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Before I had Elara, my husband and I would go on weekend getaways at least once a month. Now that we are parents, it’s been a little harder to just get away from it all. With the holidays being so stressful and crazy, we decided that now would be the perfect time to chill out and enjoy some quality family time. Luckily we got a chance to relax at the Chaminade Resort & Spa, an AAA four diamond award-winning resort, in Santa Cruz, about 2 hours south of San Francisco. They recently went through a $7.9 million renovation and we were excited to check it out this weekend!
It was rainy and foggy all weekend, which kind of bummed us out a little since the resort has 3 miles of hiking trails on-site that wind through scenic forests of Santa Cruz. However, were weren’t about to let the rain ruin it for us! As we drove into the resort we were immediately hit with the scent of eucalyptus trees – very relaxing! Once we checked-in, we headed over to our king suite and we were impressed with how big it was! It might actually be bigger than our condo in San Francisco!
The rooms are decorated with unique industrial furniture made with refurbished wood and metal. The headboard was my favorite piece – it was a giant abacus (but the beads don’t move..womp womp) and it looked super cool! They also provided a crib and sheets for the baby. Yay for not having to lug our travel crib around! There was also a small patio overlooking the steep hills of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
The living area has a dining table, perfect for board games or puzzles. Also for breastfeeding mom’s there is a mini fridge, however, there was no microwave. Elara loved the bay window and seating! She would pull herself up to look out the window at the view! At night, when Rhut and I put baby to bed, we’d head over to the living area, settle in and watch a move on the big comfy couch. I loved that there were two separate rooms since Rhut and I were able to stay up and keep the noise down for baby! The hallway noises do carry into your rooms, but they do have signs everywhere notifying everyone when the quiet hours are, so it seems like they might know about this issue already.
The management was kind enough to give us a cute welcome gift of a beach ball and teddy bear. Elara loved both and fell asleep with the bear both nights we were there! They also sent over a fruit & cheese plate since we got in pretty late Friday night! It was delicious, but I wish they had given me a note about what the cheeses were; however, I was more than happy to eat it! I loved this coffee gouda-like cheese they sent over! I would have never thought coffee and cheese would work, but it did!
Chaminade Resort & Spa is on 300 acres of land in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which means on rainy days it gets pretty foggy. The fog in California kind of reminds me of snow. It makes me want to stay in bed and watch Netflix all day. This is exactly what we did all day Saturday. I introduced Rhut to an oldie but a goodie, Pretty Woman. (I can’t believe he had never seen it before!)
We had dinner at the Linwood Bar & Grill at the resort which is in the main building. The walk over is gorgeous, we even saw four deer! The main building has 2 fire places with comfy couches all around so you can enjoy the warm fire. All they needed was hot cocoa and I would have spent the entire day there – easy.
The Linwood Bar & Grill recently updated their menu and we got a taste of what’s new! The dishes that stood out to me were the truffle twice baked fingerling potatoes (you can’t go wrong with truffle and potatoes) and the cauliflower frites with curry aioli! So good! The executive chef cooked each vegetable perfectly and everything was seasoned so well! The vegetarian dishes were was full of various textures and they clearly pout thought into it as they were beyond the usual salads and sides. The chef even added a touch of cardamom to dessert in honor of my visit! Dessert was a rich slice of triple layer chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. It reminded me of the cake from Matilda – so indulgent! Rhut and I left dinner stuffed and happy!
The next day we hit up brunch! The Chaminade Resort & Spa has a Sunday Champagne Brunch buffet that is amazing! We loaded our plates with Belgian waffles, fresh fruit, mini quiches, and so many desserts that it’s embarrassing.
The best part about our stay was the staff. Everyone was so kind and helpful! Although we wished for better weather, we still enjoyed out time there and felt relaxed afterwards! We might have to make a trip back so we can check out their hiking trails, day spa and fire pit overlooking Monterey Bay!
Chaminade Resort & Spa were kind enough to give Milk & Cardamom readers a discount! Use promo code MC17 for 20% off the best available rate PLUS breakfast for two between 1/1/2017 and 4/30/2017! Be sure to book before 1/31/2017!
Also, if you’re living in the Bay Area and need a day to relax, I got you! I’m giving away a Chaminade Resort & Spa Sunday Brunch Experience for two , with two day spa passes included! Just head over to my Instagram to see the rules and to enter!
Disclaimer: Many thanks to Chaminade Resort & Spa for hosting me and my family for the weekend, as usual – all opinions are my own!
