NEWPORT BEACH – Stylish rooms. A killer swimming pool. And one of the most creative and tasty hotel restaurants around.
The Fashion Island Hotel Newport Beach is a wonderful spot with tons of great features and a very nice location that makes it easy to explore the region. Located on a hill just a couple kilometers from the harbour, the hotel is across the road from the Fashion Island shopping centre, which features a mix of mainstream and luxury shops and is replete with towering palm trees and splashy fountains.
Our room in March was terrific; spacious and beautifully decorated with warm tones of deep lavender and pale yellow and outfitted with a Bose sound system, a coffee maker and more. The bathroom had plenty of space, and we had a fine view looking out past the shopping centre to the blue Pacific Ocean, with a nice balcony to boot.
I find hotel restaurants can be rather hit and miss. The Oak Grill at Fashion Island Hotel, on the other hand, is a three-run homer.
Newport Beach has its share of conservative thinkers, but Executive Chef Brittany Valles has an inventive touch in the kitchen and isn’t afraid to venture into the unfamiliar.
We loved her marinated tuna poke, which was artfully arranged with lettuce leaves.
“It was a bit of a lump before, but I quite like this presentation,” she told us.
A room at the Fashion Island Hotel in Newport Beach, California. JIM BYERS PHOTO
The scallops were terrific; served with a Mexican mole sauce, pepitas and black kale.
“Mole can be aggressive, so I toned it down a bit,” she said. “Its all about balance.
Valles also has a great touch with sea bass, which she dusts with Jamaican jerk spice for just the right amount of flavour and not too much heat. She serves it alongside grits with bits of banana for another nod to the Caribbean. It’s not what one expects in grits, but it worked very nicely with the jerk spice.
“I like putting my own spin on the classics,” Valles said.
Brittany Valles, Executive Chef at Oak Grill. PHOTO COURTESY FASHION ISLAND HOTEL
The restaurant is an elegant spot with lots of natural light and a large deck that features a fire pit, where we watched a young woman play guitar and sing one night as the flames flickered at our side.
Prior to dinner we enjoyed a fine French 75 cocktail and also a drink called the James Dean, with Long Branch Bourbon, Disaronno and black walnut bitters.
The hotel lobby has a chic bar called the Aqua Lounge, with lots more natural light and an airy, open design. I was told a local woman who’s almost 100 years old comes in every night for a cocktail, and how cool is that?
Jamaican-spiced sea bass at Oak Grill at the Fashion Island Hotel, Newport Beach. PHOTO COURTESY FASHION ISLAND HOTEL
The bar has a program called $7 til 7, with glasses of wine, craft beer and well cocktails for seven bucks from 4 to 7 p.m., as well as special seven dollar food items, including tuna poke, specialty grilled cheese, thin-crust pizza and popcorn shrimp.
The hotel was a Four Seasons back in the day and then was known as the Island Hotel. It underwent a total transformation four years ago, a top-to-bottom renovation, said the hotel public relations person, Marguarite Clark.
The 295-room hotel has a community relations person on staff to work with local and is owned by Irvine Company Resort Properties, which owns Fashion Island shopping centre.
The Aqua Lounge at the Fashion Island Hotel in Newport Beach. PHOTO COURTESY FASHION ISLAND HOTEL
Being outside of a group of chain hotels makes Fashion Island much more nimble, Clark said.
“It’s all about quality,” she said. “If someone says the beach umbrellas look a little tattered, they’re replaced. You don’t have to go up an endless chain of command.”
The swimming pool complex is particularly outstanding, with a lovely pool surrounded by towering palm trees and handsome orange cushions scattered about.
One option you might think about is paying for Island Club access. You’ll get a lovely breakfast on the 20th floor, with fine views of the coast and morning treats that include good coffee, pastries, fresh fruit, eggs and applewood-smoked bacon. You also get access in the evening, when they put out trays of meats, cheeses and other snacks, as well as beer and wine.
The Fashion Island Hotel swimming pool. PHOTO COURTESY FASHION ISLAND HOTEL
They even have afternoon snacks from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., which you don’t often see. With all the food you get, the Island Club is frankly not a bad way to save on dining out, which can add up for anyone but especially for those of us who earn Canadian dollars.
Island Club guests also get complimentary, premium Wi-Fi, 20% off spa retail purchases, access to wet areas of the spa, and access to a personal shopper. All in all, that’s a very good deal for $50 USD.
Not only is the hotel a few steps from Fashion Island, but it’s a very short drive to the beach and only a few minutes from both Highway 405. Orange County/John Wayne International Airport is perhaps 10 minutes away, so you don’t have to worry about Southern California traffic.
EDITOR’S NOTE: My visit to Newport Beach was paid for by Visit Newport Beach and Fashion Island Hotel. Neither party approved or was given a copy of this post prior to its publication.
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