Hotel style: Cavallo Point

If ever there was a home away from home, Cavallo Point is it. This luxury resort sits across from San Francisco at the base of Golden Gate Bridge and provides the feeling of a country escape within easy reach of urban pleasures. The hotel sits on Historic Fort Baker – a former military base – chosen for its strategic position at the mouth of San Francisco Bay. Between 1901 and 1915, 24 Colonial Revival buildings were built on the 10-acre parade ground and the post was active through WWII. At the time there were officers’ quarters, soldiers’ barracks, a gym, chapel and hospital.

Today the site is officially part of the Golden Gate National Parks and as a guest here, there will be nothing regimented about your stay.  As you drive up, the cream-coloured buildings with terracotta roofs nestled amidst green rolling hills at the edge of the deep blue water gives you reason to exhale and leave your everyday worries behind. There are 142 rooms – some of them in original buildings and historically designed. Others are in new buildings with a much more contemporary feel that blends seamlessly into the rest of the property. Once you’ve checked in, your only obligation will be to enjoy yourself.  Wine and dine in the Farley Bar or Michelin-star Murray Circle restaurant, treat mind and body at the Healing Arts Centre or attend the Cooking School. If you are more athletically-inclined you’ll enjoy biking, kayaking and hiking in the Marin hills - a journey that takes you right to the ocean with views of classic California coastline. The goal of this hotel is to offer all the comfort and cosiness of a weekend home without the work. From the natural setting to the soothing colour palettes, we’d say: mission accomplished!