New luxury hotel La Bahia includes 2 restaurants, 2 bars open to the public

While the forthcoming La Bahia Hotel & Spa aims to be the most luxurious accommodation Santa Cruz County has ever seen when it opens this fall, it’s no ivory tower. The cream-colored Spanish Mediterranean-style hotel – crowned by a restored century-old bell tower – will boast two restaurants and two bars open to the public (plus another bar for guests only), as well as two large event spaces on its palatial grounds overlooking Main Beach in Santa Cruz. 

La Bahia is the latest property of Ensemble, a Long Beach-based real-estate developer that also owns and manages the neighboring Dream Inn, as well as the Bernardus Lodge & Spa in Carmel Valley. It’s in the middle of construction, but the culinary concepts are beginning to take form. 

To the left of the entrance, two sister restaurants will be stacked on top of each other. On the street level, Low Tide Bar & Grill, with 86 seats, will be a casual spot open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and, later, brunch, said general manager Markus Krebs. It will focus on bar food like burgers and salads with contemporary flavors, and the bar will offer beer, wine and craft cocktails. 

“High Tide will be the signature, so Low Tide will be more the fun place. There’s a bar scene, live music and fun cocktails,” said Krebs. 

The second story above Low Tide will be the home of the elegant dinner-only sister restaurant, High Tide. From this vantage point, the 128-seat dining room offers views of Monterey Bay and the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf. Krebs pointed out an area at the corner of the restaurant that will be a private dining room encased in glass. There will be a small bar with a few seats, intended more for quick wine tastings rather than dining. 

A terrace connects High Tide with the bell tower – the future site of La Bahia’s membership club – and will have outdoor seating, as well as one or two fire pits. 

Both restaurants will have Pacific Rim-inspired menus with culinary influences from Japan, Hawaii and California, with an emphasis on seafood. The menu will be finalized later this year in line with the executive chef’s own experiences and tastes; the search for that person will begin early this year. 

The executive chef will also be in charge of feeding guests at the hotel’s two huge event spaces: a 4,000-square-foot ballroom on the ground floor and the 5,400-square-foot roof deck on the fifth story. Getting menus ready for potential clients booking weddings and other large events is a priority for the hotel, said Krebs. 

The hotel lobby will house another small bar, Pearl, a London-inspired Champagne bar with wines and spirits. The idea, explained Krebs, is for hotel guests to meet a friend or take a moment to toast their vacation with a selection of sparkling and traditional wines by the glass and bottle, and cocktails. 

Two dining areas will be closed to the public: the pool area – called Plunge – which is open to only hotel and spa guests, and the membership area, accessible only by members. Plunge will have its own bar with cocktails and a menu of poolside bites, while the membership area will have its own private dining area and bar, as well as a slew of amenities for anyone willing to pay an annual membership fee. 

All three bars – Low Tide, Pearl and Plunge – will have their own beverage programs, with their own glassware and unique recipes. 

La Bahia wants to welcome locals as well as travelers to the hotel, said Krebs. “We invite the public and the locals to come, especially to the two restaurants,” he said. “The only restricted area to hotel guests is really the pool area. The rest is open.”

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.