SLO County News Blog

Golf, Wine, Real Estate, Business & Travel News

Dolphin Bay Hotel and Residences Opening Soon in Shell Beach

Friday, January 27, 2006

Sanctuary arrives this March along California's sublime Central Coast when Dolphin Bay Hotel and Residences, a new luxury oceanfront resort, opens on sparkling Shell Beach.

Dolphin Bay will feature 70 units, 14 of which will be auctioned to prospective owners on January 29, 2006. The balance will comprise the Dolphin Bay Hotel, offering guests an extraordinary escape at the heart of the Pacific Coast.

Dolphin Bay Hotel's features and amenities redefine the Central Coast's lodging landscape. Configured as one bedroom, two bedroom and penthouse units, Dolphin Bay guest residences are spacious, ranging in size from 985 to 2,000 square feet. Developed by one of California's leading builders, the property is constructed with a list of features and amenities more akin to contemporary luxury home standards.

"Dolphin Bay is our dream come true, and our ultimate desire is to have our guests share this feeling," said Maureen Raynaud, Dolphin Bay partner and chief operating officer. "We anticipate our guest's expectations will be high, and we look forward to exceeding them in every possible way," she added.

Guests may dine on property at Lido Restaurant, revive their senses at the resort's day spa, La Bonne Vie, exercise at the hotel fitness center, swim in Dolphin Bay's enormous, infinity-edged pool and Jacuzzi spa, and comb the ocean beach that unfurls steps from the hotel. Local San Luis Obispo County attractions encompass wine country touring, championship golf, sea kayaking, coastal bike and hiking trails, wildlife watching, and much more.

Many guests will opt to rest in pampered privacy within their rooms, where designer Italian linens, gourmet kitchens with quality appliances, plasma flat panel televisions with surround sound systems, and wide-angle Pacific Ocean views come in a variety of configurations. Double-pane windows with wood casement frames, honed travertine flooring, tightly woven wool carpet, solid core wood doors, complimentary high speed Internet access, custom woodwork, and granite counter tops grace every unit, and selected units feature fireplaces and Aire Jet tubs.

Led by Swiss born general manager Reto V. Torriani, guest service is another area where Dolphin Bay will offer surpassing quality. "Our team of management and staff will deliver five-star service that is cosmopolitan, gracious, understated, perfect," said Mr. Torriani, a veteran international hotelier with experience heading hotels on five continents. That he speaks five languages, rides a custom Harley Davidson motorcycle and once fronted a rock band add to Mr. Torriani's comprehensive, world-class credentials.

Special opening season rates and packages are now available that represent savings of 40% and more off high season rates. For Dolphin Bay Hotel reservations and information, see www.DolphinBayHotelandResidences.com or call toll-free, (800) 516-0112.

See Golf SLO for Golf & Wine Vacation Packages including Dolphin Bay Hotel and local golf courses and wineries.

SLO Mardi Gras is still over

Thursday, January 26, 2006

The party is still over. That's the newest version of the message San Luis Obispo officials sent out last year in hopes of putting the kibosh on riotous Mardi Gras celebrations.

While the publicity, police force, planning and other operations cost the city about $350,000 last year, this year the city expects to spend about $50,000 less keeping the revelry down.

SLO hopes to gradually step down the amount the city spends on publicity -- through TV and radio ads, posters and door hangers in problem areas -- over the years. The police presence on the streets over the long holiday weekend should also drop over time. Last year, there were about 450 officers. This year, there will be 350.

Laws put into place last year for Mardi Gras -- including tripling the fine for serving alcohol to minors and making public nudity a crime -- will come back into effect over the long weekend.

Casting for Local Wine Making Show

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Producers of "The Wine Makers," a PBS reality series to be filmed in the wine country of Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo, will start casting for the show next month.

Set to premier in the spring of 2007, "The Wine Makers" follows six men and women as they compete for a chance to create and launch their own wine label. All will be wine enthusiasts who want to start winemaking careers.

The first casting call will be during the Paso Robles 2006 Grand Tasting Tour on Feb. 1 in Atlanta's Fox Theater. The event attracts vintners, media and consumers and showcases wines from twenty-five wineries in the Paso Robles American viticulture area.

Additional casting calls will take place in Dallas, Austin, Texas, New York, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles.

SLO braces for Tour of California bike race

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Some hotel operators in the host cities along the route for the Amgen Tour of California know how to make their pro-cyclist guests happy: put pasta on the breakfast menu.

About a dozen California cities are preparing for an onslaught of spandex hordes when the Amgen Tour of California cyclists come their way sometime between Feb. 19-26.

Host cities like Sausalito, San Luis Obispo and San Jose must get ready for 16 pro cycling teams, comprised of some 250 team members and double that number of tour staff, message therapists, and press. In addition, an estimated 40,000 spectators are expected in the host cities, with a total 1 million individuals watching from the roadside along the route.

Hotels are extending room service hours and adding high-carbo foods to their menus for the cyclists, who regularly burn 10,000 calories a day, reports the San Luis Obispo Tribune. The city is preparing for the Feb. 23 Stage 4 finish and Feb. 24 start of Stage 5.

The Embassy Suites, for instance, not only has pasta, brown rice, baked potatoes, rolls and a variety of desserts for dinner, but added pasta to its breakfast menu. Also, hotels are ordering three times the number of sheets and towels for the bike race's visit, the Tribune reports.

The Tour of California is the brainchild of AEG, a subsidiary of the Anschutz Corporation, with holdings in sports, news, and entertainment. Billionaire business owner Philip Anschutz has promised to put up $35 million over the next five years so the Tour can succeed.

Read entire article at:
Cities brace for Tour of California bike race
Biking Bis, Gene Bisbee

Zin Alley Winery

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

If you like Zinfandel then you should know about Zin Alley, a small winery in Templeton, California. They specialize in Red Zinfandel and Zinfandel port. They do not ship to stores and their wine is only available in restaurants in the Paso Robles area. They are happy to sell to individuals and people who have made the trek to the winery rave about the experience. The Red Zinfandel sells for $42 and the Port costs $40.

SLO Vintners Cheer Winter Storm

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

San Luis Obispo County vintners and grape growers welcomed last weekend's torrential rains, saying they will help vine growth this spring.

"These rains were much needed to refill the aquifers,'' said Charles Yates, executive director of the San Luis Obispo Vintners Association. "We had been far behind our normal rain totals, but we are now sitting pretty.''

If the rains hadn't arrived, many vineyards would have had to begin irrigating. Rain totals of more than five inches from the county storm will help delay turning on the sprinklers at many vineyards. This translates into a significant cost savings, growers say.

"It was sent from heaven," said Steven Carter, vineyard manager at J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines in Paso Robles. "The steady rain this weekend was mostly absorbed into the soils, so there was very little runoff."

Carter said that he would have begun overhead irrigation soon if it had not started to rain. With 10 wells at his vineyard powered by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Carter estimated that irrigation costs can total $1,500 to $2,500 per month. Even wineries that have many steep hillside vineyards were able to ride out the rains with very little erosion damage. Vineyard manager Lino Bozzano at Laetitia Vineyard & Winery in Arroyo Grande said maintaining a permanent cover crop of native grasses helped prevent erosion.