Oceano Hotel & Spa in Half Moon Bay — by Sandy Sims

Oceano Hotel Lobby (photos courtesy of Oceano Hotel)

The new Oceano Hotel and Spa in Half Moon Bay — just 30 minutes from San Francisco — hosted BATW’s July 18 meeting. From the windows in the lovely Monterrey room where we met, we could see the boats at Pillar Point Harbor just across the road. And just outside, the hotel was making preparations for an afternoon wedding. The San Francisco Chronicle has already voted the Oceano, which only opened in 2008, the best wedding venue in the San Francisco area. And some 80 nuptial bookings this year support that vote.

Ship at Oceano Hotel in Half Moon Bay

“It took 25 years to build this hotel,” Tony Canadas, sales and marketing director at Oceano, said. It took that long for three developers, one of which is local, to overcome the no-growth policy of the coastal commission and construct the hotel on what was an open field.

The outcome is 95 beautifully decorated rooms, all suites of varied sizes, with fireplaces, flat screen TVs, Balconies and wet bars.

The enormous skylight over its elegant lobby is only part of the hotel’s effort to have environmentally friendly, energy-saving practices. In fact, this is the only hotel in San Mateo County to be certified eco-friendly by the Bay Area Green Business Program. Almost everything, including paper products, linens and cooking oil, is recycled. The cooking oil is used for biodiesel fuel.

Adjacent to the hotel and also with a broad roof-style skylight, is Harbor Village where the 5,000 square-foot spa sits. The 18 village shops (9 already occupied) include a bookstore, gift shops, a yarn shop and more. Canadas says the developer is committed to keeping the stores mom-and-pop types, rather than large retail chains.

Deluxe room at the Ocean Hotel in Half Moon Bay

Room rates start at $179 for a standard suite — which is large and divided into a bedroom and living room areas — to $449 for a grand villa, apartment size, with two bedrooms and a full kitchen. The rates are flexible, and the hotel offers packages that include: spa treatments, golfing, helicopter tours, horseback riding, deep-sea fishing and more.

The Half Moon Bay area is filled with possibilities for free activities, including hiking, surfing, biking, even watching the famous Mavericks surfing competition when it’s on.

Oceano Hotel
280 Capistrano Road
Half Moon Bay
www.oceanohalfmoonbay.com

For story information contact Tony Canadas at (650) 726-5400. His cell is (415) 420-5040. Tell him you are a member of BATW.

– Sandy Sims
BATW Program Chair