Marin Foodie Hub
Location: Marin, California
Style: Modern Bayside Inn
Budget: ££
A trip to the West Coast of the USA will almost certainly include San Francisco and it’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge, however majority of people visiting San Francisco tend to stay South of the Bay missing out on the gem of Marin. Extending from the Northern side of the Golden Gate Bridge up along the coast and inland to the wine-drenched county of Sonoma, Marin county is a foodie’s heaven and the perfect spot from which to explore the region is Acqua Hotel.
Staying at Acqua Hotel
Acqua Hotel is conveniently located just off the Highway 101 near to Sausalito, one of Marin’s major towns. Its location makes Acqua Hotel the ideal place to explore not only Marin and San Francisco, but also makes a great stopping point during a longer road trip down the entire West Coast of California.
Despite its proximity to the 101, which may sound somewhat like a motel location, the hotel is set back against a quaint estuarine inlet from which you’ll feel a million miles away from one of California’s busiest highways.
The hotel itself is arranged over three floors, with all of the 49 rooms having full or partial views across the water. Its prized junior suites all have private balconies or patios and an oval bath tub to soak in after a day of exploring. Some of the rooms even have a mini fireplace to snuggle up beside with a glass of wine.
On arrival at Acqua Hotel, the reception is warm and inviting, with the staff offering a welcome drink, a friendly concierge service and even free postcards to post home to your loved ones during your time away. The lobby has a beautifully decorated lounge to relax in, with a striking water feature and a magnificent fireplace perfect for cooler evenings when the fog rolls in!
Dining at Acqua Hotel
You can enjoy a wonderful complimentary breakfast service during your stay at Acqua Hotel served buffet style every morning from 7-10am. Located in the 2nd floor dining room, with seating out on the terrace and conservatory overlooking the water, this is a great spot to prepare for your adventures for the day.
Breakfast includes an astonishing array of fresh food to send you off for the day. Expect to find freshly baked pastries such as croissants and muffins, platters of melon and berries, alongside some hot options as well. One highlight and must try, has to be the frittatas, including the delicious spinach, mushroom and cheese one, but also keep an eye out for the waffle iron, with some fresh batter and condiments to make your own classic American breakfast.
Whilst the hotel does not offer a full service restaurant where you can have dinner in the evening, Acqua Hotel is only a short drive from many of the area’s best restaurants including sublime seafood restaurants in nearby Sausalito and Michelin starred restaurant Madcap. What’s more, every evening, you can start your night in style with Acqua’s daily wine and cheese hour. Staff lay on a trolley of local wines to sample as an aperitif alongside some equally delicious snacks.
Exploring around Acqua Hotel
Whilst Marin is not, like some of its northerly peers, a wine makers paradise, it stands fully on its own two feet as a foodie destination to explore. Home to an extraordinary landscape of luscious agricultural fields and resulting produce much of Marin land benefits from historical protection, whether as farmland or a national park. The result is that Marin generates some of the best produce throughout the whole of California.
In order to properly immerse yourself in the foodie scene of Marin, join a Food & Farm Tour for the day. Visiting the county’s highlights you’ll stop off at bakeries, meat producers, oyster farms and California’s only meadery. Revolving around the buzzing town of Point Reyes, home to a buzzing Saturday farmers’ market, you certainly won’t go home hungry!
The drive out to Point Reyes will bring you to an exciting spot, where the infamous San Andreas Fault runs through nearby Tomales Bay. Drive out to the National Seashore, where you can marvel at the dramatic landscapes, and meander through the headlands to where a nostalgic lighthouse sits. Along the way you can also find a striking avenue of trees, known as Cypress Tree Tunnel, creating a beautiful spot entirely formed by nature that is intriguing to drive through.
Marin is also one of top places to take in sweeping views of San Francisco and the bay. The Marin Headlands offer a popular route driving up and around the cliff tops to find one or more of the iconic photo spots of the Golden Gate Bridge and downtown San Francisco beyond.
Alternatively, you can take in the views from a different angle – from the water! The stunning Schooner Freda B, an 80 foot sailing boat, runs daily cruises, either around the bay or hop on a weekly sail that will actually take you under the Golden Gate Bridge itself. A sunset sail is a breathtaking way to end your day, where you can take in the sights and enjoy the burnt orange sky erupt over the bridge’s spires.
Key Information about Acqua Hotel
What is the best way to get to Acqua Hotel?
Acqua Hotel is very well located in Marin County, just off the 101 Highway, allowing for a quick and easy connection to San Francisco as well as the rest of northern California. It is also only a short drive to some of the towns dotted around San Francisco Bay, such as the postcard pretty Sausalito. If you come into Marin on a ferry from San Francisco, you can easily grab an Uber or Lyft to the hotel.
Also only a few minutes from the famous Golden Gate bridge, you can reach the hotel quickly if you catch a flight into San Francisco International Airport, around 45 minutes away. Equally, if you’re exploring from some of the wine regions further north of Marin, Acqua Hotel is only 45-60 minutes from both Sonoma and Napa Valley.
What are the Acqua Hotel rates?
Arranged over three floors, with all rooms facing out towards the water rooms vary from the entry level deluxe queen at US $239 a night with partial water views to the junior suite at US $279 a night. The junior suite not only has full water views and a larger floor plan but majority also come equipped with a little fireplace fully prepped with firewood. All rates are inclusive of parking, breakfast and a complimentary wine reception every day.
Where are the best places to go for dinner near Acqua Hotel?
You certainly don’t need to travel into downtown San Francisco to find a good meal near Marin. Not only is the county blessed with great food produce, but also with this it has attracted a fantastic number of chefs producing a variety of cuisines in the area, many of which have been given Michelin guide credentials.
Nearby in Sausalito, check out Poggio’s for some authentic Italian fare, including beautiful fresh pastas, or Sushi Ran for what many people claim to be the best Sushi in California! Madcap has also won its plaudits over the years, earning it a Michelin star for its modern Japanese fusion, with dishes such as the rabbit tortelloni with mushroom miso puree and a chocolate raspberry mousse cake with yuzu sherbert.
Our final thoughts on... Acqua Hotel
Marin is far from the lips of many international tourists when planning their itinerary of California. Well more fool them! Acqua Hotel is the perfect spot to explore this fantastic area, easily accessible from the highway with modern comfy rooms and a very pleasant team on site ready to help. Acqua offers everything you’ll need to kick-start a day of exploring whether that is in the foodie heaven of Marin or over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Find Out More…
Acqua Hotel – https://acquahotel.com
Explore more from Marin and California.
Many thanks to Acqua Hotel for hosting us during our time in Marin. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely our own, we wouldn’t recommend something if we didn’t love it!
