Getaway Trip to Half Moon Bay

Do you enjoy staying at an oceanfront resort when you go on a getaway trip? We had the most marvelous time when we spent 4 days at the Ritz Carlton at Half Moon Bay in California after we enjoyed our time in San Francisco. Our plan all along was to stay in Half Moon Bay because it was only a 45 minute drive south of San Francisco on the ocean and it was a perfect place for my husband to play golf. Which to my delight, I ended up playing golf with him!

The Ritz Carlton is located in an idyllic oceanfront town where you notice as you’re winding into Half Moon Bay a large community of landscaping centers. Half Moon Bay is known for its agriculture (houseplants, floriculture, Christmas trees, pumpkins, and artichokes), as well as fishing, and tourism. My cousin Shirlee who lives in San Francisco said there is an Art & Pumpkin Festival in the fall.

The Ritz is a perfect weekend getaway trip for many people who live in San Fransico and many of the guests brought their dogs and children to the hotel. I was really surprised to see so many dogs on the property! There is golfing, a wonderful spa, and access to walking trails along the coastline. Or if you prefer, just chilling on the terrace and enjoying the ocean view!

Upon checking in we went immediately to our room and before my husband could unpack, I started to take photos of our gorgeous ocean view room. I have so many clients who want me to recreate hotel inspired bedrooms and bathrooms. I also draw inspiration as an interior designer from hospitality design.

Trending now in hotel rooms and residential design is the massive upholstered headboards and marble bathrooms.

I am so mad at myself for shooting the shower (I know better!) before removing the floor mat! If you look closely you will see the shower handle on the wall to the left and the shower head is on the right. This smart design is something I’ve been doing in my bathroom renovations. You don’t get wet turning on the shower. This was also the case at the Marriott we stayed at in San Francisco.

Public Spaces at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay

I’m the only one up at 5:30 to give you my own private tour of the public spaces at the Ritz Carlton.

I love the use of wallpaper in all the rooms and even on the ceiling.

The main entrance had the most beautiful inlaid wood floor and the most exquisite flower arrangements! I am going to try to duplicate them for my room at the 2018 Serenbe Designer Showhouse in September. I love wonderful flower arrangements and fell in love with the succulents over gilded sticks!

Very Zen!

The Ritz has 3 restaurants for your dining pleasure if you don’t have a car or prefer to stay on the property the whole time. The Navio is the farm to table seafood and breakfast restaurant. It was only open on weekends when we were there.

We dined mostly in the Conservatory with the breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, golden sunsets and the pristine beaches of the Northern California coast. The hotel’s top-notch wait staff was so attentive and the food was really delicious!

 

Every morning at 5:30 am you could find me alone with a good cup of coffee and my laptop watching everyone busily posting on Instagram on the east coast. The living room inspired space was designed so perfectly that someday I will replicate it in a home. I love the custom builtin banquettes that surrounded the fireplace. Perfect for working or cozying up to a good book. The room sits off the Conservatory so I watched the sunrise every morning from this spot.

Elegantly styled and perfectly functional don’t you think? We’re designing rooms today without sofas and using chairs for the conversation area.

I loved all the hallways; the modern lighting (which I quickly recognized the brands which was fun for me as an interior designer) and the accent chairs were repeated throughout the first floor.

Golfing on the Half Moon Bay Ocean Course

This was the first time I have ever golfed on an ocean course that is also a links golf course. I was planning to ride 9 holes because I enjoy golf I had not planned on golfing because I didn’t take my clubs but of course the pro shop happened to have left-handed women’s clubs! My husband was planning to golf 2 times to get ready for his boy’s golf trip to Bandon Dunes in the fall.

Since I wasn’t prepared to play golf, I made do. I wore sneakers and my black skinny jeans along with borrowing my husband’s wind jacket since it was 64 degrees out. And very windy!! Be prepared to wear layers when you travel to Northern California! It isn’t the same weather conditions as southern California!

You have plenty of time to take photographs when you golf at a resort because you have a lot of hackers who don’t play golf, have never played on a links course, golfers who drink too much, and in California smoke pot while golfing. Yes, the pungent smell of marijuana was wafting through the air because of a silicon valley hipster was in our foursome with his young girlfriend. Needless to say, his golf game sucked but he didn’t seem to care.

As you can see in the photograph, my husband’s hair went straight up because of the windy conditions, not because he gelled it that way. (You can also see why we had time to take pictures. You can’t hit when you can see a golf cart! Logjam!)

What a view! The last 4 holes on the ocean course were on the ocean!!

What is fun at the end of the day is have a cocktail while enjoying the ocean view and watching golfers finish up their rounds right in front of you.

Where I Shopped and Dined in Half Moon Bay

The old town district of Main Street serves as the very gateway to this quaint seaside town. The small art galleries, clothing shops are locally owned which I enjoyed and many of the stores were filled with Boho chic style. My cousin Shirlee drove down from San Francisco to spend a day shopping with me in Half Moon Bay. She isn’t a shopper but she loves to shop with me.

My favorite shops (and Shirlee’s too) at Half Moon Bay for women’s clothing were Posh Moon, Saviz Designer Boutique, and Unique Clothing. We did pop into art galleries on Main Street because Shirlee was looking for an abstract piece for her home in San Francisco and saw a couple of possibilities at the Unleashed Art Gallery.

The platinum grey top was purchased at Posh Moon (An enchanting boutique featuring fashionable clothing, dazzling crystal jewelry handmade in France) looked wonderful with the necklace that was given to me from Love Thy Jewelry. 

We popped into the top-rated Pasta Moon for lunch. Do you see a theme going on here?

What I packed for my Trip (The Bedroom Selfies)

The basics I packed for our vacation was black and white. As I have said before I try to keep it simple and not overpack on trips. The weather was perfect for wearing new long sleeved tops I had purchased that were on sale. I only planned on 2 sets of jewelry, especially the necklace and earrings given to me. Purchasing the platinum laced top went perfectly with the necklace and the white jeans I brought.

I packed this linen top and pants for the trip which didn’t wrinkle in my suitcase.

I had to bring along this fun white blouse I had purchased in Hilton Head which I wore with my black jeans.

I hope you enjoyed my little getaway trip to Half Moon Bay. I highly recommend you staying at the Ritz Carlton and enjoying California’s quaint little coastal town of Half Moon Bay!

Salut!

Thank you for stopping by today!

I want to especially thank Sandra again for sending me the most wonderful jewelry that she created for me. The necklace and earrings received lots of compliments from women at the Ritz and while we were shopping.

I do hope you stop by her website or on Instagram and see what other wonderful jewelry she has created.

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Hugs,