A visit to one of Newport Beach’s top hotels offers more than a place to lay your head for the night. It also provides the chance to hit the property’s grounds and relax, exercise, dine, be entertained, and enjoy the abundant flora and wildlife.

Year round, SoCal’s ideal weather and sunny skies beckon hotel guests to enjoy a dip in the pool or to peruse lush gardens. Two properties perfect for such endeavors are the Island Hotel Newport Beach, offering a 3,000-square-foot heated pool and whirlpool spa surrounded by tropical gardens, and the Carlton Hotel Newport Beach, with its tropical gardens and heated pool and spa.

Island Hotel Newport Beach

Carlton Hotel Newport Beach

Jazz is front and center at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, where you can find a grassy amphitheater that serves as the setting for the Annual Hyatt Regency Newport Beach Jazz Festival (set this year for May 29-31 and featuring top performers from Boney James to Mindi Abair & The Boneshakers) and the Summer Concert Series on Friday evenings from June through October. This resort’s 26 lushly landscaped acres also is home to a nine-hole executive golf course; sand volleyball court; life-sized chessboard;
putt-putt; ping pong; and three pools (complete with a water slide, kid’s splash zone, Jacuzzis, fire features and pool bar during the summer months).

The Resort at Pelican Hill is another place to be for plentiful seasonal activities and events, including Festa dell’Autunno, the annual outdoor Italian Street Festa held along the resort’s olive tree-lined lanes in October with varied activities, dining, art and entertainment. Set on 504 acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean, this stunning property also features two 18-hole ocean-view golf courses designed by renowned architect Tom Fazio, a Bocce ball court, the Coliseum Pool (one of the world’s largest circular pools) and extensive gardens, as well as more than 50,000 acres of permanently protected, natural open space, parks and trails nearby.

At the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa, a full-time team of up to six employees works to ensure that every area of the property’s 12 acres of landscaped grounds is meticulously maintained. Guests here can sit back and relax in several areas surrounded by seasonal plants and flowers; enjoy three pools (one a private saltwater pool at Pure Blu Spa); and dine poolside or on the Sunset Terrace with fire pits, lounge-style seating, and views overlooking the Newport Beach Country Club, Newport Harbor and Pacific. But that’s not all … a walking trail behind the hotel is ideal for a short walk to start your day.

Meanwhile, although renovations are under way at the Newport Beach Marriott Bayview and outdoor areas are not currently open to the public, you can always venture out to the trails of the nearby Upper Newport Bay Nature Reserve (approximately 1,000 acres of open space surrounding the Back Bay, open daily from 7 a.m. to sunset) to walk, jog and bike.

Photo Credit: Carrie McCormick

Tucked away from the main property grounds, the Fairmont Newport Beach’s beautiful outdoor garden gazebo is surrounded by lush greenery and flowers, offering the perfect setting for a lunch, reception or wedding. The active set also can enjoy the hotel’s horseshoe pit, tennis courts, and rooftop pool and cabanas.

And, last but definitely not least, a splendid waterfront locale is the hallmark of the Balboa Bay Resort, which has its own marina and dock — perfect for checking out the million-dollar yachts lined up out front. Here you also can avail yourself of any number of water-centered activities including Duffy, kayak and paddleboard rentals.

So, what are you waiting for? Make your reservation now!