathtaking; it
literally stops you in your tracks.
The finest place to watch the sun set over the Pacific? The winning
vote can't help but go to the private balcony of an ocean-view suite
at this Ritz-Carlton.
Lift an iced glass brimful of a perfect Martini and gaze out over palm
trees to the ocean. When the sun dips below the horizon and the
cocktail has been drained, you may descend to the Ritz Dining Room,
where a light dinner or a lavish multicourse feast await your
pleasure. Later the wood-paneled library beckons: savor a snifter of
Hine Triomphe and a fragrant Zino Mouton-Cadet No. 4 while watching
the lights twinkle along the shoreline.
On clear days, Catalina Island can be easily seen from your hotel
window. Beginning in January, you might spot a gray whale on its
annual winter migration to Mexico. And rain or shine, you'll watch
wetsuit-clad surfers knifing through the waves on Salt Creek Beach
directly below the hotel's terraced gardens.
The Laguna Ritz celebrated its tenth anniversary in 1994. All 393
guest rooms have been redecorated in luxuriant fabrics and soft pastel
colors. Accommodations range from fine to palatial; the hotel's three
Crown Suites are located on corners and feature wood-burning
fireplaces and private dining rooms. Guests on the exclusive Club
Floor, accessible from the elevator with a special key, have a private
salon where drinks are served and five buffet-meal presentations,
ranging from breakfast to after-dinner cordials, chocolates and petits
fours, are offered daily.
True to its heritage, the Ritz has a richly appointed formal dining
room, but there's no haughty attitude here; instead, efforts are made
to accommodate guests with a variety of tastes and cravings. Dining
Room Chef de Cuisine Fabrice Canelle offers an imaginative daily
food-and-wine-pairing menu of five or seven courses, along with a
fixed price menu of two courses ($38), three courses ($46) and up
to seven courses ($67).
The resort's Club Grill is decorated in English hunt-club style,
accented with fine eighteenth- and nineteenth-century paintings of
hunting and racing scenes. A trio and vocalist perform
nightly. Grilled meats, including a buffalo steak with violet mustard
sauce ($30), are popular entrées on the à la carte
menu.
The hotel's Terrace Restaurant, which serves breakfast, lunch and
dinner, opens onto an attractive trellised patio where meals are
served throughout the year, weather permitting (in Southern
California, it usually does). The Terrace has a wide-ranging
menu. Even at dinner, you can munch happily on a fat club sandwich
with homemade potato chips ($10) or banquet more formally on fresh
oysters ($11) and a miso-blackened whole Louisiana catfish ($18),
complemented by a bottle of Babcock Vineyards 1991 Sauvignon Blanc, 11
Oaks Ranch ($40).
Cigars may be enjoyed on the resort's outdoor terraces and in the
library, where afternoon tea, evening cocktails and after-dinner
drinks are served. The library's selection of Sherries, Ports,
cordials and digestifs includes Dow Vintage Port 1963 ($20 a glass),
Blandy's 1954 Bual Madeira ($13) and Delamain Très
Vénérable Cognac ($30). A limited array of cigars is
offered in the library; the gift shop's humidor has a wider selection.
The hotel's superb 30-page wine list, developed by Master Sommelier
Emmanuel Kemiji, director of Food and Beverage Julien Carralero and
Beverage Supervisor Ted Chappell, is both broad and deep. (Six
bottlings of Krug Champagne, including the Clos du Mesnil Brut Blanc
de Blancs 1979, $350. Sixteen dessert wines, including Chateau Nairac
1981, $30. Two Pinot Gris from Oregon. A half dozen California
Sangioveses.)
The hotel hosts an annual World of Food and Wines festival on a
weekend in mid-November. The resort is equally well-known as the site
of an annual Gentlemen's Smoker, an event launched in 1989 by former
general manager and cigar maven Henry Schielein. This $350-per-person
dinner features an elaborate menu accompanied by well-chosen wines
and, of course, an array of fine cigars and digestifs.
The seventh annual Gentlemen's Smoker will be held on March 23. But
don't despair if you're booked; on April 19, the Ritz-Carlton hotel
chain will hold its first international Smoker, in conjunction with
Cigar Aficionado magazine, at all the Ritz-Carltons around the
world, including Laguna. Mark your calendar.
-- Jean T. Barrett writes on wine, spirits, food and travel and
lives in Los Angeles.
The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel
33533 Ritz Carlton Drive
Phone: (714) 240-2000
Fax: (714) 240-0829
Room
rates: double: $215 to $355; double with ocean view: $415
The
Ritz-Carlton Club: $275 to $475, suites: $500 to $2,750
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