Ah, Labor Day.
Or as we like to call it, the first day of summer.
Naturally, you’ll want to head south, preferably to a little beach town...
Here to accommodate: Hotel Paradox, a new Santa Cruz hotel decked with necessary conveniences like a redwood-lined pool, fire pits and an indoor/outdoor bar, taking reservations now.
The bad news: this place is a half-mile from the Pacific. The good news: everything else. Starting with the poolside amenities—namely hot tubs, cabanas, fire pits and an endless supply of margaritas.
The feel is more like the Santa Cruz Mountains were squeezed into a rustic retreat. A 15,000-pound felled eucalyptus tree serves as the front desk, eucalyptus stumps are scattered throughout the hotel, and when you’re lounging at the pool, you’ll be surrounded by redwoods.
Reserve a cabana—equipped with a flat-screen TV and an iPod dock—for the day. From there, you can summon libations like their house margaritas or local brews from Santa Cruz Ale Works. They’ll also bring snacks like the 18-hour oxtail Paradox Banh Mi from Solaire.
Eventually, you’ll want to retire to one of six suites—allow us to suggest the top-floor Nonsense Suite (aka Room 534) with views of the park.
And—mostly because you can—be sure to ring your pillow butler. He’ll arrive with a rack of a dozen pillows for you to test.
Which sounds like a lot, but you can do it.
Or as we like to call it, the first day of summer.
Naturally, you’ll want to head south, preferably to a little beach town...
Here to accommodate: Hotel Paradox, a new Santa Cruz hotel decked with necessary conveniences like a redwood-lined pool, fire pits and an indoor/outdoor bar, taking reservations now.
The bad news: this place is a half-mile from the Pacific. The good news: everything else. Starting with the poolside amenities—namely hot tubs, cabanas, fire pits and an endless supply of margaritas.
The feel is more like the Santa Cruz Mountains were squeezed into a rustic retreat. A 15,000-pound felled eucalyptus tree serves as the front desk, eucalyptus stumps are scattered throughout the hotel, and when you’re lounging at the pool, you’ll be surrounded by redwoods.
Reserve a cabana—equipped with a flat-screen TV and an iPod dock—for the day. From there, you can summon libations like their house margaritas or local brews from Santa Cruz Ale Works. They’ll also bring snacks like the 18-hour oxtail Paradox Banh Mi from Solaire.
Eventually, you’ll want to retire to one of six suites—allow us to suggest the top-floor Nonsense Suite (aka Room 534) with views of the park.
And—mostly because you can—be sure to ring your pillow butler. He’ll arrive with a rack of a dozen pillows for you to test.
Which sounds like a lot, but you can do it.
