DISCONNECTING FROM THE WORLD IS EASIER WITH AN ASTONISHING OCEAN VIEW IN HOFSAS HOUSE HOTEL
The charming hamlet of Carmel-by-the-Sea hosts a boutique family-owned inn with 38 uniquely decorated rooms. A thalassophile is able to watch glorious sunsets over the Pacific Ocean from the seclusion of the inn’s decks or rooms. Hofsas offers a warm ambiance with its fireplaces, exclusive balconies and wet bars or kitchens. Comfortability seems to be their primary priority.
Amongst their amenities, you can enjoy a continental breakfast with French roasted coffee, tea, fresh pastries delivered from a local bakery, juice and/or fruit. After satisfying your hunger, you can relax in its heated swimming pool and dry saunas or walk about the area with your pet-friendly. If that is not enough, there is also free wireless internet access.
Hofsas House has a welcoming mural painted by their featured artist Maxine Albro, who also made the headboard spotted in room 47. Albro was commissioned by her friend Donna Hofsas, the hotel’s founder. In the 1940s and 1950s, Maxine was living in Carmel. After the main four-story addition to the Hofsas House was completed in 1957, Donna asked Maxine to create the wall painting and add other highlights to the front of the building to enhance the Bavarian theme. She also painted the three pictures hanging in the lobby. Maxine Albro was an artist who worked between Mexico and San Francisco. She carried out many commissions under programs of the New Deal, such as the Federal Works of Art Project and the Works Progress Administration. Albro was one of the foremost female artists to be hired as a muralist for this national project. The most significant commission Albro executed in her career was a mural at Coit Tower in San Francisco. As a tribute to Maxine, Hofsas House commissioned local artist Christine Sorensen to touch up a headboard and valance, faux paint the walls, enhance the end tables and glaze the crown molding in Room 47.
Hofsas House can be proud of its marvelous localization. Everything, including the beach, is well within walking distance.
In that respect is an iconic 45-year- old restaurant called The Whaling Station Steakhouse, where 360 MAGAZINE had the opportunity to taste its exceptional menu. In this steakhouse, you can find executive Chef David Stember’s very own creations, such as prime rib egg rolls ( shaved prime rib, caramelized onions and a Gruyere – Emmental – Swiss cheese blend stuffed inside a crispy egg roll wrapper ) and an open-faced bourbon BBQ beef sandwich on garlic toast. The Whaling Station was one of the first to cook the $99 prime porterhouse steak for two, USDA PRIME grade prime rib, an accolade –
winning wine list, the now-famous open-faced steak sandwich, Caesar salad tossed tableside, the ability to add a lobser tail to any entrée, and Castroville artichokes. Moreover, The Bar at The Whaling Station has its own menu and its own local following, with drink specials and lively conversation served nightly. The Whaling Station is the perfect choice for a meal during a peaceful stay in Hofsas House.
Article by Ana de Cozar + Vaughn Lowery
