ISLANDS
HOTEL OPENS UP IN
NEWPORT BEACH
By Michael Hepworth
Formerly known as the Four Seasons,
Newport Beach
, the property has been re-named Islands Hotel, and continues to bring
five-star luxury to the affluent
Newport Beach
area, home to basketball superstar Kobe Bryant and other wealthy
businessmen and celebrities.
Newport Beach
is an excellent place for a weekend break from the city, and a new team
has been put in place since the opening on November 1, and the 295-room
property, which includes 54 suites, is becoming one of the places to be.
The suites are particularly comfortable, with panoramic views of the
adjacent
Fashion
Island
, and views of Newport Beach Marina. Although the original hotel was only
built in 1986, the property has a feeling of newness about it that is what
you would expect from a member of “The Leading Hotels of the World.”
Each room also has a private balcony and either a garden or water view, so
if you book over the phone or internet, try and insist on a water room or
suite.
Catering to that crowd in particular, Bill Bracken has been hired as the
executive chef, with the Pavilion Restaurant being his showcase. Many will
remember Bracken from his tenure at the
Peninsula
in
Beverly Hills
, where he won numerous culinary awards from his work at the hotels highly
rated Belvedere Restaurant. His style of cooking is very light, with a
series of small plates ranging from The Island Crab Cake with fermented
black beans, pickled ginger and Asian slaw to a Misoyaki Butterfish with
Cippolini Onions and a Yuzu Butter sauce. He is still getting his team
together, but he has the obvious skills to pull it off, although it is
imperative that the relationship between the kitchen and floor staff
remains smooth. A major snafu incurred during my meal there, but the head
waiter was quick to remedy the situation, causing a few embarrassing
minutes for the staff.
Larger courses run the gamut of all the main seafood, meat and poultry
items, and the Truffle Roasted Tenderloin of Veal with fingerling
potatoes, glazed carrots and his often used cipollini onions in a forest
mushroom sauce was well received. No full time sommelier at the restaurant
yet, surprising considering the client base, which probably indicates that
the wine list is still a work in progress.
There is a small but compact 4,000 square foot spa at the hotel with nine
treatment rooms to get royally pampered. They feature all the expected
treatments and more, such as De-Stress Day package for a price of $135
that includes a facial and a complete mini-massage. A double package that
includes an Aromatherapy facial, a full body massage and lunch is going
for $240.
The bar adjacent to the restaurant looked about the hippest place in the
hotel on a jumping Friday night, with a blues band performing as opposed
to the usual cocktail style piano player that went out of fashion years
ago. So the place is elegant, not overly stuffy, deliciously expensive and
well worth trying next time you are in
Newport Beach
.
Fact Sheet
Islands
Hotel-
1-888-321-4752
www.theislandshotel.com
Check in time
3: pm Check
Out time:
12 noon
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