For the past 20 years, Hilton’s Waterfront Beach Resort and the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa have been the only four-star resorts in town, with the uber-cool Kimpton Shorebreak leading the boutique pack. But this month, Surf City USA opens Paséa Hotel & Spa, Huntington Beach’s newest luxury beach resort and the latest from the Meritage Collection. Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the hotel offers unobscured views of the beach and is positioned next door to Pacific City, the town’s new upscale shopping and dining district.
The property offers 250 guest rooms, the 5,800-square-foot Aarna Spa, Tanner’s restaurant, and more than 34,000 square feet of oceanfront meeting and event spaces. Along with coastal views, guestrooms have sophisticated look, particularly the property’s eight one-bedroom suites, and the impressive 1,900-square-foot penthouse suite. All rooms bring the beach indoors with natural design elements such as light hues, distressed wood, organic furnishings, and paintings by local artists. Amenities include hooded sweatshirt robes, branded flip flops instead of standard slippers, and beds are dressed in custom Frette linens. Making four-legged guests feel right at home are pet-beds and Moonshine, the hotel’s friendly French bulldog pet concierge.
The restaurant boasts floor-to-ceiling views of the Pacific, two bars, and outdoor seating on two levels. Blend Café serves fresh coffee, grab-and-go foods, and wine by the bottle or glass. Guests can also enjoy complimentary bicycle rentals, outdoor meditation and yoga classes, and a large fitness center. The centrally-located deck offers two infinity-edge outdoor pools, a Jacuzzi, and VIP cabanas with table service.
Since Huntington Beach is the surfing capital of the world, rotating exhibits of World Surf League surf memorabilia are displayed throughout the hotel. For guests inspired to catch some waves themselves, Paséa’s staff Beach Butlers give tidal reports, arrange lessons with local instructors, and provide supplies like sunscreen, surfboard wax, beach chairs and umbrellas. They’ll even offer lifts to the shore in the Paséa pedicab.
