My stay at the Pelican Hill

I had great expectations about this resort based on the website and reviews and I was not disappointed, but actually blown away!

The Pelican Hill is situated in Newport Beach, two minutes’ drive from the beach and 40 minutes’ drive away from Los Angeles. From there you can reach many destinations in Southern California and many guests do one-way trips as far as San Diego.

I stayed in a three-bedroom villa fitted with a kitchen that I wish I had in my flat! It was spacious and well equipped. The kitchen was open-plan with the living room, something I like in a hotel suite. The dining room was very cosy with a fireplace. The outside space had a couple of sunbeds and a great view of the sea, golf course and gardens. The bedroom was spacious and the bathroom too. The bathtub even had a tray where you could rest a book and a glass of wine! The resort has also four bedroom villas and bungalows, all of them of a great standard and lots of privacy.

The hotel has seven restaurants and I dined at two of them. One was the Tamarind of London, an Indian restaurant that I liked very much. The meal was exclusive and probably one of the best Indian meals I ever had. I also ate at the Grill, where the chef prepared a selection of different types of food. There is also an Italian restaurant called Andrea, after the famous Italian architect Andrea Palladio whose villas have inspired all the architecture of the resort.

As I was there as a part of a work trip, I was shown around the hotel and I wish I had the time to enjoy all its facilities! There is an Italian style café serving great gelato (I tried them) and the spa was very welcoming with a spacious Jacuzzi. The hotel has two infinity pools with breath-taking views. The hotel is also well-known for its golf course, one of the best in the US.

I can’t really say there is anything to fault at the Pelican Hill. It is not your typical hotel and it is much more than a resort, almost like a little Italian village. It was built only four years ago and it is already voted the best resort in the US by the Conde Magazine. Amazingly, the Sales and Marketing Director, was telling us that he was already thinking of doing some refurbishments!