New on the Laguna Beach scene, Hotel Joaquin has all our design crush-o-meters up in the 99 percentile range. Brought to us by the curators behind Korakia in Palm Springs and Yellowstone’s Lone Meadow Ranch, it’s no wonder this breezy, bright boutique hotel is hot, hot, hot right now. Each suite has a record player and a great collection to create your very own chill vibe. The food and wine program is thoughtful, healthy and approachable. And these guys make the Laguna Beach lifestyle feel totally attainable, if only for a long weekend.
Hotel photography by Roger Davies for Hotel Joaquin
Beautiful, Beachy Suites
The suites at Hotel Joaquin each have their own personality, and thus, their own designated moniker. Book the Soleil if you’d like to take your morning coffee on a private Juliette balcony overlooking the Pacific, or tuck away up to the Shaws room where you’ll feel like you’re in your little treehouse space overlooking the gardens and beachfront homes. Every suite is minimalist in design, with record players and little touches of color that come in the form of hanging textiles or framed works of art. The views vary from hills to gardens to sea, and each stone sink and hand painted tile we spot makes us crave a bathroom remodel.
Pick Your Party
Photo shoots, private parties, weddings and slumber parties are all fair game at this boutique hotel. You can take over the courtyard for a cocktail party, head to the semi-private beach for an intimate wedding ceremony, set up shop in the bar for a birthday bash, or buyout the whole property for a weekend’s worth of revelry.
Saline Eats and Treats
Dine on house-cured salmon, green apple sausage or sweet crepes for breakfast daily via the Saline kitchen. Lunchtime brings offerings like cous cous and crab, prosciutto baguettes and Arctic char farmers’ salads, each of which can be wrapped up into a picnic basket and taken out to the beach. If you’re craving an afternoon pick-me-up, head to the bar for an Adult Swim cocktail of St. George terrior gin, aromatized white wine, watermelon and lemon, or the Sargeant Pepper with St. George green chili vodka, oolong tea, lime, condensed milk, and baking spices. Should you then decide to stick around for dinner, the charred artichoke, octopus carpaccio, crab gnocchi, and Napa lamb chops all sound divine.
Laguna Beach Lifestyle
Living the Laguna Beach lifestyle proves a dream with Shaw’s Cove just a two-minute walk from the hotel’s garden. Borrow boogie boards, bodyboards, paddle boards, snorkeling gear, surf boards, or kayaks from the front desk, or spend your day lounging under beach umbrellas and enjoying a picnic packed by your hosts. About that lay-low life? Work on your wellness routine and book in for an Ayurvedic therapy, massage or hot stones followed by a bike ride into town or a spritzer on the pool’s double daybeds. You could get used to this.
Photo: Derek Liang
