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A New Coastal Retreat in Southern California

Alila Marea Beach Resort Opens With Luxury Rooms, Top-Notch Food and a Surfboard Butler

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Image: Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas

Heads up: If you're going to make it at this property, you're going to have to be OK with picturesque ocean views, private fire pits, curative spa treatments and surf butlers.

Just needed to get that out of the way.

Now, we can tell you about Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas, a new hotel that opened this week along the coastal bluffs just north of San Diego. 

Alila operates a collection of 16 luxury hotels around the world, including outposts in Bali, India and Oman. The brand recently took over and revitalized a couple of existing properties in Napa Valley and Big Sur, but this is their first new-build hotel in the U.S. It was designed with a distinctly Southern California feel that blends in with the area’s natural landscape, from the beachfront to the neighborhood culture.

Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas suite
Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas

You've got 130 coastal and garden view rooms to choose from, including 16 suites and two presidential suites. The majority of rooms feature a balcony or patio, and many include a private fire pit. The presidential suites offer 1,037 square feet of elbow room and feature floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the Pacific Ocean, plus a double-sided fireplace that opens up to an outdoor living space.

Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas balcony
Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas

San Diego native and James Beard Award semifinalist Claudette Zepeda oversees the menus at three dining spots. VAGA Restaurant and Bar is where you'll go to eat fresh California-inspired cuisine as you sit perched above the seaside bluffs. The Pocket is your poolside option, with tacos, sushi, local fish and cocktails. And Coffee Box has all the espresso, baked goods and açaí bowls you require before a long day of lounging poolside. 

Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas pool
Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas

The spa takes tranquility seriously and offers all the body and face treatments you want, including renewing scrubs that are prepared tableside with a mortar and pestle—yes, like guacamole, except featuring restorative elements like walnut husks, sea salt and chia seeds that are applied to your person.

If you are feeling ambitious, there are on-site fitness facilities and beachfront yoga classes, as well as organized morning runs and nature hikes. Then, of course, you've got the surfboard butlers, who will ensure you are properly outfitted for a day on the waves.

Try your best not to address them as "Jeeves."

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